Compass Accuracy Question

[jefboyardee]

I

 

[jefboyardee]

Okay, there’s no question mark up there, so here’s two...

Do compass apps need GPS turned on to work?

If so, why does the above app work without it?

 

[hstroph]

I’ve tried a zillion compass apps. Some never seem to work, some only work after I do the figure-of-eight, some demand that GPS be on, some demand it even when it’s already turned on.

But a few, like Tiny Compass, seem to work rock-steady regardless of what I do. This one doesn’t even mention GPS, doesn’t even have settings to futz with. I just launch it, with GPS and 3G turned off, and it pops right up. ,,,

I've been using precision tools for over 1/2 century, and highly commend you for your question. Most people seem to feel that if a tool tells them something then it must be right. Especially since the advent of LED output in the '70s, most people feel that if a display gives them 4 decimal digits of precision then that's pretty damn good.

It's somewhat disturbing to find that most people, unlike yourself, never question (or calibrate, to be precise) the accuracy of their instrumentation against a known standard. So I find myself interested in this compass app and your question.

The very first thing that strikes me is the app page, which displays two compass faces, one of which is labelled "134

 

[Harry2]

Okay, there

 

[jefboyardee]

New question: Poking around in settings, I discovered that the one I liked, even when off, was using 8% of the battery, all day long. Figures. So now I’m trying others, and they all do it! Not always 8%, but something. Whassup with that? Is it in all of them, even though I never noticed until now?

 

[dmoss74]

most gps/compass errors i've ever encountered are hardware based. the iphone 3gs if updated to the ipad bb 06.15.xx lost gps functionality. the samsung music players compass is totally whacked out. they KNOW this, but don't tell you that. i wanted to use one as a stand alone gps, since i bought navigon app, but could never get it to work.

my atrix 4g has a software error with google maps. if i update maps, the gps will never get a fix. it only gets you about 1600 meters close, which in no way cuts it for driving. but it works fine with navigon and no data card.

 

[jefboyardee]

I’m not asking about accuracy now, but about their constant battery use.

edit: It could be that since the apps are just displaying the phone’s internal compass reading, that percentage doesn’t mean anything; the built-in is using that anyway but not admitting it. The other clue is that the percentage wanders up and down – probably just reflecting that the other services are going down and up.

But it does seem to be a hair off, now that you mention it. For me, a hair off is close enough for getting across town.