Bubble in your compass

N

nothinghappenedtoday

Joined
Sep 16, 2009
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85
Hey folks - I usually keep a Suunto clip compass on my keychain, and a small button compass in my survival kit as a back up. I was going through my kit and noticed an air bubble in my button compass that wasn't there before. It's throwing the reading off. So my questions are: What may have caused this? Is it fixable? Should I just throw it out and just by name brands?

Thanks!
 
The bubble can happen with the good compasses, too. I remember reading that if you put it on a window sill in the sun for a few day, the bubble will go away.

I have a cheap button compass that I edc. It doesn't have the bubble problem— because it's a dry compass. They take a moment to settle, but it's worth it to avoid the bubble.
 
Mine has too. But its over 25 years old.
When i use to do a lot of back packing in snow it was not a uncomon thing to happen in a cold enviroment. It can go away when it warms up.

As for my compass, I just need a new one.
 
Any liquid filled compass can develop bubbles.

That's why I stick with my Cammenga. and my Tru-Nord's.
 
Tru-Nord makes a dynamite dry wrist compass. Either compensated for declination of your area or non-compensated. Model 300C. check into it at trunord.com
 
wildmike said:
Tru-Nord makes a dynamite dry wrist compass. Either compensated for declination of your area or non-compensated. Model 300C. check into it at trunord.com
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Thanks to you my good man..that sounds good.!
 
Simple answer, the leak. I had several Marbles brass compasses stored through out my gear, about 4 I think, and one that I carried in my pocket. They all leaked, and got a bubble that threw the reading off, I don't how long the ones in my gear took, but my pocket one, about a year.

Once I saw it happening to my pocket compass, I went through all my gear, and pulled all may compasses. They all had them, except my Suuntos. I disassembled the Marbles, Coleman, and Silvas to see what was causing it, and there was a small hole in the back, that had a plug of some sort, and the plug was about half out on all of them.

I guess after a year of cold and hot, contracting and expanding, the plugs loosened up, and allow the oil to leak out.

Suunto from now on, no others for me. YMMV.

Moose
 
Scott Free said:
The OP with the bubble, was complaining about his Suunto compass.
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Thanks, I caught that, I appreciate the heads up, but it still rings true here, with me. I have a crap sense of direction and so far, my Suunto's seem to be the only ones to hold true and not bubble up when others have. Perhaps the guy/gal assembling that day had a hangover, but my Marbles, Coleman, and Silvas have all gone off. YMMV.

Moose
 
As far as a bubble in a button compass, I wouldn't even worry about it. A button compass is at best a tool for general reference, not serious navigation.
 
My Silva has a bubble that re-occurs when going to high altitude. It goes away when I drop back down.
 
moosez45 said:
Perhaps the guy/gal assembling that day had a hangover, but my Marbles, Coleman, and Silvas have all gone off. YMMV.
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Are you saying that at one time, the Marbles, Coleman and the Silva were at least relatively accurate, and then eventually they weren't? Or were they inaccurate from the beginning? I know that sometimes a compass can completely change polarity, but can they be fine one day, and then a few or several degrees off the next? I wouldn't think so, but I really don't know.


My main pocket compass is a (dry) Tru Nord. It's just heavy and bulky enough that I only carry it if I know I'll need a compass. My edc compass is a cheap dry compass. To use a dry compass, you tip it just a bit to dampen and slow down the needle. Doing so, it will settle pretty quickly. I hate the bubble.
 
Erasmus said:
My Silva has a bubble that re-occurs when going to high altitude. It goes away when I drop back down.
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Same here. No bubbles near sea level, but when I go to high elevation it has a bubble. It does not seem to affect performance.
 
Scott Free said:
Are you saying that at one time, the Marbles, Coleman and the Silva were at least relatively accurate, and then eventually they weren't? Or were they inaccurate from the beginning? I know that sometimes a compass can completely change polarity, but can they be fine one day, and then a few or several degrees off the next? I wouldn't think so, but I really don't know.


My main pocket compass is a (dry) Tru Nord. It's just heavy and bulky enough that I only carry it if I know I'll need a compass. My edc compass is a cheap dry compass. To use a dry compass, you tip it just a bit to dampen and slow down the needle. Doing so, it will settle pretty quickly. I hate the bubble.
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Yes, as a rule of thumb, I check all my compasses against a compass that I deem worthy as a control group, typically, the most recent purchase. I figure if its new, then it has the highest probability of being true. Because I have such a crappy sense of direction, its not uncommon for me to check all my navigators agianst one another. At one point, Marble, Coleman, and Silva read true. After a year's worth of storage, all of them succumbed to a bubble of signifigant size, as to alter their bearing. My Suunto compasses (4) have yet to develop a bubble and thus rendering their bearing "on" in my perspective. They all read the same bearing and I have no reason not to trust them.

Most of the areas I traverse, I have a good idea of N and S, based off of handrails that I have seen on maps and first hand. My Marbles, Silva, and Coleman compasses all show an altered bearing on North, and thus deemed inaccurate in my opinion. My Suunto's still show the same bearing as the day I bought them. None older than 3yrs.

Does this make sense? I'm a little drunk.

Moose
 
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