UKC

I've just put a compass app on my phone. Obviously it will only work so long as the battery is charge but I just wondered if anyone alse has one and if you've used it to navigate:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.compassfree&hl=en_GB

Any comments re accuracy?

In reply to FesteringSore:

Nope. Would rather use a £2 button compass.

In reply to FesteringSore:

I don't know why you would bother. You would have to carry a back up anyway, so why not just use that and keep your phone in your pack, in a waterproof bag and only get it out if you loose your compass. In which case I guess it would do the job.

In reply to FesteringSore:

Yep, they work great.

Ignore the Luddites. A digital compass is easy to use, extremely accurate, and, ideally in addition to a regular compass (which can still smash, blow away, lose its bearings), can make a good primary/backup form of navigation. Be sure to check if it is set to register magnetic/grid north of course.

In reply to FesteringSore:

I think the accuracy varies from phone to phone. Mine is totally useless because there's a magnet built into the case, and it just points at that.

My main concern would be that a typical smartphone doesn't have the battery to keep the screen on for a very long time. If you're walking on a bearing in mist, you do need to keep checking it - you end up with a compass that's most likely to fail when you need it most, because you're using it lots. Usability in rain and/or wearing gloves would also bother me, again because it's likely to be a problem when you need it most.

So I'll stick with my magnetized needle in an oil filled plastic bubble. Though if I'm carrying a smartphone anyway, then I'll probably have that as a backup compass - it's not like installing an app adds any weight.

In reply to FesteringSore:

I have tried to use compasses on an iPhone (3GS) and Samsung Galaxy S4 and they are both completely unreliable - spins in different directions from second to second. If you watch it for a bit you can gain an approximation of north (by the vague direction it points to for the majority of the time), but certainly not well enough to navigate by (I'd probably estimate from the sun and the stars before trusting my current phone compass).

Sounds like Falung has had a better experience though which sounds interesting - was it a separate digital compass or a compass on a phone? If so I'd be interested in which phone it was?

In reply to splat2million:

So I have the S4. If you have the flip case with the window in it, then that's the one with the magnet in so the reading is rubbish. Without the case mine is actually quite good.

You do need a decent app too, as the magnetometer chip is capable of giving many inaccurate readings very fast, and the app needs collect all those readings and average them. This is analogous to the oil in a conventional compass, which provides damping. I use 'GPS status and toolbox' on my S4 and I reckon it's as accurate as any compass without a sighting mirror.

In reply to FesteringSore:

Can't really comment on accuracy, but I do like the OS Locate App, even if it is a bit gimmicky . Gives Grid reference (which can be wildly out) and a compass with rotating bezel (degrees of mils).

In reply to Falung:

I'm off to smash some spinning jennies. Who's with me?

Also: Why on earth would I want a "compass" that needs to be recalibrated all the time and uses batteries?

In reply to FesteringSore:

I have the S4 and I have to recalibrate the compass every time I open a compass app which is rubbish but I wouldn't really use it for that. It's easier to use the GPS and walk a bit to get a direction that way. It's a bit strange when using the S4 as a sat nav because when I stop in traffic the map rotates to the direction the compass thinks I'm facing, not overly useful.

In reply to FesteringSore:

Yes a battery will run down but remember, a cold battery will only provide a fraction of the power that a warm one will.

Ah the Luddite debate, with technology looking for a problem to solve.

It's possible to navigate very accurately (with the appropriate level of skill) using a simple map and compass.

In reply to FesteringSore:

I have 2 Compass apps . The digital bearings given by both differ by over 10 degrees!!!!

nuff said..