If I didn't mention that (I forget, too lazy to check now), one of the standard checks should be interference by moving the compass and double checking readings by doing it twice (as small changes in how you hold each time won't be the same). Not every time, but every time you set out, it confirms you didn't forget there's a radio antenna or something right next to you. I have found stuff like this, lately. Two smaller compasses, my PVS-14 clipon, and my Cammenga wrist compass both went bad (not at the same time) but /seemed/ to be okay. They didn't visibly stick, just read wrong. So the tracking check (I also always check on /every reading/ that the compass is freely moving) was fine, but re-confirming the bearing I got a slightly different reading. So do again in case it was me: different again. Okay, now we have a problem. Turn 180° take a bearing: similar to original reading. Okay! That's deadlined, but I know before I get lost! :) Also heard/had plenty of other fun failures like loosing a bead off your pace counter, then end up quite a ways off your position because you are counting 900m steps! (I made "indestructible" pace beads for this very reason... can't yet find an interference-free, indestructible compass though!)

Thanks! This is intended to be an intro and home lessons because I found the few hours I was given for class and a few more for field work on land nav wasn't enough to get everyone on board, as you said. This helps a little.

i hope so i thought it was me being that i dont have a compass while watch this and u said it takes a couple days to get it bcuz ive seen ppl mark and fire artillery in their head without but aain not in real life but simulated

With 20 years as a Navy Seabee, and serving in four different battalions, I became very adept at land navigation. I have watched tons of KZfaq videos on both compass use and map use. They ALL fall extremely short of actually teaching what is needed. I put together a land navigation curriculum based on how the military teaches it. I had to compact the classroom portion into one day, because no civilian wants to sit through two or three days training. In their minds, it's just a map and a compass. How hard could it be? I only had four people sign up. Only two showed up, and one of those tried to quit before lunch time, saying it was too hard to learn. The other student was having no problems keeping up, so he helped me convince the other guy not to quit. It ended up being a 9 hour day and both students said it was hard to sit through a class that long. We never even made it outside to test what they had learned. I would have needed an additional day. I feel like two days of about 5 to 6 hours, then one day in the field would have worked,...BUT...again, civilians are not a captive audience like military training. Their thoughts are fragmented, and they want to get on with their lives. They do not look at this training as truly life saving, nor do they realize how life enhancing it could be if they would take the time to seriously learn land navigation to it's fullest. They want to pick up a couple of basics and then believe in their minds they know what they're doing. I can read an average book faster than a good topo map. People do not realize how much there is to a map and how to get the most out of it. Nor do they properly know how to use a map and compass together, other than the very basics, which is just enough to be very dangerous. End of rant.

I was thinking the same thing!

Maxwell Vankuiken lmao.

Life, uh uh... finds a way. (with a compass)

Him or Bill Belichick!

I was hearing Smithers.

Glasses for decades generally are not made of steel at all. Metals are weird alloys, with little or no iron content mostly. The few stainless parts (not even all hinges are stainless) have high enough chromium content to not be magnetic, so should not influence your compass. Check if at all worried, but none of mine do.

My spectacles are not 'steel'. They are 'metal' of some kind and do influence all my compasses when close. Additionally, these are not the first pair of spectacles where this has been evident.

For non-energized systems (and we assume you do not have electric glasses), except for specialized magnetic alloys, composites, and ores, only iron or certain iron alloys (plain steel) have magnetic field properties. So: weird. Never encountered or heard of anyone who had this happen before. Best guess is some makers are going away from their weird "glasses alloys" (monel, titanium, and specialized Ti Ni alloys) and to versions of stainless for hinges and other high stress areas, and those have magnetic properties.

No one cares EXACTLY WHAT their specs or any other close object of theirs may consist of. The focus is on anything that might affect a compass reading. The most sensible part of your reply so far is "Check if at all worried". Here's another tip for reading compasses: Before taking a reading, move around a bit, say 10 feet left/right, forwards/backwards, etc. Verify that the readings are not 'sticky' (not by way of a poorly manufactured compass but by way of a closeby external influence). This will help ensure you are not standing, for example, above an underground pipe, concrete rebar (in your driveway?), too close to a car, or even above a magnetic geological feature such as magnetite (or rusty looking ground). Verify your reading is 'reasonable'. If you know where North 'should be', for example, from the time and sun, does the compass reading approximately agree? I have been on ground where none of the above telltale signs was evident yet the compass reading did not agree with the time/sun. The dud reading was caused by a geological feature only evident after moving away multiple tens of meters.

Just like this? With the squared based and everything? Because I have never seen one of those. Didn't know they existed. For all I know, they are rare and collectible, so you should research a bit maybe.

No nothing like this, its round, has no lanyard ring but has the thumb ring like yours. It has no lock, or luminesent dials. Lets say its a really simple version of yours. Ill send ya a PM with a pic if your interested in seeing it.

Jerkabobber Oh I've seen those. Lots for sale on eBay, $20 and up. Not bad, plus light and compact.

Actually did a quick google images look, led me to this one which is exactly like mine. www.collectorfirearms.org/website%20Images/Optics/op-1043.htm

Steven Hoober On that website, its for sale for 175 dollars. Haha, mines in better condition than that one

It IS a different way of thinking. I have encountered (old, when they taught compass) soliders who cannot get their head around a baseplate compass as it seems wrong. But, I tend to personally agree. I carry exclusively Rangers (mirror baseplates) of various types. The tritium on the USGI lensatic is hard to beat for serious night work, though.

I agree. I really like the Ranger style compass and have used one for years. I would really like to learn to use a USGI compass but it seems rather counter intuitive to me. Maybe someday I'll have the time to invest in learning it. This is a great video series! Thank you!

There is no declination adjustment in the USGI lensatic compass. I believe, so you don't accidentally dial it in, and then forget about it. Yes, you have to adjust in your head. Note that the maps provided to US ground forces have a prominent declination chart in the marginal data, so you don't have to know, guess or have the internet, but it's right there to remind you.

All my glasses are plastic framed, with only minor bits of stainless in the hinges, etc. In general, glasses are not made of steel anymore, and when they are they are stainless, or other such non-magnetic alloys, so should not be a problem. A good question in this regard could be: what about helmets back before the PASGT? They were all steel, but they designed the compass at that time, to be sighted like this. Well, they aren't plain old mild steel, but are made of a non-magnetic alloy, which goes by "mangalloy" and other names depending on who made it. And that's a big chunk of steel on your head. If still worried, check. Put the compass on a wooden table or somewhere else with no interference. Bring various things close to it and watch if the needle moves. Try radios (mobile phone if you don't have an HT), batteries, antennas, etc. Lots that is on your torso will interfere, but all the stuff on your head /should/ be good to go.

You know what nevermind. I just looked and saw you had more videos.

Yes! I have a whole video on declination, and though it's a whole 5 minutes on that as a concept, you are in luck: I do it off a DMA map with a USGI compass. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/pN-To5qEz8CceHU.html I have mostly navigated with less than 3° declination, so often blow it off myself, am not as naturally good at it, so need to refresh periodically myself; I am still vaguely astounded at areas where you get these large values, or can walk in a day or two to somewhere with a notably different value even!

@@StevenHoober I am just south of Bristol, TN and found that Johnson City, which is south of me, has a declination of -12° and I am attempting to run a wire through my woods at a 40° heading of the compass. It will be a receiving antenna for my ham radio station. The wire will be about 560' long. Thanks again!

+92luisrod IF you mean just memorize the angle, then that would work but relies on memory and can be slow, especially at night. Once you set the capsule to the right bearing, you can just glance at it and tell if your heading matches or not, then adjust to that. There are compasses without a moving capsule, which would make this impossible, so you'd not be able to use the procedure, but not many of them anymore. If you mean some other procedure, I am not sure what else it could be.

+Steven Hoober yeah actually, I watched a couple more videos and they used a drawn map, different compass but same principals. It made a bit more sense now. You're vid makes a little more sense to me now. I Recommend using it on a map, itll give us a bit more of a visual Thanks

Well, if sighting to get the azimuth to something, hopefully the numbers are not actually moving at that moment! What you are doing then is lining up the graduation ring with a reference on the rotating card. North is the standard reference point. When sighting, the lens allows you to see both the target you are lined up with, and the card/pointer. So, you can line them up. Note (and all this is shown in the video) that this works well even at night, as the tritium on the graduation ring is outboard, while on the north arrow on the card it's inboard enough; they don't overlap, but line up end to end, like this -- so can be very precise (though careful about parallax!) Then, when you need to make sure you are on course, or you want to plot that azimuth to the map for planning, etc. you can lay the compass down, rotate it until the north arrow lines up with the graduation ring line again, and proceed from there. If that's not the question, ask again and I'll see if it makes sense, and happy New Year everyone!

+Sophia Strange Sorry if this is confusing. Check at (for example) 3:06, where the capsule is aligned with the north needle, but that's all pointing off to the left of your direction of travel.

Depends on what you mean. But probably yes: - If loose, bad always. It changes time to time. Poke it carefully right AT the very end where it goes into the housing to make sure it's offset, not actually loose. - If a straight line, but at an angle (not parallel to the sides of the hole it lives in) then it can give different readings depending on exactly where you look through the compass to sight, as you may imagine. - If bent, with a kink in the middle, less bad if you remember as you can often use the kink to orient and always look at the same part of the wire. If it's just off center, but is parallel to the sides... maybe okay. I might be missing some geometry that makes it bad, but it may be okay. OTOH: Depends how good you are and how much precision you insist on. It is very likely not noticeable in practice.

Steven Hoober Thank you very much for your helpful and prompt reply. It is straight but at an angle. It actually doesn't live in a hole. This particular compass has a glued on sighting line, which is probably cause for concern but looks genuine otherwise. I don't mean to bog you down with questions but theres another thing I'm concerned with. The rear rifle sight, if you will, does not line up with the line on the outer surface of the case. This probably adds to my crooked sighting line issue, no?

Steven Hoober Thank you very much for your helpful and prompt reply. It is straight but at an angle. It actually doesn't live in a hole. This particular compass has a glued on sighting line, which is probably cause for concern but looks genuine otherwise. I don't mean to bog you down with questions but theres another thing I'm concerned with. The rear rifle sight, if you will, does not line up with the line on the outer surface of the case. This probably adds to my crooked sighting line issue, no?

Oh, yeah, they are all glued in. Still into a hole, just from the front. Back. Whatever. Anyway, glue can fail, so it can be loose. Some stuff like the prisms on the PVS7/14 compasses are ALWAYS loose and need to be glued back in, for example. If this is loose, you then just clean out the bad glue carefully, line up the wire (with masking tape or something) and pour some epoxy in to re-pot it. Solved! I may have misled you on the consistency thing. My brain may be too full late on Sunday, and it's more like a rifle so needs to all be lined up... I think so. Ignore the previous mentions, and assume everything needs to be centered right. Anyway, I tend to say if the L bracket notch doesn't line up with the ground in groove on the back of the lid, then it's a problem. Not a rare problem, as they are sheet metal and people fold them wrong and step on them or something; no idea how, but I see a lot slightly bent up. No idea the result, as I just redline all those and refuse to let people use them. If issued or you can trade with a friend who doesn't know better, get a better one. Else, try careful pliers work and see if you can get everything twisted back into shape without breaking anything more.

The tip is to never ever buy a new one. For USGI compasses you just want any authentic issue one that isn't dented or bent or broken. Ideal: Tritium illumination. In fact, tritium on new ones is Way Way Too Bright. I like 20 year old ones just fine. Remember, tritium is subject to radioactive decay: half-life means Half Life. It has half the brightness after 10.5 years. Then, half again after another 10.5 years... forever. Many confuse half life with Life, but not the same. Then, research. Cammenga makes the current ones, many others have made (essentially) the same exact design. Stocker & Yale made a lot, mine here is a Sandy 183. Whatever that means. Good rundown of all the makers here: olive-drab.com/od_soldiers_gear_compass_lensatic.php There are also USGI phosphorescent compasses. If you don't go out at night ever, save and get one of these. Or get a UV keychain light and use it to re-glow your GITD paints. Beware knockoffs. They are usually quite bad, so pretty obviously not real.

There are many hidden features and tricks. Hope I helped a little.

Just in case a serious question: Explain. Related to a specific bit of the video or what?

@@StevenHoober If I am totally lost how do I know how to get home? Which direction?

@@williamdavis9943 That's a very big topic. How totally lost? Teleported to the middle of nowhere, or more like: lost in the woods, but you know in what region you are, just have lost direction, orientation? The usual solution is planning. Before setting out, you have a general idea where things are, and you set catch points or emergency azimuths. An emergency azimuth brings you to a large linear feature you cannot miss. Ideally you can get there without compass, as long as you use basic skills (sun direction, the pick a terrain feature like a hilltop, walk in a straight line to that) even if off by 30°. If you walk far enough, you'll get to a road, a river, a coastline, etc. Then you work your way back to something else, to something else to get home. Big features cross other features, etc. You can also shortcut that by knowing waterways and how gravity works. The road you came in on crossed a bridge, and you are in the wilderness on that side of the watershed, so you go downhill to water, follow that to bigger water, etc. till a road, walk the road to where you parked (or civilization, etc). Both of these, even if long marches and inconvenient, keep you most of all from second guessing, and changing directions or searching. People found dead after being lost in the woods are found to go in circles a lot. Don't do that. Go one way, or (esp if you can't find a reference to go in a straight line) go downhill /always/, and you can't go in circles.

@@StevenHoober Much of this would work. You are still assuming many things.

@@williamdavis9943 Yup. Because I have to. If you have specific scenarios, share them instead.