Where Exactly Is The Equator

On my last day in Ecuador, a few days ago, I went on a tour with my
group from Qito to a monument which was established over 100 years ago
for what the scientists then believed was the location of the Equator.
Today we know that the monument is a bit too far south.

However, we ALSO visited a place about 1 /4 mile away which had a sign
in front saying that within it was the Equator as determined by GPS.
The bus parked in front and we went in.

They had a line showing the exact location of the equator and were
performing various activities to prove it was the equator. The thing
is I had a iQue 3600 with me and it was locked in to 8 satellites with
a reported error of 25 feet and it said that the line reported as the
equator was actually 3 seconds south of the equator. My iQue reported
the Equator to be in the middle of the road where our bus was parked
outside that property some 100 to 200 yards north.

I asked the owner how could this be and he brought over one of his
'techies' who explained that they measured the equator location with a
military GPS and also my iQue was using the wrong Map datum (the WGS
option they told me they used wasn't even an option on my iQue).

So I have two questions:

1. How is it that my iQue with its margin of error was nowhere near
their reported value? Was the iQue report of the Equator incorrect or
was their depiction of the Equator likely incorrect?
2. I don't know much about map datum but it would seem to me that the
datum I chose would have no impact on the location of the Equator - OR
can the Equator be in a different place based upon the map datum?

By the way, one of the experiments they showed was putting a few
leaves in a pan and then letting the water flow out a hole in the
bottom. The leaf turned one way a few feet on one side of their
'line' and the other way on the other side of the line (and straight
down on the line). I was with a PhD physicist and he said that was a
bunch of hogwash and that the effect is too weak to be meaningful
especially across a few feet - he said it had more to do with the
shape of the pan and the way it was oriented. Which is correct? Is
this rotation thing an old wives tale and if not, can it be used to
pinpoint the exact location within a foot or so of the equator?

Thanks for any feedback in advance,
Joel
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Where Exactly Is The Equator
    ... for what the scientists then believed was the location of the Equator. ... My iQue reported ... military GPS and also my iQue was using the wrong Map datum (the WGS ... Was the iQue report of the Equator incorrect or ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
  • Re: Where Exactly Is The Equator
    ... for what the scientists then believed was the location of the Equator. ... My iQue reported ... Was the iQue report of the Equator incorrect or ... I don't know much about map datum but it would seem to me that the ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
  • Re: Where Exactly Is The Equator
    ... performing various activities to prove it was the equator. ... My iQue reported ... is consistent with the markers. ... I assume the border markers were surveyed according to ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)
  • Re: Where Exactly Is The Equator
    ... What do you think the 'equator' is? ... 'techies' who explained that they measured the equator location with a ... military GPS and also my iQue was using the wrong Map datum (the WGS ...
    (sci.geo.satellite-nav)