The only thing my E420 is missing is a compass, no, i dont want those chinsey suction cup ones you can buy at autozone, but does anyone have a link to a real nice compass that looks good in our cars? Did MB ever put one in the rearview mirror like in my Land Rover? I dont want GPS just a nice compass that i can see in the dark
There are dozens of them out there, just google and start choosing.
However, I'd have to caution you against the cheaper generic "electronic" compasses; they have to be calibrated before you can use them and I've heard nothing but complaints from people that have them. Seems shielding and electronics in modern cars tend to play havoc with them. The floating ball-in-liquid kind appear to still be the best for automotive use if you're just adding one, but if you jump into the premium digital/LCD ones they seem to work fine (and now you're into the $60-80-100 range and to me they still look chintzy).
FWIW, I have a small portable battery-powered GPS device I use for hiking, etc., and it's an awesome compass. (No roads, of course, but directionals are perfect and if you have a lattitude/longitude you can input it and get an arrow pointing you that way...it's up to you to find the right roads, though.) Plus with GPS you don't have to worry about fluctuations in the earth's gravitational field or deflections from magnetic north, etc. I bought in on sale for $75 or so a few years back and it works great.
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
__________________ If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice. Meister Eckhart
When you learn from your own mistakes, that's experience.
When you learn from the mistakes of others, that's wisdom.
When you fail to learn from any mistakes, that's government.
Plus with GPS you don't have to worry about fluctuations in the earth's gravitational field or deflections from magnetic north, etc.
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
Probably those 500' cliffs north of Russian River?
There lot of good boat compasses on the market, but they usually are quite big. Check any marina.
My father has one of those electronic gizmos, that by my estimate is like 60 degree off.
I have couple of those suction cup compasses, that I never used in the car. Nothing beats GPS. Even the cheap one.
FWIW, I have a small portable battery-powered GPS device I use for hiking, etc., and it's an awesome compass. (No roads, of course, but directionals are perfect and if you have a lattitude/longitude you can input it and get an arrow pointing you that way...it's up to you to find the right roads, though.) Plus with GPS you don't have to worry about fluctuations in the earth's gravitational field or deflections from magnetic north, etc. I bought in on sale for $75 or so a few years back and it works great.
Take care and enjoy the ride,
Greg
Greg, can you give me the brand of GPS you are speaking of? I just want a simple one
I bought a Magellan Explorist 100, they're all over on-line for around $80, check bizrate etc. Any of the decent small handheld units will work, Lowrance has one for about $70.
These aren't the prettiest things in the world so if you're using it all the time that's a different issue, I only used mine (at least in the car) when I was in an unfamiliar area, etc. Saved my bacon a couple of times.
) Plus with GPS you don't have to worry about fluctuations in the earth's gravitational field or deflections from magnetic north, etc. I bought in on sale for $75 or so a few years back and it works great.
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