Hello :)
I have a Suunto MC 2G compass, and I am learning about magnetic declination. First, the area I live in has a -8° declination. So, if I set my adjustment to reflect that, then orient my map in the traditional way, everything on my map should reflect exactly what I see in real life, correct? This appears to be true for me, but it is hard to tell given such a small declination.
Second, with my adjusted compass, do I take and measure bearings in the traditional way? If I take a bearing on an object that reads 340 at the index line, then I don’t have to worry about accounting for that -8, because I have already set it, correct? I suppose what I am asking is that, once my declination is set, I can just continue using my compass in all the ways I have before, and not worry about declination anymore.
You’ve got it right - once you’ve set the -8° declination on your Suunto, you’re good to go and can just use the compass normally without any extra calculations, the adjustment is esentially “baked in” to all your readings now.
Hi 11-month late, but I’m answering so this important topic gets an answer. Also I need to check in if you got lost in the meantime :-)
First of: good choice buying the Suunto! I’m by no means an expert, but I would say, you take the normal bearings. If you take a look at a video of the map reading company (I recommend that channel!) you can see that without added declination you need to do some basic math (subtract/add) the declination to your bearing. This is what the “hardware adjustment” corrects.
