The Sperry Gyro-Compass

by Sperry Gyroscope Company

• 1.It must point True North.
• 2.It must free you from the necessity of making calculations and corrections.
• 3.It must free you from compensating the compass for errors.
• 4.It must free you from the burden of swinging the ship, or otherwise taking the deviation of your compass.
• 5.It must not be influenced by inherent magnetism of the ship.
• 6.It must not be influenced by any change in the character or disposition of the cargo.
• 7.It must not be influenced directly or indirectly by any temperature changes.
• 8.It must not be influenced by the roll or pitch of the ship.
• 9.It must not be influenced by any weather conditions.
• 10.In the event of failure, or error, it should give instant warning.

Comparison of the Magnetic Compass with the Sperry Gyro-Compass

Let us compare the Magnetic Compass with the Sperry Gyro-Compass and determine which more nearly approaches the Ideal Compass.

True North

The Magnetic Compass

The Mag­ne­tic Com­pass does not point to True North, it points to Mag­ne­tic North, which is about 800 miles from the True North Pole.

The Sper­ry Gyro-Com­pass

The Sperry Gyro-Com­pass, which is not a Mag­ne­tic Com­pass, and is not af­fect­ed by a mag­ne­tism of any sort, and de­rives its di­rec­tive force from the earth’s ro­ta­tion, points True North. It does not point to the Mag­ne­tic North Pole.