Vehicle Compass and Outdoor Thermometer System

A vehicle compass and outdoor thermometer system has been developed for the 1984 Lincoln Mark VII/Continental vehicles. The totally electronic system processes signals from a magnetic flux-gate sensor and thermistor, through a microcomputer, to display both compass heading and outdoor temperature on a vacuum fluorescent display. The intent of this paper is to describe the system and some of the unique challenges encountered by both Prince Corporation and Ford Motor Company in an effort to provide a practical electronic automotive compass and outdoor thermometer.