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Position & Heading

GPS, gyrocompass, magnetic compass, speed log, echo sounder, and heading sensors.

13types 73manufacturers 559models
Browse by type

Types in this category.

Every equipment type in Position & Heading links to full manufacturer and model data, specifications and service notes.

Gyrocompass
A gyrocompass finds true north mechanically, from the earth's rotation acting on a spinning rotor, independent of magnetic variation and deviation, which is why SOLAS still requires one on most vessels even though satellite compasses now exist.
177 models
Magnetic Compass
A magnetic compass draws its heading from the earth's own field, not from a power supply, so it is the one heading reference still working after a full blackout. SOLAS keeps it mandatory precisely because every electronic system on the bridge can fail together.
137 models
GPS Receiver
A marine GPS receiver reports position only; it says nothing about heading unless paired with a second antenna for GNSS compass mode, which is why SOLAS still requires an independent, non-GNSS means of fixing position.
91 models
Speed Log
A speed log measures the ship's actual speed through the water, which is not the same figure a GPS reports as speed over ground, and it is what feeds squat and manoeuvring calculations that current alone cannot supply.
72 models
GPS/GNSS Receiver
A marine GNSS receiver differs from a consumer unit mainly in redundancy and integrity monitoring: SOLAS vessels carry at least two independent receivers, often tracking GPS, GLONASS and Galileo simultaneously, feeding position directly into ECDIS, AIS and the autopilot.
20 models
Echo Sounder
An echo sounder answers one question the GNSS receiver and gyrocompass cannot: how much water is actually under the keel right now, measured directly rather than taken from a chart that may be years out of date in a silting channel.
17 models
Rate of Turn Indicator
A rate of turn indicator does not tell the bridge which way the ship is pointing, only how fast that heading is changing -- a distinction that matters most in the middle of a turn, exactly when the heading display alone is hardest to read accurately.
13 models
GPS / DGPS
GPS gives the bridge an unaided satellite position good to a few metres; DGPS adds a shore-based correction signal that tightens that fix to sub-metre accuracy, which matters in narrow channels and pilotage where the plain GPS fix alone is not tight enough.
12 models
Speed Log (Doppler)
A Doppler speed log bounces acoustic beams off the seabed to read ground speed directly, and switches to water-track mode in deep water where an electromagnetic log can never distinguish ground speed from current-driven drift.
7 models
Magnetic Compass (TMC)
A transmitting magnetic compass reads heading from a card aligned by the earth's own magnetic field, with no electrical power needed to keep pointing north; that independence is exactly why SOLAS still requires one even on ships fitted with a gyrocompass.
6 models
GPS/GNSS
A marine GNSS receiver is only as good as its worst satellite geometry moment; dual-frequency, multi-constellation sets exist because single-frequency GPS alone still loses accuracy in ionospheric disturbance.
4 models
Speed Log (Correlation)
A correlation speed log measures speed over ground by comparing the seabed acoustic pattern seen by two hull transducers a fixed distance apart, giving useful readings in shallow water where a single Doppler beam would lose bottom lock.
3 models
Also in this category: Speed Log (Doppler / EM)
By manufacturer

Manufacturers.

All 73 manufacturers with models in Position & Heading. Every name opens a search across the full library.

Search by manufacturer AFRISOWISKASwagelokAlfa Laval S.p.A.MAN Energy SolutionsWärtsiläEndress+HauserABB MarineAlfa LavalMacGregorNovenco MarineCarrier MarineSiemens MarineHeinen & HopmanDaikin Marine
Knowledge

What a Position & Heading engineer checks first.

A GNSS receiver only fixes position; it tells the bridge nothing about heading. That job belongs to the gyrocompass and magnetic compass sitting alongside it in this category. Unlike a handheld consumer unit, a SOLAS-fitted receiver tracks several satellite constellations at once - GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou - and applies satellite-based augmentation (SBAS, e.g. EGNOS or WAAS) or differential corrections to bring horizontal accuracy from the 5-10 m of standalone GPS down to 1-3 m. Two independent receivers, wired to separate antennas and power feeds, are standard on SOLAS vessels…

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Is Position & Heading data free?

Yes. Every model page, every guide and every datasheet in this category is readable without an account. An account adds saved searches and requests, nothing is taken away.

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Send us the nameplate. We identify it by hand, add it to the library, and if you need a part or a service, the request is already on our desk.

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