johnbaz

That's strange as my Monarchs are green! 🤔

Mind you, They're quite old!!

John..

I bought a nice Opticron spotting scope through ebay and was really sad at how they arrived 😪

Was told it was balsamic failure or something like that, I had to send them back for a refund, It cost me around £20 to send them insured which I didn't get back from the seller so I really got a part refund!

John..

A few more of mine that I don't think i've posted in this thread.

Another old Russian Komz 8x30..

Swift Trilyte 8x40.

Yashika 8x40.

Old Voightlander that a friend gave me free!, They're very nice for such an old binocular!

Bushnell Birding 10x42.

Pentax zoom bins..

(Swift) Audubon mk2 8.5x44.

A little Nikon 9x25..

Tecnar 10x50, When these arrived I couldn't look through them as the collimation was so bad!, I got fed up of seeing them in the house and was on my way to stick them in the bin and noticed that one of the objective bells was on really skewed!, Someone had removed it for some reason and cross threaded It! It took me ages to get it to start in the correct way but got it eventually and collimation came back ok!

Zeiss Dekarem 10x50 Q1, I found these local through facebook, They were only a tenner!!

Opticron Polarex 8x40.

Simmons 7x42.

Barr & Stroud 8x30.

Russian 7x50.

Military Kershaw bins with graticles, They have the broadarrow stamped on them, Left side is lovely and clear, Right side is full of specks of paint!

Cheapo Chinese low mag that needs very little focussing, I initially thought they were the focus free type but they're individual focus!

Tecnar 12x50, Love these, Plus, They have a really beautiful 'Olde worlde' smell to them!! 

Tasco 7-15x35 in very nice 'looked after' condition. I dislike zoom bins though and don't know why I buy them! ☺️

Dowling & Rowe focus free and Tasco, Both armoured.

Swallow 15x80 with the normal sized Nikon Monarch 8x42 in front for a size comparison.

I have a few more but never got around to taking pics, Got a really nice Opticron 8x40 from a friend at 'Mates rates'!!

John 🙂

On 13/06/2022 at 06:42, Blomme said:

I just saw one of these for sale as a pre owned product. How is it in the dark? Should i buy this to use as night binocular?

The asking price is 100 us dollars.

 

Kind regards 🙂 

Hi

Whilst these bins are very nice and clear/bright to use, I feel they're very cheap ones, Personally I wouldn't pay more than £20 (25U.S. Dollars)

I've not tried them in the dark, I would try them tonight but i'm not sure where they are in the house 😊

John 🙂

WooHoo!

I'm attending a lecture/presentation here in Sheffield on the 24th of this month only ten mins from me!, It's a chap that takes some stunning pics and puts them on facey!

Can't wait as i've no idea how to take half decent pics of the planets!!

John 👍😎

On 07/09/2021 at 17:21, Bruce Leeroy said:

Where that tiny grub screw is on the focus wheel in BinocularSky's images!!....I'm currently working on a pair very similar but I have 2 grub screws on the focus wheel, 1 is close to the objectives like the images above and the 2nd is closer to the occulars, if the grub screws have slipped you may have a similar problem to mine, it seems as though when foccusing they slip and expand until they bind up, try releasing the grub screw-s and see if you can wind the inner part back in.

Looking at your 2nd posted image suggests the same have happened to yours.

Many thanks Bruce!

I'll take a look at them!

Kind regards, John 👍

I paid £50 locally through Facey marketplace for these mk2 Audubon, Have to say, They perform better than my Zeiss Dekarem Q1 10x50!

They're super bright and clear although the focus rod was acting up and kind of jamming so I reckon they're ready for a service!

I just won a Swift Super Tecnar 10x50 off fleabay, Unfortunately the prisms are dusty giving a poor view in low light, They seem fine in sunlight though! (Obviously would be better after an internal scrub up!- No pics yet!)

Have to say, I love Swift bins as there's just so many models they produced through the years!!

Some Ascots!

Some Tecnars..

Super Tecnar 12x50

Trilyte 8x40 

10x50 Tecnar

Super Tecnar 10x50

I think most of their products were quality Japanese made, They had a lightweight line (Aerolite) that i've been told were real rubbish bargain basement type stuff though and was warned not to touch them!!

Hope you get those Audubon sorted, They really are nice bins 😎

John 👍

I think the first two numbers are the year of manufacture  so yours are very early..

I've two Komz bins, This decent condition 1982 8x30's were only a tenner from a local bootsale and they're fab to view through!

I also have this battered 1965 (But still optically smashing!) 8x30 that seemed to have the orange filters on for decades with the trouble I had getting them off!, This set was a fiver but the case for them had a broken Halina in it, Had to buy those to get the case- They were only three quid!!

When I got them home I found the original  manual/Guarantee/receipt in the bottom of the case!!

 

The ocular lenses were beautifully clean when I finally prised the filters away from the decades of gunge that had glued them in place!! 🤨

Oh, By the way, They bear a striking resemblence to the Zeiss Jena, Coincidentally taken over after the war in Easy Germanby!!

John 👍

Hi all

I'd forgotten that I bought these Jessops 16x30 roofies, I really thought they would be absolutely rubbish when they arrived so I was happy when they exeeded my expectations!!

Sorry about the poor pics! 

I won these Simmons but couldn't find anything out about them when I googled the 'mod1800 7x42 BaK4' info that's on them!!

I have a couple of Simmons rifle scopes that are quite nice, White tail classics and some 8 points so I though for the limited amount of a bid I put on them in the closing seconds (£21.50) they were worth a shot!

I'm not sure if these are porro's or roof prism, They don't arrive until friday!! 😊

John 👍

Hi

Have to say I love Swift Tecnar bins, I bought these 10x50 off the bay but collimation was so bad that it hurt my eyes and made me dizzy when I tried looking through them, I contacted the seller, He ignored my messages so a week later I opened a dispute, He eventually reimbursed me, I was about to put them in the bin when I noticed a gap on one side of the objective bell where it meets the prism case, It had been removed for some reason and replaced badly cross threaded, It took a fair bit of time to get the threads to start properly as it was trying to start in ot the crossed thread but eventually it screwed on freely (Was extremely tight to unscrew), The seller never sent an address to post them back to so ending up, They were free!

This binocular is actually quite lightweight having a plastic body and bells, It does actually feel lower qua;lity than some of the others I have but the view in nice and bright and very clear now!!

These Tecnar 12x50 are much older, Much heavier and such a fabulous clear view, It's hard to imagine the difference in weight!

Another fab bin is this Swift Audubon 8.5x44, I bought it fairly locally from the Marketplace on Facey for £50, They were gret but as soon as I got home and tried them again, The focus started jamming, I enquired about a service but covid had put a damper on things!, In the meantime, They came back to being fine! 🤨 Still want to get them serviced in case it happens again and damages something!

These 8x40 Tecnars were only about £15 from a local antiques centre (Junk shop!!), although they have a 40mm objective, They're lovely and clear, There's been loads also in the charity shops that looked so new and brilliant but when I looked through, They were terrible, Always best if poss to try them out at a shop!

I've bought quite a few binoculars from the bootsales too, had some cracking stuff but also bought some rubbish too!! 😊


Good luck with your quest!

John 👍

On 25/05/2021 at 11:50, BinocularSky said:

ITYM Opticron 🙂

Good find; darn good price!

Doh!!, My grey matter is dying off at an alarming rate!! 😮☺️

No idea why I put Celestron!! 🤔

John 🙂

Hi all

I put a bid on these (Edited) Opticron Polarex II 8x40 and won them for £17+ £6 P&P 😮

 

They came cased and with a silica bag to keep the moisture off them, I had to unbutton the strap to fit the oculay lens cover to it, It's the softest plastic i've ever had, Undid really easily!

I can't believe how clean they are, The rubber is still nicely sft even after 30 years!!, The view through them is very bright with no fungal bloom and really clear as collimation is spot on, It's still hard to swallow that only one other person bid (£16!)

John 👍

Hi again

In regards to a smaller  binocular, I bought this Russian 8x30 Komz porro for just £10 at a local carboot sale, Have to say, It's every bit as good as my Zeiss 8x30 Jena, The Komz bins turn up on fleabay for a little more usually, They're small but not tiny!

Smaller are these Nikon 9x25, Again, Out of production but turn up frequently, Smashing li'l pocket sized glasses! (Lost their badge at some point in the past!)

John 🙂

Hi all

I went and bought these Zeiss Dekarem 10x50 today for a tenner, They're really cosmetically challenged but boy!- They're nice to look through and are dated between 1965 and 1969 according to the serial number

When I got them through markentplace on facey the eyepiece lenses were really dirty, When I looked rthrough the objective lenses it really showed, I thought it was internal but when I cleaned the eyepiece lenses the bins became really bright and clear, They have a fabulous smell to them too, Several of my bins have the same smell, Not sure if it's the lubricants!!

There was no lens caps or case, I have a spare case that fits them fine, I'll have to see if I have any lenscaps now 👍

John 🙂

I've several zoom bins, I was warned off them years ago by an old friend that has forgotten more about optics than i'll ever know!!

Have to say, He was right, I thought I would focus in and low mag then zoom in!

In reality, Once zoomed, They had to be refocussed and sometimes even balanced again for my eyes!! 😳

I eventually learned my lesson and skips traigh past 'Zoom' in the binocular listings!! 

By the way- The big massive zoom bins (I have some that I think are 15-70x zoom- They're worse than useless!!

This is about the best zoom bin I have, Still has to be refocussed after zoom but don't have to mess about doing one eye then the other!!

I bought some Tecnar 10x50 from fleabay on buy it now, They're very lightweight (Plastic body!), They were useless when they landed, I noticed the right side objective bell was slanting slightly due to being replaced cross threaded at some point throwing the collimation way off, I unscrewed it (Which was really hard to do!), Found the start of the threads and screwed them back together, Absolute spot on collimation then!!😮- I was seconds away from putting them in the bin!!
They're not top end bins by any stretch but they turned in to a very nice bright and clear set of bins!!

They were very clean otherwise!

John 👍

A few recent additions!

I got these off ebay and described as 'Working well', In truth they were far out of collimation, I messaged the seller, Then again a week later and gave another week but no reply so I left negative feedback and put a claim in for my money back, It happened a couple of weeks later, Last night I was pondering putting them in the bin but had a look through my loupe to find the adjisting screws, Found two and uncovered the black plastic from them, I couldn't find the other two on the underside but I noticed that there was a slight gap where the left objective bell screws in to the body, It took loads of removing as it was badly cross threaded, Also, There was something like dried glue on the threads, Some had come off inside the prism chamber, I blew most out but some seemed stuck!, I had several attempts to get the threads aligned and eventually managed it, It was overcast last night so no chance of trying them on the moon so I went outside and was amazed at the improvement!, I looked at cars at the top of the road and they were in full focus!!

Swift 10x50 Tecnar, There's still bits of black stuff inside!

Nikon 9x25 compacts, These are cracking little pocket bins!!

Yashica 8x40..

Bushnell 10x42 Birding series..

Swift Trilyte 8x40 mk3

John 👍

Well!

I had a go and they were still doing it with the shaft out!!, I put a small amount of oil on the tube and it seemed to do the job! For five minutes!!, It needs the whole tube taking apart!

I'll wait until East Coast repairs are taking work again although i've had OptRep recommended recently so may have to get in touch with them!!

Regards, John 🙂

On 31/12/2020 at 16:06, BinocularSky said:

About 20 years ago I used to have the Swift-Newport Mk II 10x50, which is the big sibling of the Audubon (no, the damage was not caused by me; it was the reason I got them for a fiver 🙂 ). These pics may help - I'm not certain that they are constructed the same, but I'd be surprised if they weren't.

Remove the cover cap at the distal end of the hinge:

Use a screwdriver with a bit of blutac on to remove the screw in the shaft:

 

Use the focus mechanism to drive the eyepieces and shaft clear; use two hands to support the eyepieces while you do this:

They look identical, I nay have a go now!!

Thanks, John 👍

On 25/12/2020 at 08:56, DaveL59 said:

Hi John

I've yet to pull the pair of those I have completely apart, the focus movement is a little scratchy so must get round to doing that one day. One thing worth checking is are the two eyepieces straight and level and securely held by their centre clamp bolt at the pivot. If they are free to tilt/rock then they can bind on the tube they ride over and can give the impression of the focuser mechanism binding.

I've only taken these apart as far as removing the eyepieces and top plates, then the prisms & carriers so I could do a full clean of the glass surfaces at this time. Given the big improvement and that the focuser was working ok I've not gone any further yet, I believe there is a pin in helix type arrangement under the large focuser wheel so its possible that pin has come loose. I recall some information on that somewhere on the web, will post if I do find it in case it helps.

Yours do look in pretty good shape otherwise, they are a very nice bino and very solid build quality so hopefully you can get them sorted to enjoy them properly 🙂 

Hi Dave

Both parts look to be nicely tight and moving squarely fore and aft, They will actually get past the tight spot with a bit of extra umph but I dislike forcing them!, It appears that the shop I found has actually closed down, I looked on the google maps and it's just not there any more (Signs are removed from the shop front), Couldn't even find the website when I looked for it again! 😥 - If it wasn't for bad luck i'd have no luck at all!! 😂😂

I'll wait and find someone else as I opened a set up years ago, They went in the bin!! 😊 I used to take watches apart, Clean them in a parts cleaner and rebuild them lubricating as I put them, together as a hobby but bino's scare the life out of me!! 🙄


John 👍

15 hours ago, MrZuiko said:

Hi John,

Like the double pun regarding the camo tape as my surname is Field!

Tried that Copydex glue it stank.......but didn't hold, 0.8mm thick leatherette I thought would have worked,I used duck permanent double sided tape whci was cleaner than using contact adhesive as you didn't get and massing and causing a ridge under the leatherette etc etc but the next problem came while I was gently heating up the leatherette with a hair dryer to help with the contours......it left the tape on the body.

So I thought enough is enough and went with the black bandage tape. Like I've mentioned gonna apply another layer and then seal them job done!

 

Ash.

Hee hee!! 😀

Sounds good Ash 👍

I can reacall when I was quite young using copydex on sofas and chairs that had got damaged in the warehouse although they had a hot welding contraption for vinyl but no one knew how to use it!! 😬😂

It always did a good job, I wonder if it's been changed now due to COSHH or something, It was in the mid 70's I worked there!!

Regards, John 🙂

Hi all

A couple of weeks ago I bought a Swift Audubon Mk2 binocular locally, I tried them at the house and they were bright and crisp, The focus was very smooth but as soon as I arrived home and looked down the garden, The focus developed a stiff spot which became quickly to a full on jam!, It seems to me that something is stuck in the threads of the shaft, maybe a bit of muck held in the grease!

Has anyone split binoculars on the shafte before?, I'm wondering if i'll do them in completey if I try to clean and re grease the shaft!! I found a shop locally that say they repair binoculars but i'm not sure if they're open due to covid!!!

Cheers, john 

Hi Ash

Glad you didn't use the cammo tape as if you put them down in the field, You'd probably never find them again!! 😂

Years ago I worked at a furniture shop, Carpets and fabric repairs were glued with Copydex, I just googled it and it was also stick metals so it's safe to say that it will probably stick fabric to the aluminium tubes!, Also, I wonder if the leather used for book binding is thinner than the stuff you bought?, May be easier too apply, That said, I think you did a good job with the black tape 👍

John 🙂

I have a Skymaster 25x70, Whilst it's quite lightweight and easy to hold, The 25x mag is hard to keep still enough to hand hold!!

I also bought a Swallow 15x80, These are quite heavy compared to the Celestrons but a little more steady, The image is much less lively!

John 👍

5 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

wow that's a great find! Very nice condition too. Only thing with them is close focus is around 15ft but otherwise a very good bino. I've an older model 7x35 and they are nice to use, as well as a Chinon 10x40 that are made by the same manufacturer I believe, given the similarity and IIRC the same makers markings.

I think someone may have messed with these as the nearest focus is around a hundred feet! 😮

Beyond that they're fine!! 🤨

Cheers, John 🙂

Hi all

Had an amble around the local bootsale last week and dropped on these Swift Trilyte 8x40 for the princely sum of £10 👍

I feel sure they've been in the case for most of their life as the condition is very good!!

John