It sounds like the center post in your plane has acquired a magnetic field and may limit your options here. You can test by moving the compass around
and watching for unexpected swings. The compensating magnets will help correct for these fields but if they are too strong then you really need to do something about the plane to get good results. If you are sure that the center post is the cause of your problems then you can mount the compass in the panel where it has been working acceptably perhaps or you can correct the magnetism problem which will help any compass installed in your plane. Removing the magnetic field is not too difficult but the one certain way to ruin the job is to demagnetize the plane with the compass left in it. This will allow you to buy a shiny new compass of your choice. Degaussing equipment is available from small to whole ship size. The equipment consists of a coil of wire with an ac voltage supplied to it, usually by plugging it into the wall outlet. A coil large enough to do a whole airplane is available from Sacramento Sky Ranch on a rental basis. If you want to remove the tube from your plane there are small coils available to demagnetize objects like screwdrivers which should be suitable for this job. The inside of every tv set has a coil which demagnetizes the tube and chassis each time you turn on the set. With everything working correctly the vertical card compass performs almost as well as a directional gyro so you will be happy with your efforts. Bob Condon
<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
