Compass confussion..
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Take your compass and set the heading dial/bezel to the heading you want to "aim" 180.0° for Ontario, Canada or 111° for Ontario, California (see below)
Then rotate the entire compass in your palm until the floating North arrow and its indicator in the dial line up.
The heading arrow will now point to where AMC-5 is in relation to YOUR specific location.
(not 100% sure where you are) it makes a HUGE difference so my numbers before were just to teach you how to use the compass.
Then rotate the entire compass in your palm until the floating North arrow and its indicator in the dial line up.
The heading arrow will now point to where AMC-5 is in relation to YOUR specific location.
(not 100% sure where you are) it makes a HUGE difference so my numbers before were just to teach you how to use the compass.
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For the easiest and most accurate aiming you should go get a $10 heading or map compass where you can "tell it" what you want to aim for. They can be found at almost every Wal-Mart and Target in the outdoor sections. Everyone should have one in the toolbox and the car.
1. Turn the compass dial/bezel to the heading you want to "aim" 180.0° for Ontario, Canada or 111° for Ontario, California (not 100% sure where you are) it makes a HUGE difference so my numbers before were just to teach you how to use the compass.
2. Then rotate the entire compass FLAT in your palm until the floating colored North Arrow lines up to its marked North Indicator.
3. Your heading arrow at the front/top of the compass is now pointing toward the set heading; in this case, AMC-5.
See attached example shows how the compass would look if your were aiming to 250°w. Practise doing that and you should get the hang of it in less than 5 mins.
2. Then rotate the entire compass FLAT in your palm until the floating colored North Arrow lines up to its marked North Indicator.
3. Your heading arrow at the front/top of the compass is now pointing toward the set heading; in this case, AMC-5.
See attached example shows how the compass would look if your were aiming to 250°w. Practise doing that and you should get the hang of it in less than 5 mins.
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Here are some visual guides if you are still confused: Just ignore the paper map for now.
Compass Help
Compass Help
Speaking from experience , do yourself a favor and buy a good lensatic compass. Years ago I tried a "K-Mart Special" and wound up making an azimuth of myself since I didn't orientate it prior to a land navigation exercise.
AMC 5 IS AT ORBITAL POSITION 79W. You will need to use one of the online calculators to find the direction you need to point your compass at. Please give us your location / postal code and someone here can list off the numbers you will need to point to the various satellites. The compass setting will be dependant on your position on the earth. (your latitude and longitude) Most of the calculator will give you a figure for map direction and you will need to add or subtract the variation for the magnetic reading. (the compass will always point at magnetic north and not true/map north)
Calculator here:
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/Satellite-Heading-Calculator.htm
Calculator here:
http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Installation/Satellite-Heading-Calculator.htm
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Right , the 79W has nothing to do with where you point the compass. You calculate magnetic azimuth from zip.
EDIT---I see Larry posted the same calculator...... SarFinder 4.3 is also very good and you can have them all right at hand since it is a stand alone program
EDIT---I see Larry posted the same calculator...... SarFinder 4.3 is also very good and you can have them all right at hand since it is a stand alone program
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It was my mistake I guess by just using any example number trying to teach him how to use a heading compass for the 1st time as opposed to just using the correct azimuth numbers based on his listed location which I read as "Ontario"; so I posted azimuths for both Ontario, CA and Toronto, Ontario, Canada (just as another example) even though if he is further north I know that Toronto number will be wrong. Throwing all the look angel calculators and Satfinder software at someone learing how to use and read a compass can be rather confusing and intimidating and making it far more difficult than it needs to be; so I was trying not to rush a truck-load of info all at once by going one step at a time. We can't always assume each user is always on the same skill level as we may be. IMHO.
Another way to find true south:
At 1 pm (daylight savings time) on a sunny day your shadow will point due north (more or less).
At 1 pm (daylight savings time) on a sunny day your shadow will point due north (more or less).
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