Radio Shack Digital Compass User manual

Owner’s Manual Please read before using this equipment.
Digital Compass
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2
ˆ
Contents
Features ...................................................... 3
Preparation ................................................. 5
Attaching the Suction Cups .................... 5
Mounting the Compass ............................ 6
Operation .................................................... 7
Programming the Compass ..................... 9
Calibrating the Compass .................... 9
Setting the Automatic
Shut-Off Time ................................... 11
Setting/Using the Backlight
Shut-Off Time ................................... 13
Clock Mode ............................................ 15
Replacing the Battery ............................ 17
Resetting the Compass ......................... 19
Entering the Diagnostic Mode ........... 21
Care ........................................................... 22
Specifications ........................................... 23
©1999, 2000 RadioShack Corporation.
All Rights Reserved.
RadioShack and RadioShack.com are trademarks
used by RadioShack Corporation.
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3
Features
ˆ
Features
Your RadioShack Digital Compass
conveniently provides the current time
and accurate heading information inside
your vehicle. It incorporates the same
magnetic sensor technology that is used
in factory-installed vehicle compasses.
This magnetic sensor technology allows
the compass to electronically separate
the earth’s magnetic field from the
magnetic fields generated by your
vehicle, thereby providing accurate
compass headings.
The compass’ other features include:
Built-In Clock — lets you see the time at
the touch of a button in either 12- or 24-
hour format.
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4Features
Electro-Luminescent Backlight — lets
you view time and heading information
easily at night.
Automatic Shut-Off — saves battery
life.
Magnetic Distortion Detection — alerts
you when outside magnetic interference
is affecting compass accuracy.
Liquid Crystal Display — clearly dis-
plays the digital time and heading infor-
mation.
Water Resistant Design — lets you use
the compass on a boat.
Three Supplied Suction Cups — let you
mount your compass firmly on your vehi-
cle’s windshield.
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5
Preparation
ˆ
Preparation
ATTACHING THE SUCTION
CUPS
The compass comes with three suction
cups for secure mounting. Insert the
small ball head of each suction cup into a
larger hole (shown here) on the bottom of
the bracket and slide each toward the
bracket’s smaller hole so they fit tightly.
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6Preparation
MOUNTING THE COMPASS
Choose a clean mounting location on the
vehicle’s windshield where:
• the compass will not obstruct the
driver’s field of view
• the display can swivel up to 30º
• the compass will be at least 5 inches
away from any stereo speakers
Press the compass’ base against the
windshield so the suction cups take hold.
The compass has an adjustable bracket
that rotates backward or forward so you
can view the display more easily. To ad-
just the bracket, firmly grasp the display
and rotate it to the desired angle.
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7
Operation
Caution: If you use a reflective sun
shade, do not leave the compass be-
tween the sun shade and the windshield.
The temperature extreme might damage
the compass.
Note: The compass must be calibrated
before you use it the first time and any
time you move or reset the compass or
adjust the display angle.
ˆ
Operation
The compass has two modes — clock
mode and compass mode. In the clock
mode, you can view the current time.
When the compass automatically shuts
off, it returns to the clock mode. In the
compass mode, you can easily view your
current heading or program the desired
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8Operation
compass features. The compass displays
the numeric heading in 1° increments
from
0° to 359°. The cardinal points on
this compass are N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W,
and NW.
When DISTORTION appears, this
means the compass is detecting outside
magnetic interference that compromises
its accuracy. Distortion occurs when
there has been a significant change in
the surrounding magnetic fields, such as
when you are driving underneath an
overpass or over a bridge. The steel in
these structures causes inaccurate read-
ings in any magnetic compass, but unlike
other compasses, this compass detects
this interference and alerts you.
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9
Operation
PROGRAMMING THE
COMPASS
The compass mode displays the current
compass heading and lets you calibrate
your compass to automatically compen-
sate for magnetic fields, program the
compass’ automatic shut-off time, and
program the backlight automatic shut-off
time.
Calibrating the Compass
Calibration helps the compass to better
separate the earth’s magnetic field from
the magnetic fields generated by external
influences (such as your vehicle, for ex-
ample), providing more accurate head-
ing information.
Calibrate the compass any time you
move or reset the compass, adjust the
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10 Operation
display angle, or whenever DISTOR-
TION continuously appears.
Note: When calibrating the compass, you
will need to drive your vehicle in two com-
plete circles. Be sure your vehicle is on
level ground, in an open area, such as a
parking lot.
See “Mounting the Compass” on Page 6
and make sure the compass is securely
mounted, then follow these steps to cali-
brate your compass.
1. Press ADV so BASIC appears.
2. Hold down ADV until CAL flashes.
3. Press ENT so Hold and StILL
appear briefly. CAL appears again
and
TURN TWICE flashes.
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11
Operation
Note: Do not move the vehicle while
Hold and Still appear.
4. With the compass mounted in your
vehicle, drive in two complete circles
and then press ENT. The current
compass heading appears.
Note: You must complete the circles on
level ground and in less than 2 minutes.
Otherwise, begin again from Step 1.
Setting the Automatic
Shut-Off Time
Important: To save battery life, the de-
fault setting for the automatic shut-off
time is 5 minutes. If you set the shut-off
time to OFF, battery life runs out quickly.
For optimum battery life, do not set the
shut-off time to OFF for longer than 60
minutes.
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12 Operation
If you do not press a key for about 5 min-
utes, the compass automatically returns
to the current time. You can set the auto-
matic shut-off value to 5, 15, 30, 60, or 90
minutes. Or, you can select OFF to have
the compass remain in compass mode.
Note: If at any time during programming
you do not press a button for about 5
minutes, the compass exits the program-
ming mode. Start over at Step 1.
1. Press ADV so BASIC appears.
2. Hold down ADV until CAL flashes.
3. Press ADV so Cappears and the cur-
rent time setting (such as 05)
flashes.
4. Press ENT.
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13
Operation
5. Repeatedly press ADV until you see
the desired setting (05, 15, 30, 60,
90, or OFF.
6. Press ENT to store the setting. Cand
the current time setting flash.
7. Press ADV twice to exit and return to
the compass mode.
Setting/Using the Backlight
Shut-Off Time
Important: To save battery life, the de-
fault setting for the backlight time is 10
minutes. If you set the shut-off time to
OFF, battery life runs out quickly. For op-
timum battery life, do not set the shut-off
time to OFF for longer than 60 minutes.
The compass uses an electro-lumines-
cent backlight to illuminate the display,
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14 Operation
making it easily visible at night. Press
and release ADV and ENT at the same
time to turn the backlight on or off. The
backlight is preset to stay on for about 10
seconds, but you can set it to turn on for
10, 30, or 60 seconds. Or, you can
choose to have it never shut off.
To turn off the backlight at any time, re-
gardless of the backlight shut-off value
you select, press and release. ADV and
ENT at the same time.
Note: If at any time during programming
you do not press a button for about 5
minutes, the compass exits the program-
ming mode. Start over at Step 1.
1. Press ADV so BASIC appears.
2. Hold down ADV until CAL flashes.
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15
Operation
3. Press ADV twice so Lappears and
the current time setting (such as 10)
flashes.
4. Press ENT.
5. Press ADV until you see the desired
setting (10, 30, 60, or OFF).
6. Press ENT to store the setting. Land
the current time setting flash.
7. Press ADV to exit from the program-
ming mode and return to the com-
pass mode.
CLOCK MODE
The clock displays the current time in ei-
ther 12- or 24-hour format. Pappears for
PM in the 12-hour time format.
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16 Operation
Note: If at any time during programming
you do not press a button for about 5
minutes, the compass exits the program-
ming mode. Start over at Step 1.
1. Repeatedly press ADV until 12:00
or the previously set time appears.
2. Hold down ADV until all digits flash.
3. Press ENT. 12 Hr appears
4. Press ADV to toggle between the 12-
and 24-hour time formats. Press ENT
to select the desired time format.
5. If you select the 12-hour time format,
Aor Pflashes for AM or PM time.
Press ADV to toggle between AM
and PM, then press ENT to store the
setting. The first hour digit flashes.
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17
Operation
6. Repeatedly press ADV to set the
hour. Press ENT to store the setting
and move to the next time digit.
7. Repeat Step 6 to set the minutes
and seconds. The compass auto-
matically returns to clock mode after
you set the time.
REPLACING THE BATTERY
The compass comes with one CR2032
type lithium button-cell battery for power.
When the display dims or the compass
stops operating properly, replace the bat-
tery. For the best performance and long-
est life, we recommend a RadioShack
lithium battery.
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18 Operation
Warnings:
• Keep button-cell batteries away from
children. Swallowing a button-cell
battery can be fatal.
• Dispose of old batteries promptly
and properly. Do not burn or bury
them.
Caution: Use only a fresh battery of the
required size and recommended type.
1. Place the compass on a solid sur-
face with the display facing down.
For clarity, the bracket is not shown in the
illustration.
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19
Operation
2. Hold the compass firmly and use a
Phillips screwdriver to remove the
four screws on the back of the com-
pass’ case.
3. Remove the case cover, but do not
disturb or remove the rubber seal
that is resting on the case front.
4. Remove the old battery and install
the new one positive (+) side up.
5. Replace the case cover and secure it
with the screws.
RESETTING THE COMPASS
If the display dims or the compass stops
operating properly (and you have in-
stalled fresh batteries), reset it. Resetting
the compass deletes all stored informa-
tion.
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20 Operation
1. Hold down ADV and ENT at the same
time until rESE7 flashes.
2. Press ENT to reset the compass. All
segments appear briefly.
3. Recalibrate the compass (see “Cali-
brating the Compass” on Page 9)
and reset the time and automatic
shut-off values as necessary.
Notes:
• If you decide not to reset the com-
pass, press ADV twice to exit the
reset mode.
• If at any time during resetting you do
not press a button for about 5 min-
utes, the compass exits without
resetting. Begin again from Step 1 to
continue resetting the compass.
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