Wow, this I really didn't expect. Did you really give the compass a workout? I realize that it reads out in 1 degree increments, but does it repeatedly give the same value for the same orientation (place it against a wall, read, spin it a bit and place it back against the wall, read again)?

What about the backlight, can you keep the display on and backlight off for more than a minute or so?

I've already ordered the smartttool ($90 at amazon w/ an automatic discount) w/ the intent of replicating Rod Nabholz's setup. If this really works, I'd order it in a minute.