GPS vs. Compass

Descant · 03-26-2016, 09:27 PM

There's a lot of chatter here about various GPS and whichever chip to use. As as a long time boater before GPS, I'm curious what the GPS folks use for back up. We rarely see info here about using a compass and timing runs to get from A to B in the fog. Do people compensate their compass or even use it? At night, from Wolfeboro to the Weirs, you can pretty much see the red mountain top lights related to the Laconia Airport, so there should be no reason for disorientation, but I've never seen reference to these lights or other landmarks for navigation on this site. You really don't need GPS under VFR conditions, and if you're IFR, you need a back up.
What do you use? Please don't tell me you get around using GPS or Bizer when the sun is shining. That's not the point of the question.

03-26-2016, 09:27 PM	#1
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,378 Thanks: 1,353 Thanked 1,628 Times in 1,060 Posts	GPS vs. Compass There's a lot of chatter here about various GPS and whichever chip to use. As as a long time boater before GPS, I'm curious what the GPS folks use for back up. We rarely see info here about using a compass and timing runs to get from A to B in the fog. Do people compensate their compass or even use it? At night, from Wolfeboro to the Weirs, you can pretty much see the red mountain top lights related to the Laconia Airport, so there should be no reason for disorientation, but I've never seen reference to these lights or other landmarks for navigation on this site. You really don't need GPS under VFR conditions, and if you're IFR, you need a back up. What do you use? Please don't tell me you get around using GPS or Bizer when the sun is shining. That's not the point of the question.