I have such a compass for about 20 years. It is a great and very handy compass and very accurate. But be careful! If you are wearing glasses that are fitted in a metal frame you can get a misreading of up to 5 degrees because the compass is very close to the frame depending on the kind and amount of metal. I found this by pure accident in a case where I knew what readings I should have when I demonstrated the compass to a friend.
At 08:47 13-2-99 -0800, you wrote: -----Original Message/Oorspronkelijk bericht-------------- >Boys (AND girls!) > >My new toy arrived, that is Mini Avio 2000 Compass that I could not help >but order on the night I was replying to compass related postings. It is >absolutely lovely and very easy to use. It is marine compass filled with >liquid and they do not mention anything about its resistance to low >pressure so I will not take it to the mountains. On the other hand they >probably ship those by air and cargo compartments probably are not >pressurized so who knows. > >As a marine compass it has rotating compass rose rather than magnetic >needle. Its optical system is a prism-lense single piece of glass focused >at infinity. So during bearings you keep the thing to your cheek and look >at the object while seeing the appropriate part of the rose in the prism >and take very accurate reading. > >So if you have about $100 to spend do not hesitate. Celestaire sells French >made ones but I think other companies sell similar pieces as well. If you >cannot spend $100 at this time then the best solution is $10 Scandinavian >make. Do not take the ones with mirrors but the simpliest ones and learn >how to use them efficiently. > >Slawek > > >Slawek Grzechnik >32 57.4'N 117 08.8'W >http://home.san.rr.com/slawek > ----------------------------------------------------------------- Thibaud Taudin-Chabot, home email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (attachments max 500kB, in case of larger attachments contact me)