Collimateable Binoviewers

[Paz]

Can anyone advice on what binoviewers are collimateable and has anyone got any experience of using collimateable binoviewers they could share.

I've been looking for such things and so far have found the Binotron 27 which is expensive and the baader maxbright which you cant buy anymore unless you are luck second hand. Bithbget good reviews but I haven't found much in the way of commentary on how well they work in terms of adjusting collimation.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Paz

[Paz]

Oops, I meant to post this on the eyepieces discussion section - can it be moved?

[Stu]

'Tis done 👍👍

[Louis D]

I think even the cheap binoviewers are collimateable.  The screws are under the rubber grips.  However, most folks report no issues with regards to collimation that I've ever read.  The issue of non-merging images is usually due to one or both eyepieces not being held perfectly orthogonal to the eyepiece holder.  Even with a locking collet in each eyepiece holder, eyepiece undercuts can cause eyepieces to tip.  I have to jam my undercut eyepieces down while tightening the locking collet to keep them from tipping.  I've also had issues with merging when rotating the diopter adjuster upward.  That eyepiece's image will circle around the other eyepiece's image until rotated 360 degrees.  This all on an Arcturus binoviewer.

[JTEC]

Paz, I’ve owned my Baader bino for 15 years and use it a lot.  The collimation was set when it was manufactured and has never varied. I can’t think of any circumstance when I’d want to tinker with it - having the facility to do so would seem, certainly in my ham-fisted case, more like an option for disaster than a convenience.  As with binoculars, if a unit is properly built and hasn’t suffered damage, to the best of my knowledge, there should be no need to play with collimation.

That said, as Louis points out, there are ways in which things can appear out of kilter that have nothing to do with mutual collimation of the two OTAs. I think he’s right in suggesting issues to do with orthogonality around the eyepiece holders and seating, related issues to do with rotational precision of diopter adjustments at the eyepiece end, etc, as the place to look. I’ve also found that things can look a bit wonky with particular pairs of eyepieces. In one case, it turned out that the eps were not in fact as well matched optically as they should have been and this was confusing to the eye. I don’t find all eps equally easy to merge - in particular, I find that merging can be difficult or uncomfortable with some wide field eps and some that seem to display a large amount of sphericity.  And, of course, interpupillary distance, though a simple thing, can be quite critical and, if not right, make you think something fundamental is skewiff.  Apologies if this is  too much like sucking eggs!  Bottom line, if a binoviewer is properly made, I don’t think you should be needing to think about adjusting its collimation. Ditto for the precision of eyepiece holders and adjustments. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Space Hopper]

Paz : FYI the Maxbright Mk 2 will soon be available, sometime this autumn i think.

Info in link.

https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/baader-maxbright-2-binoviewer-with-case.html

[Davey-T]

13 minutes ago, Tubby Bear said:

Paz : FYI the Maxbright Mk 2 will soon be available, sometime this autumn i think.

Info in link.

https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/baader-maxbright-2-binoviewer-with-case.html

Waiting for these to appear to decide whether to persevere with Solar System bino' viewing or give it up as a bad job, not had much success with " cheap" bino' viewers, may just be my eyes.

Dave

[Paz]

Thanks very much for the comments. I think I will wait for the next chance I have to go to an astronomy show or a meet to try some more. I've tried a few already and all were out to my eyes.

I was wondering if it is me that is the problem even though I have read up on binoviewers and tried every trick in the book to rule such issues out. However  I have some collimateable binoculars and I have them set up perfectly which is what got me on to this idea.

[JTEC]

All the best with your search.  I absolutely think it’s worth persisting with.  If you find a pair you like and if your experience is anything like mine, they’ll bring a whole new dimension to your observing. 👍🏻