Going on an independent trip, each tourist carefully thinks out his route. In order not to deviate from the selected path, navigation tools are needed. Compass Andrianova (Adrianova) is a cheap, reliable and compact tool that helps a traveler navigate the terrain.
Analog vs. Digital Navigation Devices
In the modern world, which was flooded with all kinds of devices and gadgets, tourists often prefer an electronic GPS navigator instead of a paper map and a compass, completely forgetting that the socket for charging the battery remains at home, and the satellite signal may disappear at the right time. An accurate and current topographic map in combination with a compass is still the main orientation tool when crossing the wilderness.
Moreover, special competitions are held in the so-called orienteering, where participants demonstrate their abilities to plot a route and follow it exactly, using only a map and a compass.
Varieties of Compasses
First of all, compasses are electronic and magnetic.
Electronic ones include: radio compasses (a reference point is any source of radio waves), electronic travel compasses (a reference point is the magnetic fields of our planet, the direction of which are determined by sensors on microcircuits) and GPS / GLONAS navigators (a reference point is signals and the position of orbiting satellites). These are the most accurate and most advanced tools for determining the position of an object in space.
Representatives of the next group - magnetic compasses - have been used by man for many millennia. For the first time, a product made of magnetic iron ore, pointing exactly one end to the South, and the other to the North, was invented in China more than two thousand years ago and was called "sonany" - "leading the South."
The magnetic ones include tourist (including Andrian compass ), military, geological, gyroscopic, astronomical and compasses-compasses. They all operate on a single principle, are built according to similar schemes and differ only in some additions that make this or that type unique and determine the scope of application of this device.
A typical representative of his group is the Andrian compass. Invented back in the last century, this navigation tool is still actively used by tourists around the planet.
Compass Andrianova (photo, creation story)
In 1907, the talented Russian engineer, military cartographer Vladimir Nikolaevich Adrianov presented the first military compass to the command. Simplicity of design, reliability and accuracy brought the invention unprecedented popularity. In honor of the author, the device was called Adrianov’s compass. In subsequent years, up to our time, the inventor's name was often distorted by adding the letter “n”. So one of the traveler’s most popular tools received an additional, colloquial name “ Andrian compass ”.
Compass Design and Operation
The device of the Andrianov compass has not undergone dramatic changes over the past century. This magnetic compass, according to modern classification, transferred to the tourist group, works on the principle of interaction of fields created by a permanent magnet with magnetic fields of our planet.
This tool is a solid round case, covered with transparent glass, inside of which a magnetic needle rotates on the needle, the ends of which are marked in different colors - red and blue. The edging of the case is made in the form of a dial and is complemented by a rotating ring, on which there are two sights. The device is equipped with a leather strap with clasps like a watch. In the side of the case there is a mechanism for fixing the arrow - an arrestor.
The Andrian compass has an internal chamber filled with air. In modern compasses, instead of air, an anti-freezing fluid is used, which creates a viscous medium, which makes the arrow movements smooth and inert.
The basic principles of orientation
Before you start using the compass, you need to understand some theoretical fundamentals.
Four main directions are traditionally used in navigation: North, South, West, East. To more accurately determine the direction of movement, the concept of "azimuth" is introduced.
Azimuth is the value of the angle, measured in degrees, clockwise from the North to a given direction. In order to move from the current position to the final point (point) of the route, the tourist must know the azimuth and distance to the point, as well as determine the position of the North. The first two values must be known in advance or can be determined on the map, and the compass will help to find the North.
Practical use of the Adrianov compass
Before you start your trip, you need to remember how to use Andrianov’s compass . First, you need to extend the arrestor, thereby freeing the magnetic needle of the device. Then you need to position the compass in a horizontal plane. After several rotations, the arrow will slowly stop and its end, painted in blue, will point to the North. Next, it is necessary to rotate the case of the device until the blue arrow mark points to the mark of the dial “C”. Thus, we have identified the main cardinal points: “C” is the North, “Yu” is the South, “Z” is the West, and “B” is the East.
Now is the time to determine the azimuth. First we determine the price of the division of the dial scale of our compass. The whole circle is 360 degrees. It is necessary to find adjacent labels with numbers and subtract the smaller from the larger number. The result must be divided by the number of divisions (segments) between the numbers. For example: on the dial there are values 15 and 30, between them there are 3 segments (divisions). The price of one division is (30-15) / 3 = 5 degrees.
Now, from the zero point (“C”, North), we postpone the required azimuth clockwise by rotating the ring with the sights. For example, to postpone the azimuth of 75 degrees, you need to rotate the ring from the zero mark by 15 divisions clockwise.
We check the position of the arrow, it should still point with a blue mark to “C”. Now, looking through the slots of the sights as a sight, we know for sure the direction of movement along a given azimuth.
Adrianova’s compass was and will be the most reliable and affordable tool for any traveler. Improving orientation skills using a map and compass, you can confidently move in the wild without the risk of getting lost.