For years, compasses were fundamental instruments for travelers, whether by sea or land. The first compasses were large artifacts to be reduced over the years, to integrate into our mobile phone as another sensor.
How does it work and what is it for?
The operation of the mobile compass is similar to that of traditional compasses. It has three axes (X, Y, Z) sensitive to terrestrial magnetic fields, so it is able to tell us where the north is at all times, since it adapts to changes in these fields.
The compass is more important than many believe in our smartphones. For example, in map programs it is essential for the app to be oriented correctly. Another good example may be the successful Pokémon Go game, which also uses the compass to know how to direct our avatar.
How to calibrate the compass?
To know if the compass of our mobile is well calibrated we have a little trick. We go to the Google Maps app and look at how our halo appears. It must be similar to the one in the photo on the right, that is, the more closed the better.
If we verify that it does not work well, the way to calibrate the smartphone’s compass is very easy, we just have to move the mobile in the air in the form of 8, two or three times, with the Google Maps application open.
Applications to use the compass mobile
Being able to use the mobile as if it were a compass is something that can be very practical in some other situation.
For example, we go to the mountain to spend an afternoon, and we lose coverage, but we need to get our bearings. Well, we can use a compass application that we have installed on our smartphone to know where the north is and thus be better oriented.
Do you know all the sensors your phone has and what they are for?
Therefore, here are some of the best compass applications currently available for iOS and Android.
Commander Compass Lite
We are facing a very complete app with many possibilities. In addition to serving as a gyroscopic compass and compass with GPS maps, we have a speedometer, altimeter, route point tracker, coordinate converter and the possibility of having 3D compasses.
The simplicity is also typical of this app since just by starting it you will have the compass on the screen to use it. Only available for device with iOS operating system.
GPS Compass Explorer
It is an application that, initially, works as a GPS compass saving your location as soon as you turn it on, as long as you have coverage, so that you can be guided to your exit point if necessary.
In this application you just have to click on “Compass” so that a compass appears on the screen. It is an exclusive app for those smartphones with Android as an operating system.
As you have seen having the compass of our smartphone is necessary for more things than we could imagine at the beginning and, of course, knowing how to use the mobile as a compass always comes in handy, so, after reading our article it no longer You will have no problem in this regard.
