Suunto
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Suunto Oy, based in Finland, is a company that produces and markets magnetic sports compasses and other navigational products, along with various mechanical and electronic measurement devices.
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[edit] History
Suunto is best known for its traditional magnetic compasses. In 1933 the company's founder, Tuomas Vohlonen, a surveyor by profession, applied for a patent for a unique method of filling and sealing a lightweight compass housing made entirely of celluloid with liquid to dampen the needle and protect it from shock and wear due to excessive motion.[1] In 1935, Volhonen was granted a patent on his design, which went into mass production a year later as the wrist-mount M-311.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Suunto introduced a compact liquid sighting compass, the m/40, during World War II for artillery officers and other users needing a precision instrument for measuring an azimuth.
The company grew rapidly after World War II, supplying compasses and other navigational instruments to both civilian and military markets.
In 1996, Suunto Oy acquired Recta AG, a Swiss compass manufacturer. Suunto Oy was in turn acquired by Amer Sports Group in 1999, which now owns Recta AG.
[edit] Compass products
Suunto makes a wide variety of magnetic compasses, including the A and M series for general navigation, the Arrow series of compasses for orienteering and adventure racing competition, and the KB and MC line for those requiring a professional-quality hand bearing compass.[7]
Suunto also sells original Suunto designs, such as the M-3 Leader, in a slightly modified form under the Recta label. The company continues to refine its line of sport compasses with features such as improved luminosity, adjustable declination, and fast-settling needle designs. The company is well known for its new generation of 'Global' compasses fitted with special needles that can operate in all world magnetic zones.
Since 1967, Suunto has offered its KB line of high-quality hand-bearing surveying compasses and inclinometers that are accurate to fractions of a degree. These compasses are popular among cave explorers, foresters, geologists, archaeologists, land surveyors, and mariners. Traditionally made of a solid block of machined aluminum (some newer versions are in high-impact plastic housings), each KB compass contains a magnetized dial with calibration markings printed along its outer edge.[8] A magnifying lens (KB-14) or prismatic sight (KB-77) is mounted at one end of the instrument with a crosshair providing a view of the disc, containing both forward and reciprocal bearings.[8] In operation, the user divides his or her field of vision with the instrument, using the device's lens or prism to precisely measure the bearing of the object in view.[8]
[edit] Electronic navigation
Suunto is also famed for its multi-function electronic wristwatches such as the Suunto Vector, X-Lander, and X10, which can provide a variety of functions including compass bearings, acceleration, altitude, training effect and even GPS location, depending on the model. These multi-function electronic wristops are made for different sports like sailing, golfing, hiking, mountaineering, alpine skiing, training and diving.
[edit] Military models
The Suunto M-5N protractor compass is current issue to Finnish Defence Forces (M-5NT) and British Land Forces (RA-69NT), while the the MC-2 optical-sight (mirror) compass has been approved for issue to various NATO military forces, including Canadian Land Forces and some U.S. Special Forces units (the 'T' in the model designation indicates the compass has been fitted with tritium self-illumination).[9]
In addition to its own line of magnetic compasses and other measuring instruments, Suunto continues to market the Recta AG line, including the original Recta DP 'matchbox' compass for the Swiss Armed Forces and the general market.
[edit] Other products
Suunto also produces diving equipment and instruments such as dive computers, where Suunto is the market leader.
Suunto provides high-end training technology to help athletes quantify their training. For cycling, running and heart rate (HRM), Suunto uses the ANT (network) to wirelessly transmit data directly to a PC in real time. Suunto also provides software to interpret those results.
[edit] Suunto in the media
- Using Suunto Vector altimeter/compasses and Garmin 60CSx GPS mapping receivers, Australians Nathan Welch and Mark Kalch became the fourth team in history to successfully navigate the entirety of the Amazon River.[10][11][12]
- The Suunto X10, a wristop GPS receiver, was awarded Best Adventure Gear of 2009 by National Geographic Adventure magazine.
- On April 4, 2008, Swiss climbers Ueli Steck and Simon Anthamatten made the first ascent of Mt. Tengkampoche's North Face in Nepal using Suunto Core wrist altimeters.[13]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Suunto Oy, Suunto Company History, December 2001 Article
- ^ Gubbins, David, Encyclopedia of Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism, Springer Press (2007), ISBN 1402039921, 9781402039928, p. 67: In 1690, Sir Edmund Halley demonstrated a rudimentary working model of a liquid compass at a meeting of the Royal Society.
- ^ Fanning, A.E., Steady As She Goes: A History of the Compass Department of the Admiralty, HMSO, Department of the Admiralty (1986): The first liquid-filled mariner's compass to receive a patent as a working model was a nautical design invented by Englishman Francis Crow in 1813.
- ^ E.S. Ritchie & Sons Company, Inc. About Us, Article: In 1860, Edward Samuel Ritchie, an American physicist and instrument maker, received a U.S. patent for the first liquid-damped marine compass adopted for general use aboard ships and boats.
- ^ Hughes, Henry A., Improvements in prismatic compasses with special reference to the Creagh-Osborne patent compass, Transactions of The Optical Society 16 17-43, London: The Optical Society (1915): The first liquid-damped compass compact enough for pocket or pouch was the Creagh-Osborne, patented in 1915 in Great Britain.
- ^ The Compass Museum, Article: Though the Creagh-Osborne was offered in a wrist-mount model, it proved too heavy and bulky in this form.
- ^ Dickison, Dan, Powerboat Reports Guide to Powerboat Gear: Take the Guesswork Out of Gear Buying, Globe Pequot Press (2006), ISBN 1592280692, 9781592280698, pp. 91-93
- ^ a b c Dickison, pp. 91-93
- ^ Ministry of Defence, Manual of Map Reading and Land Navigation, HMSO Army Code 70947 (1988), ISBN 0117726117, 9780117726116, ch. 8, sec. 26, pp. 6-7
- ^ Article
- ^ Article
- ^ Article
- ^ Steck Makes First Ascent of Tengkampoche North Face, Article
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Suunto – Official site
- Programming / Decoding the Suunto PC Pod
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