Using Time as a Compass You can easily make a compass for navigation if you know the time of day

and the sun is above the horizon. Such a compass can be used as a rough navigational aid that can come in handy when all you need is a general sense of direction. Even just knowing which way north, south, east, and west is can help when you are surviving in the outdoors. You may have heard about using a watch as a compass but in reality it is only the correct time that is needed. For example, if you have a radio wait until you hear an announcer give the time. Knowing that and reading the remainder of this Survival Topic, you can find the four cardinal directions with or without an actual time piece as long as you know the critical component. Time and Sun Compass

For better compass accuracy be sure to use true local time by adjusting from daylight savings time if it is used in your area. The time compass will also be more accurate the further north or south of the equator you are. Analog Time Compass Method Using an analog watch is the most well known method of using a watch to determine direction. This has spread throughout the internet causing many people to think it is the only way to find the directions of the compass using time and the sun. However, all such a watch does is save you the effort of drawing an imaginary clock face. Depending upon which hemisphere you are in, finding north requires a slightly different method. Be forewarned that many internet articles on this subject are written for the northern hemisphere and do not take into consideration the proper method for the southern latitudes. To make a compass using an analog watch in either hemisphere of the world: Northern Hemisphere * Keep the watch face horizontal. * Point the hour hand toward the sun. * Draw a line from the center of the watch midway between the hour hand and 12 oclock noon. * North will be the direction furthest away from the sun. Southern Hemisphere * Keep the watch face horizontal. * Point the 12 0clock noon position on the watch toward the sun. * Draw a line from the center of the watch midway between the hour hand and 12 oclock noon. * North will be the direction closest to the sun. Determining Direction Using Time Example In the picture above, I found north and south using time in the Northern Hemisphere. The directions are slightly different if you are in the southern hemisphere but the basics are the same. First I pointed the hour hand at the sun. Since it is 4:30 in the afternoon, half the time that has passed since 12 0'clock noon is 2 hour and 15 minutes. Drawing a line between the center of the watch and 2:15 makes the North - South line. Why do you need to divide the angle in two in order to find the direction of north? Because the earth rotates around the sun once every 24 hours but the face on a clock only displays 12 hours, you must bisect the angle. If you could have a watch that shows the full 24-hour span on its face this would not be necessary but it would be a very unusual one indeed! All En-Compassing Time Method You can still use time as a compass if you do not have an analog watch, but you will have to use your imagination just a little. As a skilled wilderness survivor you are likely to have plenty of that. If you dont you probably wont last long anyway and are better off staying at home and playing the role of an ordinary arm chair survival expert! Simply mark out or imagine a 12-hour clock face on the watch, ground, or piece of paper with the current hour pointing directly toward the sun. Estimate where noon would be on this imaginary watch face and draw a line from the center to the point midway between the current hour and the position of noon (12 oclock). As before, this is the south line. Now that you know where south is, simply draw a line directly through the center of the watch opposite the line pointing south. This is north. To find east and west simple draw a line through

the center that is 90 degrees to your north-south line. East will be to the left and West to the right. If the sun is concealed by cloud cover you may be able to discover its direction in the sky by placing a long thin object such as a stick perpendicular into the ground. If the stick casts a shadow, the sun will be located along a line opposite that shadow. Know Time, Know the Points of the Compass If you find yourself needing to know the cardinal directions (North, South, East, West) and you are lacking a compass or dont want to bother rummaging in your pack for your favorite Silva, making a compass using the time of day is an easy alternative for direction finding. I often use this method of navigation when hiking off-trail as a quick check that I am heading in roughly the right direction. Usually this is all I need when a precise location is not required.

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