Electronic Compass

[email protected] · Joined: 16 May 2006 Posts: 39

We are looking for a IC or module (no need to be very accurate. < 15 degree is ok) that provides infomation the direction we are pointing to.

Anyone can provide information where can I buy and try?

Thanks

jecottrell · Joined: 16 Jan 2005 Posts: 559 Location: Tucson, AZ

http://www.pnicorp.com/

Ttelmah · Guest

Depends whether you want something cheap, but possibly requiring a reasonable amount of interfacing, or something 'easy to use'. For the former, look at the AKM AK8970M, the Yamaha YAS529, the Phillips KMZ51, The Hitachi HM55B, The Honeywell HMC1055, and a huge list of others.
Several of these are available on boards already built, from companies involved in robotics. These reduce the amount of work involved, and I'd possibly suggest looking for the CMPS03 module, which has the Phillips sensor, already built on a board with a PIC driving the chip, and implements an I2C interface to the outside world, making it relatively easy to get working.

Best Wishes

SherpaDoug · Joined: 07 Sep 2003 Posts: 1640 Location: Cape Cod Mass USA

I believe all of the sensors others have suggested are magnetic. A friend of mine who works in oceanography once said that magnetic compasses work fine in all the boring parts of the ocean. Any place he really wanted to go, like ship wrecks, the high arctic, or inside cooling pipes of power plants, a magnetic compass is useless.
Depending on conditions even your 15 degree spec may be hard to meet. You may have to consider a GPS unit, an inertial compass, a FOG gyro ($$$$!!!!), or a combination of these.
If this is a home project you might also look at aircraft gyros on EBAY.
_________________
The search for better is endless. Instead simply find very good and get the job done.

PCM programmer · Joined: 06 Sep 2003 Posts: 21708

CMPS03 driver for the CCS compiler:
http://www.ccsinfo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26969