Want to put a compass on my RT

[ruralgirl]

Has anyone put a plain old compass on their RT? I don't want to screw around with a GPS system, I just want to put a marine quality (waterproof) compass on my dash. Is there sufficient wiring in that area to screw up the magnetic field? Or could I expect to have accurate readings?

[fjray]

I think better quality marine units are adjustable. I had a specialist adjust the compass on my boat but it was a very large old compass.

[NM Wrench]

Hi this has been discussed here in the past. I am pretty sure that Finless tried it but found out that the magnets in the speakers messed with the compass. Unless you spend megabucks getting one that can be adjusted to compensate for that I would not recommend it. Good luck if you go that route.

[finless]

Several of us have tried a Richie dash mount and the speakers and everything else screws with it.
You would have to buy a super large boat compass to get good enough adjustment to compensate for the deviation caused by the electronics and speaker magnets.

OR buy a VERY expensive all electronic solid state compass you can adjust deviation. They are over $1K

Bob

[ruralgirl]

Hmmm. Okay, thanks everyone. Luckily, every time I've been semi "lost" so far, it's been a sunny day so I could go by shadows to determine my orientation! I do keep a map in my frunk, but I usually just need to know where I'm facing.

[WA5VHU]

There's an app for that.

[kngfsh27]

I tried one of the compasses with the suction cup and had to mount it up high on the windshield to get away from any interference. I didn't leave it on for any long rides, so I can't say whether it would stay on or fall off.

[Fat Baxter]

The electronics in the dash will likely interfere with the compass. I know Gold Wings and later model BMW RTs are compass-unfriendly. I suspect Spyders even more so.

I won a compass as a door prize at a rally over a decade ago. A real nice one (like one of these). I tried mounting it as high as I could on my R1100RT's dash area. I set it up in my driveway with the engine running, tweaking the N/S and E/W adjustments. Then off I rode to see how it worked.

First 90-degree turn out of my driveway, it started spinning like the proverbial Dervish. Whhheeeee! I got to a straight section of road, and it f-i-n-a-l-l-y settled down .... kinda .... until I made the next turn, whereupon it resumed spinning madly.

I was sorely disappointed. I, too, would like a compass on my bike, just to have a general indication of the direction I'm heading. I had one on all my earlier bikes, before they went nuts with electronic instrumentation.

[cptjam]

Buy a silva ranger compass. If you can't figure out direction, a good Silva can't be beat. I've had mine 20+ years, and it has never failed! It is a pocket compass, but I keep it in a saddlebag.

[Motorcycledave]

Your iPhone has a campus use that

Hmmm. Okay, thanks everyone. Luckily, every time I've been semi "lost" so far, it's been a sunny day so I could go by shadows to determine my orientation! I do keep a map in my frunk, but I usually just need to know where I'm facing.

[cptjam]

Just played with mine! Cool. Took two tries to agree with SpyderAnn's, but finally did. Sweet! Thanks, Dave!!!

[Peter Aawen]

Has anyone put a plain old compass on their RT? I don't want to screw around with a GPS system.....

I can understand your feelings on this, but have come to realise that sometimes the easy & sensible way is just to accept the electronic gizmo in all it's glory & then ONLY use the features you want/need from it!! You aren't being forced to actually use the rest of the GPS' capabilities just cos it's there, in much the same way you don't hafta use your ABS every time you brake just cos it's there!

You can set up most modern vehicle GPS units so they show you nothing much more than a locality map and a couple of features, like maybe your heading & speed; or on some, you can even set them just to show a compass rose that only displays your heading, & they do it pretty accurately too!! If you hafta have more info showing, you can usually pick something innocuous that you can ignore all the time or possibly even choose something that you might occasionally use, like fuel range remaining or an odometer or trip meter.

And there's no need to screw around with them either, you can just set them up once to show the basic info you are after (& whatever else you can't get rid of) & then set them to turn on when you start the Spyder & turn off when you stop the Spyder with no other input required from you - ever!! So from there on, you can ignore it even tho it's there all the time - there's nothing forcing you to use it all the time or any of the time, but if you've got one it will be sitting there if you ever feel the urge!! Sure, you might get to see a street map showing on the screen too, & maybe even other stuff like the nearest gas station or warnings about traffic congestion ahead, but that doesn't mean you hafta use it & you can generally disable all that if you like; but seriously, you ca choose to leave it showing & just ignore it most of the time, or you could zoom in or out far enough that you see nothing but blank screen on the map bit while still displaying those elements you might like to see occasionally, like your speed & your heading!!

With the advances that are likely to keep occurring in technology, I'd suggest that maybe it's smarter to get used to these facilities & devices, at least in a small way, so that you can at least learn to use those basic features that you like or want, even if you ignore the rest!! After all, the only real way you are likely to be able to avoid all advances like this completely in the future is likely to be pretty terminal!! Technology is like that, it tends to keep on happening & advancing despite our earnest desires that it slow down a bit or even stop at a level we are comfortable with!! Just look around at those amongst us who were born in the days before television & smartphones became mandatory!!

[Bfromla]

Hmmm. Okay, thanks everyone. Luckily, every time I've been semi "lost" so far, it's been a sunny day so I could go by shadows to determine my orientation! I do keep a map in my frunk, but I usually just need to know where I'm facing.

So why not keep a compass with the map? Electronics can be helpful & all, but nothing wrong with knowing the basics & low tech. I would say trust the highway signs but too many round here say East in the curve when I know I'm pointing North, ya the road may get East but when. & by all means watch the gas gauge, carry some spare if you can.
"Your not lost, just finding a new route"

[Bob Denman]

I almost hate to suggest this...
Why not try one of those small clip-on Ball compasses, that us hunters always pin to our jackets?
For a couple of bucks; at least it'd be a cheap experiment.
Good luck!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Just a thought, let's say you found a compass ( cheap ) that wasn't effected by the speaker magnets..... How could you possibly read it while moving and not crash ..... and every compass I've ever seen needs to be stationary ..... So just get one and stop , get off the Spyder get a reading and move on...... ............Mike

[bigsmoke]

Has anyone put a plain old compass on their RT? I don't want to screw around with a GPS system, I just want to put a marine quality (waterproof) compass on my dash. Is there sufficient wiring in that area to screw up the magnetic field? Or could I expect to have accurate readings?

I also ride without GPS which equals rides to unknown destinations on obscure roads not traveled by many.
My solution = Go to any outfitting shop ie: REI,
but a quality hand held compass for hikers, I bought one and secured it to my Spyder RS, excellent results and always
know what direction I am going, never get lost for long.

[DJFaninTN]

I could give you the name and phone number of my ex wife. She was always good at telling me where to go

[Buckeye Bleau]

I used to be all about a compass, even in the Army basic training they taught us how to use them with and for mapping.
Then they taught another class much more valuable, sunlight, shadows, moss on trees and such, much more valuable and a lot less expensive.
Plus, it never fails, not subject to other magnetic anomalies and it is always there, except a little harder to use in the dark.

Joe

[Bob Denman]

I could give you the name and phone number of my ex wife. She was always good at telling me where to go

I must have the same model...

[ARtraveler]

Buy a silva ranger compass. If you can't figure out direction, a good Silva can't be beat. I've had mine 20+ years, and it has never failed! It is a pocket compass, but I keep it in a saddlebag.

x 2. The Silva Ranger was my method of navigating the wilderness when I used to go canoeing in the good ol days (pre GPS). Lost a couple times, but the Silva got me out.

[ruralgirl]

There's an app for that.

I don't own a cell phone (no, I'm not kidding), so to me (horse person), "app" means appaloosa.

[ruralgirl]

I can understand your feelings on this, but have come to realise that sometimes the easy & sensible way is just to accept the electronic gizmo in all it's glory & then ONLY use the features you want/need from it!! .........

And break my record of refusing to enter the 21st century without kicking and screaming?? Never! Besides, I keep reading in here about extraneous devices causing all sorts of problems, or at least being suspect, by interfering with various Spyder operations.

[ruralgirl]

I tried one of the compasses with the suction cup and had to mount it up high on the windshield to get away from any interference. I didn't leave it on for any long rides, so I can't say whether it would stay on or fall off.

I thought of doing that but wondered if it would stress/crack the windshield because 80% of my ryding is on horrendously bumpy country roads. Did yours cause any flexing, etc of your windshield? I keep my windshield all the way up.

[ruralgirl]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies! I did indeed decide to try a wrist compass, but while shopping on amazon, a fold-up pocket type showed up, and it reminded me that I'd gotten one free awhile back with some sort of tool that I'd ordered. So I dug around and found it. It's obviously cheap, but seems accurate when I walk around the farm, so it'll be a good experiment as to how sensitive it will be to the Spyder when I pull it out of my pocket and read it while still on the trike. If it only kinda sorta maybe works, I'll try upgrading to the Silva Ranger that you guys mentioned. Thanks again!

[ruralgirl]

Your iPhone has a campus use that

Uhhh, iPhone? What's an iPhone?