Compass Problem

[Jax]

What I am saying is IF I face to the north (I live in florida on the beach so I have a really good indication which way north is) when reading the compass it should tell me I'm facing north, not east,west,south or anything in between. What I meant when I said "i am aware of the reverse scale" is that a normal compass you lay on a flat surface and read the bearing from the front of the compass(where it meets the luber line) looking down. This is hard to do with a wrist compass while keeping the compass flat. A diving compass is made to be read from behind. The scale then needs to be offset 180degrees (reversed). If you look at a regualr compass you will see that north is pointing 0degrees.

I would appreciate it if you would stay out of the thread unless your contributing to the topic, and not making assumptions about my LDS. BTW i know the people there and have been shopping there since I started diving..they were very happy to check this compass against theirs.

Anyway.... I'm sending the compass back because it is defective. The pivot or brass looking needle on the back is sticking.

What nator is saying is absolutely true. On a normal land-navigation compass, mil spec, you read the compass by holding it flat (parallel) the earth, looking down on the face, and the primary needle should point to magnetic north.

Scuba compasses are made to be read at eye level, looking at the markings on the bezel. If you look straight down on it, your numbers will be 180^o out.


Now, floating disk thingy - that some seem to call a card . . . the magnetic needle is affixed to the back. Drop the compass, and the two are not so attached. It will lead to the symptoms nator described. The needle is pointing north, but the disc / card to which it is attached is reporting a different direction.

 

[Jax]

Uh-huh. If I take mine out to the barn yard it always points to my metal barn.

Whoa. Bet that's a biotch on a wreck! :snicker:

 

[Jax]

Uh-huh. If I take mine out to the barn yard it always points to my metal barn.

Hey, seriously, though . . .

A guy on one of these forums was talking about how he used some magnets for attaching his backup reg. Thought it was really cool, immediately, no hassle deployment, etc. Then he figured out he was always traveling Southeast . . .

 

[pjhansman]

Anyway.... I'm sending the compass back because it is defective. The pivot or brass looking needle on the back is sticking.

Not wanting to argue your diagnosis but there is another possibility.

Perhaps I was the last person on earth to figure this out, but there are northern-hemisphere and southern-hemisphere compasses....and they have they same symptoms you're describing.

In the Northern hemisphere, the north end of the needle is pulled downwards and so the south end is counter-weighted to balance the needle. Therefore, when you use a northern hemisphere compass in, say Australia, the south end of the magnet is pulled downwards by the magnetic field and is also heavier than the north end - resulting in a needle that catches and drags on the bottom of the compass housing when the compass is held horizontal.

 

[oly5050user]

So, you think the north magnetic field is always stronger than the south, no matter where or how far south you are?

there is no southern magnetic field that is used for navigation purposes on this planet that I know of..

 

[nator]

if you look at the compass while standing towards North the compass should give you a reading of 0 degrees. to use a dive compass face the direction you want to go (use the lubber line/direction arrow) as a gunsight..move the bezel to align the north indicator on the card/needle so that the notch is over the north indicator /needle on the compass itself.the degree heading on the bezel at the 12 oclock position of the lubber line is your course in degrees.You can also read your heading in degrees at that 12 oclock position or in the window on the side, but the bezel is much easier to read from. Happy for you to hear that the LDS you frequent had no issues with you purchasing elsewhere and expecting them to instruct you how to use it.Good for them(lds) that were able to assist you and perhaps sell you a compass that works correctly.Not trying to upset you but the terminology you used was not making things clear. Living on a beach in east coast Fla does not mean that while looking at the sea your left is north.Try that in Key West at the end of Front st.You would be looking south/west...if the card/needle is truly sticking then return it,but remember it must be held level as possible to work correctly.

When the thought came to me to visit my LDS I wasn't really expecting anyone to show me how to to use a compass, I just needed to look at another for verification. The whole reason for the thread was to hear if anybody had an idea of why the compass was acting this way, I wasn't really looking for a technical how and why final solution. I was more looking at it as a brainstorming type of thread to see what a possible reason was. I just felt like you were taking the thread personal and a couple of yours and others comments came off a bit condescending and I don't understand why. In any rate the problem is being dealt with by the seller and I'm getting a full refund.

 

[nator]

For what it's worth, the compass was a zone 1 compass (considering if the box that it came in was the original box of this certain compass.

 

[Hatul]

I just bought a used suunto sk6 compass off eBay and it doesn't seam to be working right. It won't point north no matter what I do, east shows north, north shows west and so on.. It's driving me crazy.

Maybe that's why the guy sold it to you.

 

[ibj40]

Now, floating disk thingy - that some seem to call a card . . . the magnetic needle is affixed to the back. Drop the compass, and the two are not so attached. It will lead to the symptoms nator described. The needle is pointing north, but the disc / card to which it is attached is reporting a different direction.

I believe this is the situation I tried to describe in my post above, just wasn't sure how do describe it. The OP's compass may have been damaged similarly.

 

[Colliam7]

Every once in awhile, a SB thread is so 'interesting' that it causes the reader to laugh out loud. This is one of them. I feel like we should have Strother Martin posting here somewhere, telling us that, 'What we have here is a failure to communicate.' Anyway, on an otherwise dreary morning, I got a kick out of this whole thread.

I would appreciate it if you would stay out of the thread unless your contributing to the topic, and not making assumptions about my LDS. BTW i know the people there and have been shopping there since I started diving..they were very happy to check this compass against theirs.

Ah, yes, and we have yet ANOTHER satisfied SB customer! Our Customer Care ratings are going to go through the roof, I am sure, after this.

Now, floating disk thingy - that some seem to call a card . . . the magnetic needle is affixed to the back. Drop the compass, and the two are not so attached. It will lead to the symptoms nator described. The needle is pointing north, but the disc / card to which it is attached is reporting a different direction.

Probably, one of the more useful observations to come out of this thread. Thanks, Jax. I suspect your diagnosis is the correct one..

Either that or it is calibrated for use on the planet Bleen. . . . That's why I only use the SK-7's that are only made for use on this planet.

A second very useful observation. I have often wondered about the strange writing on the SK-6's, and I suspect that it is simply information written in native Bleen.

It could be pole shifting

Which, as with everything else, is a direct result of global warming