I was in a Target store the other day and in their small automotive section
there was an electric digital read out compass with lighted LED that clips on
the interior rear view mirror.

It looks like it runs off a couple of AA or AAA batteries. There is a small
battery pack that attaches to the rear of the rear view mirror and a small
"reciever" that is glued to the windshield and attaches to the battery pack via a
3" long wire. The Battery pack and reciever seem to mount behind the mirror in
a way that would not be distracting.

The readout is about the size of a dime (although it's square) and seems to
clip over the rear view so you can read it's eight settings N, NW, W, SW etc.
It says it has a motion sensor "on/off" to save battery power.

It sells for about $30. Thing is I've never seen anything this simple that
offers a compass read out combined with the out of the way mounting in the rear
view anywhere else. But I generally don't look to Target for automotive
innovation.

I like the compact design better than those electric compasses that sit on
the dash and are about the size of a cigarette pack. It's also a lot cheaper
than the aftermarked rear view mirrors I've seen with a digital compass read out
like in more modern cars that seem to be about $200 or more. (Also these type
units generally seem to be an adhesive mount to the windshield which would be
awkward with the Vanagon interior rear view ceiling-mounting set up.)

Anyone have any experience with the reliability, accuracy, ease of use on
these "clip on" type electric compasses?  I want to push my on-board navagation
system up to rival any vehicle manufactured in 1990s. ;)

Any other simple compass ideas. A simple manual compass on my dash does not
work--there's some kind of magnetic interference that several different
adjustable compasses won't ignore.

Best,
Jeff
83.5 Westy
LA,CA