Suunto D5 User Guide

Compass

Short pressing the middle button repeatedly brings up the compass. First, you have to calibrate it. See Calibrating compass.

The information on the display depends on which mode you are in.

In Air/Nitrox mode, you see the following information in compass view:

In the switch window, you see the heading in numeric format.

In the General » Compass menu you can turn the bearing on or off, calibrate the compass, and set declination.

Calibrating compass

When you first start using Suunto D5, and after each charging, the compass needs to be calibrated and it is required to do so to activate it. Suunto D5 displays the calibration icon when you enter the compass view.

During the calibration process, the compass adjusts itself to the surrounding magnetic field.

Because of changes in the surrounding magnetic field, it is recommended to re-calibrate the compass before each dive.

To manually start calibration:

1. Take off your Suunto D5.
2. Keep the middle button pressed to enter the menu.
3. Browse to General » Compass.
4. Press the middle button to enter Compass.
5. Scroll up or down to select Calibrate.
6. Start calibrating the device by trying to move it around the xyz axes of the coordinate system (like you were drawing a small circle) so that the magnetic field is as stable as possible during the calibration. To achieve this, try to keep Suunto D5 in the same location and do not move it around using large movements.

7. Repeat the rotation until the compass calibration is successful.

   

8. A sound indicates when the calibration succeeded, and the screen goes back to Compass menu.

Setting declination

You should always adjust your compass declination for the area where you are diving to get accurate heading readings. Check the local declination from a trusted source and set the value in Suunto D5.

To set declination:

1. Keep the middle button pressed to enter the menu.
2. Browse to General » Compass.
3. Press the middle button to enter Compass.
4. Press the middle button again to enter Declination.
5. Scroll up/down to set the angle of declination: Starting from 0.0º scroll up towards East or down towards West declination. To turn declination off, set declination angle to 0.0º.
6. Press middle button to save changes and go back to the Compass menu.
7. Keep the middle button pressed to exit.

Locking the bearing

A bearing is the angle between north and your target. In simple terms, it is the direction you want to travel. Your heading, on the other hand, is your actual direction of travel.

You can set a bearing lock to help you orientate yourself underwater and ensure you maintain your direction of travel. For example, you can set a bearing lock for the direction to the reef before leaving the boat.

You can reset the bearing lock at any time, but you can only clear a bearing lock while at the surface.

To lock the bearing:

1. Press the middle button to change to compass view.
2. Hold your Suunto D5 in level in front of you, with the top pointing in the direction to your target.

3. Keep the lower button pressed until you see the Bearing locked notification.

   

After you locked the bearing, you can see yellow bars to indicate the angle where you locked the bearing:

When the bearing is at 0°, no arrows are shown beside the value, as above. When the bearing is at 180°, two yellow arrows are shown beside the value:

One yellow arrow indicates the direction you need to turn:

If you want to set a new bearing lock, just repeat the same procedure above. Each bearing lock is recorded in your dive log with a time stamp.

To clear the bearing lock from your compass view, you need to return to the surface.

To clear a bearing lock:

1. While in surface state, keep the middle button pressed to enter the main menu.
2. Scroll to General with the upper or lower buttons and press the middle button.
3. Press the middle button to enter Compass.
4. Select Clear bearing with the middle button.