Help Samsung Moment Compass Calibration

[simpat1zq]

I just tried a bunch of compass applications, and they all seem to be off by about 45 to 90 degrees. It's the same on google sky.

Does anyone else have this same problem?

 

[chixdigit]

I downloaded a GPS App called GPS Status, and it has a compass on it. It told me that my internal compass needed calibration and to go to the FAQ to find out how to do it. I went there, and it said to "rotate my phone 1-2 times on each of it's 3 axis"...
For the life of me, I can only think of 2 axis... Rotating it sideways and rotating it end over end.. I tried that several times and it wasn't working. I kept trying that, and now it doesn't tell me that anymore, and the compas is CLOSE, but NOT fully accurate- even outside and not around any metal objects. I've kind of given up, but:
1) It woudl be nice to find out how to get it fully accurate, and
2) it would be nice to know what the heck the 3rd axis is that this app's author is referring to.

Sooo.. to answer your question:
Yes, I seem to have compass calibration issues as well, and hopefully my tip about rotating the phone on the axis' will help you get closer to accurate.

 

[CriticalCritic]

I downloaded a GPS App called GPS Status, and it has a compass on it. It told me that my internal compass needed calibration and to go to the FAQ to find out how to do it. I went there, and it said to "rotate my phone 1-2 times on each of it's 3 axis"...
For the life of me, I can only think of 2 axis... Rotating it sideways and rotating it end over end.. I tried that several times and it wasn't working. I kept trying that, and now it doesn't tell me that anymore, and the compas is CLOSE, but NOT fully accurate- even outside and not around any metal objects. I've kind of given up, but:
1) It woudl be nice to find out how to get it fully accurate, and
2) it would be nice to know what the heck the 3rd axis is that this app's author is referring to.

3rd axis (and the most critical for this application)=lay it on its back and spin it

To recap
1-end over end (flip)
2-side over side (roll)
3-screen-up rotation (spin)

 

[cfrock]

I downloaded a GPS App called GPS Status, and it has a compass on it. It told me that my internal compass needed calibration and to go to the FAQ to find out how to do it. I went there, and it said to "rotate my phone 1-2 times on each of it's 3 axis"...
For the life of me, I can only think of 2 axis... Rotating it sideways and rotating it end over end.. I tried that several times and it wasn't working. I kept trying that, and now it doesn't tell me that anymore, and the compas is CLOSE, but NOT fully accurate- even outside and not around any metal objects. I've kind of given up, but:
1) It woudl be nice to find out how to get it fully accurate, and
2) it would be nice to know what the heck the 3rd axis is that this app's author is referring to.

Sooo.. to answer your question:
Yes, I seem to have compass calibration issues as well, and hopefully my tip about rotating the phone on the axis' will help you get closer to accurate.

Here's what I'm thinking..
Assuming you are holding the phone in your palm, screen facing upward. 1 axis:spin phone around keeping the screen facing upwards the whole time.
2 axis: holding the phone the same way, anlge the earpiece end of the phone towards you all the way around so you see the back of phone and come all the way around to starting point. 3 axis: again holding phone same, lift 1 side say the end button (as opposed to send)turning the phone so you see the side edge and complete full circle.
Make sense?

 

[cfrock]

3rd axis (and the most critical for this application)=lay it on its back and spin it

To recap
1-end over end (flip)
2-side over side (roll)
3-screen-up rotation (spin)

He beat me to it. Much better explaination as well.

 

[numus]

The compass application says move your phone in a figure 8 to calibrate..

I am trying ot figure out if there is a specific way to do it tho.. because i have done it like 10 times but it keeps telling me i need to calibrate it..

 

[chixdigit]

The compass application says move your phone in a figure 8 to calibrate..

I am trying ot figure out if there is a specific way to do it tho.. because i have done it like 10 times but it keeps telling me i need to calibrate it..

Uh, I'd recommend doing using the (very helpful) method that CriticalCritic posted as the way to calibrate your compass..
1) The figure 8 way seems impossible to figure out/ do correctly, and (most importantly)
2) I tried this while I was in front of my house and I must have looked like a) a crazy person, or b) a HUGE geek having an imaginary sword fight with an imaginary opponent) while I swung and jabbed my phone in "figure eight" patterns 2 times about 4 different trys....

FYI, I haven't had a chance to try a re-re-calibration with the 3rd axis yet, but it sounds good to me! Thanks very much CC (and cfrock- for your reply as well)...

 

[Zumaki]

An important thing to note is that if you try to calibrate your compass while standing indoors with all of your appliances and electronics, you aren't going to properly calibrate the phone, and it will need re-calibration when you move again. Best place is out in a parking lot away from running cars (which give off huge fields from the alternator) or somewhere else where you're >50 feet from other technology. When the apps say your compass needs calibrated, it doesn't necessarily mean it is going to be totally wrong, its just not going to be precise.

This phone's really opened my eyes to the amount of EMI there is around my house, lol.

 

[ydoucare]

I've tried calibrating every which way and it doesn't seem to matter. If i'm holding the phone screen-up, and I point the phone towards North, then spin the phone 180 degrees (still keeping it flat, screen up), the direction it says North is, is at least 30 degrees off from where it was with the phone spun around the other way.

 

[crankzhaft]

My Moment does the exact same thing: it's off based on rotation of the device. And this is across multiple apps and multiple "calibration" cycles.

What I see is the following: Assume my nose is pointing at "0" degrees based on the compass ring. North is at 160 degrees on the dial. This is approximately correct based on true north from a compass.

Next, I rotate the phone (everything else does not move) such that my nose and 180 are aligned. Now true north should have been at 340 degrees (or -20) but instead it points to +20!! which is totally incorrect.

It appears that this might be a Moment low-level software issue or hardware issue and the applications are not at fault. Unfortunately it renders the compass unusable.

 

[Zumaki]

My Moment does the exact same thing: it's off based on rotation of the device. And this is across multiple apps and multiple "calibration" cycles.

What I see is the following: Assume my nose is pointing at "0" degrees based on the compass ring. North is at 160 degrees on the dial. This is approximately correct based on true north from a compass.

Next, I rotate the phone (everything else does not move) such that my nose and 180 are aligned. Now true north should have been at 340 degrees (or -20) but instead it points to +20!! which is totally incorrect.

It appears that this might be a Moment low-level software issue or hardware issue and the applications are not at fault. Unfortunately it renders the compass unusable.

You have to take the phone away from interference to calibrate it, which is hard in urban areas. power lines, computers, cell phones, and nearby antennas will mess with it. The compass software is 'smart' enough to compensate for all the crazy field variations wherever you calibrate it, but the problem is that if you do it in an area full of interference, it will only work in that one spot.


It would be nice if someone could write a calibration app that used gps + accelerometer data instead of relying on the internal compass.

 

[crankzhaft]

You have to take the phone away from interference to calibrate it, which is hard in urban areas. power lines, computers, cell phones, and nearby antennas will mess with it.

Yes it's free and clear of interference and a standard compass works fine in the same field. I work on similar devices in my day-to-day business as an engineer and am very familiar with interference and calibration.

It's a bug... especially when it is reflecting about the axis which appears to be a mathematical bug. The problem is I have no access to the lowest level information to determine if it's in the API or the h/w... could be either place since multiple apps are showing this anomaly.

If you have a good ol' Boy Scout compass or hiking compass try out the cal and see if your phone shows this anomaly. Apparently it's not just me as ydoucare is having an almost identical issue.