NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Sisteco Primatic Handheld Compass
From: UNK
Date: 2004 Mar 17, 09:59 -0500
From: UNK
Date: 2004 Mar 17, 09:59 -0500
On Wednesday, March 17, 2004 12:03 AM, Robert Eno asked about refurbishing or replacing his Sisteco hand-bearing compass. You may have a hard time replacing the tritium/phosphor illumination capsule. Current hand-bearing compasses use light-activated phosphor illumination (the kind you have to "charge" under a bright light) or battery-powered lights. Safety concerns appear to have won out. Tritium is pretty benign, being a low-energy beta emitter, but if you managed to break the capsule and swallow the stuff... well, I leave that to your lawyer's imagination. I can highly recommend the hockey-puck style compasses like the Mini 2000. They are easy to use day or night, smooth sea or rough. -- Peter
