Marsupial Gear Bino Harness-Magnet Issues?

[Dryfirepete]

I've got the magnetic bino harness with magnetic RF pouch and it definitely throws my compass of by quite a margin. Definitely not using this setup anymore as soon as landnav could become necessary.

 

[BigSig]

I am looking at the Marsupial Gear Medium/Magnetic for my Razor UHD's. After reading some of the comments I tried my own test with a battery operated magnetic shop light and was pretty surprised by what I found. I felt that the strength of the shop light magnet would be equal to, or greater than, the strength of the Marsupial magnet. Not all that scientific but interesting.

1. Magnet vs. Garmin 64st - No effect over 18"+ then 2-3 degrees off at 12". 28 degrees off at 6" and threw the compass off by 90 degrees when the magnet was held right next to the GPS.

2. Magnet vs. iPhone 14 Pro Max - No effect at 18"+. 2-3 degrees at 6". 9-10 degrees when the magnet was held right next to the iPhone.

3. Magnet vs. onX compass function (on iPhone 14 PM) - 18"+ no effect. 12" no effect. 6" no effect. Magnet held right next to the iPhone (touching) threw the compass off by 4-5 degrees.

4. Magnet vs. Pixel 4 - No effect at 18"+. 3-4 degrees at 12" and 28-30 degrees at 6". 108 degrees when the magnet was held right next to the Pixel.

5. Magnet vs. Redfield Raider 600A Rangefinder - Over 18" no effect. 12" no effect. 6" no effect. Magnet held next to the rangefinder (touching) no effect.

6. iPhone 14 PM vs. Garmin 64st - 18"+ no effect. 12" no effect. 6" no effect. Holding the iPhone next the the GPS had no effect unless the back of the phone (magnet side) was touching the GPS then it was thrown off by a little over 100 degrees.

7. iPhone 14 PM vs. Pixel 4 - No effect on either device at any distance even with the magnet side of the iPhone touching the Pixel. I thought there might be with the magnet on the back of the iPhone.

It looks like if you are holding your phone or GPS at least 12-15"+ away from the magnetic bino-harness, you should be fine.

 

[Clarson757]

Good testing! I called Maven and talked to them about magnetic issues with the rangefinder/ magnet interferences since they recommend the Marsupial RF pouch. They said that it might interfere with the reticle brightness or style but as long as I’m not ranging with the magnet on the unit itself, there shouldn’t be any issue. They said that they would recommend waiting for the display to turn off before returning it back in the magnetic pouch.

 

[BigSig]

Good testing! I called Maven and talked to them about magnetic issues with the rangefinder/ magnet interferences since they recommend the Marsupial RF pouch. They said that it might interfere with the reticle brightness or style but as long as I’m not ranging with the magnet on the unit itself, there shouldn’t be any issue. They said that they would recommend waiting for the display to turn off before returning it back in the magnetic pouch.

That's good to know. I don't have the pouch yet but it's on order so I'll do a little additional testing. With what I saw, there shouldn't be too much to worry about but, not all rangefinders are the same. I didn't notice any reticle changes on mine but it's pretty old and there is much newer/better tech out there.

 

[4ester]

The magnets do affect the direction of the Compass on ONX and Basemap. They do not affect the location or accuracy.

 

[BigSig]

The magnets do affect the direction of the Compass on ONX and Basemap. They do not affect the location or accuracy.

I'll have to check it out some more in the field. I wasn't seeing it at the house but it was just a very basic test. I appreciate the info.

 

[Clarson757]

That's good to know. I don't have the pouch yet but it's on order so I'll do a little additional testing. With what I saw, there shouldn't be too much to worry about but, not all rangefinders are the same. I didn't notice any reticle changes on mine but it's pretty old and there is much newer/better tech out there.

Yea I haven’t had a single issue yet after a couple seasons with mine.

 

[Tater86]

I'll have to check it out some more in the field. I wasn't seeing it at the house but it was just a very basic test. I appreciate the info.

Yeah, it only affects the function of utilizing the directional blue cone. That is the feature I use the most on my OnX and when I used the Marsupial harness it would through off the direction for me not matter the distance I held it.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Jumping in on this thread. I recently got the marsupial bino harness with the magnets and it affects my analog compass considerably. If I hold the compass as low as I can it seems to be accurate but its enough of an issue that I will probably swap for the non-magnet version.

 

[Macintosh]

Been using a marsupial magnet harness since 2018. I use onx on my iphone (during that time an iphone 8, 12 and now a 14) almost every day, and have never had any problem. Yes, I can intentionally create a compass error if I want, but you basically have to do it intentionally. An analog compass is more problematic, and if stored near the harness can ruin the compass. I make sure my oh-shit kit which includes the compass is in my pack and not near the bino harness on anything resembling a regular basis. Some devices use magnetic switches in order to be waterproof, so its possible for a stronger magnet to turn one of these devices on or off or change a setting.
The bottom line is that I am aware of this, therefore I consider it a total non-issue because it is easily managed. To me the benefits of the magnetic closure easily outweigh any of these negatives.

 

[rcb2000]

I just tested my phone's gps and it isn't affected by 4 strong fridge magnets. Don't know if that means anything.

I did the same thing and thought nothing was happening, then started circling the magnets about 3-4” above my phone and watched my compass start spinning slowly 180 degrees.