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TRUE and MAGNETIC POSITION
True and magnetic north are not the same. True north is
the top of the world. It’s where all lines of longitude
converge. Magnetic north is the location our compasses
point. It lies several hundred miles to the south of true
north, at a location in Canada.
Charts are usually laid out according to a Mercator
projection that uses true north. If you plot a course on a
chart using the Mercator projection, you’ll either have to
convert magnetic readings to true or use true readings.
The AccuNav Sport can display navigation information
in magnetic or true. When it’s turned on for the first time
magnetic is used. To switch to true, first press the MENU
key. Next, press the F5 (CHANGE GPS SETTINGS)
key. Finally, press the F3 (SELECT UNITS OF MEA-
SURE) key. The screen shown on the previous page
appears. Now press the F3 (BEARING) key. This moves
the black box from “MAG” to “TRU.” Press the CLR key
when you’re finished. This saves your changes and
returns to the GPS screen.
BACK LIGHT ON/OFF
Both the display and keyboard are backlighted for use
at night. To prevent excessive current drain on the
batteries, when the battery voltage is less than 9.0 volts,
the lights will stay on for 30 seconds, then automatically
turn off. Press any key to turn them on again. To turn the
back lighting on, simply press the ON key. To turn the
backlights off, press the ON key again. There is a back
light on/off switch on the position screen's third menu
page, also.