Last updated 25 Nov 2002
Compass for EPOC/Psion 5, 5mx, 7, Revo, Revo+
  • Which way is North?
  • Where should I look in the sky for Orion?
  • Which direction is Mecca?

    • Use Compass to find the answer.
     Compass is a direction finding program. You tell the program where you are, and it displays a compass showing the current positions of the sun, moon and 3 bright stars (if they are above the horizon). So simply line up the Psion with the heavenly body and the compass shows you which direction is North.

    You can also get Compass to show the direction of the shortest route to any other city, and even see the route on a world map!

    This way you can for example find the direction for prayer towards Mecca or Jerusalem.

    New version 1.12 - now it's free

    Download Compass (Version 1.12 25 Nov 02) (50k)

    Screenshots
     The screen shows both the direction ("azimuth") of an object and its height in the sky ("altitude"). The direction is shown as normal on the compass face. The altitude is shown by how far the body is from the centre of the circle - the centre being the point in the sky directly overhead. The outer circle represents the horizon, and the two circles in between represent altitudes of 30° and 60° respectively. The times of sunrise and sunset are also shown.

    Here is how the screen appears during the day. As seen from London at 14:37 on 24th Jun, the sun is in the south-west (azimuth 222°) at an elevation (altitude) of 59°. The display shows the sun on the 60° circle at the correct azimuth. The positions of Vega, Betelgeuse and Sirius are shown but since it's daytime they are not visible.

    The second screenshot is of the screen that you see at night. The position of the moon is clearly shown in the east at an elevation of 14°.

    This is the same as the previous screenshot but it's got an extra arrow showing the direction of Mecca. So if you can see the moon or any of the 3 stars shown, you can find the direction for prayer.

    The direction arrow always uses the shortest ("great circle") route, taking account of the fact that the Earth is a globe. The actual route may be quite interesting, and you can see it drawn on the world map. Here's the route from Buenos Aires to Hong Kong; the quickest way is over Antarctica, in the direction south-east!!

    Compass can also show you the progression of sun, moon or stars across the sky for a given day.