Dive Compass Cardinal Direction Markings Off?

[LeadTurn_SD]

You know, it is just not that hard. The arrow points north. Figure the rest out.

1+.

The best thing you can possibly do is practice with your shiney new compass on land. It quickly becomes apparent how it works. Get confident using it, learn how to use the bezel... really, it is not that confusing if you practice for 10 minutes walking around your house using it... an "Ah Ha!" moment will occur, and all the confusion will vanish.

Unless of course you never, ever used a compass... many folks have not, and that is nothing to be ashamed of... in that case it may take 15 minutes.

Best wishes.

 

[Redshift]

I think people are having troubles because they are trying to combine features that are not supposed to work together.

If you are looking at the compass from the top, you can use it as a land compass and use the needle (well, it's a disk, but there is a "needle" marked on it) and the bezel. Land compasses don't have those extra numbers on a disk and they are also not supposed to be used when looking at it from the top. If you want to go to a certain direction, point the compass that way, rotate the bezel so that the needle is aligned with "0" and go.

If you want to use the lateral window and follow a bearing, just look at the window and follow the bearing, but then you need to remember it.
The window does not show the reverse bearing, as some people were saying! It shows the actual bearing!

Let's say you want to go East, which would be at 90º. Rotate bezel to have East in the upper position. Now you need to rotate yourself so that the needle matches 0 on the bezel and you'll be facing East. Look through the window. The number showing there is 90º! Magic!

So, the needle and the bezel work together and the numbers on the disk are used to be looked at through the window. And the directions will be consistent!

 

[lowviz]

I think people are having troubles because they are trying to combine features that are not supposed to work together. ...

---------- Post added August 31st, 2014 at 06:46 AM ----------

... they could have closed the top, as you see on the auto and some marine compasses, and not had the issue. ...

Lose too much that way.

All they had to do was hide the window numbers from top view. But then, someone figured out that those numbers could be BOTH the true bearing when viewed from the window AND a quick way to see "return" values for N/S/E/W when viewed from the top.

And this little 'convenience' (offered by people who obviously have no comprehension of how normal people actually see things) is why almost nobody ever gets it right.

---------- Post added August 31st, 2014 at 08:40 AM ----------

... Land compasses don't have those extra numbers on a disk and they are also not supposed to be used when looking at it from the top. ...

Problem statement: A compass offers two ways of indicating the same thing, direction. It offers N/S/E/W and degrees. Upon inspection, it is seen that the only thing that relates the two equivalent systems is the rotating disk and it has the relationship wrong.

A compass should be a stupidly simple device, just ask Redshift...

 

[Redshift]

The relationship is not between the directions and the angles on the disk, it's between the directions on the disk and the angles on the bezel. The angles on the disk are only to be looked at through the window. Yes, they can also be used, as you said, to quickly see the reverse bearing without doing maths, but that's an addition.

I don't think it's complicated and, despite this being in the New Divers board, I find it surprising that many people have a problem with the compass when navigation is a mandatory adventure for AOW and speciality in other agencies.

 

[DukeAMO]

The navigation required for AOW is pretty rudimentary.

Then, if you don't practice it (like if you dive in clear water where you can always see where you're going), you have to pretty much re-learn it from scratch.

I guess all I'm saying is that it IS a new diver forum, so you guys shouldn't be "surprised" that some new divers find it difficult.

 

[lowviz]

The relationship is not between the directions and the angles on the disk, it's between the directions on the disk and the angles on the bezel.

Indeed. But your mind just wants to directly equate everything on the rotating disk. That is how people see things at first glance.

The angles on the disk are only to be looked at through the window.

That is the really funny part. So everybody puts them right up on top where you are not supposed to look at them. Why not just have the tic marks (on the disk) and their corresponding numbers (on the disk) swap places? Now you would have degree numbers along the skirt of the disk where they belong and tic marks directly above them. It would then become obvious that those numbers were not to be used from the top, yet you could still peek around the disk and snag a quick reciprocal value if you wish.

Yes, they can also be used, as you said, to quickly see the reverse bearing without doing maths, but that's an addition.

A nice addition too, just a really stupid place to put them.

... I guess all I'm saying is that it IS a new diver forum, so you guys shouldn't be "surprised" that some new divers find it difficult.

I completely agree. Confusing to many seasoned divers too. Most compasses are just wetsuit jewelry.