Silva sighting compass

In article <[email hidden]>, Peewiglet
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

A web search has suggested that it was a
Silva Model 54, but I may have got that wrong.

Has anyone else come across this compass? Do you know where I could
get one?

Cotswold do it.

http://www.cotswold-outdoor.com/Cat/51316

--

Dominic Sexton
http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/

On Sat, 09 Oct 2004 21:33:24 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Until last year, I had a really brilliant Silva compass. It had a
little window in the compass housing through which I could look to
take a bearing (but it wasn't one of the compasses with a fold up
mirror). I bought it in Ambleside many years ago, because I've never
been a confident navigator. This compass made navigation much easier,
so although it was expensive it seemed like money well spent.

Unfortunately, last year I slipped running down a hill and landed on
my bum, smashing the compass in my bumbag into a thousand pieces.

I can't find another on the Silva site, and they don't have it in any
of the shops I've tried. A web search has suggested that it was a
Silva Model 54, but I may have got that wrong.

Has anyone else come across this compass? Do you know where I could
get one?

Many thanks for any help.

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

Have a look on this web site (http://www.ukge.co.uk/navigation). The
Silva Expedition 54 might fit your reqirements.

Norman

Peewiglet said:

I can't find another on the Silva site, and they don't have it in any
of the shops I've tried. A web search has suggested that it was a
Silva Model 54, but I may have got that wrong.

Mine has Type 4 written on it.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

I noticed that Message-ID: <[email hidden]> from
Dominic Sexton contained the following:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Has anyone else come across this compass? Do you know where I could
get one?

Cotswold do it.

http://www.cotswold-outdoor.com/Cat/51316

Sixty quid!

Mine was free with a map case and measuring thingy. I guess it still
points to the same North.

--
Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
It's only Usenet, no one dies.
My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
Simple RFDs http://www.ckdog.co.uk/rfdmaker/

Geoff Berrow said:

Sixty quid!

Mine was free with a map case and measuring thingy. I guess it still
points to the same North.

No, this compass doesn't have a point! ;-)

Mine cost me £35 back in the mid-eighties.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

Dominic Sexton said:

Cotswold do it.

http://www.cotswold-outdoor.com/Cat/51316

Many thanks! I'm not sure how I overlooked that, but I'm v. glad I can
still get one.

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 01:31:51 +0100, Geoff Berrow <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Sixty quid!

Quoted message said:

Mine was free with a map case and measuring thingy. I guess it still
points to the same North.

I love map and compass theory, but for some reason I've always been
very good at getting it wrong. Bearing in mind how dangerous that can
be, I reckon it's worth paying extra for something that makes the
process simpler, and reduces the chance of getting lost/hurt/etc.
There'd be no point for someone who knows he/she will never make a
mistake with the standard version, though.

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

(Norman) said:

Have a look on this web site (http://www.ukge.co.uk/navigation). The
Silva Expedition 54 might fit your reqirements.

That's the one. Thanks very much!

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

Paul Saunders said:

Peewiglet said:

I can't find another on the Silva site, and they don't have it in any
of the shops I've tried. A web search has suggested that it was a
Silva Model 54, but I may have got that wrong.

Mine has Type 4 written on it.

Hmmm... it seems to be the Expedition 54 now. Perhaps they've changed
the name? Thank goodness they're still around, though 🙂

(Now I come to think of it, perhaps you could just send me yours when
you send over the sleeping bag and the tent? (Incidentally, there's no
sign yet: just thought I'd remind you...) You may not need it now that
you have that v. nice GPS!
:-)

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

I noticed that Message-ID: <[email hidden]>
from Peewiglet contained the following:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Mine was free with a map case and measuring thingy. I guess it still
points to the same North.

I love map and compass theory, but for some reason I've always been
very good at getting it wrong. Bearing in mind how dangerous that can
be, I reckon it's worth paying extra for something that makes the
process simpler, and reduces the chance of getting lost/hurt/etc.
There'd be no point for someone who knows he/she will never make a
mistake with the standard version, though.

Well I can see how a sighting compass would be more accurate, but mine
looks identical to the sixty quid one in that picture.
http://www.cotswold-outdoor.com/Cat/51316

I don't walk far enough to get lost anyway <g>. I find the magnifying
glass the most handy thing about it.

--
Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
It's only Usenet, no one dies.
My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
Simple RFDs http://www.ckdog.co.uk/rfdmaker/

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 08:30:55 +0100, Geoff Berrow <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I love map and compass theory, but for some reason I've always been
very good at getting it wrong. Bearing in mind how dangerous that can
be, I reckon it's worth paying extra for something that makes the
process simpler, and reduces the chance of getting lost/hurt/etc.
There'd be no point for someone who knows he/she will never make a
mistake with the standard version, though.

Quoted message said:

Well I can see how a sighting compass would be more accurate, but mine
looks identical to the sixty quid one in that picture.
http://www.cotswold-outdoor.com/Cat/51316

My concern isn't accuracy: it's ease of use.

See that fuzzy bit on the picture of the compass housing? That's
actually a little window. To take a bearing on something you can see
on the ground, all you need to do is hold the compass flat at eye
level, look through the window (a lens) and read off the bearing.
Similarly, to transfer a bearing that you've taken from the map to the
ground, all you need to do is lift the compass as aforesaid, look
through the window and turn until you see the bearing appear.

I know there's nothing complicated about the Silva system, but I also
know that I regularly make stupid mistakes with it. The times when I
most need to be able to get it right - i.e. when I'm in the middle of
no-where, losing light, tired and cold - are the times when I'm most
likely to get it wrong. For that reason, I'm prepared to pay £60 to
use a compass that makes it easier for me. And after all, if I'd not
smashed the blasted thing last year I'd only ever have had to buy it
once :-)

Quoted message said:

I don't walk far enough to get lost anyway <g>. I find the magnifying
glass the most handy thing about it.

Hey, I can get lost just walking to the shops! 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

Hi again,

This isn't exactly the same one (this is even more expensive!) but it
incorporates the sighting system I was trying to describe.

http://www.silva.se/outdoor/products/prof_com54.htm

(They make it all sound so simple at the bottom of the page... ;-)

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

Peewiglet said:

I know there's nothing complicated about the Silva system, but I also
know that I regularly make stupid mistakes with it.

Maybe you'd fare better with a GPS?

Quoted message said:

The times when I
most need to be able to get it right - i.e. when I'm in the middle of
no-where, losing light, tired and cold - are the times when I'm most
likely to get it wrong. For that reason, I'm prepared to pay £60 to
use a compass that makes it easier for me.

It wouldn't cost you much more for a basic GPS.

Quoted message said:

And after all, if I'd not
smashed the blasted thing last year

They're so unreliable these compasses... ;-)

Quoted message said:

Hey, I can get lost just walking to the shops! 🙂

Sounds like you definitely need a GPS. You can use it to find your car
in the supermarket car park afterwards. Try doing that with a compass!

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My concern isn't accuracy: it's ease of use.

See that fuzzy bit on the picture of the compass housing? That's
actually a little window. To take a bearing on something you can see
on the ground, all you need to do is hold the compass flat at eye
level, look through the window (a lens) and read off the bearing.
Similarly, to transfer a bearing that you've taken from the map to the
ground, all you need to do is lift the compass as aforesaid, look
through the window and turn until you see the bearing appear.

I know there's nothing complicated about the Silva system, but I also
know that I regularly make stupid mistakes with it. The times when I
most need to be able to get it right - i.e. when I'm in the middle of
no-where, losing light, tired and cold - are the times when I'm most
likely to get it wrong.

//snipped //

Is there a paradox here? The sight on a compass becomes progressively less
use as conditions for navigation worsen. In very bad visibility a compass
sighting feature is effectively of no use. In those conditions a
bog-standard £10 device is just as good.

--
Alan Law

Paul Saunders said:

Quoted message said:

I know there's nothing complicated about the Silva system, but I also
know that I regularly make stupid mistakes with it.

Maybe you'd fare better with a GPS?

I agree! I bought a little Geko 201 just before I went walking
recently. I didn't have time to learn how to use it with uploaded
routes etc, so just used it for getting a grid reference from time to
time, but I plan to get out the instruction book soon 🙂

[...]

Quoted message said:

Sounds like you definitely need a GPS. You can use it to find your car
in the supermarket car park afterwards. Try doing that with a compass!

Having said that, I bought an eTrex Summit several years ago, and
never quite got the hang of it. I must get that instruction book
out...

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

Peewiglet said:

Paul Saunders said:

Quoted message said:

I know there's nothing complicated about the Silva system, but I
also know that I regularly make stupid mistakes with it.

Maybe you'd fare better with a GPS?

I agree! I bought a little Geko 201 just before I went walking
recently. I didn't have time to learn how to use it with uploaded
routes etc, so just used it for getting a grid reference from time to
time, but I plan to get out the instruction book soon 🙂

I met someone like that on a hill once. They had an Etrex (basic yellow)
and couldn't understand why it was a km or two out. Wrong grid reference
system set.

Why anyone expects to navigate without reading the instructions in beyond
me.

- Nigel

Alan Law said:

Quoted message said:

My concern isn't accuracy: it's ease of use.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

See that fuzzy bit on the picture of the compass housing? That's
actually a little window. To take a bearing on something you can see
on the ground, all you need to do is hold the compass flat at eye
level, look through the window (a lens) and read off the bearing.
Similarly, to transfer a bearing that you've taken from the map to the
ground, all you need to do is lift the compass as aforesaid, look
through the window and turn until you see the bearing appear.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I know there's nothing complicated about the Silva system, but I also
know that I regularly make stupid mistakes with it. The times when I
most need to be able to get it right - i.e. when I'm in the middle of
no-where, losing light, tired and cold - are the times when I'm most
likely to get it wrong.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

//snipped //

Quoted message said:

Is there a paradox here? The sight on a compass becomes progressively less
use as conditions for navigation worsen. In very bad visibility a compass
sighting feature is effectively of no use. In those conditions a
bog-standard £10 device is just as good.

I agree: if there's no visibility then they're all a waste of time. I
was talking about using it before visibility has gone 🙂

Again, I regularly make mistakes using the standard Silva system, but
I've found I'm less likely to make a mistake if I can take the
bearing/find a bearing on the ground by simply looking through a
window on the compass housing. Other people's mileage will undoubtedly
vary, but this is what has worked for me.

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

NC said:

Quoted message said:

I agree! I bought a little Geko 201 just before I went walking
recently. I didn't have time to learn how to use it with uploaded
routes etc, so just used it for getting a grid reference from time to
time, but I plan to get out the instruction book soon 🙂

Quoted message said:

I met someone like that on a hill once. They had an Etrex (basic yellow)
and couldn't understand why it was a km or two out. Wrong grid reference
system set.

Perhaps you misread what I wrote. I *haven't* tried to use it with
routes yet, *because* I haven't read the instruction book. I do know
how to take a grid reference and find it on a map, though.

Quoted message said:

Why anyone expects to navigate without reading the instructions in beyond
me.

Does anyone?

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Sun, 10 Oct 2004 10:27:45 +0100, "NC" <[email hidden]> wrote:

| I met someone like that on a hill once. They had an Etrex (basic yellow)
| and couldn't understand why it was a km or two out. Wrong grid reference
| system set.

I found my etrex was set up wrongly after setting it up *to the
instructions*. It was 1/2 km out because the instructions did not even
mention British Ordnance Survey settings, except in a *very* obscure way
and inaccurately at that. The setup menu when I found it disagreed with
OS Maps.

I trust nothing until I have personally tested it.

When I got back to by computer and googled everything became clear, but on
a hill without a mobile phone signal I was definitely short of a paddle.

| Why anyone expects to navigate without reading the instructions in beyond
| me.

Because it is absolutely *impossible* to even read all the instructions for
all the electronic equipment I have. There are not enough hours in a year
for that, after deducting sleeping/eating time etc.

As we said when I was an engineer. "If all else fails read the
instructions".

--
Dave F