Gyro Compass on Ships: Construction, Working, and Usage
A Gyro compass is a form of gyroscope, used widely on ships employing an electrically powered,
fast-spinning gyroscope wheel and frictional forces among other factors utilising the basic physical
laws, influences of gravity and the Earth’s rotation to find the true north.
Construction
Gyro compass has become one indispensable instrument in almost all merchant ships or naval vessels
for its ability to detect the direction of the true north and not the magnetic north. It is comprised of the
following units:
Master Compass: Discovers and maintains the true north reading with the help of a
gyroscope.
Repeater Compasses: Receive and indicate the true direction transmitted electrically from
the Master Compass.
Course Recorder: Makes a continuous record of the manoeuvring on a moving strip of
paper.
Control Panel: Governs the electrical operation of the system and ascertains the running
condition by means of a suitable meter.
Voltage Regulator: Maintains constant supply of the ship to the motor-generator.
Alarm Unit: Indicates failure of the ship’s supply.
Amplifier Panel: Controls the follow-up system.
Motor Generator: Converts the ship’s DC supply to AC and energizes the Compass
equipment.
Gyro compasses are linked to the repeater compasses via one transmission system. The fast-spinning
rotor attached weighs from 1.25 pounds to 55 pounds.
It is driven thousands of revolutions per minute by another electric motor. However, the most
essential part of a Gyro compass system is the spinning wheel, which is known as the Gyroscope.
Working
External magnetic fields which deflect normal compasses cannot affect Gyro compasses. When a ship
alters its course the independently driven framework called ‘Phantom’ moves with it, but the rotor
system continues to point northward.
This lack of alignment enables it to send a signal to the driving motor, which moves the phantom step
in with the rotor system again in a path where the phantom may have crossed only a fraction of a
degree or several degrees of the compass circle.
As soon as they are aligned, electrical impulses are sent by the phantom to the repeater compasses for
each degree it traverses.
The Gyroscope in the Gyrocompass is mounted in such a way so that it can move freely about three
mutually perpendicular axes and is controlled as to enable its axis of spin settled parallel with the true
meridian, influenced by the Earth’s rotation and gravity.
The Gyrocompass system applications are based upon two fundamental characteristics, which are:
Gyroscopic Inertia: The tendency of any revolving body to uphold its plane of rotation.
AD
Precession: A property that causes the gyroscope to move, when a couple is applied. But
instead of moving in the direction of the couple, it moves at right angles to the axis of the
applied couple and also the spinning wheel.
These two properties and the utilization of the Earth’s two natural forces, rotation and gravity, enacts
the Gyrocompass to seek true north.
Once settled on the true meridian the rotor indefinitely will remain there as long as the electrical
supply of the ship remains constant and unaltered and unaffected by external forces.
Usage and Errors
Gyro compasses are pre-eminently used in most ships in order to detect true north, steer, and find
positions and record courses.
But due to the ship’s course, speed and latitude, there could appear some steaming errors. It has been
found that on Northerly courses the Gyro compass north is slightly deflected to the West of the true
meridian whereas on Southerly courses it is deflected to the East.
Modern ships use a GPS system or other navigational aids to feed data to the Gyrocompass for
correcting the error. An orthogonal triad of fibre optic design and also ring laser gyroscopes which
apply the principles of optical path difference to determine the rate of rotation, instead of depending
upon mechanical parts, may help eliminate the flaws and detect true north.
What are advantages and disadvantages of Gyro Compass?
It always shows true north.
The gyro will have a number of repeaters.
Gyro input can be fed to RADAR/ARPA/AUTO PILOT/ Echo Sounder.
Does not use earth's magnetic field for reference.
It will not deflect by any external force such as magnet, iron etc.
What are the disadvantages of gyro compass?
A minor disadvantage of the gyro compass is that it takes, typically, 75 minutes to settle down after it
has been switched on. The first successful gyroscopic compass, which was introduced in 1908, was
invented by the German engineer Dr Anschütz-Kaempfe for use in an underwater vehicle.
What are 3 disadvantages of magnetic compass?
The following characteristics of the magnetic compass limit its direction-finding ability: a) Sensitive
to any magnetic disturbance. b) Useless at the magnetic poles and is sluggish and unreliable in areas
near the poles. c) Deviation (explained later) changes as a ship's magnetic properties change.