On 31 Mar 2004 11:51:51 -0800, (Robert M. Gary)
wrote:

It was recommended to me that I should rent a degausser to get my
compass to behave more reasonably. I called a dealership that rents
it, they are asking $50 plus shipping for 1 week's use. They said it
requires power. I'm having trouble invisioning what this thing is. I'm
also curious what it would be like to ship. Is it something big like a
vacuum cleaner?
-Robert

Robert, during WWII, the Allied response to German magnetic mines
which were laid on the bottom of shallow water passages like the River
Thames, was to degauss the ships. That's right, entire ships. The
ship would be wrapped entirely around with huge electrical cables and
then they would be energized and the ships magnetic field would be
altered enough to avoid setting off the mines. Or so the engineers
calculated anyway. It's still being done according to sources brought
up with a google search. Some ships have permanent degaussing coils
built into the hull and superstructure.

Corky Scott