How to Clock a Compass
Anyone can lose their way, whether it be on a hike, out to sea in small boat or trying to find your way in an unfamiliar city. No all people carry compasses to find their way out of a dilemma. Fortunately, many people carry wristwatches, and if the watch has an analog face, it can be used to determine the compass points and lead you in the right direction. A piece of paper with the picture of a watch face can also assist in finding the compass directions. Turning a clock into a compass can be accomplished by an ordinary person faced with directional questions.
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Instructions
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Look at the current time on your watch and subtract one hour if you are experiencing daylight-savings time during the summer months. Keep that new standard time in mind. If you are in the midst of winter, you do not need to adjust the watch for the standard time.
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Place a small stick in the ground to function as a pointer. Hold your watch in a horizontal position, like at waist level with the face pointing up. Observe the shadow line of the stick under the sun. This will work on an overcast day but you'll have to use some keen vision to see the slight shadow. Align the hour hand of the watch to the shadow line on the ground and remember to adjust for daylight-savings time.
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Look at the point half way between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock position on the watch face. The halfway point indicates south. For example, if your watch indicates 8 o'clock, point the 8 at the sun line, and see that the 10 o'clock position points south. Visually follow that line in the opposite direction, which will point toward north.
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Orientate your body so that you face due north, according to your watch calculation. Hold your right arm straight out to your side at shoulder level. This direction points east, 90 degrees right of north. Another 90 degrees, or 180 degrees total, points south. Another 90 degrees will indicate west. Or west can be found by looking straight north and extending your left hand out from your side -- this will point west, 90 degrees left from north.
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Use a pencil and paper to draw a clock face and number the hours from 1 to 12. If you know the time from a digital watch, transfer the hour hand onto the paper and align it with the shadow line. Find the midway point between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock position. That will be south. North will be in the opposite direction. From north, east lays 90 degrees to the right, and so on to south and then west.
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References
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