my phone compass point in a different direction,why?

[Ming the Merciless]

Is it necessary to spend a significant amount to get a compass that won't suffer from interference?

just hold compass away from bike frame. If frame is carbon no issues

 

[Ming the Merciless]

As said, your phone calculates direction from GPS readings

Not all. Many phones have 3D sensors for sensing Earth’s magnetic field and can give magnetic north when stationary. Certainly the case with my iphone,

 

[C R]

just hold compass away from bike frame. If frame is carbon no issues

Aluminium frame should be fine too.

 

[fossyant]

Not all. Many phones have 3D sensors for sensing Earth’s magnetic field and can give magnetic north when stationary. Certainly the case with my iphone,

I'll have to see what my Samsung S23 Ultra has then !

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I think the cheaper phone (like mine) tend to just use the GPS to estimate it

The more expensive ones might have a proper sensor

 

[C R]

I think the cheaper phone (like mine) tend to just use the GPS to estimate it

The more expensive ones might have a proper sensor

The phones that have a magnetometer also use the accelerometer to determine which way is down and the GPS to determine the offset from true north. The compass apps use a combination of the three inputs to show the needle on the screen, hopefully pointing the right way.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I have pretty much always lived near a cost of some kind

when I was a teenager I developed a concept that if I was lost then navigate by the sun
and if there is no sun due to clouds the head downhill and you will find some water and then you know where to go
well - a choice of left or right

I would be b*****d in the middle of the country!!!


When I used to go walking in mountain areas and the like then I always carried a compass
never needed one but at least I had it just in case

 

[Tenkaykev]

My friends are always impressed with my ability to find a pub, especially when we are in uncharted territory. A quick tip is that if you're near a Catholic Church there'll be a pub within 50 metres😁

 

[DaveReading]

As stated by @ebikeerwidnes, the compass on your phone isn't really a compass. It uses GPS to calculate your position and, when moving, the change in position to calculate your direction of travel which is transposed into a bearing for display. When stationary it knows your position but can't tell which way you're facing. Most phone compasses will change heading quite wildly - maybe up to 30 degrees - after a few moments of being stationary and take a second or two to correct itself when you begin to move again.

Same principle as when you look at planes at the airport on the flight trackers. When they stop in the queue for the runway, the tracker has no way of knowing which way they are pointing.

 

[rogerzilla]

Alsi explains why Google Maps is terrible for walking: it never knows which way you're facing at the start.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Alsi explains why Google Maps is terrible for walking: it never knows which way you're facing at the start.

Google maps annoyingly no longer shows a compass when in Streetview. You can end up heading wrong way when searching for something in streetview.

 

[presta]

According to Samsung my A16 5G has a geomagnetic sensor, but the compass only responds to the gyro, accelerometer, and gps, even if I remove it from the case that has a magnetic clasp. Gemini is telling me that Google automatically switches the magnetometer off if it senses that it's being interfered with.

 

[Dadam]

Alsi explains why Google Maps is terrible for walking: it never knows which way you're facing at the start.

Yes also in the car, it can get confused by which direction you're facing for a few seconds, long enough to make you set off in the wrong direction.

 

[DRM]

That's why you can't beat using an O.S map & Compass, once you've got it orientated, it's easy to work out your next move, and the batteries don't go flat either

 

[Ming the Merciless]

That's why you can't beat using an O.S map & Compass, once you've got it orientated, it's easy to work out your next move, and the batteries don't go flat either

I did have an OS map blow away in the wind on Kinder Scout when a teenager. Fortunately we managed to chase it down.