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Compass with Bubble

Compass with Bubble


Postby davekeiller » Sun Oct 04, 2020 6:44 pm

I've got a Silva type 4 compass with a bubble in it. It's over 5 years old, so no longer covered by warranty.
Anyone know if it's possible to get it repaired?
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby Wilbur Smith » Wed Oct 07, 2020 6:26 pm

Not an option that I know about.
Either buy a new compass. Although a Silva compass uses a generic "bezel" So therfore a cheaper model would suffice and can be fitted to a 4 base plate.. They're only held by a copper circuit.
Unless Silva has changed there design recently. Although I doubt it!
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby Wilbur Smith » Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:49 pm

Wilbur Smith wrote:Not an option that I know about.
Either buy a new compass. Although a Silva compass uses a generic "bezel" So therfore a cheaper model would suffice and can be fitted to a 4 base plate.. They're only held by a copper circuit.
Unless Silva has changed there design recently. Although I doubt it!


" circlip"
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby davekeiller » Tue Oct 13, 2020 10:08 am

I contacted Silva and they don't sell them as spare parts.
Bit of a shame really, as it's clearly a sealed unit that slots into the baseplate so it's eminently feasible to repair it.
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby Wilbur Smith » Tue Oct 13, 2020 10:43 am

davekeiller wrote:I contacted Silva and they don't sell them as spare parts.
Bit of a shame really, as it's clearly a sealed unit that slots into the baseplate so it's eminently feasible to repair it.


No they don't. But you may have misunderstood :wink:
The capsule is generic and are therefore all the same in their baseplate compasses.
Therefore you could buy their cheapest compass and change it to replace in the 4 baseplate.

Have had quite a few some eventually bubbled and by experiment and logic realised the capsule is exactly the same in all And fit all of this type of compass.As of 2018. Unless they have changed the design recently :lol: Doubt it.

If I am wrong someone may contradict me :wink:

Also if you use YouTube some show you how to "mend" them but not worth the hassle.
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby davekeiller » Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:44 pm

@ Wilbur, I understood you perfectly. However, as the compass is a sealed capsule that slots into the baseplate it's something of a shame that Silva can't/won't repair it. It's also a shame that they won't sell the component parts as spares to allow me to repair it myself.

I'm sure I could repair it myself if I tried, but I think I'd rather just buy a new Type 4 compass rather than getting a cheaper one and hacking two compasses apart in the hope of fixing it.
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby Wilbur Smith » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:09 pm

davekeiller wrote:@ Wilbur, I understood you perfectly. However, as the compass is a sealed capsule that slots into the baseplate it's something of a shame that Silva can't/won't repair it. It's also a shame that they won't sell the component parts as spares to allow me to repair it myself.

I'm sure I could repair it myself if I tried, but I think I'd rather just buy a new Type 4 compass rather than getting a cheaper one and hacking two compasses apart in the hope of fixing it.


Why bother asking :lol: My first post, second sentence stated that!

Give me strength never seen as much rubbish spoken on a walking forum. Some people need leading by the nose. :(
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby davekeiller » Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:49 am

There's no need to be insulting.
I asked because sometimes there are third party companies who can offer repair services, even when the original manufacturer doesn't, and because if someone does offer that service it seems likely that at least one or two people on here would have used it and could recommend a repairer.
It seems that this service is common enough for marine compasses, but there evidently isn't sufficient demand for repairs to walking or orienteering compasses.
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby jester » Sat Oct 24, 2020 12:27 am

You can sometimes remove the bubble if it is not too large. Wrap it in a tea towel and place on/near a radiator overnight and see if that has any effect.
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Re: Compass with Bubble

Postby davekeiller » Sun Oct 25, 2020 11:16 am

@Jester, thanks for the suggestion. I tried it last night and the bubble has shrunk considerably. I'll leave it for a day or two and see if it goes completely.
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