Compass

never had used a compass for driving a car in my past 40 yrs. of driving.. in my area if you want to go to the West Bank you trave. north.. if you want to go someplace: its either up town or downtown, lake or river direction.. i dont think many people will know what actual direction they are going with a compass in my area.. compass is not a big seller in this area..... sounds like the guy dont know what he is talking about or is just pulling your leg.....

When I travel I carry a hand compass with me. Especially when I fly to a new place and have to rent a car. It saved me a lot of time more than once when by glancing at the compass I realized I was driving in the completely opposite direction of where I was supposed to go. Oh Oh, pulled over, pulled a map and rerouted my directions.

Daniel Montreal

Read your Ford manual. Before you perform reverse circles ask you friend if you have to bury a potato eyes up under a full moon as well.

It is true. The following is from the 2002 Explorer Owner's Guide:

Usually, when something affects the compass readings, the compass will correct itself after a few days of operating your vehicle in normal conditions. If the compass still appears to be inaccurate, a manual calibration may be necessary. Refer to Compass calibration adjustment.

Most geographic areas (zones) have a magnetic north compass point that varies slightly from the northerly direction on maps. This variation is four degrees between adjacent zones and will become noticeable as the vehicle crosses multiple zones. A correct zone setting will eliminate this error. Refer to Compass zone adjustment.

Compass zone adjustment

1. Determine which magnetic zone you are in for your geographic location by referring to the zone map .
2. Turn ignition to the ON position.
3. Locate compass sensor mounted at base of mirror.
4. Insert a paperclip into the small hole on the bottom of the compass sensor or press the button on the top of the compass module until ZONE appears in the instrument cluster display.
5. Release pressure on the paperclip or button and then slowly press it down again.
6. Continue to press until ZONE appears in the instrument cluster display, then release. The display should show the current zone number.
7. Press until the desired zone number appears. The display will flash and then return to normal operation. The zone is now updated.

Compass calibration adjustment

Perform this adjustment in an open area free from steel structures and high voltage lines:

For optimum calibration, turn off all electrical accessories (heater/air conditioning, wipers, etc.) and make sure all vehicle doors are shut.

1. Start the vehicle.
2. Locate compass sensor mounted at base of mirror.
3. Insert a paperclip into the small hole on the bottom of the compass sensor or press the button on the top of the compass module until ZONE appears in the instrument cluster display. Continue to hold down until ZONE disappears and CAL is displayed (approximately eight seconds) and release.
4. Drive the vehicle slowly (less than 5 km/h [3 mph]) in circles until CAL indicator turns off (4?5 complete circles).
5. The compass is now calibrated.

Apparently you are not married, my wife is always telling me were to go. North/south highways are even numbered and east/west highways have odd numbered. I E route 66 you runs east/west. route 65 runs north/south ;)

mike hunt

Daniel wrote:

i am married, but in this area no one uses a compass... you can tell if the car next to you is from out of town if it has a compass... no one here uses them and has no need for them....the whole county(parish-lousiana) is a city, new orleans,,, no country road, no back roads all streets with numbers on the houses... and yes my wife always tells what to do, but after i do something it was like: you should ahve taken that street, should have turned here, should have done that and that... i then tell here when she drives that i will come along and do the back seat driving for here... that usually shuts her up...

For sale: Britannica encyclopedia as new complete set. Reason for sale: No need anymore. Just got married. New wife knows everything.

lol

Your example (i.e. route 66 east/west) is correct. Your explanation is

180 out. Or, maybe, you were referring to the placement of the lanes and not the direction of travel. ;)

So that's what that guy was doing at 2:30 A.M. this morning at the end of my block! :)

Certainly there are times when one is traveling on an east/west highway that they can actually be headed in a north/south direction. If you get on I-80 on the west coast you will end up in New York city. If you get on I-80 in Louisiana you will end up in Canada. The point is if you turn right or left onto an even numbered highway, at some point in time, you will be east or west of the point at which you entered that highway, not north or south. I would you suggest that you look at a map of the US interstate highway system and observe the phenomenon for yourself

mike hunt

"Fairly an>

Ben said that north/south highways are even numbered, and east/west highways are odd numbered.

Last time I checked, the number 5 as in I=5, which goes from Mexico to Canada, was an odd number. And the number 10 as in I-10, which goes from the Pacific to the Atlantic, was an even number. But what the hell do I know about phenomena?

The post also said "I. E. route 66 runs east/west, route 65 runs north/south." Quite obvious what was meant by the post. Me thinks someone just wanted to nit pick.

mike hunt

"Farley @n>

What the hell do I know about id est? LOL