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Ken
Tinkerer
Username: Ken
Post Number: 2
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 11:41 am: | 
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I know the board is for cameras but just wondered if anyone knows of a similar board for binoculars as I have a couple that are in need of some TLC.
Many thanks
Ken |
Steve_s
Tinkerer
Username: Steve_s
Post Number: 21
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 03, 2006 - 06:53 am: |
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I take it they just need cleaning? I have only cleaned one pair of binoculars, so I'm no expert, but if mine were any guide they are much easier to strip than any camera or lens. The only tricky bit is that (assuming you are dealing with prismatics) you have to take one of the prisms out if you need to clean the surfaces in between the two, and of course getting them back in the same spot is critical. The prisms are held in the body by spring clips, and on mine their position is fixed by what appeared to be some metal, presumably a very low melting-point alloy, run between a key-way on the side of the glass and a notch in the body, and bonded to a retaining bracket, so it was possible with a bit of jiggling to get them back exactly right. Other binoculars are probably arranged differently. In any case, make sure you make marks before removal to give you some help on reassembly.
A typical pair of prismatics has 14 glass/air interfaces on each side, so cleanliness is essential. Surprisingly, the reflection faces of the prisms seem even more critical dirt-wise than the other faces and lenses. Of course, as well as dirt, the lenses and prisms can suffer from fungus in the same way as camera lenses (see a few hundred other threads on this forum), so keep the vinegar handy! |
Ken
Tinkerer
Username: Ken
Post Number: 4
Registered: 09-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 03, 2006 - 02:23 pm: |
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Steve
Thanks for the response!
Funnily enough the binoculars don't need internal cleaning. I have 3 pairs which all have different mechanical problems. However, I didn't want to swamp the board with those sorts of issues. I appreciate the board as a source of info for vintage cameras and don't want to abuse it.
Ken |
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