Compass

[Greg Hyovalti]

I installed a lighted compass on the dash of my 2005 1800 Lund Fisherman. When the compass is on the dash it points south/south east all the time no matter what direction I am facing. I take the compass out of its holder and hold it in my hand away from the dash and it points in the correct direction. I tried to put down several layers of copper tape for shielding but it didn't help. Has anyone experienced this problem or have an idea of what to use for shielding to correct this problem?

[Capt. Don*]

You have magnetic interference, depending on how close the compass is mounted to various electronics, instruments, radios etc. these fields will swing the compass wildly. You need to begin removing items like fishfinders and such until you see a change in the compass heading, continue moving items until the compass heading is close to the true heading. If you can get it close you can fine tune it with the compensating screws, but use a non magnetic screwdriver such as brass. If you can't get any positive results you will possibly need to move the compass to another location. Many times in small metal boats the compass will never be right, the alternative is a fluxgate compass with an electronic heading sensor that you mount remotely in an area free of mag interference and run the cable and display to the helm.

Good Luck