Timex Intelligent Quartz Compass

This is my EDC watch that I always have on me. It offers me with the ability to tell time (imagine that!) and a solid compass feature! It is water resistant up to 100m depth. It is equipped with a indiglo back light feature and has phosphorescent inserts in the hands and in the 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11 o'clock positions. The Timex comes with an olive drab padded band as shown below;

Here is a better photo of the face of the watch;

As you can see, there are four hands on the watch. They are all self explanatory with the exception of the hand that is at 12:00 in the above picture. This hand is used for the compass feature only and only moves once the compass feature is turned on. To turn on this feature, push the lower button (the red button as seen in the next picture). The watch makes an audible beep upon initiation of the compass feature and again after 20 seconds telling you that the feature is being turned off (to conserve battery life).

Calibrating the Compass

 

Since a compass uses the Earth’s magnetic field, you must be aware of large metallic objects, such as vehicles or bridges, or objects that give off electromagnetic radiation, such as TVs or PCs, which could affect the magnetic field around the watch. If compass is calibrated near such objects, it will only work properly in that same location. If compass is calibrated away from such objects, it will not work properly near them. For best results, calibrate in area of intended use.

In calibrating and taking headings, it is important, as with all compasses, to keep the compass level. Calibrating or taking a heading when the watch is not level can result in large errors. Also avoid areas that may exhibit higher than normal concentrations of hard and soft iron, as they may cause inaccurate headings. You can recalibrate as often as you want to.

To calibrate the compass feature, pull the center crown (above) to the middle position and press the lower (red) button to begin. The compass hand rotates two revolutions to remind you to rotate watch. Keep the watch level or place on level surface (if band interferes, place on an inverted cup). The watch may be face down, but protect the watch face. While level, slowly rotate the watch two full revolutions, taking at least 15 seconds per revolution. This is critical in achieving proper calibration. When done, press the red button again, keeping watch level. The compass hand will move back and forth to acknowledge end of calibration and then moves to current declination angle setting. If you do not wish to set/reset the declination angle, push the center crown back in. Otherwise, press either the red or black buttons to move compass hand east (+) or west (–) by one degree to point to your location’s declination angle using declination scale. Push the center crown in when done and you should be good to go!

 

 

Here is a picture of the declination scale on the face of the watch, It is the red section that spans from 11:00 to 1:00 and allows for adjustment from 30 degrees west to 30 degrees east.

 

 

 

 

Another thing that I really like about this watch is that it uses common 22mm width bands. This makes it easy to find replacements or to customize the look of your watch with different colored/patterned bands. Interestingly enough, Fossil stocks watch bands in 22mm in a variety of colors and they run about $20 each. I picked up a red one and a grey one and this is how the look on the Quartz Compass;

County Comm stocks a much larger selection than Fossil but there are shipping costs associated with that.


Throughout all the time that I have had this watch it has yet to develop a scratch on it! That is saying something as I have banged it on plenty of stuff (accidentally) and it always comes up unscathed, this is a very resilient watch! If you are interested, then check it out over at Timex!