Marco Flamingo
Guru
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2020
- Messages
- 1,180
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- CHiTON
- Vessel Make
- Tung Hwa Clipper 30
I've had some concerns with how close my compass is to my Garmin EchoMap MFD. It was installed by a local boat yard and I thought maybe they had determined that the screen doesn't have much effect on a nearby compass.
Yesterday, I was setting up the Garmin WiFi to work on a laptop to be used on the upper helm. I was opening a little door on the MFD that holds a mini SD card inside. I noticed that the door snapped shut like it was held closed by a tiny magnet. The little door is closer than a foot from my compass. Sure enough, opening and closing the door made a 4 degree difference in the compass reading. Today I'll watch the compass as I turn on the Garmin and see if that has an effect. Maybe remove the magnet from the door? Seems like an odd closure mechanism on an MFD when there's a 99% chance of a nearby compass.
Yesterday, I was setting up the Garmin WiFi to work on a laptop to be used on the upper helm. I was opening a little door on the MFD that holds a mini SD card inside. I noticed that the door snapped shut like it was held closed by a tiny magnet. The little door is closer than a foot from my compass. Sure enough, opening and closing the door made a 4 degree difference in the compass reading. Today I'll watch the compass as I turn on the Garmin and see if that has an effect. Maybe remove the magnet from the door? Seems like an odd closure mechanism on an MFD when there's a 99% chance of a nearby compass.