These maps cover 7.5 minutes of longitude and latitude and vary between 49 and 70 square miles in coverage, dependent on the location. Today one can get the declination of any location in the US at this website Mapsįor decades the “gold standard” for backpacking maps has been the 7.5 minute US Geological Survey (USGS) Topographical Maps. Years ago, before the Internet, many people would discard old maps and purchase new ones with current and more accurate declination information. Fact is you cannot accurately navigate without compensating for magnetic declination. No one challenged me or questioned the method, which was surprising because if one is expert at map and compass it should have been obvious that the procedure I explained was flawed. Picture courtesy of Wikipedia Ī few years ago I was in a trolling mood and on a backpacking forum I stated that knowing declination was not needed and proceeded to lay out a procedure on how to navigate without using declination. This difference between True North and Magnetic North is known as magnetic declination. The North Pole (true north) is the point where all the lines converge in the upper right of the picture. The picture below shows how the magnetic north (blue line) has moved since the 1590, and since 1904 it has been steadily moving in a northwesterly direction. Today, 40 years later, it points 11.63 degrees east of True North. For example, when I moved to Palm Springs in 1977 my compass pointed 14 degrees east of True North. Instead, they point to Magnetic North, which is constantly changing. There are very few locations in the US that a compass will point to True North. Your Compass Probably Doesn’t Point North Since my blog doesn’t have the ability to post comments and only handful of people have my email address, there won’t be the typical debate on my blog this subject might generate.īut first, let’s talk about the North Pole, magnetic declination and then look at some common compasses and how they might be used. In this post the protractor will be presented as a serious tool that backpackers may want to consider, and for those who have used and then abandoned a map protractor, perhaps a re-visit might be worthwhile. One piece of navigation equipment I rarely see in use by backpackers is a map protractor. Most backpackers bring a map and compass whether or not they know how to really use it. Of course, with practice you can use a map and compass to figure out your location if you do get lost. We need to keep in mind that the goal of using a map and compass is to always know where you are, not figure out your location because you are lost. Some of the backup maps and compasses in use are less than optimal and in a no-shit-need-to-have situation might be poor options (think button sized compass and a large scale general map). Many of the electronic persuasion carry and map and compass as a backup, which means duplicate items to do the same task, meaning unnecessary weight. Then there is the fact electronic solutions (GPS and smart phones) can fail or end up with a dead battery. Nowadays the subject includes GPS units, smart phones, base plate compass vs. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.I am going to show you how to navigate quicker and more accurately with a map and any compass, by using a map protractor.įew subjects elicit more debates among hikers and backpackers than the subject of map and compass. He interrogated prisoners of war and civilian witnesses, and participated in fact finding missions to document and prepare evidence for war crimes trials. Following Germany’s surrender in May, 2nd Lt. A skilled photographer, he took snapshots of the camp and other events of his military tour. On April 11, 1945, the unit liberated Dora-Mittelbau/ Nordhausen concentration camp and Rudolph witnessed the horrific conditions. As the unit advanced through France, Belgium, and into Germany, Sichel interrogated those captured. In July 1944, Sichel, now Chief Interrogator, Interrogation of Prisoners of War Team 13, landed on Utah Beach in France, where his unit was attached to the 104th Infantry, the Timberwolf Division. In April 1943, he enlisted in the army and was sent to Camp Ritchie for military intelligence training. In May 1936, unable to return to Germany from England, Sichel went to the US. The protractor is used with a military map with preprinted gridlines to help a soldier figure out location and gauge distance. Plastic military protractor with 3 right angle map coordinators used by Rudolph Sichel, a Jewish refugee from Frankfurt, Germany, who served in the US Army in Europe from July 1944 to June 1946.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |