Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
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-optical &
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mechanical
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operation
-disassembly
-cleaning
-lubrication
-repairs
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other
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adjustments
-zoom binoculars
Repair your own binoculars. Or add binocular repair to your business. Here's
how to restore binoculars to proper working condition-including:
Index
INTRODUCTION
Since starting
binocular AliiSome
repair. Service Notes,
people we'vetohad
just want many
repair theirrequests for a book
own binoculars. on
Others
want to add binoculars to their present repair line. We've tried to design this book
for both needs as well as for the needs of experienced binocular-repair technicians.
The text materials don't provide step-by-step coverage of every type of binocular;
we concentrate on the conventional porro-prism binoculars, the type you'll most
frequently encounter. However, the theory behind the repair and adjustments ap-
plies to other types of binoculars as well.
Binocular or binoculars?
You'll see binocular, describing a single unit, written both in the singular and in the
plural-a binocular or a pair of binoculars. The binocular consists of two halves
that are practically mirror images of one another. Either the singular or the plural is
acceptable.
Parts and specialized tools present a different problem. If a binocular needs parts,
the repair may not be economical-at least for an inexpensive pair of binoculars.
However, a good pair of binoculars may justify the parts costs. The only parts source
is the manufacturer of the binoculars.
Most of the specialized tools described in this book also come from manufacturers
of binoculars. The addresses and phone numbers of binocular manufacturers are
listed in another Alii publication-the Parts and Information Directory.
2
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
If you'reThere
gram. neware
to four
binocular
to more complex subjects.
sectionsrepair, you with
that start can the
use basics
this book as a self-study
and proceed pro-
progressively
Section B starts with information on tools and techniques. You first learn about the
special tools that are needed for repairing binoculars. You also learn how to clean the
optics and what lubrications to use on the mechanical parts.
The rest of Section B covers disassembly techniques. You'll find that this material is
much easier to understand if you have a pair of binoculars to disassemble. Ideally,
you should start with a "junk" pair of binoculars. Learn the basics-and how to
avoid disturbing adjustments-before you tackle customers' binoculars.
Garage sales and flea markets sometimes provide a source for inexpensive binocu-
lars you can use as practice equipment. Or check with businesses that often do bin-
ocular repair, such as camera-repair shops. Such shops may have binoculars that
were "donated" by customers who didn't want to pay the charge for repairs.
Section C covers the optical adjustments. If you have some background in binocu-
lars-and you just want to adjust a pair of binoculars-you may be able to skip
directly to this section.
Again, if you're new to the field, it helps to have a pair of binoculars you can use
when following the instructions in Section C. Try throwing out the adjusunems. And
then make the adjustments on your practice binoculars.
Section D covers the oculars (eyepiece assemblies) in zoom binoculars. You prob-
ably should not attempt repairs on zoom binoculars until you're proficient in the first
three sections. Zoom binoculars just add variable magnification to the principles
already covered.
3
SECTION A-BINOCULAR BASICS
tance between the eyelenses matches the distance be-
TheButword binocular
there's more ofrefers to viewingbetween
a difference with both eyes.
binocu- tween your eyes. The distance between the eyelenses
lars and telescopes than the viewing method. In this is the interpupillary distance (the distance between
section, we'll take a look at those differences along with the pupils of your eyes).
the basic optical principles governing binoculars.
Many binoculars include a scale-the IPD scale-- for
Fig. Al shows the terminology we'll be using in this setting the interpupillary distance, Fig. A2. The IPD
book. The large lenses at the front of the binoculars are scale shown in Fig. A2 is on a disc attached to the
the objective lenses. These lenses gather the light from hinge pin-the index is on one of the ocular arms. If
the image and bring that light to a focus point inside you remember your own interpupillary distance, you
the binoculars. can quickly set the binoculars by referring to the IPD
scale.
The eyepiece assemblies-the oculars-magnify the
images formed by the objective lenses. The ocular is The calibrations on the IPD scale are usually in milli-
the complete eyepiece assembly. It consists of the eye- meters. For example, spread the binocular sides until
lens (the lens closest to your eye) as well as the other the index aligns with "70." The distance between the
lenses in the eyepiece. Many binoculars have rubber centers of the eyelenses is now 70mm.
eyecups at the ends of the oculars. If you wear eye-
glasses, you can roll up the rubber eyecups. Practically all binoculars have two focus adjustments
for matching the binoculars to your own eyes and to
One side of the binoculars is hinged to the other side. the subject distance. A common design uses a focus
Each side of the binocular pair mounts to the hinge knob, Fig. AI, that moves both oculars simultaneously.
pin. The hinge allows you to change the separation The oculars move in out along a threaded shaft-closer
between the binocular sides to match the distance be- to the binocular body or further from the binocular body.
tween your eyes. You simply spread the sides further
apart-Dr move the sides closer together-until the dis- But your two eyes probably don't have identical cor-
DECORATOR CAP
/ OBJECTIVE LENSES
OBJECTIVE-
LENS TUBE
BODY
FOCUS
KNOB
HINGE PIN
OCULAR ARMS
4/BINOCULAR BASICS
(PO SCALE
FIG. A2 Many binoculars have a scale to show the interpupillary distance (IPO). This
scale is calibrated in millimeters.
BINOCULAR BASICS/S
control. Push one side of the rocker arm to move the
oculars in one direction; push the other side of the rocker SCREW ON
arm to move the oculars in the opposite direction. HINGE PIN
A
In Fig. A4, a carn slot rather than a threaded shaft moves
the oculars. The carn slot is in the rocker arm, Fig. AS.
A screw on the hinge pin rides in the cam slot.
Pushing the left -hand side of the rocker arm moves the
cam slot as shown in Fig. AS (B). The carn slot then
drives the ocular assembly toward the front of the bin-
oculars. If you push the right -hand side of the rocker
arm, the cam slot moves as shown in Fig. A5 (C). The
ocular assembly now moves toward the back of the bin-
oculars.
B
You normally can't see the cam slot in the rocker arm-
it's covered by a decorator cap, Fig. A6 . The decorator
cap just snaps into place.
DECORATOR
PLATE move the rocker arm, the hinge pin moves toward the
\ front or toward the back of the binoculars. The hinge
pin carries the ocular assembly in the same direction.
To see the cam slot and the screw on the hinge pin,
remove the snap-fit decorator plate, Fig. A6. Fig. A7
shows the rocker arm with the decorator plate removed.
The ocular shaft screws into the focus knob, Fig. A8.
HINGE PIN And the focus knob screws into the hinge pin. But only
the focus knob can rotate-the oculm' arms prevent the
FIG. A6 Binoculars with the ocular ocular shaft from rotating with the focus knob.
assembly removed. The rocker arm
Since the ocular shaft can't rotate, it moves in or out
moves the hinge pin in or out. The hinge
along its screw threads. The ocular shaft then carries
pin carries the ocular assembly. the ocular assembly in the sarne direction.
6/BINOCULAR BASICS
Some binoculars-such as military binoculars-elimi- SCREW ON HINGE PIN
nate the control that moves the two oculars simulta-
neously. Both oculars are individually adjustable, Fig.
A9. You must adjust each ocular individually for your
own eyesight. Each ocular has diopter calibrations simi-
1ar to the calibrations shown in Fig. A3.
POWER OF BINOCULARS
You'll see a pair of numbers on the binoculars that in- FIG. A7 Removing the decorator plate
dicate both the magnification of the oculars and the from the rocker arm (see Fig. A6)
diameter of the objective lens-such as 7 x 30. The 7x uncovers the hinge-pin screw and the
is the magnification of the oculars-the oculars mag- cam slot.
nify the image formed by the objectives 7 times. The
second number - 30--tells you that the diameter of
each objective lens is 30mm.
/ HINGEPIN
SCREW THREADS
OF OCULAR SHAFT
SCREW THREADS OF
! FOCUS KNOB
FOCUS KNOB
ADJUSTABLE OCULARS
SHOULDER OF
OCULAR SHAFT
BINOCULAR BASICSn
The power and the cliameter of the ob-
jective lenses also tell you the diam-
eter of the exit pupil-the actual im-
age area. To see the exit pupils, look
through the binoculars at an illumi-
nated source-perhaps the sky. Now
hold the binoculars around 6" from
your eyes. The illuminated circles you
can see at the centers of the eyelenses,
Fig. Al 0, are the exit pupils.
Determine the diameter of the exit pupils by the for-
mula:
FIG. A10 The power and the diameter of
exit pupil = diameter of objective lens the Objective lenses is normally marked
power
on a cover plate next to one ocular. In
Zoom binoculars, Fig. All, allow you to change the this example, the magnification is 7
power-the actual magnification of the oculars. The power. The diameter of each objective
zoom binoculars have a control that shifts the internal lens is 50mm.
ocular optics to change the magnification. The optical
principle is similar to that used in zoom lenses for cam-
eras. As you move the zoom lever, Fig. All, a magni-
fication scale shows you the actual setting, Fig. A12.
INDEX
ZOOM LEVER
FIG. A 12 The numbers under this zoom
ocular indicate the selected
magnification. The index ring rotates as
FIG. A 11 Zoom binoculars allow you to you move the zoom lever. In this
change the magnification of the example, the magnification is between 9
oculars. and 10 power.
8/BINOCULAR BASICS
OPTICAL PRINCIPLES OF BINOCULARS
FOCAL EYELENS
FOCALPOINT
OF/ LENGTH
OBJECTIVE LENS OF
OCULAR
¢> FOCAL LENGTH OF OBJECTIVE LENS ¢
FIG. A14
LIGHT RAY
To bend the light rays as shown in Fig. A14, the objec-
tive lens relies on the optical principle of refraction.
Refraction is the bending of the light rays as the light
passes from a medium of one density to a medium of a
different density. With the lens, the light passes from
air (low density) into the glass of the lens (high den-
sity).
BINOCULAR BASICS/9
But when the light ray leaves the lens in Fig. A15, the we've added two more point sources from the subject
top edge of the light ray enters the air first. The light after passing through the objective lens. Now the ob-
ray speeds up when it enters the air. Since the top of jective lens brings the point sources to a plane-the
the light ray speeds up before the bottom of the light focal plane.
ray, the light ray bends up.
The focal point of the ocular, Fig. A14, is at the same
The amount the light ray refracts depends on two fac- place as the focal point of the objective lens. The ocu-
tors: the curvature of the lens and the density of the lar magnifies the virtual image and forms a real im-
glass. Increasing the curvature of the lens causes the age-an image you can see by looking through the ocu-
light ray to bend more. The more dense the glass, the lar. As with binoculars, you can move the ocular in or
more the light ray bends-the denser medium slows out to correct for your own eyesight.
down the light ray a greater amount.
If the subject is at a focus distance closer than infinity,
If the subject is at infinity (an infinite distance from the the incoming light rays are no longer parallel-rather,
lens), the incoming light rays are parallel to one an- the light rays diverge from the subject. The objective
other, Fig. A14. The objective lens brings the light rays lens brings together the light rays at a point behind the
to a focus point. The distance between the optical cen- focal point in Fig. A14. As a result, the virtual image is
ter of the objective lens and the focal point when the formed closer to the ocular. You must then move back
subject is at an infinite distance is the focal length of the ocular-further from the objective- to bring the
the lens. image into sharp focus.
You can optically simulate a target at an infinite dis- The telescope shown in Fig. A14 is an aerial telescope,
tance-you'll see one method in Section C (Adjusting used for viewing such things as stars and planets. The
Binoculars). But for test purposes, you can consider a image appears inverted (upside down) and reverted
target at a distance of around two miles to be infinity. (reversed from left to right)-a positive lens (a lens
that focuses the light rays at a point behind the lens as
In Fig. A14, the subject is a point source of light. A shown in Fig. A14) always inverts and reverts the im-
normal scene, however, is made up of many point age. The subject rays coming from the bottom of the
sources coming from different directions. In Fig. A16, lens are focused at the top of the focal plane, Fig. A16.
w
Z
c(
...J
Q.
...J
c(
U
o
LL
FIG. A 16 All the image points from the subject are focused at the focal plane.
1O/BINOCULAR BASICS
LENS-ERECTING SYSTEM
FIG. A17 With a terrestrial telescope, the image passes through an erecting system.
The image you view is right side up and correctly oriented from right to left.
BINOCULAR BASICS/11
A prism is a piece of optical glass designed to reflect
light rays. There are different types of prisms distin-
guished by their shape or by the manner in which they
reflect the light rays. For example, a 90· prism, Fig.
A20, reflects the light at a 90° angle. A 90° prism is RIGHT
also called a right-angle prism-both for the shape ANGLE
and for the direction that the prism reflects the light (a
right angle).
Fig. A21 shows the light path through the 90° prism.
The reflecting surface is at a 45° angle in order to re-
flect the light 90°. Light enters the entrance face of the EXIT FACE
prism. The reflecting surface then reflects the light ray
90°. The reflected light ray leaves the prism through
the exit face.
FIG. A20 The 90°-or right-anglEr-prism.
You can always determine the angle of a reflected light
ray by applying the law of reflection. The law states
that the angle of reflection-angle b in Fig. A21-al-
ways equals the angle of incidence-angle a in Fig.
A2l. To detennine the angles, draw a line that's per- ENTRANCE
pendicular to the reflecting surface-the line is called FACE
REFLECTING
the normal, Fig. A2l. The angle of incidence is on
one side of the normal; the angle of reflection is on the
other side. SURFACE ~
REFLECTING SURFACES
90' PRISMS
FIG. A23 If you cement two 90° prisms
together as shown, you have the porro
FIG. A22 The porro prism. prism.
121BINOCULAR BASICS
Light enters one face of the porro prism and is inter-
ENTRANCE
nally reflected 90° ,Fig. A24-from one 45° surface
to the other 45° surface. In Fig. A24, the dashed line is
the normal. Angle a, the angle ofincidence, equals angle
FACE~
b, the angle of reflection. The second right -angle prism
reflects the light 90° to the exit face of the porro prism.
Notice in Fig. A24 that the light leaves the porro prism
180° opposite to the entrance direction. The light path
has been displaced by a distance that corresponds to
the distance between the 45° surfaces.
FIG. A26 Positions of the porro FIG. A27 The angle between the
prisms inside the binoculars. porro prisms should be 90° .
BINOCULAR BASICS/13
OBJECTIVES
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ENTRANCE RAY I
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FOCAL PLANE I
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OCULARS
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FIG. A28 The light displacement shortens the distance between the objectives and
the focal plane-the binoculars then allow a long focal length in a compact unit.
BINOCULAR BASICS/15
Notice in Fig. A34 that the porro prisms are displacing INTEROBJECTIVE DISTANCE
the light in the opposite direction to standard binocu- OBJECTIVE
lars. For the sake of compactness, opera glasses sacri- ~
lENSES
fice some of the 3-dimensional binocular characteris-
tics. But as far as repairs and adjustments are con- PORRO
cerned, there's little difference between opera glasses PORRO
PRISMS
and binoculars. PRISMS
T
i
I
In infrared binoculars, the objective lenses focus the FIG. A34 The light path in opera glasses.
virtual image on a solid-state image pick-up-a device
that converts the image to an electronic signal. The elec-
tronic signal is then processed by circuitry inside the
binoculars and converted to a visible image-an image
ENTRANCE
that's magnified by the oculars. Subject seen through
the infrared binoculars appear green in color.
Roof-angle (or roof-edge) prisms vary according .to the FIG. A36 A roof edge erects the image in
numberthere's
prism of reflecting surfaces.
a roof edge But the
that erects so~ewhere
Image. AIII the
roof- two planes.
16/BINOCULAR BASICS
angle pentaprism, for example, has five (penta) sides;
the roof-edge surfaces form two of the five sides. OBJECTIVES
BINOCULAR BASICS/17
SECTION B-DISASSEMBLY &
REPAIR TECHNIQUES
Disassembly procedures
spite the variety remain fairl
in binoculars. But ythere's
consistent, de-
one type
of binocular that you don't want to disassemble. Some
high-end binoculars are purged and then filled with
nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas makes the binoculars
waterproof and fogproof.
<
~ REGULAR BLADE {TOP VIEW}
prism covers, Fig. B 1, are
usually held by screws-and
those screws may be either REGULAR BLADE {SIDE VIEW}
slotted or crosspoint, Fig. B2.
Also, the prism clamps that
hold the porro prisms in po- FIG. 82 A slotted Fig. 83 A crosspoint screwdriver blade
sition may be held by screws. {top} compared with a regular
In other cases, the ends of the screw (left) and a
screwdriver blade {center and bottom}.
prism clamps simply slip into crosspoint screw.
18/DISASSEMBLY &REPAIR
rings-you
can remove theneedparts.
to loosen the setscrews before you ~ e ~
that are frequently used to lock parts such as threaded ~
The jewelers' screwdriver has a swivel end, allowing
you to turn the screwdriver without changing your grip. FIG. 84 A jewelers' screwdriver may be
A set of jewelers' screwdrivers includes very small needed for headless setscrews (shown
tips-tips small enough for watch repair. You may never at right).
need the smallest sizes. But you can get individual sizes.
The 1.0mm and 2mm blades should handle all the set-
screws you'll encounter in binoculars.
U
LOOSEN
fJ
TIGHTEN
If possible, restrict your cleaning to the surfaces you Excess grease will be pushed out at the ends of the
can reach. Openings in the prism shelf allow you to threads. Use a KimwipeTM to wipe off the grease.
reach the entrance and exit surfaces of each prism pair.
You can then clean these surfaces without removing
the porro prisms. But cleaning the surfaces that trans-
fer light from one porro prism to the other do require
removing the porro prisms-and disturbing the adjust-
ments.
Why? Whenever you disassemble one side, there's a lhreaded rings and tubes can present a slight problem
risk of disturbing adjustments. But you still have the on reassembly. The threads of the decorator cap and of
other side-the side you haven't disassembled-to use the objective-lens tube are fine (as opposed to coarse).
as your standard. If you miss the proper starting thread, you can cross-
thread the parts. A cross-threaded objective-lens tube,
Once you've adjusted the reassembled side, you can for example, will sit at a slight angle to the binocular
disassemble the other side. You can now use the side body.
you've already adjusted as your standard.
One technique you can use to find the proper starting
1\vo of the adjustments you can disturb are collima- thread is to first turn the part in the opposite direction.
tion and rotational error. If the binoculars are out of To screw in the objective-lens tube, you turn the objec-
collimation, the images formed by the two sides won't tive-lens tube in a clockwise direction (as seen from
coincide. As a result, you may see two images. Rota- the front). But if you have trouble finding the starting
tional error refers to image tilt. One or both of the im- thread, first turn the objective-lens tube in a counter-
Or you can use a soft pencil to make your reference FIG. B15 Before disassembly, mark the
marks. You can wipe off the pencil marks after you rotational position of the objective-lens
complete the reassembly. tube. Your reference marks tell you how
much torque to apply when you screw in
Now hold the binoculars by the body. Unscrew the the objective-lens tube.
are one piece, Fig. B16. The prism shelves are then
separate parts. You can remove the complete prism shelf
together with both porro prisms-first take off the rear
prism cover, Fig. B16.
COVER-PLATE
SCREWS
-----------
OCULAR TUBE
REAR PRISM
COVER
You can now reach the screw on the hinge pin, Fig.
B20. The hinge-pin screw passes through the carn slot
of the rocker arm. FIG. 819
(8j
7<-
IPDSCALE
Fig. B26 shows the hinge pin with the ocular assembly
removed. The ocular arms fit over the shoulder on the
ocular shaft. OCULAR SHAFT
SHOULDER FOR
OCULAR ARMS
Both the focus knob and the ocular shaft are threaded.
The focus knob screws into the end of the hinge pin.
And the ocular shaft screws into the focus knob.
Let's say, for example, that the focus knob has been
started too far in-too close to the binocular bodies.
Then, as you turn the focus knob to move in the oculars,
V-- STOP SCREW
Now turn the focus knob to move the ocular arms away
from the binocular bodies-turn the focus knob coun-
terclockwise as seen from the ocular end. The ocular
shaft unscrews from the focus knob. Stop turning the
focus knob the moment the ocular shaft disengages,
Fig. B31.
FIG. B32 Binocular side with the rear prism cover removed.With the hinge pin
removed, you can separate the binoculars into two halves. Here you can see the
porro prism on the ocular side of a binocular half. In this design, one end of the
prism clamp is held by a screw. The other end slides under a lip in the binocular
body.
Removing the ocular arms from the rear end of the hinge the porro prism on the objective side. Remove the rear
pin may also lose adjustments-the position of the fo- prism cover to reach the porro prism on the ocular side.
cus knob and the position of the ocular shaft with re- A clamp-and usually dabs of cement or wax-hold
spect to the focus knob. If either part is out of position, each porro prism in the adjusted position, Fig. B32.
you won't have the full range of movement in the ocu- Leave the pon'o prism in place if you don't want to
lar assembly. Unscrewing the ocular shaft from the fo- disturb the adjustment-the adjustment affects both
cus knob may then be the safest and easiest technique- collimation and image tilt.
as long as you note the focus-knob position.
Note that you can reach one face of the porro prism on
Porro prisms, prism shelves: the other side of the prism shelf, Fig. B32. You can
Once you've removed the prism covers, you can reach then clean the exposed prism face without further dis-
the porro prisms. Removing individual porro prisms assembly. And, after removing the front prism cover,
or a complete prism shelf can disturb adjustments. Re- you can reach one face of the other porro prism. How-
member the disassembly precaution-disassemble only ever, to clean the unexposed faces, you'll have to re-
one side of the binoculars at a time. You then have a move the porro prisms.
standard for adjustments on the side you've disas-
sembled. As we go through the disassembly, we'll point First note the position of the porro prism. Each porro
out methods you can often use to retain the adjustments. prism fits into a recess in the prism shelf, Fig. B32.
The recess is slightly larger than the porro prism. If
After you remove the front prism cover, you can reach the porro prisms weren't intended for adjustment, they
You may now be able to lift out the pon'o prism. Or assemble. Normally the problem is the grease on the
you may have to cut or pull loose the dabs of cement. adjustable-ocular threads. With age, the grease dries.
The dried grease can cause the ocular threads to seize.
Disassembly and adjustment of the oculars: You may then find that you can't even turn the adjust-
There are many variations in the disassembly of the able ocular to set the diopter adjustment.
oculars, depending on the particular binoculars. Nor-
mally you can disassemble the fixed ocular without Or you may find that the adjustable ocular turns too
disturbing any adjustments (although, as we'll later freely. The problem may then be wear in the threads.
describe, there are exceptions). Taking apart the ad- As mentioned earlier, you can often correct the prob-
justable ocular, however, does disturb an adjustment- lem by applying a heavier grease.
the diopter adjustment.
Setscrews (typically three setscrews, but there may only
Yet it's usually the adjustable ocular you'll have to dis- be one) often hold the control knob to the adjustable
Or you may find that the threads for the adjustable ocu-
lar are on a separate ring-the adjustable ocular slides
into the threaded ring. You may then be able to lift out
the ocular toward the back of the binoculars. But you'll
probably have to remove the ocular assembly to take
out the threaded ring. Turn in the threaded ring until
you can remove it from the front of the ocular assem-
bly-just as you would remove a threaded ocular.
First remove the ocular assembly and lift off the rubber
eyecup. Loosen the setscrews around the outer circum-
ference of the control knob. Now unscrew the adjust-
able ocular from the front of the ocular assembly, Fig.
B37 (turn the adjustable ocular clockwise as seen from
the eyelens side). FIG. 837
You can now adjust the adjustable ocular. Thrn the con-
trol knob to set the adjustable ocular to 0 diopter-use
the fixed ocular as a reference. Then loosen the set-
screw you tightened. Without turning the adjustable
ocular, turn the control knob until its 0 calibration aligns
with the index. TIghten the setscrews.
EYELENS
VARIATIONS IN OCULARS
We mentioned that you'll encounter several variations FIG. B38 An adjustable eyelens.
in ocular disassembly. But there are a couple of major
variations in ocular design we should mention here-
the particular designs are covered in the following sec-
tions.
oculars with the eyelens are the same as those for col-
The oculars are considerably different-and more com- limating the binoculars with the objective lens-only
plex-in zoom binoculars. As mentioned earlier, the the actual adjustment points are different. Section C-
oculars in zoom binoculars use movable elements to Adjusting Binoculars--covers the collimation proce-
dures.
change the magnification. Section D covers the zoom
oculars.
DISASSEMBLY OF OPERA GLASSES
You'll also encounter some binoculars that provide the
collimation adjustment on the oculars rather than on After working on conventional binoculars, you prob-
the objectives. The collimation adjustment then shifts ably won't have any trouble figuring out the disassem-
the eyelens-the lens closest to the back of the ocular. bly of opera glasses. But there are some basic differ-
ences. In standard binoculars, as you've seen, you re-
After you remove the eyecup, you'll be able to see if move the oculars as an assembly. In opera glasses, you
the eyelens is adjustable. The eyelens may look like a normally remove the objective lenses as an assembly.
miniature version of the objective lens in Fig. B 14. Here Here's a typical disassembly:
the eyelens cell has an eccentric shoulder. An eccentric
ring fits around the shoulder of the eyelens cell. And a The opera glasses shown in Fig. B39 have a decorator
retaining ring screws over the retaining ring to hold the cap at the center of the focus knob. The cap is cemented
adjustment. After loosening the retaining ring, you can in position. Slide a thin tool, such as a small jewelers'
turn the eccentric ring to shift the eyelens. screwdriver, under the edge of the cap. Pry off the cap,
being careful to avoid cosmetic damage.
Another variation uses three setscrews around the out-
side circumference of the ocular, Fig. B38. The set- You can now see a crosspoint screw in the center of the
screws position the eyelens. By loosening one set- focus knob. Remove the screw. Now turn the focus knob
screw-and tightening another setscrew-you can shift in a clockwise direction as seen from the back of the
the position of the eyelens. opera glasses. The shaft of the objective-lens assembly
unscrews from the focus knob.
You should normally avoid disturbing the adjustments
on an adjustable eyelens. However, if the binoculars Stop turning the focus knob the moment the tlu'eads of
are out of collimation, the eyelens becomes your ad- the objective-lens shaft disengage. Then measure the
justment point. The procedures for collimating the bin- distance between the back of the focus knob and the
t
OBJECTIVE-LENS
Most of the optics are now available for cleaning. But ASSEMBLY
chances are you're working on the opera glasses be-
cause of the need for adjustment. In that case, you'll
want to partially reassemble the opera glasses.
Screw the focus knob onto the threads at the end of the
hinge pin-keep turning the focus knob clockwise un-
til it's at the distance you measured during disassem-
bly. Then insert the objective-lens assembly, Fig. B41.
FIG. 840 Removing the objective-lens
You can only insert the objective-lens assembly part assembly.
3. If the binoculars use eccentric rings on the objective resetting the adjustable ocular-the tIxed ocular is set
lenses, be careful when unscrewing the objective-lens to 0 diopter.
tubes-a change in the rotational position of the objec-
tive-lens tube affects collimation. Mark the objective- 7. If the fixed ocular is ttu'eaded-and locked by a set-
lens tubes before disassembly. On reassembly, use just screw-the ocular can be adjusted. Removing the fixed
enough tightening torque to align your marks. ocular then disturbs the adjustment. On reassembly,
screw in the fixed ocular to the O-diopter setting. Use
4. You can usually reach the front porro prisms by un- the adjustable ocular-set to 0 diopter-to determine
screwing the objective-lens tubes and removing the front the O-diopter setting for the fixed ocular.
prism-cover plates. If the objective-lens tubes are not
separate parts, the prism shelves are removable-it's Whenever you see a setscrew, use caution-the setscrew
then necessary to remove the prism shelves to reach is probably locking an adjustable pUtt. Loosening the
the front porro prisms. But be careful-there may be setscrew and turning the part disturbs an adjustment.
adjustment screws on the prism shelves.
8. Removing the porro ptisms from the prism shelves
5. To reach the rear porro prisms, it's usually necessary will disturb adjustments. If the manufacturer uses the
to take out the ocular assembly. You can often remove porro prisms for collimation, the cutouts in the prism
the ocular assembly as a unit together with the hinge shelves are noticeably larger than the pon'o prisms-
pin. Removing the hinge pin allows you to separate the you can then shift positions of the porro prisms. Note
two binocular sides. However, there's a problem with the adjusted positions of the pono prisms with respect
removing the hinge pin-you then disturb the hinge- to the cutouts.
pressure adjustment. A customer will quickly notice
any change in the amount of pressure required to spread 9. If the porro prisms are used for collimation adjust-
the binocular sides. To maintain the hinge pressure, you ments, dabs of hot wax or cement hold the porro prisms
can unscrew the ocular shaft from the focus knob and in the adjusted positions. Impact may cause the porro
leave the hinge pin in the binoculars. prisms to break loose from the cement. Align the pOlTO
prisms with the cement dabs on reassembly-the col-
6. Removing the adjustable ocular disturbs the diopter limation may then be correct without further adjust-
adjustment. Use the fixed ocular as your reference for ment.
CHECKING COLLIMATION
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/37
MOUNT TO HOLD BINOCULARS
TELESCOPE SLIDE
FIG. C3 FIG. C4
Each target sits behind a lens. The distance between ~~~UMINATED TARGET
the lens and the target is equal to the focal length of the
lens. As a result, the target appears to be at infinity-
an infinite distance away. And the light rays coming
from the lenses are parallel, Fig. C2.
A small telescope mounts on a slide at the other end of In use, you just slide the telescope until you can sight
the tester, Fig. C3. As you look through the telescope, through one side of the binoculars, Fig. C3. You then
you see a reticle, Fig. C5-the reticle is inside the tele- adjust that side until the projected target centers on the
scope. reticle, Fig. C5 (right).
38/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
Next you slide the telescope until you can sight through
the other side of the binouclars, Fig. C4. And adjust
that side until the projected target centers on the reticle.
Look through the binoculars to check for a second im- If you have a way to mount the binoculars in one spot,
age. You should be able to readily detect if one image you can align the optical axes to the hinge pin. Aim the
is higher than the other-your eyes normally can't com- hinge pin at a distant target. A 6" ruler, placed on top
pensate for up-down error. of the hinge pin, can help as a sighting device. Then
sight through each side of the binoculars in turn. The
But your eyes may compensate for side-to-side error- same target should center on each side of the binocu-
your eyes may actually cross slightly to merge the two lars. Here you're using a target that's effectively at in-
images into one. By continuously blinking, however, finity to simulate the tester shown in Fig. C4.
you can defeat the compensating effect.
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/39
For example, suppose that you aligned the hinge pin
with the tree in Fig. C8. As you sight through the left
side, you can see that the tree appears centered. The
left side of the binoculars is then properly collimated.
But as you sight through the right side, the tree appears
off-center. The right side must now be collimated to
center the tree.
FIG. C8 A test setup that simulates the FIG. C10 The broken horizontal line tells
binocular-collimator fixture. you the binoculars are out of collimation.
40/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
Also check collimation at different interpupillary dis-
tances. The collimation may appear acceptable if the
binocular sides are close together. But when you in-
crease the interpupillary distance, you can see the im-
ages separate.
Since you're only using one eye, your eyes can't com-
pensate for an error. A properly collimated pair of bin-
oculars shows only one image-the two separate im-
ages merge. But if the binoculars are out of collima-
tion, you see two images. The two images are slightly
different in color. You can then note which direction
you must move the image on one side.
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/41
ECCENTRIC RING
watch the image movement while you're making the ECCENTRIC LENS MOUNT
adjustment.
OBJECTIVE-LENS ADJUSTMENTS
Similarly, if the image is too high, shift up the objec- BACK VIEW OF
tive lens-moving up the objective lens moves down RIGHT-SIDE
the image. Shifting the objective lens a slight distance OBJECTIVE LENS
moves thc image a relatively large distance.
421ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
if the decorator cap is rubber, it may simply lift off.
FRONT VIEW You'll then see a retaining ring around the objective
lens, Fig. C17. The retaining ring both holds the ob-
jective lens in place and locks the adjustment on the
eccentric ring.
:J RETAINING
You can use the spanner notches to hold one eccentric
ring stationary as you turn the other eccentric ring.
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/43
viding you can find a way to hold the binoculars sta-
tionary). You can then watch the image shift as you
rotate the eccentric rings.
Here you can't watch the image move as you make the
adjustment. You should first make a mental note as to ECCENTRIC RING
which direction you want to move the image. Then,
working from the front of the binoculars, turn the ec-
centric ring to move the objective lens in the desired
direction.
44/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
tube shifts the position of the objective lens-just as -- B
turning the eccentric ring shifts the objective lens.
You can spot an adjustable eyelens after removing the FIG. C23 Turning out setscrew B-and
eyecup-you should be able to see the eccentric ring turning in setscrews A and C-moves
under the retaining ring. Or, if the eyelens uses set- the eyelens in the arrowmarked
screw adjustments, you can see the setscrews around direction.
the outer circumference of the ocular-and probably a
locking setscrew at the top of the eyelens cell.
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/45
FIG. C24 Setscrews used to tilt the porro prisms on the objective side. Another pair
of setscrews tilts the porro prisms on the ocular side.
46/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
The positions of the porro prisms, however, affect more
than the collimation-they also affect the rotational
position of the image. Each porro prism must be at a
90° angle to its mate, Fig. C26. If the angle is greater
or less than 90°, the image appears tilted, Fig. C27B.
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/47
You can then reach the front porro prism to shift its
angle. But to check the results of your adjustment, you
must replace the prism shelf.
Reach the porro prism by removing the rear-prism cover, cover plates. You can then reach the porro prisms-
Fig. C29. Like the front-prism cover, the rear-prism either to recement the porro prisms or to adjust the po-
cover is normally held by screws. You may also have sitions.
to unscrew one of the ocular tubes, Fig. C29-the metal
tube that passes inside the ocular. If you do have to adjust the collimation, note ifthere's
a setscrew to control the tilt. You can then reach the
Now check the rear porro prism-there may be an ob- setscrew from the outside of the binocular body-but,
vious reason why the binoculars are out of collima- as mentioned earlier, you may have to peel aside the
tion. If the binoculars were dropped, the porro prism leatherlike body covering to locate the slot of the set-
may have broken loose from its cement. screw.
In that case, as you'll recall, it may only be necessary The end of the setscrew comes against the upper end of
to realign the porro prism. Use the dabs of cement as the porro prism-the position of the arrow in Fig. C30.
your guides. Part of each cement dab may have re- The spring action of the prism clamp then holds the
mained with the prism shelf-and the other part of each porro plism against the setscrew.
cement dab may have remained with the porro prism.
Shift the porro prism until the sections of the cement
dabs align.
48/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
TIlting the porro prism moves the image as shown by
the double-ended arrow in Fig. C31. For example, say
you turn in the setscrew (screw-tightening direction).
The image then moves in the A direction, Fig. C31.
The spring action of the prism clamp allows the porro
prism to tilt.
You normally can't watch the image movement as you're FIG. C31 Image movement from tilting
adjusting the porro prism. First check the collimation
the porro prism.
and note which direction you must move the image. If
you want to move the image as shown by the double-
REAR PORRO PRISM ON LEFT SIDE REAR PORRO PRISM ON RIGHT SIDE
SLIDING
ADJUSTMENT
----------------L---------------
TILTING
ADJUSTMENT
FIG. C32 The double-ended arrows indicate the direction the image can be moved
with the adjustments shown.
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/49
ended arrow in Fig. C31, you know you must tilt the
porro prism. Or, if you want to move the image as shown
by the double-ended arrows by the top drawings in Fig.
C32, you know you must slide the porro prism.
Or perhaps you've repaired the left-hand side. You can FIG. C34
then move the right-hand image up and to the right by
sliding the left-side porro prism. Move the left-side
porro prism as shown in A of Fig. C34.
PRISM-SHELF ADJUSTMENTS
50/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
screw then tilts the prism shelf-and thereby the porro
prisms-in one direction. Turning out the adjustment
screw-and then tightening the prism-shelf screw-
tilts the prism shelf in the other direction.
For example, say that you want to move the image from
left to right-the direction of the arrow in Fig. C39.
You can then turn in adjustment screw A (the screw-
tightening direction). Slightly loosen the three prism-
shelf screws. Then turn in adjustment screw A. Finally, FIG. C37
retighten the three prism-shelf screws.
PRISM-SHELF SCREW C
ADJUSTMENT SCREW A
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/51
521ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
Fig. C41 shows some more examples of how you can from around 80 feet to 00.
move the image in the arrowmarked direction. You can
change the angle of image movement by turning in (or You'll recall that the light rays from an 00 subject are
out) a pair of screws different amounts. For example, parallel to one another, Fig. C42 (top). But if the sub-
in the top drawing of Fig. C41you can turn in adjust- ject is closer than 00, the light rays diverge, Fig. C42
ment screws Band C equal amounts to move the im- (bottom). The objective lens then brings the light rays
age in the arrowmarked direction. Or you can turn in together at a point behind the 00 focal point. The closer
adjustment screws B and C different amounts to change the subject, the more the incident light rays diverge-
the angle of image movement. If you want to turn the and the further the light rays come together behind the
arrow slightly counterclockwise, turn in adjustment objective.
screw C slightly more than adjustment screw B.
The focal point of the ocular in Fig. C42 (bottom) is
Remember to loosen the prism-shelf screws before you now to the front of the focal point of the objective lens.
turn in an adjustment screw. And tighten the prism- As a result, the image appears out of focus. To focus
shelf screws after you turn out an adjustment screw. the binoculars, you must move the oculars away from
the objective lenses.
ADJUSTING FOCUS
If you can't focus at a close enough distance, the oculars
You'll see a focus error when you can't bring the focal aren't moving far enough away from the binocular bod-
point of the oculars to the same position as the focal ies. It may then be necessary to again disengage the
point of the objectives. The problem is usually in the ocular shaft from the focus knob. Thrn out the focus
oculars. knob to move it further from the hinge pin. Then re-
start the threads of the ocular shaft.
In Section B, you saw the adjustments on the oculars.
Normally adjustment is only necessary if you've disas- Or perhaps you can focus at a sufficiently close dis-
sembled and reassembled the oculars. However, you tance-but you can't focus at 00. In that case, the oculars
may find that the setscrews holding the adjustable con- aren't moving close enough to the binocular bodies.
trol knob have come loose. The control knob then slips,
losing the diopter adjustment. Refer to Disassembly of Again you may have to disengage the threads of the
the oculars in Section B for the adjustment procedure. ocular shaft from the focus knob. Turn in the focus
knob to move it closer to the hinge pin. Then restart
You may also encounter a focus error if you've disas- the threads of the ocular shaft.
sembled and reassembled a focus-knob assembly. If
you've reassembled the ocular shaft with the focus knob How far you screw the focus knob in or out qepends on
in the wrong position, you may not be able to focus the amount of error. It may require several tries to ad-
the binoculars throughout the full range. You may find just the focus. You can now see why we stressed noting
that you can focus on close subjects. But you can't fo- the focus-knob position when the threads of the ocular
cus on distant subjects--or vice versa. shaft disengage.
FOCAL POINT AT 00
I OCULAR
INCIDENT
LIGHT
RAYS AT 00
OBJECTIVE
FOCAL POINT
AT FINITE
DISTANCE
INCIDENT
LIGHT RAYS
AT FINITE
DISTANCE
FIG. C42
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/53
when you disassemble the binoculars. We described ALIGN THE VERTICAL RETICLE WITH A
VERTICAL LINE IN THE SUBJECT...
the hinge-pressure adjustment in Section B. Remem-
ber that the hinge-pressure adjustment is normally the
screw at the end of the hinge. The adjusting screw of-
ten has a setscrew to lock the adjustment. After loosen-
ing the setscrew, you can turn the adjusting screw-
turn in the adjusting screw to increase the hinge pres-
sure, turn out the adjusting screw to decrease the hinge
pressure.
Remember that the reticle sits at the focal point of the 3. the prism shelf. If the binoculars use separate prism
objective lens. If the reticle isn't sharp when the image shelves (rather than prism shelves that are built into
is sharp, it isn't sitting at the focal point. Chances are the bodies of the binoculars), each pIism shelf may be
the reticle tube or the reticle retaining ring has worked adjustable. Look for adjustment screws on the prism
loose. shelves. Most adjustable prism shelves have three ad-
justment screws. Some have only two adjustment
SUMMARY OF OPTICAL ADJUSTMENTS screws. Use the adjustment screws to tilt the prism
shelf in the same direction as you wan t the image to
You're normally only concerned with two adjust- move.
54/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
SECTION D-ZOOM BINOCULARS
Zoom cationbinoculars allow As
of the oculars. youyou
to move
changethethezoom
magnifi-
con-
trol, optical elements move within each ocular. The
principle is similar to the zoom lenses used with cam-
eras-the magnification increases or decreases as the
optics move.
FIG. 03
ZOOM BINOCULARS/55
There are two types of focus compensation used in zoom
lenses: optical compensation and mechanical com-
~E-~
pensation. Fig. D4 shows an optically compensated
zoom lens. Elements 1 and 3 are coupled together. As
you zoom the lens, both elements move as shown in CD
Fig. D4.
In zoom binoculars, you still set the focus with the fo-
cus knob and the adjustable ocular. The ocular is then
focused at the focal point of the objective lens. As you
now zoom the ocular, the zooming element moves as ZOOMING ELEMENT
shown in Fig. D5. The magnification of the ocular- FOCAL
determined by the zooming element and the eyelens- POINT A-MAXIMUM MAGNIFICATION
changes.
56JZOOM BINOCULARS
element is linear. But a curved cam slot moves the com-
pensating element. The curved carn slot provides the LENS CELL WITH ZOOMING ELEMENT
nonlinear movement. Also notice that the cam slots run
in opposite directions. As the zooming element moves
toward the front of the carn tube, the compensating el-
ement moves toward the back of the cam tube.
A-MAXIMUM MAGNIFICATION
'"
LENS CELL WITH ZOOMING ELEMENT
/-
B-MINIMUM MAGNIFICATION
FIG. 08
ZOOM BINOCULARS/57
zoom tube rotates, it carries the cam tube
in the same direction.
CAM SLOT
ZOOMING
ELEMENT
\1------
\
CAM TUBES _
58/Z00M BINOCULARS
COUPLING GEAR SCALE FOR INTERPUPILLARY DISTANCE
FIXED
OCULA
ZOOM
tube to the slave zoom tube. The bottom shoulder of the zoom tube TUBE
in Fig. D13 is threaded-a large zoom-tube gear screws onto the
threaded shoulder. THREADED
SHOULDER
The zoom-lever ring, Fig. DB, also screws over the threaded zoom-
tube shoulder-the zoom-tube gear is under the zoom-lever ring in
Fig. D14. A retaining ring screws over the zoom-tube gear at the lOOM-
bottom of the slave zoom tube, Fig. D14. The two intermediate gears,
Fig. D14 , engage the zoom-tube gears. And the coupling gear, Fig. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/~~~~
D 11, engages the two intermediate gears to complete the gear train.
Moving the zoom lever turns the master zoom tube-the zoom-lever
ring connects directly to the master zoom tube. The zoom-tube gear
on the lower shoulder of the master zoom tube then turns the inter-
lOOM-LEVER RING
/
1IIIiWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMlIIlIIlIIlIIlII~;jJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~III1~
RETAINING RING
ZOOM BINOCULARS/59
to one another. The positions of the cam tubes must
precisely match one another. You can see what would
EYELENS
happen if you had one ocular set as shown in Fig. D8A
and the other ocular set as shown in Fig. D8B. The
image from one ocular-the one set to the position
shown in Fig. D8A-would be larger than the other
image.
You can now see the two spanner holes in the eyelens
of the fixed ocular, Fig. D15. Since the eyelens is
threaded, you know that there's a good chance it's ad-
justable. Here a setscrew locks the eyelens in its ad-
justed position. FIG. 016 Fixed ocular with eyelens
removed.
Loosen the setscrew at the outer circumference of the
NOTCH
fixed ocular. You can then unscrew the eyelens. On re-
assembly, it's necessary to reset the eyelens to the 0-
diopter position.
With the eyelens removed, you can see the end of the
cam tube, Fig. DI6. You've already seen that the slot in
the cam tube fits over a screwhead on the zoom ring.
So, as the zoom ring turns, the cam tube also turns.
Lift out the cam tube, Fig. D17. As you've already seen,
the zooming element and the compensating element
remain inside the cam tube. You can now see the guide
slot in the ocular tube, Fig. DI8 . The guide slot re-
ceives the screwheads on the zooming element and the
compensating element.
To replace the cam tube, line up the screwheads on the FIG. 017 Cam tube removed, set to
two lens cells, Fig. D17. If you turn the two lens cells maximum power.
601Z00M BINOCULARS
to the 15X position, the screwheads nearly line up with SCREWHEAD ON ZOOM TUBE
the cam-tube notch, Fig. D17.
ZOOM-
LEVER
RING
(MASTER)
ZOOM BINOCULARS/61
FOCUS-LEVER RING
o
CAM SLOT FOR ZOOMING ELEMENT
62/Z00M BINOCULARS
ZOOM TUBES
Except for the coupling between the zoom tube and the to the front of the ocular (less magnification).
earn tube, the design is very similar to the first zoom
binoculars we described. The end of each zoom tube For example, suppose that the earn tube is seated as
screws into the zoom-tube gear, Fig. D24. The zoom- shown in Fig. D25. If you lift and turn the earn tube in
lever ring on one side also screws onto the end of the one direction, the zooming element moves toward the
master zoom tube. On the other side, a retaining ring front of the binoculars-lower magnification. If you
screws onto the end of the slave zoom tube. lift and turn the earn tube in the opposite direction, the
zooming element moves toward the back of the bin-
As you turn the zoom lever, the zoom-lever ring turns oculars-higher magnification.
the master zoom tube. The master zoom-tube gear con-
nects to the slave zoom-tube gear through the gear train, As with other binocular repairs, it's best to remove only
Fig. D26. one earn tube at a time. You can then use the other side
of the binoculars as your standard. Adjust the rotational
Both zoom tubes then turn as you move the focus le- position of the earn tube on one side until the magnifi-
ver. The zoom tubes rotate the earn tubes. The
screwheads on the movable lens groups, Fig. D23, pass
into fixed guide slots in the ocular sleeves, Fig. D22.
So, as the zoom tube turns, the lens groups move in or
out along the earn slots. Note again that the earn slots
run in opposite directions, Fig. D23-as the zooming
element moves to the back of the earn tube, the com-
pensating element moves to the front of the earn tube. SCREWHEADS
ZOOM BINOCULARS/63
cation matches the other side (your standard side). Later ZOOM
in this section, we'll describe some methods you can TUBE
use to compare the magnification of the oculars.
If you're going to lift out the cam tube, you might first
mark its adjusted position-marking the adjustment
may save you a lot of time on reassembly. You can put
dabs of white paint on the tabs of the zoom tube, Fig.
KNOB
/CONTROL
D25, to mark the positions of the cam-tube fingers.
RETAINING RING
FIG. 026 Underside of ocular assembly.
64JZOOMBINOCULARS
FIG. 027 Binoculars with ocular assembly removed.
Since you can adjust the position of each carn tube, the
gear timing may not seem so critical. However, if you
disturb the gear timing, your timing marks will no
longer be valid. Disturbing the gear timing will also
throw off the index dot for the magnification-the in-
dex dot is on the retaining ring, Fig. D26.
You can now remove the rear prism covers. Unscrew FIG. 028 The metal strap for coupling
the ocular sleeves, Fig. D27. Remove the screws hold- the slave to the master.
ing the prism covers. If the binoculars have a rubber-
like covering, you may have to peel aside the rubber to
reach the prism-cover screw(s).
ZOOM BINOCULARS/65
The metal strap lies in the channel as shown in Fig.
D31. Slots in the retaining ring and the zoom-lever
ring fit over the bent ends of the metal strap. There's no
timing in this system-the proper positioning of the
slave zoom tube depends on the length of the metal
strap.
FIG. 032
FIG. 033 Binoculars with ocular assembly You can now see the reason for the set-
removed. screw and the slot in the end of the ocular
661Z00M BINOCULARS
CURVED WALL OF OCULAR-SHAFT SLOT
FIG. 034
shaft, Fig. 033. When you replace the ocular arms, the elements from rotating. The movable elements then
centers of the ocular arms fit over the slot in the ocular move in or out along the cam slots.
shaft, Fig. 033. The wall inside the ocular-shaft slot
has a curved surface to route the metal band. But if an ocular tube works loose, it turns with the cam
tube. The movable elements in that ocular then won't
Fig. 034 shows the ocular shaft from the underside of move in or out. And the magnification won't change. If
the ocular arms-a view you can't actually see with the you note that the magnification in one ocular changes
ocular arms in place. When you replace the setscrew, as you move the zoom lever-but the magnification in
the curved wall of the ocular-shaft slot and the end of the other ocular does not change, the ocular tube has
the setscrew form a channel for the metal strap--a chan- probably worked loose.
nel that routes the center of the metal strap over the
ocular shaft. The metal strap follows the curve of the Yet, even though it takes quite a bit of torque to un-
ocular-shaft wall as you change the interpupillary dis- screw the ocular tube, you must be careful to avoid
tance by spreading the binocular sides. damage. If you distort the ocular tube, the zooming
elements won't move freely. The zoom lever may then
REMOVING THE OCULAR TUBES bind. Or the magnification change in one ocular won't
match the magnification change in the other ocular.
As with other binoculars, you may have to unscrew the
ocular tubes, Fig. 033, to take off the prism covers. You won't normally distort the metal ocular tubes with
But unscrewing the ocular tubes may be more difficult your flexic1amp wrench. But zoom binoculars often use
in zoom binoculars. plastic ocular tubes. And it's very easy to damage a
plastic ocular tube by squeezing the sides-even with
You'll find that the ocular tubes in zoom binoculars are a flexic1amp wrench.
very tight. The ocular tubes in zoom binoculars have
the guide slots. It's therefore critical that the ocular tubes Clamp your flexiclamp on the base of the ocular tube
don't work loose. (rather than on the top). And try to avoid squeezing
together the sides of the ocular tube any more than nec-
Remember that the guide slots prevent the movable essary for a good grip.
ZOOM BINOCULARS/67
OTHER TYPES OF ZOOM BINOCULARS
FIG. 036
681Z00M BINOCULARS
PORRO
VERNIER
RETICLE
ZOOM
TOTAL
SCREW, PRISM
SOFT-JAW
SETSCREW CALIPER
ROTATIONAL
REAL IMAGE
PRISM TUBE
ZOOMING
VARIFOCAL
LENSPLiER
CLAMP
TERRESTRIAL ERROR
INTERNAL
SPANNER
STRAP ELEMENT
LENS
WRENCH
SCREWDRIVER
ROOF-ANGLE
ROCKER ARM
RIGHT-ANGLE
PRISM-ERECTING
REFRACTION TELESCOPE
WRENCH REFLECTION
PRISM
PRISM
SYSTEM
CROSSPOINT 6
9
18
30
12
5
27
1
11
57
55
4
20
19
16
56
2
132
1 13, 16
10
1
TANCE
TE
RS
TANCE
RS
RIVER
TELESCOPE
ZOOM BINOCULARS
715
32
21
26
53
8 9
8,55
23,42
5,25
INDEX
12,30,46
4,22
4,11
4,27
4,25
4,26
22,37,48
37,38,41
15,38,54
34,45
7,27
4,24,31
22,47
11,
69
ALII SERVICE NOTES
P.o. BOX 30871
Honolulu, HI 96820