We learn compass orienteering

When going on a trip, hiking in the mountains or in an ordinary hike to the forest for mushrooms, do not forget to take a compass with you. This small and inexpensive device will greatly facilitate your orientation on the terrain, will help to correctly draw up a route and not get lost in an unfamiliar place for you.

Compass more than a thousand years ago, invented the resourceful inhabitants of China in order to easily navigate the desert. The invention was so good that it has come down to our days, having undergone the slightest changes. At the same time, working with a compass is absolutely not difficult, and the compass orientation itself is much easier to orient on the stars or moss in trees.

The compass is quite simple. It is a round box with a movable lid and a transparent top, under which is visible the scale and the moving arrow. The ends of the arrow are often painted in different colors - red and blue. One end (most often blue) shows north, and the second - to the south. The scale has four main directions - north, east, south and west. The sides of the world are most often designated by the initial letters of their names in Russian or English (C, B, J, Z or N, E, S, W). In smaller strokes a scale is drawn. In compasses, the scale developed by Andrianov is most often used. It has 120 divisions, each of which has a value of 3 degrees.

In order to start orienting on the compass, it is necessary to combine the movable arrow pointing to the north, with the position "north" on the scale, and then follow the necessary route. So, if you know the azimuth (value in degrees), you need to set the scale on the scale to the value "north" clockwise. If you have a specific landmark (elevation, road, tree), go to it, having previously determined the azimuth so that you do not have difficulties when returning back. Each time, changing the direction of movement, mark for yourself on the map (or write down on paper) the landmark and the azimuth of the movement.

When mastering the compass orientation, it is necessary to know that each locality has its own magnetic declination. This is the amount by which the value of the compass reading is rejected in a given locality. Deviations are considered significant if they are already more than three degrees. The magnitude of the magnetic declination changes with time and is indicated in the topographic maps in the "legends" section. And if as the initial data of the route you are given azimuth, specify whether it is true (in accordance with the readings without errors) or magnetic.

In addition, some of the objects around you can somewhat complicate your orientation on the compass or even make it impossible. These are large accumulations of iron, railways, places with natural magnetic anomalies, power lines. Do not advise using a compass during a thunderstorm.

Use the compass best by placing it on a horizontal surface or keeping it in a horizontal position in the arms at shoulder level. When walking, use a brake. This is a latch that locks the compass needle when not in use. The brake protects the needle from loosening and demagnetizing.

Using the compass for orientation develops observance and attentiveness, just as walking helps promote general health of the body and strengthens the heart.

Travel on foot, and the compass will help you not to go astray.