Collecting Military Compasses
Subtitle
Collecting compasses, why?
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Why is someone collecting things? After 30 years I still don't know exactly. What I do know, though, is that I have always felt an affinity with fine mechanical apparatus and instruments, and with optical devices. Within these fields of interest I have collected typewriters, I collect compasses and a few years ago, started to collect binoculars. I greatly enjoy the search for additional items, and when I acquired one, can feel a profound pride of ownership. And finally: The further I travel the road named "Collecting", the greater my need to deepen my knowledge, to learn more, to understand better. I sincerely hope that you will enjoy this compass site.
My growing collection compasses is subdivided into the countries above, starting with the military compasses and possibly followed bij civilian ones.
The cardinal points and other markings on the dial and the needle of compasses produced before 1960, are often covered with radio-active "glow in the dark" paint. This paint was made of a compound of radium bromide and zinc sulfide: the radiating radium bromide excites the zinc sulfide which glows in the dark. After some years, the zinc sulfide no longer glows and becomes brown or yellow, but the radium remains dangerous!
I checked all of my compasses with my radiation detector (Gamma-Scout) and the results you can find on the pages. 5 microSievert/hour sets off an alarm on the detector.
Ted Brink