how to orient a map using a lensatic compass
Battle tested - shock, water, sand proof, and. Assume youre in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. orient a map to the ground by map-terrain association, Sunday Firesides: Become an Evangelist . The floating dial is used to determine the direction in which you are pointing your compass. With the thumb loop all the way down under the compass, put the thumb of one hand all the way inside the loop, and place the index finger of that same hand along one side of the compass. Well adjust it to account for the declination of our compass. Step 2: line the compass up with the map. Well use the rear bearing of it to draw a line on the map from Saddle Mountain to our approximate direction. Magnetic north lines up exactly when youre on this line and facing true north. Wrap your middle, ring and pinky finger around your thumb for support. As we can see, the area Im in has a declination of 4E. You can use this feature to set your compass in the dark. Hand placement: Insert your thumb through the thumb loop and the index finger along the compass. But it isnt just magnets there are other culprits at play, here. How to use the Lunatic Compass Map Orientation by compass Magnetic Azimuth A magnetic azimuth of any object is the compass reading of a direct line across the center of the compass to the object. The needle on your compass dial will always be pointing north, so when placing the compass on the map, the needle on the compass should match the map's north in order to orient yourself. Some of the components' terms are used in the explanations below. west is 270). Now were going to find out where exactly we are on that line. Well say the declination value is 10 degrees. how to orient a map using a lensatic compass; how to orient a map in military; orient a map using a lensatic compass powerpoint We still need to understand where we are in reference to our map how to orient ourselves before we can start really navigating, which well cover in Part III of this series. Finally, before setting off, be sure to do a quick check by looking around you to see that all features represented on your map are where they should be in the terrain. When this happens, its time to orientate using a compass. Below, we offer a short, straight-talking guide to how its done. Turn the little screw using a small screwdriver or the little metal piece that comes with your compass lanyard. Youll see that it shows two arrows when you turn your headset or controllers around to show the new orientation of a map."}}]}. Execute your docs in minutes using our simple step-by-step instructions: Get the How To Use A Lensatic Compass you need. Your compass is now set. Doing this quick visual sense check by examining the surrounding terrain is to triple-check that your readings arent out by 180 degrees and to make sure the map is always aligned with your compasss north-pointing (and usually red) magnetic arrow i.e. 2. What happens if you dont adjust your compass for declination? See that little black outline of an arrow? Lay your compass on the map and line up its edge with a known landmark. PART 1 Basic Land Navigation Module 6 Map Information WARNING This presentation is intended as a quick summary, and not a comprehensive resource. Sounds like a lot more than a regular compass, doesnt it? Make sure the travel direction arrow is pointed in the direction you want to go. Spatial awareness refers to having knowledge about where everything in the environment is located relative as well as understanding how objects relate with each other spatially. Youll see that it shows two arrows when you turn your headset or controllers around to show the new orientation of a map. Look at which way the red needle is pointing. Your email address will not be published. Youve got your dependable compass and a map of the region, but youre not sure where you are in respect to the map. Bear in mind that an east declination value will be a positive number, and a west declination value will be a negative number. Experience is the best way to learn and wed highly recommend booking a navigation course to really hone your skills. Just follow these lensatic compass instructions: Open the compass: Let the cover and the base form a 90-degree angle. Center-hold. ), but youre not sure where. Take a bearing to a visible landmark using your compass. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Determine your position on the map and set the compass edge over it. At that point, leave it out in a spot where it can really dry overnight until you know the internal components are no longer moist. There are so many different kinds of compasses, it can be hard to keep up. He climbs when he should be writing, writes when he should be sleeping, has fun always. To figure out precisely where you are on the map, you simply need one more piece of information. The basics of orienting yourself with a map and compass. Related Tags. To orientate the map, rotate both the map and compass together until the red compass needle and the red orientating arrow match up. To find the tower's bearing with your lensatic compass: 1. Before we do that, lets dig a bit deeper into declination. (2) Keep the compass aligned as directed above while . This step comes after aligning our map and compass needle to magnetic north if using a compass that doesnt have a declination adjustment key. Next month, well wrap off our series with a final briefing on how to navigate using MGRS coordinates, exactly like the military. However, imagine youre in Muir Woods in San Francisco, facing true north. 1. As you can see, the declination of the location Im in is 4E. . 3. But lets say youre in the Muir Woods near San Francisco and youre facing true north. Magnetic north would be slightly to your right, or east, by about 14. For bearings of one to 179 degrees, rotate the bezel counter-clockwise. SEE IT. There is no declination, and you do not need to adjust your compass. There are step-by-step to use a compass. So in this installment, well go over the skills you need to do just that. Your cheek should be resting on the base of your thumb. Lensatic compasses are made up of three parts: cover, base, and reading lens. 2 a. Orient the map using the first technique. To do so accurately, however, we must first adjust our compass for magnetic declination so the reading taken from the compass arrow is pointing our map towardtruenorth as opposed tomagneticnorth. Get your own customized topographical maps, built according to your specifications. The fact that they glow in the dark (especially, if they're the tritium kind which will glow for years without having to be exposed to light) means you can use your compass without a light for night navigation. This is because it is prepped to point instead to magnetic north once its lined up with your compass needle. Make a mark with your pencil at the notch on the end furthest from the sighting wire. This webpage may also be used to get current declinations. Orient you compass with the bearing, and draw the bearing line. Identify where you are on the map and place the compass edge over this location. 3. Preferred by military for its precision and. The red end of the needle must be pointing to the top of the map. 3. Announcement: My online Land Navigation course includes four hours of video instruction, and two downloadable PDF books, all for about the same price as a typical paperback book. In my. In actual practice, orienting your map is something you'll often do "on the run" and can be as simple as glancing at your compass needle and turning the map more or less accordingly. Place your map in such a way that the terrain features line up with your maps features. Get my Land Navigation coursehere. Lets say youre planning a short hike from one point to another. ), Set Your Compass for Your Intended Azimuth. True north and magnetic north are not the same, as stated in Part I. Thanks so much for sharing! 4. While this doesnt technically register as an electronic, were going to treat it like one. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Of course, ignore all of this if youre hiking through the Netherlands or Florida, where hills and, by extension, contour lines are somewhat rare. The instructions on this page might make orienting a map seem a highly technical thing. Now, read the degree marking under the fixed black index line. Flip your compass upside down. With the map level, place the compass . You want to line up your view so the direction of travel arrow is straight ahead. You need to know where youre going before toying with the compass. How Should I Set My GPS and Compass? Tilt it forwards until you can see your sighting arrow. Its not an issue. 3. If youre in the Adirondacks, add 14 degrees to get a correct bearing of 194 degrees. Using the rotating bezel, turn it until the direction of travel arrow lines up with the north arrow. The housing lines should be parallel with the maps vertical grid lines. A compass is a device used for navigation and orientation. Turn the bezel on your compass so that north on the compass points to north on the map. Want to start taking action on the content you read on AoM? We may then use our compass to begin going in the direction we need to go in order to reach our destination. This was developed. Turn your entire body as a unit until your predetermined azimuth falls under the fixed black index line. Youll line up your needle with the tape arrow instead of the arrow on your compass. Though GPS and smartphonesare reliable, its still vital to carry a compass, and know how to use it, as a backup or lifesaving form of navigation. Theyre not traditionally used for camping trips or simple navigation, but if youre serious about prepping, this is a must-have in your EDC bag and bug out bag. Welcome back to the Land Navigation Manual for the Art of Manliness. Compass adjusted for declination. Look at the red needle to see which direction it is pointing. How can you get your point position then? Finally, read the number on the rim of the compass. This video shows how to orient a map with a compass and briefly discusses magnetic declination. Turn your declination-adjusted compass dial so due North is at the index pointer. Orienting your map means aligning it so that north on the map corresponds to north in the terrain and the maps topography correlates to the real-world topography in front of you. He did this for ten days, taking us across numerous waterways and lakes. Place the compass on your map with the edge along a north-south grid line. Now, rotate the map and compass baseplatetogetheruntil the compass needle is boxed in the red orienting arrow (or direction-of-travel lines) on the compass. Turn the compass and the map as a unit until you box the needlei.e., Put Red Fred in the shed. Program, Strengthen Your Tribe: A Report on the Atomic Athlete Vanguard, The Best Riddles for Kids (With Answers! Using the rotating bezel, turn it until the direction of travel arrow lines up with the north arrow. From this diagram, we can see that our compass would point to magnetic north a little over 13 degrees to the right of "straight up" on the map (grid north). Note: This procedure places the fixed black index line of the compass parallel to north-south grid lines of the map. First, use your compass to get a bearing on a peak of Saddle Mountain. Youll see that it shows two arrows when you turn your headset or controllers around to show the new orientation of a map. When you do know exactly where you are in relation to your map, you have your point position.. Turn your entire body as a unit until 066 (062 + 004) degrees falls under your compass's fixed black index line. 2. Conversely, the black end of the compass needle should be pointing south. Lay the map out flat in front of you. Using your protractor or other straight edge, you draw a line from your current position in the direction of where you want to go. Identify where you are on the map and place the compass edge over this location. You cant shoot a bearing on the end point in your terrain since you cant see it. 2. 4. Picture 1: Map Declination. Then, you place your protractor on the map with its center point at your current position, making sure the north-south lines on the protractor line up with the north-south lines on the map. The fundamentals of using a map and compass to find your way around. Looking at the map is an easy way of finding which direction north or east are relative to your current position. Now hold your compass horizontally and point the 'direction-of-travel-arrow' towards the landmark. Once you reach your landmark, align yourself again to make sure youre on the right path. In Part I, we covered how to properly use a compass, how to shootyour bearings, and the best map for navigating: the topo map. Place your compass on your map with the edge of the baseplate parallel to the north-south meridians on the map. You see that its 230 in relation to your location. You discover that it has a bearing of 176. What is the preferred method of using a lensatic compass when reading magnetic azimuths. There you go. All Rights Reserved. Also known as setting the map, orientating helps to relate your position and the landscape around you to the map, therefore making onward navigation more straightforward. Place map on flat surface (not metal) 2. Make sure the direction of travel arrow is pointing to the spot that youre trying to get to. With the map in a horizontal position, take the straightedge on the left side of the compass and place it alongside the north-south grid line with the cover of the compass pointing toward the top . You don't want to hold it crooked, cockeyed, or off level. Another trick for declination when your compass cant adjust for it is to create your own declination arrow out of masking tape and tape it beneath your compass under the correct declination degree hash (This will only work if your compass has a clear base). 8; Page 11 G. LOCATING POSITION USING INTERSECTION 1. Adjustable Declination Compasses. 1. From point A to point B, thats your bearing. Assume youre going on a short trek from one location to another. Thats right Contours are king. But heres where things get tricky: the angle of declination changes depending where you are on the earth. When we dont know where our point is, we have to rely on less precise kinds of orientation based on line or area position: Position of the line. You should then be able to roughly work out which way is north, east south or west using your maps gridlines. But not to you, I trust. All you have to do is shoot a bearing towards the unidentified peak. Or maybe using the sun to help put your map somewhat the right way around. Oncein pre-GPS dayswhile on a canoe trip through the chain of lakes in Canadas Quetico Provincial park, our professional guide expertly got us through about 100 miles of wilderness, without ever using a compass. In this case, it would be 204 (24+180). functional from -50F to 150F. If youre in the Adirondacks, youll want to add 14 so your true bearing would be 194. Dont worry that your red orientating arrow doesnt point exactly map north. To prevent this issue, well tweak our compass to account for declination. The mils are in black, and are the outer measurements on the ring. 3. Method #1. Step 1 Determine the direction of the map of the declination and its value from the declination on the map. Lay the compass on the map, using the straight edge to create a line from your starting point to your destination. As previously stated, orientating your map using visual features is only as good as the visibility on any given day. To find directions from your map, you're going to need a protractor, a special instrument used for measuring angles. If you don't, visit the page just hyperlinked. First things first. Its not as easy to get lost on land without a map and compass. That has the potential to make a significant impact! It typically consists of a magnetized needle that is mounted on a pivot and placed inside a circular housing. The reason contours are king is that they are fixed, at least in the timescales were talking about here. Regardless, let's break it down into several steps: Open the compass cover at a 90-degree angle and then set the lens bracket at a 30-degree angle. 1. This is because technology is fallible, batteries run out, cold kills gadgets and theres always the possibility of dropping a device down a steep slope or into a rushing river.