tritium vs phosphorescent compass
Instead, it incorporates a material known as strontium aluminate, which is an extremely efficient phosphor that once charged, will glow very brightly initially, and with diminishing intensity for several hours thereafter. For a discussion of the specific dangers associated with radon emissions from radium dials, check out our earlier story on the subject. Cammenga battle-tested Model 27 phosphorescent lensatic navigational and marching compass is made according to the U.S. Army Mil-Spec. The dry capsule will never develop a bubble and is not affected by altitude changes either. Just a word of caution. This phosphorescent compass is waterproof, shockproof, and sand proof. Note the official military 'shock' test an easy 'drop test' of 90 cm (3 feet) onto a table covered with a 10cm (4-inch) layer of plastic-covered sand. [ARCHIVED THREAD] - Why Tritium over Phosphorescent compass. The half-life of tritium is 12 years so the glow will slowly fade. A key point to bear in mind is this: the dial is still highly radioactive. But it can fog over in cold weatheror from moisture andhumidity changes in tropical regions, since the interior is filled with ordinary air, not purged with inert gas like your fogproof binoculars or rifle scope. From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm. Tritium Watches use the gas hermetically sealed inside glass tubes (vials) coated with phosphorescent paint, together this creates a chemical reaction producing glowing light. Tritium sights glow in excess of 10 YEARS. But why bother, when there are other compasses out there with dials that can be easily interpolated to one-degree or less without computations? The interior is white. What's your take on the matter? The phosphorescent ones need exposure to light in order to work, but the Tritium ones die after a decade or so. Trijicon rear sights are $24.00 at Optics Planet which does not seem too expensive. Price Paid: $50, Reviewed by | updated August 14, 2012. in 24 years, it will be a quarter as bright as it originally was. September 10, 2021 Also, I want a rule that shows centimeters, and don't care about inches or fractions of inches. I had my GPS also, but buried itin my pack to prevent cheating. It became manifestly clear in the decades subsequent to the invention of radium paint (in 1908) that the stuff was simply too hazardous for general use, and so the search for substitutes was on. | updated Sep 13, 2021. data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAKAAAAB4CAYAAAB1ovlvAAAAAXNSR0IArs4c6QAAAw5JREFUeF7t181pWwEUhNFnF+MK1IjXrsJtWVu7HbsNa6VAICGb/EwYPCCOtrrci8774KG76 . NIGHT FISION TRITIUM NIGHT SIGHTS FOR GLOCK. It's a little piece of plastic, and for as much as I've loved this compass, I'm more than happy to simply glue a new one in myself. The latest edition of our premium print journal, The Mille Miglia Is A Race Like No Other With A Watch to Match. Just stick the compass and flashlight in a pocket or something. Reviewed by This compass is also functional from temperatures ranging from -50F to +150F and is . Only because technical perfection is yet to be achieved do I give this military-spec lensatic compass less than five stars. Tritium. Lasts about 10-12 years, then donated to scouts. Then by looking through the lens you can read the bearing off the dial. VIEW DIMENSIONS. Source: bought it new So I asked for a Cammenga 3H (basic Army compass)for Christmas. But what most people don't know is that the original M-1938 U.S. Army compass used liquid to dampen the compass dial, which was left out of later lensatic compasses (including the M-1950) for cost considerations, NOT because it is superior to liquid dampening. I was already a lensatic fan for years so using this model was an easy transition. The dry capsule will never develop a bubble and is not affected by altitude changes either. Yeah you read that right, vials of radioactive gas. Switch on the lights for 10 minutes. Generally, I'd avoid the very cheap compasses found at big box stores, and go for a name brand--Silva, Suunto, and Brunton. $40.00 + $5.00 shipping. As was previously stated that is very dangerous. The Cammenga Model 27 Phosphorescent Lensatic Compass is built to the demanding specification MIL-PRF-10436N. My primary compass has been an older Silva Ranger and a newer Silva Explorer. The earth's magnetic pull wants to pull one end of the needle down. I say it is what you prefer to use. Battle tested through rigorous shock, water, sand proof, and functional from -50 F to +150 F. The phosphorescent lensatic compass has been used as an economical alternative to the tritium 27CS for decades. The induction dampening is faster and much more stable then liquid dampening. A classic example is a blue glow associated with a nuclear reactor. Bill When opened wide (fig. Hated the cheap ones in the Army. Fascinatingly enough, collectors didn't start testing alleged radium dials and hands with Geiger counters until pretty recently, and some people have gotten nasty surprises. Alternatively, it might have the manufacturer and/or a NSN. Understanding the history of luminous dials, and having a working knowledge of the basic chemistry and physics behind glow-in-the-dark paints, can go a long way towards helping an enthusiast feel on firmer ground when it comes to discriminating between original or replacement parts, and understanding how to safely store and handle what are sometimes hazardous materials. What's more, the latter is stable enough to take a bearing to an objective while walking or riding in a canoe or small boat. Oh, one other thing, with this compass, you're going to need to carry a protractor. Cammenga does an excellentjob on meeting milspec standards. Reviewed by The only way a watch that's supposed to have a radium dial won't set off a Geiger counter is if the dial is a couple of thousand years old, in which case oh boy, have you got a rare Rolex on your hands (the Julius Caesar Sub, coming soon to an auction house near you!). But one can easily read a compass with a red-light headlamp and still preserve night vision, and the tritium feature isn't enough to make up for the compass' other deficiencies. http://www.cammenga.com/Tritium-Protractor-Compass-p/d3-t.htm. They are often referred to as self-illuminated, though anymore this is a fairly redundant term. All Rights Reserved. Let's examine that. The sleek metal build lets you stay anonymous. You'll probably get some fluorescence, depending on how old the paint is and how badly the phosphor has degraded, but once you remove the light source, the glow should fade pretty rapidly. Uses a copper induction-damping ring that slows, settles and steadies the compass needle quickly. I talked to Cammenga and they said that they could send touch up paint free of charge or I could send it back for repair. A classic workhorse, the KitchenAid 7-Qt. Cammenga makes these with both phosphorus or tritium, the tritium being the more expensive (I'm a cheapskate so I went with the phosphorous both times). a thousand buildings in Switzerland may be radium contaminated, Our Favorite Watches And Accessories For The Fourth Of July. Vintage Cammenga Phosphorescent Military Compass Model 27 US. All rights reserved. Beware of Amazon and eBay knockoffs. I also have a Suunto compass, which was nearly the same price, and reading an accuratebearing is more difficult, time consuming,and prone to interpretation due to the positioning of thenumerals on the outer ring. The the annual market is about 400 grams, and as you note, the cost per gram is about $30,000, but think of it this way: it costs about $12 million to produce 400 grams of tritium and get it to the marketplace, but that doesn't necessarily mean it would cost $24 million to produce 800 grams or $6 million to produce 200 grams. So chances are, it might be fairly dim if its older than that. Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited. The compass dial should turn freely, but not too freely. Constructed with a powder-coated, aluminum frame for optimal endurance. Tritium , I have an older usgi one, The IOR compass seems nice for $50. Cammenga tritium compasses are a bit over a hundred dollars. Sale price: $37.50. Be sure the dial goes clockwise from 0 to 360 degrees. They are able to do this because the sight contains a little vial of radioactive gas called Tritium. The Cammenga G.I. +159 Qty: Lightweight and accurate, just like the Cammenga Tritium Wrist Compass, but with standard glow-in-the-dark phosphorescents instead of the self-illuminating tritium. And remember, if you're trying to authenticate the originality of an allegedly radium-dialed vintage watch, the Geiger counter is your friend but also remember that it won't protect you from unscrupulous sellers adding radium to non-radium dials and hands, and representing them as original radium components (which by the way, comes with major health hazards). Fine, except thatin comparison, my liquid damped orienteering compass with 'global needle' settles in one second or less, and stays rock-steady, with no wobble. The shortcomings I have encountered with it are modest but worth noting. What kind of situations are those? The compassusesmagnetic 'induction damping' to settle its wobbly floating dialin 'six seconds or less'. Avoid those unless that's specifically what you want. I've always been a major fan of this compass. Unlike phosphorescent compass models, the CMMG does not require initial light to make it glow, as it is illuminated from within by tritium on several different places on the compass face. in April 22, 2009. Posted: 1/16/2012 1:33:21 PM EDT. Tritium radioluminescence is the use of gaseous tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, to create visible light.Tritium emits electrons through beta decay and, when they interact with a phosphor material, light is emitted through the process of phosphorescence.The overall process of using a radioactive material to excite a phosphor and ultimately generate light is called radioluminescence. hassle. Item# J582. You could easily do that with a glow-indicator compass. Two of the best known users of tritium gas tubes for watch dials are Ball and Luminox. While the exact quantum mechanical description of photoluminescence is complicated, the basic idea is simple: if an electron orbiting an atom in a certain material absorbs a photon, it will be excited to a higher energy state, and when the electron "relaxes" to its ground state, it emits a photon which we see as visible light. Fluorescent materials tend to emit absorbed energy very rapidly they'll glow as long as there's a source of light to excite the material (typically with what's described as "neon" coloration) but emission takes place over a time scale of mere nanoseconds, so they will go dark the instant a light source is removed. Source: bought it new September 1, 2012. Waterproof to considerable depths. This Phosphorescent Military Compass is battle tested through rigorous shock. Eutrophication results from continuous pollution in the form of agricultural run-offs or sewage outflows. 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Mille Miglia is a Race Like No other with a glow-indicator compass glow-indicator.... | updated Sep 13, 2021. data: image/png ; base64, iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAKAAAAB4CAYAAAB1ovlvAAAAAXNSR0IArs4c6QAAAw5JREFUeF7t181pWwEUhNFnF+MK1IjXrsJtWVu7HbsNa6VAICGb/EwYPCCOtrrci8774KG76 continuous pollution the. Only because technical perfection is yet to be achieved do I give this military-spec lensatic is... 27 phosphorescent lensatic navigational and marching compass is also functional from temperatures ranging from -50F to +150F is... Shortcomings I have encountered with it are modest but worth noting exposure to light in order to,! Made according to the U.S. Army Mil-Spec out there with dials that can be easily interpolated one-degree... Using this Model was an easy transition had my GPS also, but the tritium ones after!
