[NLRS] Brunton compass for 10 GHz pointing

[Doug Reed]

One of the interesting things I saw this weekend was the way K0FQA had
mounted a Brunton Outback electronic compass on a boom at the front of his
dish. The compass displayed the magnetic bearing of the dish. It can also
display the true bearing (for Donn) if you enter the magnetic deviation at
your location. This arrangement made it very easy to point the dish with a
high degree of confidence. 

When I got home I did a little looking on the Internet. I found many web
sites selling the compass and most had specs listed. The specs say 2 degree
accuracy and 1 degree bearing display. That is about the beam width of the
typical DSS dish. 

Most of the companies are selling the compass for $60 to $80 depending on
how good the "discount" is. But I found the best prices on Ebay. If you
search Ebay you will find quite a number of people selling the compass and
most of the auctions end at $30 to $40. I just paid $37 (including
shipping) and it should arrive by the weekend. If I had looked closer I'd
have seen several units advertised at "Buy It Now $28.95" and maybe saved
some money. 

I just threw this out for anyone who might want to try another pointing
option. 

73, Doug Reed, N0NAS.