Want to put a compass on my RT

[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?

 

[Peter Aawen]

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.

Ummm, you do know that unless it's a real antique, your wrist watch probably has a basic 'computer' inside it, don't you?? And you do realise that your Spyder has & relies on a few Computers & similar electronic control systems to operate too, don't you?? :shocked:

In fact, your Spyder is well up there on the list of wheeled devices we run that are using a whole heap of 21st century Hi-Teckery!! So you are already well past the 'refusing to enter the 21st Century' stage, & in reality, you are probably one of the early leaders amongst early adopters of 21st century technology when it comes to vehicle owners/operators.... pps: Sorry to hafta bring this to your attention, but if you were waiting for the chance, you've well & truly missed your opportunity for all that kicking & screaming!! :banghead:

Besides, when it all comes down to it, the only 'extraneous devices' that interfere with Spyder operations are those that try to subvert or modify one or more of the electrickery signals running around between the computers you already have & use but don't want admit to - a GPS won't (?can't?!) do that, they really only need charging power (already catered for & provided for by BRP on every Spyder) so you just plug the GPS charger in and set it to turn on, then read the bits of info you want if &/or when you want them!!

Like I said before, the only real way to avoid any exposure to advances in technology is pretty terminal, & generally will really upset your family & friends as well as making a bloody mess for someone to clean up!! :yikes: Besides, it's not really something I'd want to encourage anyone to consider!! :sour: Choosing to live your Life instead is a much smarter idea & has so much more to offer, even if it does mean riding your advanced technology Hi-speed Mobility Scooter & maybe even using the most basic of info that can be provided by a GPS! :thumbup:

 

[Bob Denman]

Uhhh, iPhone? What's an iPhone?

Would you ever consider moving to Grahamsville? (We don't even have any of that cellphone service around us! :thumbup

 

[finless]

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 :yikes: ..... 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...... :clap:............Mike :thumbup:

So you have not seen many compasses I guess...
Boat compasses for instance do not need to be stationary. The are gimbaled.

This is what I tried to use in my Spyder. It's a boat compass you mount in the dash.

It's a Ritchie X21BU. This will fit in the Spyder gauge hole perfectly!

It would have worked fine while moving but like I said, the magnets and electronics threw it WAY OFF.



Bob

 

[Devious56]

So you have not seen many compasses I guess...
Boat compasses for instance do not need to be stationary. The are gimbaled.

This is what I tried to use in my Spyder. It's a boat compass you mount in the dash.

It's a Ritchie X21BU. This will fit in the Spyder gauge hole perfectly!

It would have worked fine while moving but like I said, the magnets and electronics threw it WAY OFF.

View attachment 136875

Bob

I would love to have one of those in my dash, if it worked. There is just too many times, using my GPS, that I woud really like to be reassured of where North was. My Zumo doesn't show compass direction, when following a route, unless you go to the compass page, and I try to fiddle with things as little as possible while riding.

 

[MisterP]

Every small aircraft out there is full of metal and electronics, yet they all have a wet or "whiskey" compass. It's not rocket science, you just have to allow for the magnetic variation by "swinging the compass". Here is how:

http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-...instruments-and-avionics/swinging-the-compass

call around to your local general aviation airports and ask them if they have a compass rose painted on their taxiway. Then ask for permission to bring your Spyder there once you have installed the compass. Create your compass deviation card and go ride.

Keep in mind you need a compass with adjustment screws, which one of our members stated may be more costly than it's worth. But it can be done, so ignore those who say it can't.

 

[finless]

Every small aircraft out there is full of metal and electronics, yet they all have a wet or "whiskey" compass. It's not rocket science, you just have to allow for the magnetic variation by "swinging the compass". Here is how:

http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-...instruments-and-avionics/swinging-the-compass

call around to your local general aviation airports and ask them if they have a compass rose painted on their taxiway. Then ask for permission to bring your Spyder there once you have installed the compass. Create your compass deviation card and go ride.

Keep in mind you need a compass with adjustment screws, which one of our members stated may be more costly than it's worth. But it can be done, so ignore those who say it can't.

I have looked into this.... Both mechanical and 100% electronic compasses that allow deviation or disturbance adjustments.
They are over $1000 dollars! FYI Aircraft compasses are not all one unit. The sensing unit is NOT in the dash. The display on the dash is just that, the display. The sensing unit is mounted elsewhere for most aircraft.

There are also compasses where the sensing unit is remote and can be placed somewhere other than near electronics and on the dash is the readout (like aircraft compasses). Over $2,000 for those!

But the huge problem with the Spyder RT. The dash is very close to the front speakers with pretty large magnets! No deviation adjustment will be able to compensate for that. For the Ritchie I show above, the speaker magnets locked the compass to a position and it would not move at all. No compensation will fix that. I tried using copper and lead to try and block that but to no avail...

Anyway, to get a compass that will work on the Spyder, the cost is too much for me for just for a compass.


Bob

 

[MisterP]

I have looked into this.... Both mechanical and 100% electronic compasses that allow deviation or disturbance adjustments.
They are over $1000 dollars! FYI Aircraft compasses are not all one unit. The sensing unit is NOT in the dash. The display on the dash is just that, the display. The sensing unit is mounted elsewhere for most aircraft.

There are also compasses where the sensing unit is remote and can be placed somewhere other than near electronics and on the dash is the readout (like aircraft compasses). Over $2,000 for those!

But the huge problem with the Spyder RT. The dash is very close to the front speakers with pretty large magnets! No deviation adjustment will be able to compensate for that. For the Ritchie I show above, the speaker magnets locked the compass to a position and it would not move at all. No compensation will fix that. I tried using copper and lead to try and block that but to no avail...

Anyway, to get a compass that will work on the Spyder, the cost is too much for me for just for a compass.


Bob

Bob, I have to disagree. I think you are referring to a DG or directional gyro which uses the aircraft vacuum system. Gyros are expensive. Peek in the window of almost any single engine aircraft and you will see a simple wet compass. They aren't that expensive, but you have to swing them to determine the variation. That's what the card is for. There are also compass errors which occur in flight due to the earth's magnetic field but that's for another day.

I would agree with you that mounting in the dash would create problems, but above the dash would be similar to aircraft installations. I personally think it's too much trouble.

Paul

 

[vided]

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.

won't it be called a saddlebag compass.:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:
how could i resist :banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[finless]

Bob, I have to disagree. I think you are referring to a DG or directional gyro which uses the aircraft vacuum system. Gyros are expensive. Peek in the window of almost any single engine aircraft and you will see a simple wet compass. They aren't that expensive, but you have to swing them to determine the variation. That's what the card is for. There are also compass errors which occur in flight due to the earth's magnetic field but that's for another day.

I would agree with you that mounting in the dash would create problems, but above the dash would be similar to aircraft installations. I personally think it's too much trouble.

Paul

OK so how about a link to a compass that allows for adjustment for magnetic noise e.g. ability to swing it (not just deviation).
I searched and could find nothing for less than $1,000

Bob

 

[cuznjohn]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marlins-Que...andlebar-Mount-Satellite-Driven-/112070560979

 

[finless]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Marlins-Que...andlebar-Mount-Satellite-Driven-/112070560979

Yes I saw that one and might be good for some but does not operate like a wet compass.
Using GPS you must be moving to see direction! If your stopped it does not know which way you are facing.

It also does not give degrees. So it's a "rough" accuracy of N, NE, E, etc...

But if that is good enough for most, then go for it

I was asking about a real compass with the ability to adjust for Magnetic anomalies...

Bob

 

[ruralgirl]

Ummm, you do know that unless it's a real antique, your wrist watch probably has a basic 'computer' inside it, don't you?? And you do realise that your Spyder has & relies on a few Computers & similar electronic control systems to operate too, don't you?? :shocked: ....[cut].......Like I said before, the only real way to avoid any exposure to advances in technology is pretty terminal, & generally will really upset your family & friends as well as making a bloody mess for someone to clean up!!.....[cut].... :sour: Choosing to live your Life instead is a much smarter idea ......... :thumbup:

My wrist watch is manually wound (yes, they can still be found), so I doubt it's computerized, but, yes, I do realize that my Spyder is a COW, as I've posted in here in before (Computer On Wheels). And the fact that I'm communicating with you, in another country, no less, via my laptop computer has given me a clue that I've submerged at least one whole foot in the 21st century.

I simply feel that my options for using products that make my life simpler because they're more reliable and/or easier to operate are disappearing. E.g., battery operated watches don't make sense for me because they don't stand up to many of the concussive things I do like punching a rearing horse in the head before he kills us both, AND because it's so stupid to have to replace a battery every year. I'm not too lazy to wind my watch. There are other examples of good old fashioned devices, like manual can openers, that not only operate for free, but they operate, PERIOD, during a power outage. I can cook on our woodstove throughout our frequent power outages, but my meal choices are limited if I can't get at them because the can opener requires electricity.

I love my many modern inventions as much as the next gal, but when they become more of a burden than an asset, and when they exist just because they can, and when their inexplicable popularity nudges sane, logical, practical products into extinction, technology has gone too far for this old girl.

 

[Bob Denman]

...I simply feel that my options for using products that make my life simpler because they're more reliable and/or easier to operate are disappearing. ...There are other examples of good old fashioned devices, like manual can openers, that not only operate for free, but they operate, PERIOD, during a power outage. I can cook on our woodstove throughout our frequent power outages, but my meal choices are limited if I can't get at them because the can opener requires electricity.

I love my many modern inventions as much as the next gal, but when they become more of a burden than an asset, and when they exist just because they can, and when their inexplicable popularity nudges sane, logical, practical products into extinction, technology has gone too far for this old girl.

Everybody can use the good old P-38, to open up a can of beans, for some old-fashioned campfire cooking!

 

[ruralgirl]

Everybody can use the good old P-38, to open up a can of beans, for some old-fashioned campfire cooking!

View attachment 136957

I'm sure there's an app for opening cans, and another one for starting a fire, but I'm with you, Bob! A good ole P-38! And a book of matches (yes, shortly before the end of the 20th century, I advanced beyond rubbing two sticks together). Dare I say that I've even supplemented my P-38 with a screw-into-the-wall, hand-cranking model. I haven't gone too far, have I?? :shocked:

 

[ruralgirl]

cuznjohn, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your meerkat siggie pic!!