jason Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I have yet to get a decent setup for a usable night compass. I have attempted the little yellow compass and stuffing a few of the small glow sticks under them, or a mini flashlight and that didn't pan out so well in conditions. I have attempted the Seattle sports purpose "built" night compass: https://www.seattles...5&idcategory=88 I liked it, it's just not well built, the insides get wet and die after the first use and the plastic cracks with just a little UV exposure. (Keep away from it). I currently have a Ritchie kayak compass that I am looking to rig up for night paddling: http://www.ritchiena...5F-C92F268E72FD I am thinking of breaking out eagle and designing a PCB to mount the LED's on that could be hooked to the compass with double sided tape. I was thinking of off boarding the batteries to keep them away from the compass. It looks like I can get 10 5cm x 10cm board, printed and drilled and shipped: http://www.seeedstud....html?cPath=185 I am looking at a microchip voltage regulator, as that should help with the run time and providing more consistent light. http://www.microchip...ocName=en547080 My thought is after I have this all soldered up and tested I would coat the board LEDs and all in west systems epoxy to keep the salt water from killing it. I would remote the batteries in a small pelican box and the only switch would be in the battery box. My real question is has anybody tried something like this? Will a board coated with west systems holdup and stay dry? Do I need to cover it in some glass to give it more structure? Does anybody have a better compass that I can just purchase that works for night paddling? (My Silva P70 works great during the day). Thanks -Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyork Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Does anybody have a better compass that I can just purchase that works for night paddling? (My Silva P70 works great during the day). Thanks -JasonI hope I'm not hijacking your thread by suggesting a simple and cheap ($3.10) alternative set-up that worked perfectly during a 2-mile, pitch black/foggy nite nav. I purchased a $3 battery-operated white-light glow stick (off/on/flash modes, sylvania I think) at some job lot store. Perhaps radio shack or equivalent has a similar product, or use a standard sized, snap-to-activate, party glo-stick (have not tested colors for either type of glow stick). The included tether is wrapped around the deck line for security. Adhere a strip of duct tape or tin-foil ($0.10) parallel to the long axis of the light that will obliterate 3/4 of the light cylinder, leaving a light window facing the compass. Tape the ends of the cylinder to the deck. The assemble time is ~3 min. Another thought that came to my engineering brain was an aluminum individual cigar case that could be slotted, then drop in the glowstick. Or this? http://www.elighters.com/vcase2070.html Pictures here: https://picasaweb.go...830541647780498 https://picasaweb.go...830459907832930 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Allen Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Jason-No answer to your explicit question, but what was the problem with the yellow Suunto? I use that with a Princeton tech Pilot light (watch battery size disk light) velcroed to the bungee underneath to provide illumination and mount the whole thing just in front of my knees. The amount of metal in the light is small, so the error I get is less than that from orienting the compass on the desk.Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I have had good results with the Suunto strap on compass. . I stuffed a couple of little glow sticks inside and applied gorilla tape across the bottom; crude, but holds the glow sticks in. I have seen Gary's rig: when he set off for home after dark from my campsite on Squam Lake after dinner . It looks pretty simple and effective. I would wonder about it holding onto the deck in conditions, but the setup is good and just finding a way to more securely mount the light would be the only issue. I imagine some sort of permanent mount could be fashioned pretty easily. But the light definitely illuminates the recessed deck compass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyork Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 .... Gary's rig....... I would wonder about it holding onto the deck in conditions,Me too, though highly unlikely for me to paddle at nite in "conditions"; will give it a dry (wet?) test run during daylight, in "conditions". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 Jason- No answer to your explicit question, but what was the problem with the yellow Suunto? I use that with a Princeton tech Pilot light (watch battery size disk light) velcroed to the bungee underneath to provide illumination and mount the whole thing just in front of my knees. The amount of metal in the light is small, so the error I get is less than that from orienting the compass on the desk. Phil I had attempted my yellow Suunto with a "Petzl e+Lite Emergency Headlamp" taped under it on my last trip to the UK and it was 90+ deg off at one point where I was being asked to keep a bearing. It was nice and bright and was OK when I tested it in Linekin Bay before the trip. It wasn't working in big conditions and now I don't trust it. Stuffing the mini glow sticks under my Suunto was never bright enough for me to read it. I need something closer than the P70 at night, thus having something closer to my shins would be more ideal. I like your setup but when I paddle I don't normally bring my glasses and at night I would never be able to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyork Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Though untested on the water, the compass on my IPhone 5, looks to be the most promising tool for night-nav. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martinsen Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 This video has been making the rounds for a few years. Built one a few winters ago but have yet to try it out. I should get it out on a day paddle to verify the accuracy. A big bright cheap digital compass sounds great for the job, especially if it was waterproof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Bought the red light after watching the video several times but haven't taken the next step to buy the Suunto compass yet. I am curious about compass deviation caused by the light's battery. Like Leon says, if it occurs, one could determine the deviation with another compass and keep that in mind when using the night-compass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 (edited) Jason, of course your compass was way off, when you put that (electrical) lamp near it in the UK! <Any> electricity anywhere near a compass is going to cause errors (sometimes huge, as you apparently discovered) -- this is why aircraft have a "compass correction card" adjacent to the magnetic compass and it is renewed annually. Ferrous materials, electrical circuitry will make for unreliability and there is b*gger-all you can do about it, so I <fear> that your plan is doomed from the outset. During 5-star training we all used the small chemical light-stick technique satisfactorily enough... Edited August 25, 2016 by Pintail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martinsen Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Insert joke about Lucas electronics and warm beer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEL Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 1 hour ago, John Martinsen said: Insert joke about Lucas electronics and warm beer... Are you referring to Darth Lucas, Prince of Darkness? Ed Lawson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhabich Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 3 hours ago, John Martinsen said: This video has been making the rounds for a few years. Built one a few winters ago but have yet to try it out. I should get it out on a day paddle to verify the accuracy. A big bright cheap digital compass sounds great for the job, especially if it was waterproof. I built one of these and it works well. I plan on building a 2nd one for Julie as I now have the parts for the 2nd one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted August 27, 2016 Share Posted August 27, 2016 Doing the night portions on Watertribe events the Princeton Tec Point light (6/12 lumen) clipped to the headband of my main headlamp is bright enough to illuminate my chart and see the Suunto or Brunton 58 compass on my deck but no so dazzling as to kill my night vision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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