digital compass

[gerardnealon]

I am not sure if they make them for scuba, but you see them all the time in cars. I thought it would be so neat for dive computers to have built in digital compasses. The computer can even record PSI changes and compass direction and then calculate a given distance traveled. I guess the computer would have to be held straight up, but not sure. I am not sure how the digital compasses in cars work. Theoretically it can map your entire dive ;-) Does GPS work underwater?

Anyone out there here of anything like this? What do you think of the idea?

 

[H2Andy]

as to the GPS question, check out this thread:

http://scubaboard.com/t27622.html

 

[d33ps1x]

Every compass is going to be useless in 10 million years anyways when the magnetic field of the earth flips. So why bother investing in one at all!

 

[gerardnealon]

Every compass is going to be useless in 10 million years anyways when the magnetic field of the earth flips. So why bother investing in one at all!

This is true, but if it were digital then the problem can be corrected!!! hehehe I think by then Human's will have evolved with our own set of gills!!

 

[gerardnealon]

as to the GPS question, check out this thread:

http://scubaboard.com/t27622.html

Thank you, Never thought about the signal attenuation problem. hmmmm i guess that rules out underwater cell phones. You never know when you need to call home and tell the wife to start boiling water for your new catch ;-)

 

[lamont]

in my electronic circuits lab in college i was playing around with solid state accellerometers -- trying to come up with a cheap solid state siesmograph. never quite got the sensitivity to detect earthquakes (other than big, huge obvious ones, but we didn't experience any while I was doing this).

i'm wondering if you could create a device with three of these things, and then integrate twice to track position...

oh, but then how do you track orientation... need to combine it with a digital compass, i guess...

 

[archman]

Uwatec used to make an underwater digital compass. It was pretty smart and supposedly kept a memory of your dive so you could "reverse it" back. I don't think they'res still made, but you can check ebay or they're main website. They weren't cheap... like $120.00.

What's with all these freaking GPS posts lately? Have there been subliminal messages on NBC?

 

[d33ps1x]

I'd heard of them. It's be interesting to try.

 

[gerardnealon]

I'd heard of them. It's be interesting to try.

yea i love playing with new toys ;-)