Accessorising my Telementor

[markse68]

...with microscope parts!

There were a few things bothering me about my Telementor- the screw in extension piece for the eyepiece holder would wear the threads each time I used the scope as I didn't want to leave it attached, the plastic tube holder that the eps slide into was a bit loose and would get worse, I'd like to be able to use modern eps and microscope eps as well as the originals with it easily, and it really needed a prism diagonal for comfortable use.

Then on CN I saw this really cool original "micro-bayonet" or dovetail quick release system Zeiss made for the Telementor back in the day. Needless to say these are rare and fetch collectors price now.

I also saw that Baader made a similar looking quick change system- the Baader TQC-TCR.

I had also noticed that there were a lot of similar dovetail qr systems used in microscopes- could they be the same? I contacted Baader and they told me that yes indeed they had used the CZJ standard for their adapters- the Zeiss Micro-Bayonet!

So I bought a few bits of old microscope- turns out Lomo microscopes also used this standard- and they are much cheaper than Zeiss and almost as nice  

I tried to find the Baader steel micro-bayonet ring but everywhere was out of stock then I got lucky and found the complete set on Amazon for £1 more than just the ring- perfect.

This is what I ended up with

I'll leave the male dovetail on the scope then I can quick attach extension tube and adapters for any of my eps.

The 0.965 eyepiece clamp was originally part of a telescopic extension tube. It's a beast of a thing- hefty chunk of stainless steel  with the nicest QR clamp and a solid split band that clamps the ep all around- not just a screw and thin metal band.

It has a 25mm bore. It needed a single layer of mylar tape to work perfectly with the 0.965" eps. I made a sleeve for 23.2mm microscope eps.

I think I prefer the Lomo look- less fussy and it almost matches the OTA 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by markse68

[markse68]

Hoped this would have arrived in time to be included in the first post but I got bored waiting. Better late than never. Hermes 🤦‍♂️

It’s a Zeiss 60deg prism for microscope binoviewers- not as ideal as a 90 but it fits with the other bits and was v cheap 😉 Did I mention it’s Zeiss? 😁 (and nice)

For some reason it had lenses fitted on both sides- easily removed

I may have a go at opening the stops as it does vignette with the wider eps but seems to be perfect 20mm and under

Should make the scope a lot more comfortable to use with those low down and high up targets where you need to stand on tiptoes or be a contortionist! 

 

Edited June 8, 2020 by markse68

[F15Rules]

That's ingenious Mark!

Well done!

I expect there will now be as rush of Telementor owners to eBay etc looking to replicate your ideas (not me, sadly, I don't have one now, but they are great scopes).

Thanks for sharing 😊

Dave

 

Edited June 8, 2020 by F15Rules

[markse68]

33 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

That's ingenious Mark!

Well done!

I expect there will now be as rush of Telementor owners to eBay etc looking to replicate your ideas (not me, sadly, I don't have one now, but they are great scopes).

Thanks for sharing 😊

Dave

 

Cheers Dave, that would be funny 😄 Of course the good thing is there must be 100 old Zeiss/Lomo microscopes out there for every one Telementor in existence, so no shortage of parts  

I just had a thought - the strange lenses on either side of the prism effectively hermetically sealed it so despite a long hard life in a lab the prism itself is pristine  

Mark