Digital Compass

[SUCHY]

Is there a somekind of compass softwere form Palm OS? Something that will show where North is.

[jaffab]

Two options....

1) You download some astromonomy software (such as PLANETERIUM) which does a 'align yourself with stars and there is north' thing or

2) Buy a sat-nav GPS system. Viamichaliin mapsonic has this built in (unless you are stationary for more than 3 minutes), it looses which way you are facing.

[Tracker00]

third option...

download RiseSet at http://www.40-below.com/palm/#rise

there's an arrow that you align with the sun/moon and that basically calculates NSWE by the position of the sun/moon.

[Cyker]

Thanks for that Tracker, it's pretty nifty ;)

Here's another one which I currently use which uses the same sort of principle (i.e. enter longitude and latitude, point at sun and voila - North ;)):

Sun Angle - http://la.znet.com/~gregbell5/

[Unregistered]

actually, just goto www.gpspilot.com

they make a compass and other gps mapping software

[SUCHY]

Originally posted by Unregistered
actually, just goto www.gpspilot.com

they make a compass and other gps mapping software

Great program, but a external GPS antena is needed. In the demo I saw the selection on GPS antenas (by bluetooth, MS...).

Where can I get a MS GPS antena?
Ebay does not have it.

[lxk8745]

I don't have a problem finding north when there is the Sun - just check the time and figure out where north is. The bigger problem is when:

1. at night, when there are not many stars (and therefore cannot see the constellations)
2. on a rainy day
3. underground

I wonder if there is a palm solution for #1? You could input the latitude, longtitude, date and time - point to the moon and you get a north arrow.
This might be interesting, but I haven't seen anything like it yet.

I can't see how you could get a north for #2 or #3 without a GPS.

[lxk8745]

Hmmm.... I just read more about RiseSet - maybe it does what I suggested? I'll have to try it out.

[Tracker00]

ya riseset does let you input the long/lat so that you can find the directions with the moon

[lxk8745]

I do wish that the interface were a bit simpler.

[Ronbot]

Or, use Sun Compass (http://www.ive-software.com/sun-compass-palm.php3). I haven't compared it to SunAngle or RiseSet, so I don't know which is best.

[jackson]

Thanks to All:

This is a great thread, with FreeWare programs too.

Many thanks to you who posted these goodies.

Now if the overcast would just lift so I could play with these new toys ...

Jackson

[Unreguser]

Use the old chinese method.
Magnetize a small sewing needle and place it carefully on a glass of water and it will float on top of the water .Let it slowly point to the north. The needle can be taped to the bottom of your pda and use it to do a soft or hard reset prn.

[mrklaw]

This item http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/navigator-review.html was available for the old Palms, but the company doesn't seem to make any PDA accessories anymore.

[RyanBruner]

You could always just look for moss on the trees. If you really want your PDA to do it...get one that has a camera and take a photo of the tree first. ;-)