Compass dampener liquid refill?

Discussion about making bushwalking-related equipment.

Compass dampener liquid refill?

Postby Bill P » Thu 14 Mar, 2019 8:01 pm

My favourite Silva Type 7 NL has finally lost its juice after 40 years good service. :( Needle still points north but spins madly and incessantly like a liberal prime minister. Can anyone recommend a suitable household liquid that i can refill it with please? I dont want to buy anything specifically - wondering if anyone has used water or shellite or sewing machine oil . Any ideas..?
User avatar
Bill P
Athrotaxis cupressoides
Athrotaxis cupressoides
 
Posts: 213
Joined: Sun 05 Jul, 2009 9:30 pm
Gender: Male

Re: Compass dampener liquid refill?

Postby tastrax » Fri 15 Mar, 2019 8:10 am

From this page (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass) it would seem any of these things would be suitable

.....lamp oil, mineral oil, white spirits, purified kerosene, or ethyl alcohol are common

White spirits/turps is pretty common in supermarkets - you may even have some in the shed!
Cheers - Phil

OSM Mapper
User avatar
tastrax
Lagarostrobos franklinii
Lagarostrobos franklinii
 
Posts: 2047
Joined: Fri 28 Mar, 2008 6:25 pm
Location: What3words - epic.constable.downplayed
ASSOCIATED ORGANISATIONS: RETIRED! - Parks and Wildlife Service
Region: Tasmania

Re: Compass dampener liquid refill?

Postby Orion » Sat 16 Mar, 2019 9:50 am

Good on you for making the effort to keep a $10 compass from ending up in the rubbish heap.

I spent a couple of weeks reverse engineering a toaster that had gone wonky with it's microprocessor control. I carefully sketched out a schematic, looked up the what the various chips were, and had even written some of the code for the Atmel processor I was going to use to run the thing. I had it all figured out. Then I ran a little test and connected wire A to wire B when it should have been obvious from my home made schematic that I really shouldn't have done that. Pop! Poof! Smoke. Goodbye. Now I have a new toaster that cost $25 and the old one is adding to the giant pile of industrial debris. Oh well.

I don't really know what fluid is in a cheap hand held compass. It doesn't appear to be very viscous though. The thing I would wonder about is why the fluid is gone in yours. Presumably there is a leak you need to deal with.
Orion
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1963
Joined: Mon 02 Feb, 2009 12:33 pm
Region: Other Country

Re: Compass dampener liquid refill?

Postby michael_p » Sat 16 Mar, 2019 10:08 am

Orion wrote:Pop! Poof! Smoke. Goodbye.

The magic smoke is impossible to get back in once it escapes. :(
One foot in front of the other.
User avatar
michael_p
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1376
Joined: Sun 15 Nov, 2009 6:58 pm
Location: Macarthur Region of Sydney.
Region: New South Wales
Gender: Male

Re: Compass dampener liquid refill?

Postby Bill P » Sat 16 Mar, 2019 8:10 pm

Orion wrote:Good on you for making the effort to keep a $10 compass from ending up in the rubbish heap


Thanks Orion i always try to repair things too. Hey --I didnt pay $10 for this compass though. I found it on a beach in 1985.

Thanks tastrax- lamp oil sounds good but i dont have any. i think ill use kero - the blue colour should look cool.
User avatar
Bill P
Athrotaxis cupressoides
Athrotaxis cupressoides
 
Posts: 213
Joined: Sun 05 Jul, 2009 9:30 pm
Gender: Male

Re: Compass dampener liquid refill?

Postby Orion » Sun 17 Mar, 2019 1:23 am

michael_p wrote:
Orion wrote:Pop! Poof! Smoke. Goodbye.

The magic smoke is impossible to get back in once it escapes. :(


I actually could have resurrected it. At least a couple of parts had been damaged and one whole trace had vaporized. But I could have replaced those parts and bypassed the missing circuit board trace. It would have been possible to do. But my heart was no longer in it.


Bill P wrote:Hey --I didnt pay $10 for this compass though. I found it on a beach in 1985.


Too funny!
Orion
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1963
Joined: Mon 02 Feb, 2009 12:33 pm
Region: Other Country

Re: Compass dampener liquid refill?

Postby rcaffin » Sun 14 Jul, 2019 9:58 am

You will need a very light liquid. I tried using the lightest of oils, but the needle moved afar too slowly. Kero? Maybe. But it might evaporate away.

Cheers
Roger
User avatar
rcaffin
Athrotaxis selaginoides
Athrotaxis selaginoides
 
Posts: 1223
Joined: Thu 17 Jul, 2008 3:46 pm


Return to Make Your Own Gear

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests