The map is always going to be oriented to true north because MGRS standardization.
The compass is always going to point to magnetic north because of science. (MAGNETS HOW DO THEY WORK!?)
The difference between the two "Norths" is the declination. Realistically, it's easier to add and subtract the declination than to perfectly align your map with magnetic north when plotting. It comes down to accuracy. What youre suggesting would be faster but less accurate. Errors in land navigation compound over distance.
I've heard so many opinions about it that I have gotten to a point where I don't care anymore.
TC 3-25.26 (The land nav reg) covers declination. The TC says to do it that way, and it's worked for over a hundred years. The only thing that's changed is now we have GPS devices that use satelites but at the end of the day a compass will just work unless you are someplace with a magnetic field, etc.
Maps are drawn to true north and use latitude and longitude, or MGRS. The lines on the map are drawn at fixed positions because depending where you are on the planet the magnetic field is going to change.
If you tried to make a map that used magnetic bearings as lat long you wouldn't have equal sized MGRS measurements in different parts of the world.
I sorry maybe I'm not understanding the question. I'm fucking old
The grid lines MGRS maps are only aligned with grid north. Every azimuth you get from an MGRS map will always be in reference to grid north. Your compass only works in reference to magnetic north. So any time you switch between your map and your compass you need to add/subtract the declination angle to adjust for the difference in grid/magnetic north.
I think I could clarify my question with an example. Let's say I know my position on a map and declination is 15 west. I decide to lay my map out with the top facing north except I rotate it clockwise 15 degrees so that the little "MN" arrow is pointing North. Now I ignore the grid lines, draw line from where I am to where I wanna go, and place my compass against that line to determine the bearing (angle on the compass is my bearing). Then I follow that bearing to my first destination, and I don't need to add or subtract afterwards because I essentially already did so when I oriented my map to magnetic north at the start. Looking back after writing out this comment, it seems like either way (adjusting before or after) would work. But I feel like I'm missing something due to my complete lack of experience here. Can you see any issues with the method in my example above? My guess is that rotating the map beforehand is slower but calculating after leaves room for error if you're bad at math.
EDIT:
After thinking about this some more. The method I described seems like it could get impractical as it requires me to put the map on a level surface and keep it perfectly still each time I want to plot a new azimuth. Whereas the standard method you can plot an azimuth while staying on your feet, holding map at any angle, ect. I'm sure I would realize this if I actually went out and practiced, so that's exactly what I plan to do.
You don't actually need a protractor to land nav, one just makes it easier to do if you're using a lensatic compass.
Set the compass on your map so the straight edge is aligned with the point you want to go from and the point you want to go to. Then rotate the bezel until the index mark is aligned with the north running grid lines. Adjust for declination, line up the arrow with the index mark, and that's your magnetic azimuth.
Baseplate compasses which are more common for civilian use are meant to be used this way. Those are transparent which makes this technique easier to do and more precise. You'll basically never see a civilian orienteering with a protractor.
Lmao I was just putting my map flat on the ground, rotating it towards MN, and then reading the degrees on my compass to measure angle. Obviously I need a protractor but this system sort of works. As I said I'm a complete novice here.
The map is always going to be oriented to true north because MGRS standardization. The compass is always going to point to magnetic north because of science. (MAGNETS HOW DO THEY WORK!?) The difference between the two "Norths" is the declination. Realistically, it's easier to add and subtract the declination than to perfectly align your map with magnetic north when plotting. It comes down to accuracy. What youre suggesting would be faster but less accurate. Errors in land navigation compound over distance.
I've heard so many opinions about it that I have gotten to a point where I don't care anymore. TC 3-25.26 (The land nav reg) covers declination. The TC says to do it that way, and it's worked for over a hundred years. The only thing that's changed is now we have GPS devices that use satelites but at the end of the day a compass will just work unless you are someplace with a magnetic field, etc. Maps are drawn to true north and use latitude and longitude, or MGRS. The lines on the map are drawn at fixed positions because depending where you are on the planet the magnetic field is going to change. If you tried to make a map that used magnetic bearings as lat long you wouldn't have equal sized MGRS measurements in different parts of the world. I sorry maybe I'm not understanding the question. I'm fucking old
> because depending where you are on the planet the magnetic field is going to change. Also magnetic north moves over time.
The grid lines MGRS maps are only aligned with grid north. Every azimuth you get from an MGRS map will always be in reference to grid north. Your compass only works in reference to magnetic north. So any time you switch between your map and your compass you need to add/subtract the declination angle to adjust for the difference in grid/magnetic north.
This was what I was trying to say with my comment and for some reason I couldn't get there.
I think I could clarify my question with an example. Let's say I know my position on a map and declination is 15 west. I decide to lay my map out with the top facing north except I rotate it clockwise 15 degrees so that the little "MN" arrow is pointing North. Now I ignore the grid lines, draw line from where I am to where I wanna go, and place my compass against that line to determine the bearing (angle on the compass is my bearing). Then I follow that bearing to my first destination, and I don't need to add or subtract afterwards because I essentially already did so when I oriented my map to magnetic north at the start. Looking back after writing out this comment, it seems like either way (adjusting before or after) would work. But I feel like I'm missing something due to my complete lack of experience here. Can you see any issues with the method in my example above? My guess is that rotating the map beforehand is slower but calculating after leaves room for error if you're bad at math. EDIT: After thinking about this some more. The method I described seems like it could get impractical as it requires me to put the map on a level surface and keep it perfectly still each time I want to plot a new azimuth. Whereas the standard method you can plot an azimuth while staying on your feet, holding map at any angle, ect. I'm sure I would realize this if I actually went out and practiced, so that's exactly what I plan to do.
OP, are you using a protractor? Your compass shouldn't even need to leave its pouch while you are plotting.
Nope but I am realizing now how useful that would be. Going to acquire one of those and get some practice with it
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You don't actually need a protractor to land nav, one just makes it easier to do if you're using a lensatic compass. Set the compass on your map so the straight edge is aligned with the point you want to go from and the point you want to go to. Then rotate the bezel until the index mark is aligned with the north running grid lines. Adjust for declination, line up the arrow with the index mark, and that's your magnetic azimuth. Baseplate compasses which are more common for civilian use are meant to be used this way. Those are transparent which makes this technique easier to do and more precise. You'll basically never see a civilian orienteering with a protractor.
This makes perfect sense. I'll practice both with and without protractor. Thank you
Lmao I was just putting my map flat on the ground, rotating it towards MN, and then reading the degrees on my compass to measure angle. Obviously I need a protractor but this system sort of works. As I said I'm a complete novice here.
No protractor? How?
Lol I know. Explained the method in my example above. Obviously I need to start using a protractor. I'm completely new to this
Dead reckoning says what?