We are all accustomed to modern conveniences and technical tips for finding our way around. Many people do not know how to determine the cardinal directions without a navigator or smartphone. Such devices are moving humanity further and further away from nature. But if you are hiking or if you get lost in the forest, they will not help. In such a situation, school knowledge from a geography course will come to the rescue, and even better if you have a compass at hand. But what if they are not there? In this article we will tell you how to find out where north, east, west and south are, without having any aids at hand.
How to calculate cardinal directions without a compass, smartphone and map?
Now that we all have GPS and Google Maps with Yandex.Maps on our phones, which are always with us and ready to serve us at any moment, we have already forgotten many useful techniques that we were taught back in school during geography lessons and which they helped us navigate space so well in any conditions, without maps, without compasses and, of course, without these same smartphones.
And okay, we, those who managed to enjoy a non-synthetic life without the influence of smart phones, all kinds of electronic assistants and all kinds of electronic devices, but the new generation born in the early 2000s and later, unfortunately, did not come into contact with those rules of the game , which were used before the Apple electronic revolution. But even though they were more complex, they could perfectly develop logic and ingenuity in a person, teach intelligence and help in difficult times. Because they were really useful...
But sometimes without knowledge and without your favorite smartphone you simply cannot survive! For example, you are walking in the forest, winter. At some point, you lose sight of the trodden path and realize that you are lost. It doesn’t matter, you reason, and, taking your phone out of your pocket, you try to enter the “maps” application. And suddenly... you realize that your phone is not working. From the word “in general”! The battery is low. What will you do to get your bearings, to find where north, south, west and east are?
Okay, let's not even take such an extreme example, let's say you're just curious about which cardinal directions are located? You cannot pick up a smartphone. Maps and compasses too. What will you do? We will tell you how to act correctly in such a situation.
Here are some strategies that will point you in the right direction, and you will find it solely through your knowledge and not through assistive devices.
Compass mobile application for IOS phones
In the App Store you can download an online compass for iPhone. The Compass X application works on the IOS system without any additional settings.
After downloading and installation, the application icon will appear on one of the desktops of the mobile device.
Having launched the program, it displays the cardinal directions by default with 16 compass points and a sign of degrees around the circumference. The lower part of the compass also displays the location of the smartphone above sea level. And detailed coordinates of the place where you are staying with address and other data.
For the application to provide this information, your phone must have GPS technology and data transfer enabled. Otherwise, the mobile device will refuse to provide some information. To enable the compass to accurately display cardinal directions, it must be placed parallel to the ground. Usually, placing it in the palm of your hand is quite enough.
If the application on your smartphone for some reason refuses to show the coordinates or cardinal direction, check the application settings. You need to check that the Geolocation function is activated. And also check the permissions of the Compass X application.
It may also not work in areas with strong magnetic or electromagnetic fields. For example, you may notice performance problems if your smartphone is located under a high-voltage power line.
Do compasses on smartphones generally show the direction correctly?
In fact, I don’t know a single person who would go mushroom hunting with a smartphone with a compass turned on. Normal people always take a real device with them, and those who know, in addition, take with them a map of the area, matches, a knife and a fully charged phone (in order to call and call rescuers in case of problems, if Network coverage allows).
So, if maps via GPS actually show locations with an accuracy of several meters, then there is a problem with the operation of electronic compasses. Here is an example of how compasses work on two Apple devices: iPhone 6 and iPhone 7:
And who to believe? The settings for both are set to “True North”, yes, the measurements were taken in a room where interference from electronic devices, plus reinforcement and a layer of concrete, has a significant influence, but still the difference on the devices is obvious. The most interesting thing is that the discrepancy with magnetic north on a real compass is from 60 to 120 degrees for both devices.
In general, I honestly wouldn't rely on phone readings in the field. Moreover, this “compass” drains the battery very quickly. A toy, nothing more.
Online service “compass on the map” Open Street Map Compass
OSMCompass (Open Street Map Compass) is one of the best online compass resources. It has a convenient, intuitive interface and rich functionality. The service allows you to automatically determine the difference between real and magnetic north, as well as save user-created routes.
The OSMCompass website is in English, but it is not difficult to understand if you follow our instructions.
How to enable OSMCompass if it is not displayed
To get started, follow these steps:
- Open the service website.
- Choose one of the available route building options: a simple “Draw Single Leg Route” or a complex “Draw Multi-Legged”.
- At the next information message, click OK.
- Enter the name of your city and select the correct one from the options provided.
- Click on the green "SHOW COMPASS" button located in the upper left corner. After which a compass icon will appear on the map.
How to use the online compass
After the widget appears, we see that it consists of two red arrows, one of which is always directed to the north, and the second can be moved independently using the white circular arrow.
Using the online compass is easy:
- Expand the widget so that the second arrow points to your destination. In this case, the center of the compass should correspond to your location.
- The length of the arrow can be adjusted using the round green button. To do this, press and hold it, moving it in the desired direction. The azimuth will be indicated in the upper right corner.
- Click on the red “Drow Route” button to navigate to the specified point and confirm the action with the “OK” button.
- If necessary, save the constructed route by going to the “Compass Menu” tab and select “SaveRoute”. In the window that appears, enter your email address so that the data will be sent there.
- You can hide the compass using the green “HIDE COMPASS” button.
The service allows you to delete a constructed path, view previously saved routes, and print them on a printer.
Use the sun to calculate cardinal directions
This is a fairly simple, even basic part of orienteering knowledge. There is hardly a person in the world who does not know such fundamental truisms that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. And at 12 noon the luminary crosses the geographical meridian.
If you're trying to figure out whether your gaze is directed toward sunrise or sunset, paying attention to where the sun is moving is your best bet, during the daytime, of course. And also if there are no clouds in the sky.
At the same time, knowing that the sun rises in the east, you can stand facing it and find out that north will be on your left, south on your right, and west, respectively, behind you.
However, we should also not forget a number of nuances.
So, for example, in the northern hemisphere (in which our country is located), the sun rises in the east and disappears behind the horizon in the west only two days a year: March 21 and September 23. These are the days of the so-called spring and autumn equinox.
The rest of the time, the position of the luminary shifts slightly to the north (spring-summer period), to the south - with the approach of winter, to the northeast and northwest, on June 21 - on the day of the summer solstice and southeast - southwest - in winter, on the day of the so-called winter solstice.
In general, it is not located exactly on the sky, but a general understanding of the direction of movement will allow you to find it, especially if you know the indirect signs of north and south. For example, moss on trees that stand alone will most likely grow on north-facing trunks... the same will happen on the north-facing walls of rocks.*
*Here we emphasize an important nuance. Moss may also grow over the entire circumference of the trunk, or there may be no moss at all. It can grow in dense thicket and on lonely trees, while it can be on different nearby trees on different sides of the trunk.
It is important to find a certain pattern here. Only in this way can this natural sign be a good help in determining a more accurate direction of movement.
How to determine Feng Shui zones in an apartment
Then, on the same scale as the grid, draw a plan of your apartment with all the actual rooms. Don't forget about the bathroom, toilet and storage room. Balconies and loggias do not count.
Now remember which side of the world your windows face. And turn Ba Gua as if in a mirror image: that is, if your windows face east, connect the wall with windows on the house plan with the west on the Ba Gua grid. Actually, that's all. Now you know which sector is located.
Method 2: compass and protractor
This method is suitable for distrustful people and for those who love accuracy in everything. If you cannot say with complete certainty where your windows face, that is, if you, for example, doubt whether it is south or southeast (southwest), use measuring instruments.
As in the first method, draw an accurate and detailed plan of your home and cut it out along the contour. Now you need to find the center of your house. To do this, take a sharpened pencil and place your plan on the tip. You need to ensure that the paper does not fall off the pencil. As soon as complete balance is established, consider that the center has been found. Tag it.
For the next step you will need a compass. Find a place in the room where there is nothing “phonic”, that is, there is no TV, refrigerator, computer, and there is no forgotten magnet lying around - all these objects affect the accuracy of measurements.
In principle, for the purity of the experiment, you can go outside. And there you can get the data you need. Just don’t stand under the wires, otherwise the effect may be unpredictable - your compass can easily confuse north with south.
Determine the cardinal directions and plot them on your plan. Just remember that mirror reflection works, that is, where the real south is, you write north, where east is west, and so on. It is difficult to say with certainty what the Chinese meant by shifting the cardinal directions on the Ba Gua diagram, but if you paid attention, then on it the south is at the top, and on all real geographical maps it is at the bottom.
For the third step, you will need a protractor. Connect its center with the center on your plan. And just divide your apartment into 8 sectors (each of them is equal to 45 degrees). Now you know absolutely exactly where the sectors are.
Method 3: from corner to corner
If you don’t want to bother with the previous methods, then you can simply focus on the corners of the room that you are going to arrange according to the teachings of Feng Shui. For skeptical readers, we note that this method is no less accurate than the previous two.
You need to calculate from the front door (not from the interior doors!), standing with your back to it.
All these three methods can be used not only for the entire apartment, but also for a specific room.
Some useful tips
To finish the conversation about determining Feng Shui , let me give you some tips. They will come in handy when you begin to arrange your home according to this ancient Chinese teaching.
Start with spring cleaning
It involves not only washing floors and windows, wiping off dust and removing food waste. Get rid of all the unnecessary things, the junk that has accumulated in different places, and which for some reason you feel sorry to throw away.
Source
There is also a calculation method for this. In short:
We need to find a clean piece of land that receives enough direct sunlight. Then we need to find a straight stick and stick it at a 90 degree angle into the ground.
A shadow will fall from the stick. Let's put a mark where the edge of the shadow falls (mark this place with a pebble or peg). After about 15-30 minutes the shadow will move, mark the edge of the shadow again.
Now that we have two points, we can connect them with a line. This line will give us a rough idea of the east-west direction. In this case, the first point placed will point to the west, the second - to the east.
Unfortunately, this option will only work on a sunny day, but it will allow you to quickly navigate the terrain during a rest stop with greater accuracy than simply navigating by the sun at sunrise or sunset.
Another logical piece of advice. Never look at the sun directly. Even with sunglasses. This can cause eye injury.
Compass from KWT Apps
A simple and reliable Compass application is available on Google Play. With it you can:
- Set your current location. Here you can see latitude, longitude, address data. The device also shows the altitude at which you are relative to sea level.
- Get a summary of information about the geomagnetic sensor built into your smartphone. At the same time, check how accurate the compass readings are. If they do not correspond to reality, be sure to calibrate the device.
- Find out the strength of nearby magnetic fields.
To avoid getting lost, add an arrow pointing in the right direction. Like all other applications, KWT needs calibration.
Use your wristwatch to determine cardinal directions
Telling time using analog watches (wrist watches with hands) is becoming less and less relevant, but if you need a compass and wear a watch with hands, consider yourself lucky. In fact, even if you have a fancy digital watch on your wrist, all you need to do is visualize the hands on the dial, and if you have a smart watch like the Samsung Galaxy Watch or Apple Watch, then you won’t even need to use your imagination – just change the virtual dial to a pointer one.
Take off your watch and align the hour hand with the Sun (point it towards the sun). Imagine a line that divides the space between the number "1" (hour) and the hour hand (it still points towards the sun). This line will point south. For example, if the clock shows 16:00, then the line halfway between 13:00 will indicate 14:30.*
The line dividing this angle indicates the approximate direction in which the Sun is at noon, that is, the direction south.
Before noon, we divide the sector of the dial that the hour hand must pass before the “hour”; after noon, the sector that it passes after the “hour”:
A simple but visual drawing was taken from the site pikabu.ru
*Important! Since winter time has been in effect throughout Russia since October 26, 2014, the sector must be counted from “1”.
Briefly and succinctly on the topic:
How to find out the cardinal directions in an apartment
When using Feng Shui techniques to calculate and find the sectors of wealth, love and career, it is very important to know how to determine the cardinal directions at home without a compass. If you believe this eastern practice, feng shui orienting an apartment to the cardinal directions can easily bring peace, comfort and harmony into the apartment. However, you don’t always have a compass at hand. And not everyone knows for sure the location of the apartment in the cardinal directions. But you shouldn't give up on this matter. Without any problems and with ease, you can determine the sides of the horizon without leaving your apartment and without much effort.
Determining cardinal directions in an apartment
The first method is this: Most advanced housewives try to arrange furniture in their apartment according to certain rules and norms of Feng Shui. But in order to use this teaching, you need to understand quite accurately how to orient the house to the cardinal points. In fact, you can easily find out the location of all four directions of the earth using a compass. This is a surefire way to recognize cardinal directions. A working compass shows the same result in all corners of Mother Earth, regardless of location and altitude. However, anomalous magnetic zones act as an exception.
Although everyone knows about the existence of a compass, not everyone knows how to operate it correctly. There's really nothing complicated here. The front sight of the device is set to the zero position. The compass itself is taken and placed horizontally. Next, the magnetic needle brake mechanism is released. You need to turn around in such a way that the northern part of the compass pointer stops at zero. North will be located in this direction. On the opposite side is south, on the left is west, and opposite is east. However, this tool is not always at hand.
Determining cardinal directions in an apartment without a compass
For this you don’t need much: beautiful sunny weather and a wristwatch. Take a simple round watch with a dial edge and, most importantly, with hands. Apply this method between six in the morning and 18:00 in the evening. They are positioned in such a way that the hour hand is turned in the direction of the sun. Then we divide the angle between twelve o’clock of the selected hand in half. It is this imaginary line that will show the location of the south. For reference: At 12 noon, south will be located to the right of the sun. If you check after 12 o'clock - on the left. Now it will not be difficult to determine the cardinal directions while indoors.
The exception will be cloudy days. Also some tips on how you can calculate the location of the cardinal directions by checking several wildlife beacons. Very useful information for forest lovers:
Source
Find a church
Another option to get to the bottom of where the horizon goes is to the west, east... It’s not always exactly correct, but as an auxiliary guide it can complement the picture.
So, if you are in a village or an abandoned village, perhaps you will find a temple there, or rather a church. You need to know that in Orthodox churches the altar will most often face the east. The bell tower will be facing west.
Christian churches are generally aligned from west to east, with the altar at the eastern end of the temple facing the sunrise. Headstones in cemeteries are also usually aligned from west to east.
Compass Steel 3D
This is a Russian-language application, packed with a lot of additional functions. It offers the user many design options for the compass working field. For proper operation, you must grant the program access rights to your location.
Design options
To download “Steel 3D”, go to Google Play. After installation, you will not only find north and east online, but also be able to calculate the position of the Sun and Moon. To make it more convenient to work with this program, disable screen rotation.
The application is completely free. There are no ads or in-app purchases.
Gyro-compass
To verify compliance with true north, a gyrocompass was created. It is based on a gyroscope (measures the angular velocity of a rotating object). This device is used on ships (sea, air) to determine the four cardinal directions. The gyrocompass finds real poles, not magnetic ones, so it is not influenced by interference from the latter.
Gyro-compass
Find out the price on AliExpress
Using the compass online
To determine the location of your apartment relative to the cardinal directions, and also to understand where the windows of your room face, you can use the online map from Google below.
This map with cardinal directions works correctly with the Google Chrome browser and other browsers based on the Chromium core, but when working with Firerox the resource has problems.
The operating principle of this service is as follows. There is a large compass on the screen, you just need to find your city on the map, and then your house, and in accordance with the compass image (N - north, S - south, W - west, E - east) see which side of the world you are facing the windows of your home are directed. Then, in relation to this, you can understand how correctly you are sleeping.
Feng Shui believes that if your head is positioned on:
- North - this helps the development of intuition;
- Northeast - will help in scientific activities;
- East – guarantees a restful sleep;
- Southeast - will help in developing determination;
- South - will give fame and reputation;
- South-West - will give help in Love;
- West - bestows fertility;
- North-west - will ensure true friendship.
Watch the sunrise and sunset
As you know, our star rises in the east and sets in the west. Therefore, if you stand in such a way that your right hand points to the place where the sun rises (to the east), and your left hand points to the place where the sun sets (to the west), then north will be in front of you, and south behind you. And no online compass is needed to determine the direction of the world in an apartment.
Watch where the sun rises and where it sets
