My Ranger died on me

Big Bad

Big Bad

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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In Little Syria.
My Silva Ranger that is. I got out in the midst of some dense and rainy mixed deciduous and cedar bush to find the trusty old compass had drained itself of liquid and was as useless an inert lump of plastic- the needle doesn't even pivot when it's dry. I might have thought it would, and it's true I should have checked on it before I left, but it had been sitting still and comfortably in a pocket of my hunting shirt throughout the summer and previously had been showing no sign of trouble but a small bubble in the liquid that had been there for years. You do read that you should replace such a compass at once, but the thing served me well for 20 or 30 years after the bubble appeared. Anyway, I've long been a critic of the made-in-Indonesia line of Silva products, which are crap indeed, but the Ranger in question was an authentic one that cost me $100 in real value dollars back in the day, and now it's dead. I have suddenly become a devotee of Suunto models, which should last me until either the magnetic poles or myself are gone.

Farewell old Ranger, I thought you were immortal but you're just a clunky bush mirror now. Couldn't find a photo of one with the lanyard, but that will remain useful too.

silva ranger old model.jpg
 
LeftFootOfDoom said:
can you refill the fluid? Those compass are pricey these days.
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No, 'fraid not, I can't even see where it was leaking. I've just been making further efforts to knock the needle loose, I mean a slow to settle one would be better than nothing, but that idea isn't going to float, excuse the pun. Even the clinometer is frozen.
 
LeftFootOfDoom said:
can you refill the fluid? Those compass are pricey these days.
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In the event, I had backup but this got me to thinking that if I was really effed I could have used a knife to drill a hole in the top of the compass assembly and filled the thing with swamp water, or if necessary even urine. That might have worked, maybe I'll even try it as a concept.
 
Someone sent me this suggestion about compass repair. I have to agree with the author's use of isopropyl alcohol because the complete draining my Ranger left no stain or residue on the shirt's fabric whatsoever.

https://www.archerytalk.com/threads/how-i-repaired-my-silva-ranger-515-compass.5751943/

Also, for the record, the Suunto MC 2 North compass I'm going to use now is quite a good one but does not deliver the same rock steady performance that the old Swedish-made Ranger used to. I do also own the very excellent Universal model of the MC 2 but it's off defending the free world in the care of someone else. On the upside, the MC 2 North's tritium still glows in the dark, the Ranger lost that years ago.
 
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troutseeker said:
Sad day indeed, but you may have gotten your money’s worth out of it? Mine is still in prime shape, got it around 1982 if I recall properly.
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Definitely more than. Mine had some rough experiences and it lasted many times longer than any non-Swedish Silva compass I ever owned- I mean, every backup compass I carried died much sooner. I still have the old Ranger here beside my chair but even if I refill it now, I don't know how or why it leaked out in the first place....
 
DGY said:
Maybe try to contact Silva? Maybe they have an explanation and maybe they can even warranty it?
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I don't think the original company even exists any more but if they do and I demanded satisfaction for a compass that's about 50 years old, I'm confident they would politely tell me to get bent. Nor do I think they could replace it with anything that's anywhere near as good even if they wanted to. I've abandoned Sweden and gone over to the Finns.
 
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My Silva dates from the 1970's. Still alive and kicking, as is my wife's from the same date. They had bubbles when they were new. It's for expansion is what we were told. Has never bothered the accuracy of either. Great compasses! BigBad do you have any idea what precipitated :) the loss of fluid?
 
John Y Cannuck said:
My Silva dates from the 1970's. Still alive and kicking, as is my wife's from the same date. They had bubbles when they were new. It's for expansion is what we were told. Has never bothered the accuracy of either. Great compasses! BigBad do you have any idea what precipitated :) the loss of fluid?
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As I say, the compass was no doubt knocked around a lot but aside from that I have no real idea.
 
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