Why do we not use "dip needles" or "vertical compass cards" like in the airplanes? These are not precise enough - and reading them off as a number is difficult. Also, we'd like the possibility of being able to read it off by computer! And there's no easy way of getting an absolute direction with respect to something! If there are any that go down to 0.1°, I'd be glad to learn about them.
Transversity requirement - precise measurement upto 0.1° - vertical direction. Other experiments - horizontal direction.
What's cool about this compass is that it can measure any direction in 3-space, and monitor variations with time! If you find glitches or something you think will not work, let us know - The Kentucky Compass Team.
Update - Jun. 06, 2007: SUCCESS! After initial failure , this new design works nicely and we have a resolution of 0.09°. Systematics checks are on-going along with more tests and measurements. Next, we're after absolute measurements.