How many degrees on compass?
Submitted: Monday, Oct 13, 2008 at 17:29
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OldMike2
The compass on my Navman GPS appears to have 256 degrees in a full circle. I thought a compass had 360 degrees on it.
If travelling north it shows 0 degrees.
If I deviate a bit to the left it reads 255 degrees.
If I head south it reads 128 degrees.
Now I am sure somebody knows the answer, but I don't.
Regards
Mike
Reply By: OldMike2 - Monday, Oct 13, 2008 at 20:49
Monday, Oct 13, 2008 at 20:49
Well, now that youve all had a good laugh, let me explain a bit.
The unit can"see" 12 satellites; It can tell we a re going N,S,W,E.
But when you go to the GPS detail page, it shows latitude and longitude OK; just the heading in degrees is strange.
It follows the Sensis maps OK (as far as they are ok) and finds my way around strange urban areas. I don't need it in the bush much as it is hard to get lost there.
So, it is not a compass as such, just a heading.
Oh
well; just follow the sun then,
Regards
Mike
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Follow Up By: equinox - Monday, Oct 13, 2008 at 22:16
Monday, Oct 13, 2008 at 22:16
Mike,
I think it is displaying in units of "binary radians".
Is there a setting that you can change the units from "binary radians" to "degrees"?
Cheers
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Follow Up By: Frank_Troopy - Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 11:18
Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 11:18
Mike,
I reckon that Equinox is right on the money. The binary radian system is designed such that the full circle can be represented in one byte, thus a maximum of 256. This is the number of binary radians in a full circle.
As is usually the case with this
forum, the answer is normally there somewhere if ones prepared to ignore all the rubbish.
Cheers Frank.
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