BinocularSky

I've not measured it but, with the eye-cups folded down, it's easily adequate for use with spectacles.

Main Stable (i.e. stuff I use regularly): From the back, L-R: Miyauchi Bj-100 (my most used astro instrument by a long way), Lunt Magnesium 16x70 (quick & easy grab-and-go on a monopod), Lunt Magnesium 10x50 (my brightest hand-held bino) Strathspey Marine 10x50 (robust, abused, live in the car), Opticron BGA 10x42 (lovely quality, small & light enough to be a "holiday" binocular when space/weight is tight), Vixen SG 6.5x32 ED (stunning image, now my favourite hand-held bino), Vixen SG 2.1x42 (magnificent under a very dark sky). Outreach bins (used for teaching, outreach, etc.): From the back, L-R: Opticron Oregon 20x80 (recently acquired for outreach project; also used for teaching; OK on monopod or Skymount/Paragon parallelogram), Revelation Astro 15x70 (BA-1 variant, used for teaching, and as a "loan" instrument), Unbranded (well, would you want your name on something like this?) 12-60x70 zoom with the "latest ruby coatings" (the result of a manufacturer stooping to the challenge: "Just how bad can a binocular be for £79?"; used for teaching/warning) Opticron Adventurer T 8x42 WP (Used for outreach; the result of a manufacturer rising to the challenge: "Just how good can a binocular be for £79?"; I recently acquired a bunch of these for an outreach project), Vortex Raptor 6.5x32 (used for teaching & visiting grandchildren), No-name plastic-lensed Galilean type 4x20 (used for teaching, mostly to demonstrate that two of Jupiter's Galilean moons can be visible with cheap toy binoculars; ridiculously narrow FoV)

(Not intended as a criticism, but...) I wouldn't use it for that. When I do outreach, I plonk my 90mm Mak on an AZ4, and teach a couple of youngsters how to focus the scope and use the RDF to find the Moon, and tell them to teach their friends. I find that engages them more than just showing them something in an eyepiece. (Use a cheap eyepiece; the eye-lens will get touched! )

You misunderstand me. In the images, the dovetail block on the mount is orientated so that so a scope mounted directly to the dovetail would also point in the same direction as the sensor. With the dovetail as is, a scope mounted via the dovetail L-bracket would point in a direction perpendicular to the sensor. In order to get them parallel, the dovetail block orientation wrt the sensor would need to be tweakable. (Of course, a simple dovetail like the one you sent me a few months ago would not require "tweaking")

Is the dovetail clamp "tweakable" to enable the mount to be used with, say, a Coronado PST (1/4" thread in mounting block) and SW L-bracket?

Already been done by Bev at COAA. See https://www.coaa.co.uk/software_astronomy.htm

Some ideas here,and some reviews here - you will struggle to better the Pentax SP 50mm WP in your budget, or the Helios Stellar II if you want an IF model.

I have an old 10x50 Frank Nipole; collimation is done with eccentric rings on the objectives. Ideally requires peg spanners. Non-trivial!

Sort of expected if less light is being lost into the spectrum, especially off-axis. Have you yet been able to assess how much brighter it is on-axis?

@abhoriel The PWMs arrived very quickly (ordered 30 Dec, arrived 7th Jan), it was the illuminated switches that took so long. @Daz69 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007Q82F98/

Envious! Nicest 10x50 I've looked through. Ever.

Dew strap controller (PWM) done at last (waited ages for some kit from China). 4 x 10W channels, individually fused, switched & controlled, channel switch LED brightness indicates power output. 12V 5A DC input switched & fused. Compared to the cost of a 'bought' one, I'd need to value my time at less than youth minimum wage, but you can't put a price on smug self-satisfaction :-) Circuit idea shamelessly nicked from http://www.blackwaterskies.co.uk/2013/05/a-cheap-multi-channel-dew-heater.html

Those are not binoculars, but BSOs (*). As such, they might be useful as a "talking point" paperweight, but not much else. * Binocular-Shaped Objects

...and even less charitably: most of the time they can actually see what another is using; most of the time, we can't. But also, for most astronomers, binoculars are not the primary instrument and the main lucre goes into a scope, mount and decent camera and .....

Yesterday I showed you why you shouldn't use Eyepiece-fitting Solar Filters. This video shows you two simple and inexpensive ways to safely observe the Sun (including binoculars). https://youtu.be/eDZ_nDR1BYk

Yes, it will, but be careful if there are any plastic "internals"; the heat can melt them. (Guess how I know.)

This is why you should never use plain glass Eyepiece-fitting Solar Filters http://youtu.be/G5xb3b-vRd4

I happen to have one of these to review. So far, impressed!

See http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/255161-vixens-ultra-low-power-bins-tried-at-last/page-2#entry2784896and surrounding thread When you get it, you will find that the 'manual' is next to useless; I have written a more comprehensive one (in the "Choosing & Using" section of the web site.)

If you're interested, I have a page on mounting binoculars for astronomy that you may find useful

Apart from making your own: Without tripod: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Orion-Paragon-Plus-Binocular-without-Tripod/dp/B0000XMYQA With tripod: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Orion-Paragon-Plus-Binocular-Mount-Tripod/dp/B003YJPDN8 HTH

I know you didn't ask me , but I use a Rigel Quikfinder on mine. It helps enormously that the outer circle is as near as dammit the same size of the FoV of my x37 eyepieces.

1. Miyauchi Bj-100 20/37x100 2. Helios Apollo 15x70 3. Oberwerk Ultra 10x50 4. Opticron BGA 10x42 5. Vortex Raptor 6.5x32 6. VixenSG 2.1x42 7. Strathspey 15x70 (actually 15x62.5) 8. Strathspey Marine 10x50 (actually 10x41) 9. Frank Nipole 10x50 (yes that is a hinge-mount tripod adaptor fixed to it) 10. Zenith 10x50 (belonged to my late father-in-law -sentimental value only) 11. No-name (well, would you admit to it?) 12-60x70 (actually ?-??x49) zoom - with "the latest ruby coatings" possibly the worst binocular I've ever had the misfortune to look through. Kept for when I give talks, as an example of everything to avoid. No, I didn't buy it; it was donated.

Mark, you have a PM on the way...

Hi Mark, It could be quite easily adapted to do, but (assuming the business end is similar to the Virgo version that I have), you would need to find a bit of 1/4" Whitworth studding (or decapitate a 1/4 Whit bolt) as both parts (mount block and hinge clamp) would have 1/4 Whit female threads. You would also probably also need to shim it with washers to get it to fit square on so that it's looking straight back over the mount. A better solution would be to make an adaptor like the one we were discussing in this thread (or use a 1/4 Whit male-to-male adaptor - some have a locking ring so that you can determine the angle at which the mounted appliance sits). Depending on the weight of the 10x50, you might be able to get away with mounting the hinge clamp on the paragon's L-bracket, but I imagine the vibration would be quite pronounced and difficult to damp.