Sorry, no compasses made 2011. Possibly from around January or May 2012. Please contact if interested.

The  position of the center pointer with respect to the movable yellow markers gives the complete lift/ header information.   The yellow markers are initially set at best lift for their respective tack. Lift/header information at a glance! (Animation.) Set up and read instruction for Ansar 4.

A comparison between Ansar 2 and 4 compasses with electronic compasses TackTick and Sailcomp The Ansar 2 and 4 compasses have at least five unique and most essential features, even when compared with electronic compasses. The only compasses I know of that have some sort of at a glance information and are practical *, apart from mine, are the electronic ones. Other mechanical compasses indicate a figure which has to be compared with other (noted) figures to work out how large the lift/header is or if the lift has become better than before.  * Suunto made tactical compasses with movable markers but they had to be read from above and only worked to about 15 degrees of heel.

>Price, specifications, how to select >There is plenty to gain from wind shifts >You need a compass! Benefits of Ansar compass no:  >2 and 4 The best! >2 with the cupola upwards. >1 >3 Set up and read: >Ansar 4. Simplest! >Ansar 2 >Automatic compensation for tacking angle, Ansar 4 >A comparison with electronic compasses >How to pay, prepayment only! >Warranty. >How to mount the compass >Background of compasses >The modification takes time >Compass manufacturer Silva's site >Small scale local distributors wanted! >Back to the compass home page   Email with comments, suggestions, questions or just to say hello. Note line below! At home or traveling? Sometimes I travel for weeks and can't always respond to email. Postal address & Telephone number. Modified July 2001. Counter: . My home page magazine articles, lectures.  The world's fastest skate sail, 120 km/h (75 MPH) is another of my top performance designs.  Copyright © 1996-2001 Anders Ansar. Permission is granted for reproduction provided that the whole document remains intact.

Comparison The entries are written to be read horizontally from the left. Features of Ansar 2 and 4 Sailcomp Mostly applies also to other  electronic compasses where  markers are set for Mean wind direction for each tack. Tacktick Race master  and Race compass, Aug. 2000. Relative size of lift or header is shown directly. No figures to read, remember, write or compare. Unique. Set up and read Ansar 4. To get relative size of lift or header you have to compare indication with noted figures of Best Lift and Worst Header. No, same as Sailcomp The compass clearly indicates if lift gets better than before: the pointer goes beyond the best lift marker. Not to be missed as it can mean a shift in mean wind direction. Unique. Set up and read Ansar 4. To know if lift gets better than before you must keep notes of Best Lift, for both tacks, and compare indication with the noted figures. No, same as Sailcomp To set up before racing you simply move the markers until they indicate best lift on each tack. No calculations needed. Unique.  Set up and read Ansar 4. To set up before racing you sail on both tacks and note Best Lift and Worst Header. Then calculate mean headings. Input headings in compass. Same as Sailcomp To adjust while racing, when the mean wind direction has changed, you simply move the markers to the new Best Lift positions. Unique. Set up and read Ansar 4. No method given in instruction. You can't use the method just above (you can't sail in the worst headers when racing).  Instruction says adjust  Mean Wind Direction, but it doesn't say how you calculate the amount to adjust. The adjust while racing, when the mean wind direction has changed, can be done for both tacks at once.  No, you can't do it for the other tack until you have tacked. If you forget it the compass will give wrong indication... Yes. The Set up before racing is time efficient because you are only setting the markers for Best Lift. Set up and read Ansar 4. Too gather the same amount of information for Set up before racing takes twice as long because you have to see both Best Lifts and Worst Headers on both tacks before you have Mean Wind direction and can set the compass. Same as left. Visibility of the pointer/markers is unaffected by e g sunlight. LCD indicators usually have varying visibility depending on light/viewer angle. Same as left. Automatic compensation, in keelboats, for the change of angle between tacks when wind strength increases, Ansar 4. Unique. Automatic compensation No.  No. Resolution is about one degree. Resolution above 10 deg. is 5 deg. - too much. The wind may shift 4.5 deg. and there will be no change in indication. Also it may shift .5 deg. and the indication will change 5 deg. 5 deg. for Race compass. Far too large, see left. Allowed in all classes. Some classes prohibits electronic compasses. No. No. No  battery required. No risk compass stops working because of flat battery. Battery required. In small boats which normally has no battery it requires a separate installation. Internal battery. Must be charged or compass doesn't function. No electrical circuitry that can get damaged from water seeping in. Can get damaged. Can get damaged. Supplied instruction for set up before start  for oscillating wind shift gives a proper set up. Yes, but requires taking notes. And can not be used while racing. Same as left. Supplied instruction tells you how to adjust the compass when the mean wind direction has changed. Set up and read Ansar 4. No. The instruction, on internet (aug. 2000), doesn't even deal with this most important subject. If you are not able to do this the compass becomes useless. No method given to calculate amount of change too be made.   If you can't work this out the compass can't help you with the wind shifts. Adjustments are intuitive and doesn't require calculations, there is little need for consulting the manual.   An example for Ansar 4 compass, "adjust the compass for a new Mean wind direction": Move the windward Best lift marker to the position of the white pointer. Move the other Best lift marker the same amount in the same direction.   See picture at top of page. Set up and read Ansar 4. No. You must some way work out the new mean wind directions for both tacks. Instruction doesn't say how.   Again you can not use the method given to set up the compass before the start as you can't sail in the worst headers when racing.  No.  Instruction: "Ensure the Race Master is in ‘Wind Mode’ then press the down arrow key. The Mean Wind Direction is now displayed and can be adjusted with the up or down arrow keys. Alternatively, reset the Race Master by one of the previous methods."  Comment: It is not said to which value to adjust. This is needed to get the job done. The compass is able to account for the tacking angle of the boat.  No.  Yes. Price around US$ 400 for a 100 mm compass. Sailcomp I don't have current price. Used to be some US$ 800 in Sweden. Race Master US$699, Aug. 2000. Tacktick