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Giving up on the old compass, I looked for a replacement, ideally without enlarging or reducing the hole in the hull. The original Silva 100P was my first choice.
On eBay and Kleinanzeigen, the local classifieds sites, I found an original Silva 100PT from the eighties, never used, for €25! New ones cost about €180. A sign from fate. Its only fault: a little oxidised metal sediment inside the bowl.
I bought €4 worth of 3mm red LEDs on Amazon, with built-in transistors for a 12V circuit. Fifteen minutes to fit and test.
My appetite for bargains persisted. Two more parcels arrived: a French Vion Mini 2000 hand-bearing compass and a Swedish Silva Type 60. €25 each.
The Vion resembled today’s popular Plastimo Iris 50. Unfortunately, half the liquid had evaporated and the tritium no longer glowed. Its little disc was removable, though, so I took it out and covered it with self-adhesive luminous tape.
The liquid was quite thin. After asking ChatGPT, I guessed purified paraffin or 70% alcohol. A sealed rubber disc sat in the side. I inserted a syringe needle and pumped air in until the bottom popped out. The room filled with a diesel smell. Washed everything with Fairy and reassembled. Filled the syringe with 70% ethanol, injected through the disc, drew out excess air, and repeated until it looked usable. Like new now. I sealed the disc with my wife’s nail varnish.
I liked the Silva Type 60 even more: two scales show both bearing and reciprocal. Its drawback was an exhausted tritium capsule I couldn’t work out how to remove. No good for night passages, then.
#maintenance
On eBay and Kleinanzeigen, the local classifieds sites, I found an original Silva 100PT from the eighties, never used, for €25! New ones cost about €180. A sign from fate. Its only fault: a little oxidised metal sediment inside the bowl.
I bought €4 worth of 3mm red LEDs on Amazon, with built-in transistors for a 12V circuit. Fifteen minutes to fit and test.
My appetite for bargains persisted. Two more parcels arrived: a French Vion Mini 2000 hand-bearing compass and a Swedish Silva Type 60. €25 each.
The Vion resembled today’s popular Plastimo Iris 50. Unfortunately, half the liquid had evaporated and the tritium no longer glowed. Its little disc was removable, though, so I took it out and covered it with self-adhesive luminous tape.
The liquid was quite thin. After asking ChatGPT, I guessed purified paraffin or 70% alcohol. A sealed rubber disc sat in the side. I inserted a syringe needle and pumped air in until the bottom popped out. The room filled with a diesel smell. Washed everything with Fairy and reassembled. Filled the syringe with 70% ethanol, injected through the disc, drew out excess air, and repeated until it looked usable. Like new now. I sealed the disc with my wife’s nail varnish.
I liked the Silva Type 60 even more: two scales show both bearing and reciprocal. Its drawback was an exhausted tritium capsule I couldn’t work out how to remove. No good for night passages, then.
#maintenance
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