Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?


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Well geological compass #1 came in, yesterday. When I ordered it I was unaware that it was going to come from India, due to Amazon's obfuscation of source, and even without my glasses I can see that it's inaccurate. The sighting hole on the arm isn't centred. Like WAY off. The point on the arm is, however, so I can use that. If nothing else I have another Steampunk prop.

I also ordered a relatively inexpensive Chinese made compass, at the same time, through a different source. If neither end up being any good i might just break down and buy an actual Brunton (the company that created the thing, in the first place).
 

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I also ordered a relatively inexpensive Chinese made compass, at the same time, through a different source. If neither end up being any good i might just break down and buy an actual Brunton (the company that created the thing, in the first place).
This is the path I walked before finally getting Apple AirPods. I felt the hot glare of Sam Vimes on my neck as I discarded cheaper crap I tried to save money with repeatedly.
 

Well geological compass #1 came in, yesterday. When I ordered it I was unaware that it was going to come from India, due to Amazon's obfuscation of source, and even without my glasses I can see that it's inaccurate. The sighting hole on the arm isn't centred. Like WAY off. The point on the arm is, however, so I can use that. If nothing else I have another Steampunk prop.

I also ordered a relatively inexpensive Chinese made compass, at the same time, through a different source. If neither end up being any good i might just break down and buy an actual Brunton (the company that created the thing, in the first place).
So it’s actually possible to mess up a compass? TIL!
 

So it’s actually possible to mess up a compass? TIL!
The compass, itself, works fine. The dials even seem to be reasonable. The issue is that in order to get a correct bearing you need to sight through a window at the base of the open lid, across the compass, to the hole in the arm. You then hold a small button that temporarily locks the compass needle in place so that you can bring it back where you can read it. If the sighting is off, then the bearing is off.

Here's something else that's new for you, about compasses. A Brunton style compass is backwards from what you would expect. For regular pocket compasses you would flip open the lid and then read it with the open lid facing away from you. A Brunton is essentially backwards to that. In addition while north is away from you when reading and south is towards you, east is on the left and west is on the right. That's because when you're reading a regular compass, you're looking for north. You would then read the direction dial to find a bearing. With a Brunton you're using north on the needle to find the direction you're looking, so the dial has to be backwards.

That should give you a bit of mental whiplash.
 



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