A complete guide to the repair,

cleaning, and adjustment of

binoculars-for the hobbyist as
well as for the advanced
technician.
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-optical &
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mechanical
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operation
-disassembly
-cleaning
-lubrication
-repairs
<=t=> <=t=> -collimation and
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other
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adjustments
-zoom binoculars

By: Alii Service Notes

Repairing & Adjusting Binoculars
By Alii Service Notes

Copyright ©1996 by Alii Service Notes.

Other books by Alii Service Notes:

Camera Care Canon Camera Repair Notes

Camera Technician's Guide Minolta Camera Repair Notes
Parts and Information Directory Nikon Camera Repair Notes
Restoring Classic and Antique Cameras Pentax Camera Repair Notes
 Repair and adjust
binoculars!

Repair your own binoculars. Or add binocular repair to your business. Here's
how to restore binoculars to proper working condition-including:

o basics of binoculars-optical and mechanical

operation.
o the tools you need to repair binoculars.
o cleaning optics.
o lubrication.
o how to disassemble binoculars-and how to avoid disturbing
adjustments.
o adjustments-collimation, rotational error, diopter setting.
o zoom binoculars-how they work and how to adjust them.

Fully illustrated with over 150 drawings and photos.

 Contents:
Introduction 2 •
How to use this book
37
3
18
55
60
950
35
46
45
68
54
20
21
36
31
30
48
47
17
16
7
37
15
24
22
34
67
65
53
4
18
26
25
42
55
69 1
Section A-Binocular basics
Power of Binoculars
Optical Principle of Binoculars
Variations in the Basic Design
Other Types of Prisms
Quality Differences in Binoculars

Section B-Disassembly & Repair Techniques

Tools for Disassembly
Cleaning Binocular Optics
Cleaning Metal Parts
Lubrication
Disassembly Techniques
Objective-lens parts
Removing the prism covers
Removing the ocular assembly from a
rocker-arm design
Removing the ocular assembly from a
focus-knob design
Porro prisms, prism shelves
Disassembly and adjustment of the oculars
Variations in Oculars
Disassembly of Opera Glasses
Reassembly of Opera Glasses
Summary of Disassembly Rules and Precautions

Section C-Adjusting Binoculars

Collimation
Checking Collimation
Objective-Lens Adjustments
Eyelens Adjustments
Porro-Prism Adjustments
Adjusting Rotational Error with the Porro Prisms
Adjusting the Porro Prism for Collimation
Prism-Shelf Adjustments
Adjusting Focus
Other Adjustments
Summary of Optical Adjustments

Section D-Zoom Binoculars

Operation of the Zoom Lens
Disassembly of the Oculars
Other Coupling Systems
Removing the Ocular Tubes
Checking Ocular Timing
Other Types of Zoom Binoculars

Index
 INTRODUCTION
Since starting
binocular AliiSome
repair. Service Notes,
people we'vetohad
just want many
repair theirrequests for a book
own binoculars. on
Others
want to add binoculars to their present repair line. We've tried to design this book
for both needs as well as for the needs of experienced binocular-repair technicians.

The text materials don't provide step-by-step coverage of every type of binocular;
we concentrate on the conventional porro-prism binoculars, the type you'll most
frequently encounter. However, the theory behind the repair and adjustments ap-
plies to other types of binoculars as well.

Binocular or binoculars?
You'll see binocular, describing a single unit, written both in the singular and in the
plural-a binocular or a pair of binoculars. The binocular consists of two halves
that are practically mirror images of one another. Either the singular or the plural is
acceptable.

Where to get parts and tools for binocular repair.

Most of the tools you need for binocular repair are standard tools available from a
variety of sources. At the bottom of this page, we've listed four sources for small
tools and special lubricants. Each of these sources provides a complete catalog.

Parts and specialized tools present a different problem. If a binocular needs parts,
the repair may not be economical-at least for an inexpensive pair of binoculars.
However, a good pair of binoculars may justify the parts costs. The only parts source
is the manufacturer of the binoculars.

Most of the specialized tools described in this book also come from manufacturers
of binoculars. The addresses and phone numbers of binocular manufacturers are
listed in another Alii publication-the Parts and Information Directory.

Sources of Tools & Lubricants

Alii Service Notes Fargo Enterprise
P.O. Box 30871 P.O. Box 6505
Honolulu, HI 96820 Vacaville, CA 95696
phone: (808) 848-0029 phone: (707) 446-1120
fax: (808) 848-0691 fax: (800) 249-3182

Cam-Comp, Inc Vivitar Corporation

325 Route 17M, Suite 5 1280 Rancho Conejo Blvd.
Monroe, NY 10950 Newbury Park, CA 91319
phone: (914) 782-4248 phone: (800) 421-2381
fax: (800) 735-3319 fax: (805) 498-5086

2
 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

If you'reThere
gram. neware
to four
binocular
to more complex subjects.
sectionsrepair, you with
that start can the
use basics
this book as a self-study
and proceed pro-
progressively

The first section-Section A-provides background information on binoculars. Here

you gain the background you'll need before taking apart a pair of binoculars for the
first time. Section A also provides the terminology used in the remaining sections.

Section B starts with information on tools and techniques. You first learn about the
special tools that are needed for repairing binoculars. You also learn how to clean the
optics and what lubrications to use on the mechanical parts.

The rest of Section B covers disassembly techniques. You'll find that this material is
much easier to understand if you have a pair of binoculars to disassemble. Ideally,
you should start with a "junk" pair of binoculars. Learn the basics-and how to
avoid disturbing adjustments-before you tackle customers' binoculars.

Garage sales and flea markets sometimes provide a source for inexpensive binocu-
lars you can use as practice equipment. Or check with businesses that often do bin-
ocular repair, such as camera-repair shops. Such shops may have binoculars that
were "donated" by customers who didn't want to pay the charge for repairs.

Section C covers the optical adjustments. If you have some background in binocu-
lars-and you just want to adjust a pair of binoculars-you may be able to skip
directly to this section.

Again, if you're new to the field, it helps to have a pair of binoculars you can use
when following the instructions in Section C. Try throwing out the adjusunems. And
then make the adjustments on your practice binoculars.

Section D covers the oculars (eyepiece assemblies) in zoom binoculars. You prob-
ably should not attempt repairs on zoom binoculars until you're proficient in the first
three sections. Zoom binoculars just add variable magnification to the principles
already covered.

3
SECTION A-BINOCULAR
TheButword binocular
there's more ofrefers to viewingbetween
a difference with both eyes.
binocu-
lars and telescopes than the viewing method. In this
section, we'll take a look at those differences along with
the basic optical principles governing binoculars.
Fig. Al shows the terminology we'll be using in this
book. The large lenses at the front of the binoculars are
the objective lenses. These lenses gather the light from
the image and bring that light to a focus point inside
the binoculars.
The eyepiece assemblies-the oculars-magnify the
images formed by the objective lenses. The ocular is
the complete eyepiece assembly. It consists of the eye-
lens (the lens closest to your eye) as well as the other
lenses in the eyepiece. Many binoculars have rubber
eyecups at the ends of the oculars. If you wear eye-
glasses, you can roll up the rubber eyecups.
One side of the binoculars is hinged to the other side.
Each side of the binocular pair mounts to the hinge
pin. The hinge allows you to change the separation
between the binocular sides to match the distance be-
tween your eyes. You simply spread the sides further
apart-Dr move the sides closer together-until the dis-
DECORATOR CAP
/ OBJECTIVE LENSES
FOCUS
KNOB
OCULAR ARMS
EYECUP
FIG. A 1 The common terms for the parts of binoculars.
4/BINOCULAR BASICS
BASICS
tance between the eyelenses matches the distance be-
tween your eyes. The distance between the eyelenses
is the interpupillary distance (the distance between
the pupils of your eyes).
Many binoculars include a scale-the IPD scale-- for
setting the interpupillary distance, Fig. A2. The IPD
scale shown in Fig. A2 is on a disc attached to the
hinge pin-the index is on one of the ocular arms. If
you remember your own interpupillary distance, you
can quickly set the binoculars by referring to the IPD
scale.
The calibrations on the IPD scale are usually in milli-
meters. For example, spread the binocular sides until
the index aligns with "70." The distance between the
centers of the eyelenses is now 70mm.
Practically all binoculars have two focus adjustments
for matching the binoculars to your own eyes and to
the subject distance. A common design uses a focus
knob, Fig. AI, that moves both oculars simultaneously.
The oculars move in out along a threaded shaft-closer
to the binocular body or further from the binocular body.
But your two eyes probably don't have identical cor-
OBJECTIVE-
LENS TUBE
FRONT PRISM COVER
BODY
HINGE PIN
REAR PRISM COVER
ADJUSTABLE OCULAR
 (PO SCALE

FIG. A2 Many binoculars have a scale to show the interpupillary distance (IPO). This
scale is calibrated in millimeters.

rections-that's why one of the two oculars is adjust-

able, Fig. A3. Turning the control knob moves the ad- CONTROL KNOB
justable ocular along screw threads. The adjustable
ocular then moves in or out, allowing individual cor-
rection.

With most binoculars, the adjustable ocular is the right-

hand ocular-the ocular you look through with your DIOPTER SCALE
right eye. Focus the binoculars by using the focus knob
to adjust the focus through the fixed ocular. Then ad-
just the adjustable ocular.

For example, consider that the right-hand ocular is the

adjustable ocular. First close your right eye. Turn the FIG. A3 The diopter scale is usually on
focus knob until the image seen through the left side the bottom of the right-side ocular.
appears sharp. Then close your left eye and open your Typically the adjustable ocular allows a
right eye. Turn the diopter control until the image seen correction of :t3 diopters.
through the right side appears sharp. You've just fo-
cused the oculars according to the subject distance and
to your own eyesight.

The adjustable ocular is normally calibrated on the

underside, Fig. A3. The 0 on the scale indicates no
correction. You can turn the control knob to set up to 3
steps correction in either direction. ROCKER ARM

Although you will encounter variations in the scales,

the calibrations are normally quite close from one pair
of binoculars to another. The steps of correction are
based on diopters-units of correction for individual
eyesight.

The index is on the ocular arm. If you remember the

correction you need, you can preset the adjustable ocu-
lar. Then turn only the focus knob to focus the binocu- OCULARS
lars.

In some binoculars, the focus control is at the center of

the hinge pin-between the sides ofthe binoculars. The FIG. A4 The rocker arm moves both
design shown in Fig. A4 uses a rocker arm as the focus oculars simultaneously.

BINOCULAR BASICS/S
control. Push one side of the rocker arm to move the
oculars in one direction; push the other side of the rocker SCREW ON
arm to move the oculars in the opposite direction. HINGE PIN
A
In Fig. A4, a carn slot rather than a threaded shaft moves
the oculars. The carn slot is in the rocker arm, Fig. AS.
A screw on the hinge pin rides in the cam slot.

Pushing the left -hand side of the rocker arm moves the
cam slot as shown in Fig. AS (B). The carn slot then
drives the ocular assembly toward the front of the bin-
oculars. If you push the right -hand side of the rocker
arm, the cam slot moves as shown in Fig. A5 (C). The
ocular assembly now moves toward the back of the bin-
oculars.
B
You normally can't see the cam slot in the rocker arm-
it's covered by a decorator cap, Fig. A6 . The decorator
cap just snaps into place.

In Fig. A6, we've removed the ocular assembly from a

pair of binoculars with a rocker-arm focus control. The
ocular assembly-the two ocular arms with the
oculars-mounts to the hinge pin, Fig. A6. As you
C

FIG. AS The cam slot is part of the

rocker arm. A screw on the hinge pin
rides in the cam slot.

DECORATOR
PLATE move the rocker arm, the hinge pin moves toward the
\ front or toward the back of the binoculars. The hinge
pin carries the ocular assembly in the same direction.

To see the cam slot and the screw on the hinge pin,
remove the snap-fit decorator plate, Fig. A6. Fig. A7
shows the rocker arm with the decorator plate removed.

You've seen that the rocker mm moves the complete

hinge pin to adjust the focus. By contrast, the focus
knob of the binoculars shown in Fig. Al moves only
the shaft that carries the ocular assembly. The ocular
arms fit over the shoulder of the ocular shaft, Fig. A8.

HINGE PIN
FIG. A6 Binoculars with the ocular
assembly removed. The rocker arm
moves the hinge pin in or out. The hinge
pin carries the ocular assembly.
The ocular shaft screws into the focus knob, Fig. A8.
And the focus knob screws into the hinge pin. But only
the focus knob can rotate-the oculm' arms prevent the
ocular shaft from rotating with the focus knob.
Since the ocular shaft can't rotate, it moves in or out
along its screw threads. The ocular shaft then carries
the ocular assembly in the sarne direction.

6/BINOCULAR BASICS
Some binoculars-such as military binoculars-elimi- SCREW ON HINGE PIN
nate the control that moves the two oculars simulta-
neously. Both oculars are individually adjustable, Fig.
A9. You must adjust each ocular individually for your
own eyesight. Each ocular has diopter calibrations simi-
1ar to the calibrations shown in Fig. A3.

POWER OF BINOCULARS

Binoculars are rated according to the magnification and

to the diameter of the objective lenses. Increasing the
diameter of the objective lenses increases the light-gath-
ering ability. So, in low-light situations, the larger ob-
jective lenses do a better job by gathering more of the
existing light.

Most binocular objectives are either 30mm in diameter

or 50mm in diameter. The term night glasses refers to
binoculars with 50mm objective lenses. The larger ob-
jective lenses are better suited for use at night.

You'll see a pair of numbers on the binoculars that in- FIG. A7 Removing the decorator plate
dicate both the magnification of the oculars and the from the rocker arm (see Fig. A6)
diameter of the objective lens-such as 7 x 30. The 7x uncovers the hinge-pin screw and the
is the magnification of the oculars-the oculars mag- cam slot.
nify the image formed by the objectives 7 times. The
second number - 30--tells you that the diameter of
each objective lens is 30mm.

/ HINGEPIN

SCREW THREADS
OF OCULAR SHAFT

SCREW THREADS OF

! FOCUS KNOB

FOCUS KNOB
ADJUSTABLE OCULARS

SHOULDER OF
OCULAR SHAFT

FIG. A9 In some binoculars, both

FIG. A8 With a focus-knob system, the oculars are individually adjustable.
ocular assembly mounts to the shoulder There's no control to move the oculars
of the ocular shaft. simultaneously.

BINOCULAR BASICSn
The power and the cliameter of the ob-
jective lenses also tell you the diam-
eter of the exit pupil-the actual im-
age area. To see the exit pupils, look
through the binoculars at an illumi-
nated source-perhaps the sky. Now
hold the binoculars around 6" from
your eyes. The illuminated circles you
can see at the centers of the eyelenses,
Fig. Al 0, are the exit pupils.
Determine the diameter of the exit pupils by the for-
mula:
FIG. A10 The power and the diameter of
exit pupil = diameter of objective lens the Objective lenses is normally marked
power
on a cover plate next to one ocular. In
Zoom binoculars, Fig. All, allow you to change the this example, the magnification is 7
power-the actual magnification of the oculars. The power. The diameter of each objective
zoom binoculars have a control that shifts the internal lens is 50mm.
ocular optics to change the magnification. The optical
principle is similar to that used in zoom lenses for cam-
eras. As you move the zoom lever, Fig. All, a magni-
fication scale shows you the actual setting, Fig. A12.

The zoom binoculars shown in Fig. All are calibrated

7X-15X35. The calibrations 7X-15X show that the
oculars can then be changed in magnification between
7 power and 15 power. In this example, the diameter of
each objective lens is 35mm.

INDEX

ZOOM LEVER
FIG. A 12 The numbers under this zoom
ocular indicate the selected
magnification. The index ring rotates as
FIG. A 11 Zoom binoculars allow you to you move the zoom lever. In this
change the magnification of the example, the magnification is between 9
oculars. and 10 power.

8/BINOCULAR BASICS
OPTICAL PRINCIPLES OF BINOCULARS

The optical principles of binoculars are similar to the

principles of another sighting instrument, the telescope,
Fig. A13. With the telescope, the objective lens gathers
the light and forms an image inside the telescope, Fig.
A14. The image formed by the objective lens is called
a virtual image-it exists in space rather than being
projected onto a surface such as a movie screen or an-
other optical surface.

An image projected onto a surface is, by contrast, a

real image. If you could place such a surface behind
the objective lens, the virtual image would become a FIG. A13 The telescope, a close relative
real image-one that you could see. For example, say of binoculars.
you're looking inside the telescope-directly at the
image formed by the objective lens. You won't see the
virtual image. But, if you place a ground glass or a
focusing screen at the focal point of the objective lens,
you will see the image.
I
FOCAL POINT
OF OCULAR
POSITION OF :
VIRTUAL IMAGE I
~I
INCOMING I
LIGHT I
RAYS

FOCAL EYELENS
FOCALPOINT
OF/ LENGTH
OBJECTIVE LENS OF
OCULAR
¢> FOCAL LENGTH OF OBJECTIVE LENS ¢

FIG. A14

LIGHT RAY
To bend the light rays as shown in Fig. A14, the objec-
tive lens relies on the optical principle of refraction.
Refraction is the bending of the light rays as the light
passes from a medium of one density to a medium of a
different density. With the lens, the light passes from
air (low density) into the glass of the lens (high den-
sity).

The glass then slows down the light ray. Because of

the curvature of the lens, one side ofthe light ray slows
down before the other side slows down. For example,
consider the light ray entering the lens in Fig. A15. FIG. A15 The curvature of the glass and
Because of the curvature of the lens, the bottom edge
of the light ray slows down before the top edge slows the density of the glass determine how
down. As a result, the light ray bends down. much the light ray bends (refracts).

BINOCULAR BASICS/9
But when the light ray leaves the lens in Fig. A15, the
top edge of the light ray enters the air first. The light
ray speeds up when it enters the air. Since the top of
the light ray speeds up before the bottom of the light
ray, the light ray bends up.
The amount the light ray refracts depends on two fac-
tors: the curvature of the lens and the density of the
glass. Increasing the curvature of the lens causes the
light ray to bend more. The more dense the glass, the
more the light ray bends-the denser medium slows
down the light ray a greater amount.
If the subject is at infinity (an infinite distance from the
lens), the incoming light rays are parallel to one an-
other, Fig. A14. The objective lens brings the light rays
to a focus point. The distance between the optical cen-
ter of the objective lens and the focal point when the
subject is at an infinite distance is the focal length of
the lens.
You can optically simulate a target at an infinite dis-
tance-you'll see one method in Section C (Adjusting
Binoculars). But for test purposes, you can consider a
target at a distance of around two miles to be infinity.
In Fig. A14, the subject is a point source of light. A
normal scene, however, is made up of many point
sources coming from different directions. In Fig. A16,
FIG. A 16 All the image points from the subject are focused at the focal plane.
1O/BINOCULAR BASICS
we've added two more point sources from the subject
after passing through the objective lens. Now the ob-
jective lens brings the point sources to a plane-the
focal plane.
The focal point of the ocular, Fig. A14, is at the same
place as the focal point of the objective lens. The ocu-
lar magnifies the virtual image and forms a real im-
age-an image you can see by looking through the ocu-
lar. As with binoculars, you can move the ocular in or
out to correct for your own eyesight.
If the subject is at a focus distance closer than infinity,
the incoming light rays are no longer parallel-rather,
the light rays diverge from the subject. The objective
lens brings together the light rays at a point behind the
focal point in Fig. A14. As a result, the virtual image is
formed closer to the ocular. You must then move back
the ocular-further from the objective- to bring the
image into sharp focus.
The telescope shown in Fig. A14 is an aerial telescope,
used for viewing such things as stars and planets. The
image appears inverted (upside down) and reverted
(reversed from left to right)-a positive lens (a lens
that focuses the light rays at a point behind the lens as
shown in Fig. A14) always inverts and reverts the im-
age. The subject rays coming from the bottom of the
lens are focused at the top of the focal plane, Fig. A16.
w
Z
c(
...J
Q.
...J
c(
U
o
LL
 LENS-ERECTING SYSTEM

FIG. A17 With a terrestrial telescope, the image passes through an erecting system.
The image you view is right side up and correctly oriented from right to left.

To make the image appear right side up, it's necessary

INTEROBJECTIVE DISTANCE
to add more optics-an erecting system. The erecting
system erects the image. In Fig. AI?, we've added a
lens- erecting system to the telescope. The lens-erect-
ing system inverts and reverts the image once more-
now the image appears right side up and correctly ori-
ented from right to left. The telescope is now called a
terrestrial telescope-a telescope used to view objects
on the earth rather than in outer space.

If you attached two of the telescopes shown in Fig.

AI? side by side, you could use both your eyes to
view the subject. But you still would not have a typi-
cal pair of binoculars. With most binoculars, the ob-
jective lenses are spaced further apart than the oculars.
The increased space between the objective lenses re-
sults in a greater 3-dimensional effect.

When you look at an object, each of your eyes sees the

object from a slightly different angle. As a result, you INTERPUPILLARY DISTANCE
get a 3-dimensional view. If you close one eye, you'll
find that your view has suddenly become 2 dimensional.
You see height and width. But the object appears to FIG. A 18
have no depth- it's flat, like the picture in a maga-
zine.

The binoculars increase the 3-dimensional effect by

placing the objectives further apart than the eyelenses.
Each objective lens sees the same subject. But the two
objective lenses see the subject from different angles.

The distance between the objectives is called the

interobjective distance-that's the distance measured
from the center of one objective to the center of the
other objective, Fig. AI8. The distance between the
eyelenses, as mentioned earlier, is called the interpu-
pillary distance.

To move the objectives further apart than the oculars-

as well as to shorten the overall length of the binocu-
lar-each binocular side displaces the light. The light
travels in the path shown in Fig. A19. Prisms do the FIG. A 19 The light path inside the
job of displacing the light and shortening the required binoculars.
length of the light path.

BINOCULAR BASICS/11
A prism is a piece of optical glass designed to reflect
light rays. There are different types of prisms distin-
guished by their shape or by the manner in which they
reflect the light rays. For example, a 90· prism, Fig.
A20, reflects the light at a 90° angle. A 90° prism is RIGHT
also called a right-angle prism-both for the shape ANGLE
and for the direction that the prism reflects the light (a
right angle).

Fig. A21 shows the light path through the 90° prism.
The reflecting surface is at a 45° angle in order to re-
flect the light 90°. Light enters the entrance face of the EXIT FACE
prism. The reflecting surface then reflects the light ray
90°. The reflected light ray leaves the prism through
the exit face.
FIG. A20 The 90°-or right-anglEr-prism.
You can always determine the angle of a reflected light
ray by applying the law of reflection. The law states
that the angle of reflection-angle b in Fig. A21-al-
ways equals the angle of incidence-angle a in Fig.
A2l. To detennine the angles, draw a line that's per- ENTRANCE
pendicular to the reflecting surface-the line is called FACE
REFLECTING
the normal, Fig. A2l. The angle of incidence is on
one side of the normal; the angle of reflection is on the
other side. SURFACE ~

A min'or uses a silver coating on one side to reflect the -+- -

light. All the light reflects from the silver coating-the
glass serves only as a flat surface for the coating. But
most prisms don't need silver coatings to reflect the
light. The reflection takes place inside the prism; there's NORMAL
no glass-air surface. Thanks to an optical plinciple called
total internal reflection, all of the light striking the
reflecting surfaces is reflected. None of the light passes
through the reflecting surface.
\EXIT FACE

Most binoculars use porro prisms, Fig. A22, to dis- .

place the light path. In effect, a porro prism acts like FIG. A21 Light path through the 90° prism.
two 90° plisms placed face to face, Fig. A23.

REFLECTING SURFACES

90' PRISMS
FIG. A23 If you cement two 90° prisms
together as shown, you have the porro
FIG. A22 The porro prism. prism.

121BINOCULAR BASICS
Light enters one face of the porro prism and is inter-
ENTRANCE
nally reflected 90° ,Fig. A24-from one 45° surface
to the other 45° surface. In Fig. A24, the dashed line is
the normal. Angle a, the angle ofincidence, equals angle
FACE~
b, the angle of reflection. The second right -angle prism
reflects the light 90° to the exit face of the porro prism.

Notice in Fig. A24 that the light leaves the porro prism
180° opposite to the entrance direction. The light path
has been displaced by a distance that corresponds to
the distance between the 45° surfaces.

A second porro prism returns the light ray to its origi-

nal path, Fig. A25. With two porro prisms working to-
gether, the direction of the light ray remains un-
FIG. A24 Light path through the porro
changed-but the light ray is displaced. Fig. A26 shows
how the two prisms are actually positioned inside the prism.
binoculars.

Besides displacing the light, the two porro prisms serve

another function-they provide a prism-erecting sys-
tem. The two porro prisms sit at a 90° angle to one
another, Fig. A27. The inverted and reverted image ENTRANCE RAY
formed by the objective lens is then turned right side I
up and corrected from left to right by the porro prisms. ~
One porro prism corrects the image in one plane; the I
second porro prism corrects the image in the second I
plane. In Section C (Adjusting Binoculars), you'll see
what happens to the image if the angle between the V
porro prisms is greater or less than 90° . EXIT RAY

FIG. A25 Two porro prisms work

together to displace the light ray without
changing the direction.

FIG. A26 Positions of the porro FIG. A27 The angle between the
prisms inside the binoculars. porro prisms should be 90° .

BINOCULAR BASICS/13
 OBJECTIVES

I I
V I
V-
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ENTRANCE RAY I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
FOCAL PLANE I
III

<±><±>
I

OCULARS
I I
I I
V V
FIG. A28 The light displacement shortens the distance between the objectives and
the focal plane-the binoculars then allow a long focal length in a compact unit.

Each side of the binoculars has two porro prisms to

displace the light paths, Fig. A28. The horizontal line
FACE OF SECOND PORRO PRISM
in Fig. A28 indicates the approximate focal points-
the focal points of the objective lenses. As you focus
the binoculars, you're moving the oculars closer to or
further from that horizontal line.

A prism shelf on each side of the binoculars holds a

pair of porro prisms. The porro prisms sit in the bodies
of the binoculars. Fig. A29. One porro prism sits on
one side of the prism shelf; the other porro prism sits
on the opposite side of the prism shelf, Fig. A30.

FIG. A30 The two porro prisms in each

side of the binoculars sit on the prism
FIG. A29 Positions of the porro prisms shelf-one porro prism on each side of
inside the binoculars. the prism shelf.

14/BINOCU LAR BASICS

 VARIATIONS IN THE BASIC DESIGN

Some special-purpose binoculars, such as military bin-

oculars, place a reticle at the focal point in one side.
The reticle is a thin piece of glass with etched gradua-
tions as shown in Fig. A31.

As you're sighting through the binoculars, you also see

the reticle. You can then use the reticle for measuring
such values as distances or angles. The reticle is gradu-
ated and marked according to the purpose of the bin-
oculars.
Fig. A31 You see the reticle with your left
eye as you're looking through the
The reticle normally fits in one end of a tube, Fig. A32.
binoculars.
The tube mounts inside one binocular body, placing
the reticle at the focal point. The binoculars shown in
Fig. A30 don't use a reticle. But if they did, the reticle
tube would screw into the prism shelf-above the face RETICLE
of the second porro prism, Fig. A30.

If you're repairing binoculars professionally, the reticle

presents a major cleaning problem. The reticle is mag- \
nified by the ocular. A tiny speck of dust on the reticle
then appears magnified-and objectionable-when
\\
you're looking through the binoculars. We1l cover clean-
ing techniques in the next section.

Zoom binoculars present another repair problem-the

two oculars must be timed to one another. The oculars TUBE
in zoom binoculars work like zoom lenses for cam-
eras-as you zoom, the magnification of the oculars
changes.

If the oculars are not timed to one another, the two

images will be different sizes.Since zoom binoculars
area little more involved, we've given them their own
section at the end of this book-Section D. The sec-
tions on disassembly and adjustments refer to binocu-
lars that do not have zoom oculars. Please read through
and understand these sections before tackling zoom bin-
oculars.
Fig. A32 The reticle is a thin piece of
glass etched with the graduations. A
tube holds the reticle at the objective-
lens focal point inside the binocular
body.

Fig. A33 shows another variation-opera glasses. Op- OBJECTIVES

era glasses allow two-eye viewing with a compact unit.
Although very similar to standard binoculars, opera
glasses have one major difference-the interpupillary
distance is greater than the interobjective distance, Fig.
A34. The porro prisms displace the light to shorten the
required length of the opera glasses. But they don't in-
crease the 3-dimensional effect.

lYpically the focus knob moves the objective lenses

rather than the oculars. But one of the oculars is still
adjustable to conect for individual eyesight. FOCUS
OCULARS 2 KNOB

FIG. A33 Typical opera glasses.

BINOCULAR BASICS/15
Notice in Fig. A34 that the porro prisms are displacing INTEROBJECTIVE DISTANCE
the light in the opposite direction to standard binocu- OBJECTIVE
lars. For the sake of compactness, opera glasses sacri- ~
lENSES
fice some of the 3-dimensional binocular characteris-
tics. But as far as repairs and adjustments are con- PORRO
cerned, there's little difference between opera glasses PORRO
PRISMS
and binoculars. PRISMS
T

i
I

However, there are some special-purpose binoculars you i -'-'.

should not attempt to repair-binoculars that require *&fl '

...... j

special tools and equipment beyond the budget of most

shops. For example, infrared binoculars include so-
phisticated circuits that convert infrared light to visible
light. Our eyes aren't sensitive to infrared light; the
wavelength is too long to stimulate the human eye. So, i I

if a subject is illuminated only with infrared, we can't ADJUSTABLE 1- INTERPUPillARY - : FIXED

see that subject-unless we look at the subject through
infrared binoculars. OCULAR ~ DISTANCE V OCULAR

In infrared binoculars, the objective lenses focus the FIG. A34 The light path in opera glasses.
virtual image on a solid-state image pick-up-a device
that converts the image to an electronic signal. The elec-
tronic signal is then processed by circuitry inside the
binoculars and converted to a visible image-an image
ENTRANCE
that's magnified by the oculars. Subject seen through
the infrared binoculars appear green in color.

OTHER TYPES OF PRISMS + FACE",

You've seen the function of the porro prisms. A pair of

porro prisms increases the interobjective distance over
the interpupillary distance and shortens the binocular
length. The prisms also erect the image.
FIG. A35 An erecting prism that erects
A single prism can also be used as an erecting system. the image in one plane.
Fig. A35 shows a typical erecting prism-a right-angle
prism with the top (the hatched area) cut off. Notice
that the top light ray becomes the bottom light ray after
passing through the erecting prism. Similarly, the bot-
tom light ray becomes the top light ray.

The prism shown in Fig. A35 erects in only one plane.

It can turn an upside down image right side up. Or it
can correct a reverted image from left to right. But a
prism using the roof-edge principle can erect the im-
age in both planes. It can turn an inverted and reverted
image into an image that's right side up and correctly
oriented from left to right.

Fig. A36 shows the roof-edge arrangement. The roof

edge is formed between the two reflecting surfaces. If
the roof edge is 45° to the incident light, the reflected ROOF EDGE
image is both inverted and reverted.

Roof-angle (or roof-edge) prisms vary according .to the FIG. A36 A roof edge erects the image in
numberthere's
prism of reflecting surfaces.
a roof edge But the
that erects so~ewhere
Image. AIII the
roof- two planes.

16/BINOCULAR BASICS
angle pentaprism, for example, has five (penta) sides;
the roof-edge surfaces form two of the five sides. OBJECTIVES

Some binoculars use roof-angle prisms for compact-

ness. You can usually identify roof-prism binoculars
by the body shape, Fig. A37. If you disassemble the
binoculars, you probably won't see the individual
prisms-the roof-angle prisms are normally self-con-
tained in barrel assemblies that fit inside the binocular
tubes.

The theory behind the repair of roof-prism binoculars

is the same as for the more conventional porro-prism
binoculars. But there are many design differences. Roof-
prism binoculars are generally high-end, compact units.
You probably should not attempt repairs on roof-angle
binoculars until you're experienced in the repair of
porro-prism binoculars.
FOCUS KNOB
QUALITY DIFFERENCES IN o~o~;;?;;?;?;;?;;?;;?o
BINOCULARS

As you cover Section B, you'll see that there are very

few design variations in conventional porro-prism bin- OCULARS·
oculars. But there are quality differences. The quality
differences account for the wide range of prices you'll
find-even though the binoculars may seem to be iden-
tical in design. FIG. A37 Binoculars using roof-angle
prisms generally have a sleek, compact
The top-quality binoculars lose very little light by un- design.
wanted reflection. Whenever light enters a lens, part of
that light is reflected from the front surface of the lens
(a secondary reflection), Fig. A38. The transmitted
light then passes through the lens and re-enters the air.
But part of the light striking the rear lens surface is
also reflected-it's reflected into the lens. Light that's
reflected rather than transmitted is lost-it plays no
part in the image formation.

Reducing the light loss by reflection results in a sharper,

brighter image. It's difficult to judge the quality differ-
ence unless you have two binoculars-a high-quality
set and a low-quality set-to compare side by side.

To minimize light loss by reflection, the manufacturer

coats the lenses. The process involves evaporating me-
tallic salts-such as magnesium fluoride-onto the lens
surfaces. The coating reduces the effects of secondary
reflection, allowing more of the light to be transmitted.
You can usually recognize a coated lens by the slight
color cast.

The quality of the optics also has a major bearing on

the price. Even the prisms vary in quality. The top- FIG. A38 Light path through a lens. The
quality binoculars use high-index prisms that again lose dashed lines show the secondary
very little light by unwanted reflections or unwanted
transmissions. reflections.

BINOCULAR BASICS/17
 SECTION B-DISASSEMBLY &
REPAIR TECHNIQUES

Disassembly procedures
spite the variety remain fairl
in binoculars. But ythere's
consistent, de-
one type
of binocular that you don't want to disassemble. Some
high-end binoculars are purged and then filled with
nitrogen gas. The nitrogen gas makes the binoculars
waterproof and fogproof.

Purged binoculars should be returned to the factory for

repair-only the factory has the equipment needed to
purge and refill the binoculars. Look for the words
"Purged with ..." or similar on one of the cover plates.

In most situations, you'll be disassembling the binocu-

lars to reach the adjustments. Or you may have to dis-
assemble the binoculars to clean the internal optics. If
the binoculars have been dropped, optics may be bro-
ken. Plus the housing and other parts may be dented.
REAR PRISM COVERS
However, when parts are required, it may be preferable
to send the binoculars to the factory to repair. The fac-
FIG. B1
tories supply parts, but not parts lists. Consequently,
you can only order parts by description-and that makes
it a problem to get the right part for the right model.
slots in the housing or clip under a ledge.
You can find the addresses and phone numbers for bin-
ocular manufacturers in another Alii publication-the A standard set of screwdrivers may be all you need.
Parts and Information Directory. But again, getting Most standard sets include both Phillips tips and slot-
the right part can be a problem. ted tips. A Phillips tip is slightly different than a cros-
spoint tip-the Phillips tip is longer with a more gradual
In this section, we'll cover disassembly procedures and taper. But the small Phillips tip in a standard set is usu-
precautions. Complete disassembly of binoculars does ally adequate for both types.
disturb the adjustments. You should therefore disas-
semble the binoculars no further than necessary to make Jewelers' screwdrivers, Fig. B4, are at times needed to
the repair. loosen setscrews. Setscrews are small, headless screws

TOOLS FOR DISASSEMBLY

~ CROSSPOINT BLADE
You won't need many tools for binocular repair. But
you do need a set of screwdrivers-both for slotted
screws and for crosspoint (or Phillips) screws. The

<
~ REGULAR BLADE {TOP VIEW}
prism covers, Fig. B 1, are
usually held by screws-and
those screws may be either REGULAR BLADE {SIDE VIEW}
slotted or crosspoint, Fig. B2.
Also, the prism clamps that
hold the porro prisms in po- FIG. 82 A slotted Fig. 83 A crosspoint screwdriver blade
sition may be held by screws. {top} compared with a regular
In other cases, the ends of the screw (left) and a
screwdriver blade {center and bottom}.
prism clamps simply slip into crosspoint screw.

18/DISASSEMBLY &REPAIR
rings-you
can remove theneedparts.
to loosen the setscrews before you ~ e ~
that are frequently used to lock parts such as threaded ~
The jewelers' screwdriver has a swivel end, allowing
you to turn the screwdriver without changing your grip. FIG. 84 A jewelers' screwdriver may be
A set of jewelers' screwdrivers includes very small needed for headless setscrews (shown
tips-tips small enough for watch repair. You may never at right).
need the smallest sizes. But you can get individual sizes.
The 1.0mm and 2mm blades should handle all the set-
screws you'll encounter in binoculars.

Most binocular threads are right-hand (nor-

ma/ threads rather than reverse threads).
Turn most threaded parts counterclock-
wise to loosen, clockwise to tighten.

U
LOOSEN
fJ
TIGHTEN

You also need a spanner wrench, Fig. B5. Binoculars

use threaded retaining rings that usually have notches
for a spanner wrench. The tips of the spanner wrench
fit the notches. You can then turn the spanner wrench
to unscrew the retaining ring. FIG. 85 A spanner wrench. This one has
flat tips, but the manufacturer also
For retaining rings, you normally want the flat tips in supplies the wrench with pointed tips.
the spanner wrench, Fig. B5. But other parts have holes
rather than notches-the holes require pointed tips in
the spanner wrench. A spanner wrench like the one
shown in Fig. B5 is available with both types of tips.

Most of the other parts in binoculars simply thread to-

gether-and you can usually unscrew the parts with
finger pressure. In some cases, unscrewing the parts
may take more pressure than you can provide with your
fingers. For example, some binoculars are sealed for
moisture resistance. The threaded parts may then be
locked together with a locking agent.

A flexiclamp wrench, Fig. B6, can then be helpful. The

flexiclamp wrench is made of fiber, plastic, or a soft
metal such as aluminum. You can then clamp the
flexiclamp wrench onto the round part you want to
unscrew-the soft material of the flexiclamp doesn't
scratch or mar the surface of the part. The handle of the
flexiclamp wrench gives you additional leverage to
unscrew the part.
Flexiclamp wrenches come in assorted sizes. A com-
plete set offlexiclamp wrenches is expensive. But you
won't need all the sizes provided in a set. You can pur-
chase the flexiclamp wrenches individually as you need
them. In most cases, the flexiclamp wrenches are sized
in inches or millimeters-for example, a 1" flexiclamp
FIG. 86 Flexiclamp wrenches are made
from materials that won't scratch the
metal binocular surfaces.
wrench. The size refers to the internal diameter of the
opening, Fig. B6. Just measure the diameter of the part
you need to unscrew. And order the flexic1amp wrench
that has the closest diameter-just so that diameter is
larger than the patt you want to unscrew.
It's important that the flexiclamp wrench is very close
in size to the part you're removing. If the flexiclamp
wrench is too large, you have to squeeze the legs too
far in clamping the part-that may break the wrench.

DISASSEM8L Y & REPAIRl19

Similarly, if the tlexiclamp wrench is too small, you
have to spread the legs to fit the opening over the part.
Again, you may break the wrench.

A strap wrench, available from hardware stores, does

the same job--but one wrench is all you need. Another
tool that's useful for unscrewing tight parts is the soft-
jaw plier, Fig. B7. The soft-jaw plier has soft pads at-
tached to the insides of the jaws. You can then grip the
part you're unscrewing without scratching that part.

You may also want a sliding vernier caliper, Fig. B8.

Quite often you'll want to maintain the original adjust- FIG. B7 Soft-jaw pliers have cushioning
ment on the binoculars. By making a precise measure- pads inside the jaws.
ment before disassembly, you'll have a reassembly ref-
erence. You can then reset the adjustment to the origi-
nal position.

CLEANING BINOCULAR OPTICS

You may be disassembling the binoculars just to clean

the optics. Moisture damage often leaves a fog or a
film on the internal optical surfaces.

If the binoculars have had a long exposure to humidity,

there may be fungus damage to the optics. Fungus dam-
age looks like spider webs on the optical surface. In
time, the fungus will damage the coating on the optics.
FIG. B8 The sliding vernier caliper
Cleaning the external optics may require a lens-clean-
allows precise measurements.
ing solution. The external optics tend to get very dirty
and covered with fingerprints. You can purchase com-
merciallens-cleaning solutions from photo dealers. Or
you can use standard rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol. Many
technicians prefer commercial glass cleaners such as
Windex™.

You can also obtain lens tissues as a photo dealer. Some

technicians prefer to use KimwipesTM.Others prefer the
special lens-cleaning cloths such as Photo-Clear™. The
lens-cleaning cloth has such a tight weave that it will
pick up dirt and fingerprints-with or without a lens-
cleaning solution.
FIG. B9 Lens- FIG. B10The hand
If you're using a lens-cleaning solution or Windex TM,
blower.
moisten the KimwipeTMor the lens-cleaning cloth. Your cleaning motion.
fingers should not touch the moistened area-if they
do, finger oils will be transferred to the optical surface.
ing any residue left by the cleaning solution.
Now start at the center of the lens. And work toward
the outer edge of the lens using a spiral motion, Fig. With internal optics, you may not need the lens-clean-
B9. Working from the center to the outside moves the ing solution. No fingerprints can get to the internal
dirt to the edge of the lens where it can be removed. optics-but dust may be able to reach the surfaces. Use
a hand blower, Fig. B 10, to blow off dust particles. If
Next fog the lens with your breath. Using a dry tissue you do have to use a lens-cleaning solution, you can
or cloth, again work from the center of the lens to the follow the same procedures as you do with the external
outer edge. As you remove the fog, you're also remov- optics.

20/DISASSEMBL Y & REPAIR

If the binocular side has a reticle, try to restrict your
cleaning to blowing off dust particles. Any dust, scratch,
or residue on the reticle is greatly magnified by the
ocular. And try to avoid removing the reticle from the
cylinder that mounts the reticle. If you remove the
reticle, you disturb the rotational position. It's then nec-
essary to readjust the reticle.
Flat optical surfaces-such as the porro prisms-re-
quire a slight! y different cleaning procedure. Rather than
a spiral motion, use horizontal strokes, Fig. B II-both
to apply lens-cleaning solution and to remove the resi-
due.
But there's a bigger problem in cleaning porro prisms-
that's in reaching the surfaces. If you remove the porro
prisms, you can fairly easily clean the surfaces. How-
ever, removing the porro prisms disturbs critical ad-
justments-both the collimation and the rotational ad-
justment for image tilt. These adjustments are described
in Section C-Adjusting Binoculars.
ning of this publication-Vivitar is one of the sources
for the tools you'll need).
The grease on the threads of the adjustable ocular may
be a very light grease. If you find that the adjustable
ocular turns too freely because of wear in the threads,
you may be able to correct the problem by using a
heavier grease.
But some binoculars use plastic-rather than metal-
ocular housings. If the threads are plastic, be sure to
use a plastic-compatible grease such as a losoid grease.
A grease that isn't compatible with plastic may in time
damage the threads.
To lubricate the threads of the adjustable ocular, apply
the grease around 1/3-1/2 of the way up the threads,
Fig. B12--either to the threads of the ocular or to the
threads in the ocular arm. Then screw in the ocular.
Screwing the ocular in and out applies the grease to the
remaining threads.

If possible, restrict your cleaning to the surfaces you Excess grease will be pushed out at the ends of the
can reach. Openings in the prism shelf allow you to threads. Use a KimwipeTM to wipe off the grease.
reach the entrance and exit surfaces of each prism pair.
You can then clean these surfaces without removing
the porro prisms. But cleaning the surfaces that trans-
fer light from one porro prism to the other do require
removing the porro prisms-and disturbing the adjust-
ments.

CLEANING METAL PARTS

The metal parts that most frequently need cleaning are

the threads of the adjustable ocular-and the threads in
the ocular arm that receive the adjustable ocular. It's
often necessary to clean the old grease from the threads.
Then relubricate the threads.
FIG. B11 Cleaning motion for the bottom
Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol works well as a cleaning of the porro prism.
solution-it's safe both for metal and for plastic. To
scrub the threads, you can use an old toothbrush.

After you scrub the threads, use tissues such as

Kimwipes ™ to pick up the alcohol. Dried, caked-on
grease can be difficult to remove. You may have to scrub
and dry the threads several times. GREASE \ L
THESE
LUBRICATION THREADS

Two places in the binoculars always have grease lubri-

cation-the hinge and the threads of the adjustable ocu-
lar. The hinge grease is a heavy, sticky grease. Binocu-
lar manufacturers use a special binocular grease. In
some cases, the manufacturers will supply binocular FIG. B12 Apply grease around 1/3 to 1/2
grease to repair shops. Or you can use the focus-mount
the way from the ends of the threads.
greases available from Vivitar (address at the begin-

DISASSEMBLY & REPAIRl21

You can check the feel as you turn the adjustable ocu-
lar. If the adjustable ocular feels too tight, you may DECORATOR CAP
have to remove some of the grease-or apply a lighter
grease. If the adjustable ocular turns too freely, you
may have to add grease-or apply a heavier grease.

If the binoculars have a focus knob, the parts that move

the oculars also use grease. The focus knob threads into
the hinge pin. And the ocular shaft that carries the ocu-
lar arms threads into the focus knob. Use grease on the
threads of both parts. If the binoculars use a rocker
arm, lubricate the cam slot of the rocker arm with grease.

You'll see all these lubrication points during the disas-

sembly that follows. But in general, use the heavy bin-
ocular grease on any sliding surfaces-surfaces that bear
against one another when you change the distance be-
tween the binocular sides. Also lubricate the threads of
threaded parts that turn during some operation-for
example, the threads of the adjustable ocular and the
threads of the focus knob.
REAR PRISM COVERS
DISASSEMBLY TECHNIQUES
FIG. B13 Binoculars after unscrewing
Frequently you want to disassemble the binoculars just objective-lens tube.
far enough to reach the adjustments-disassembl y steps
to reach the adjustments are described in the section
Adjusting Binoculars. You may want to skip now to ages may appear to be tilted. The section Adjusting Bin-
Adjusting Binoculars and go through just the disas- oculars describes these two adjustments in detail. But
sembly you need. as we go through disassembly, we'll note which steps
may disturb adjustments-and what you can often do
Or, if you have a pair of junk binoculars, you may want to save the adjustments.
to go through a complete disassembly-just for famil-
iarity. If the binoculars are repairable, they'll also give If you take apart the oculars, there's another adjust-
you practice in setting the adjustments. ment you can disturb-the ocular focus. We'll describe
the procedures for adjusting the oculars in this section.
But if you're working on repairable binoculars, there
are some rules to follow that will make adjustment Objective-lens parts:
easier. Here's one of the most important rules-disas- Many major parts of the binoculars simply screw into
semble only one side of the binoculars at a time. place. In most binoculars, the decorator caps, Fig. B 13,
Reassemble that side before you disassemble the other unscrew. Also, the complete objective-lens tube screws
side. into the binocular body.

Why? Whenever you disassemble one side, there's a
risk of disturbing adjustments. But you still have the
other side-the side you haven't disassembled-to use
as your standard.
Once you've adjusted the reassembled side, you can
disassemble the other side. You can now use the side
you've already adjusted as your standard.
1\vo of the adjustments you can disturb are collima-
tion and rotational error. If the binoculars are out of
collimation, the images formed by the two sides won't
coincide. As a result, you may see two images. Rota-
tional error refers to image tilt. One or both of the im-
lhreaded rings and tubes can present a slight problem
on reassembly. The threads of the decorator cap and of
the objective-lens tube are fine (as opposed to coarse).
If you miss the proper starting thread, you can cross-
thread the parts. A cross-threaded objective-lens tube,
for example, will sit at a slight angle to the binocular
body.
One technique you can use to find the proper starting
thread is to first turn the part in the opposite direction.
To screw in the objective-lens tube, you turn the objec-
tive-lens tube in a clockwise direction (as seen from
the front). But if you have trouble finding the starting
thread, first turn the objective-lens tube in a counter-

221DISASSEMBL Y & REPAIR

clockwise direction-the direction you used for remov- ECCENTRIC RING
ing the objective-lens tube.

When you reach the starting thread, you'll hear or feel

a slight" click." Then, when you hear the "click," turn
the objective-lens tube in a clockwise direction.

To remove the objective lens, unscrew the objective

cap. A retaining ring, Fig. B 14, holds the objective lens
in place. But be careful-removing the objective lens
may disturb the adjustment for collimation. Do not
remove the retaining ring unless you want to collimate
the binoculars.

If you're disassembling for practice-or if it's really

necessary to remove the objective lens-use your span- RETAINING RING
ner wrench to unscrew the retaining ring. You can now
lift out the objective-lens cell with the objective lens.
There may be a loose eccentric ring around the front FIG. 814 You can see the eccentric ring
shoulder of the objective-lens cell, Fig. B 14. If so, under the retaining ring. When you see
you've just lost the collimation adjustment-the eccen-
tric shifts the position of the objective lens to align its
an eccentric ring, you know that you
optical axis (optical center). can't remove the objective lens without
disturbing the collimation.
You don't have to take out the objective lens to remove
the objective-lens tube, Fig. B 13. In most binoculars,
the objective-lens tube screws into the binocular body. OBJECTIVE-
But beware-removing and replacing the objective- LENS TUBE
lens tube may also disturb collimation.

Why? Remember that the eccentric ring around the

objective lens shifts the lateral position of the objec- REFERENCE
tive lens. Rotating the objective-lens tube also shifts MARKS
the objective lens. If you unscrew the objective-lens
tube, then, you want to return the objective-lens tube
to the original position. You can change that original
position by screwing in the objective-lens tube more
_/
tightly-or by not screwing in the objective-lens tube
to the original tightness. How much torque you apply
when screwing in the objective-lens tube then affects
the collimation.

You can normally maintain the original position by

marking the objective-lens tube. Before you unscrew
the objective-lens tube, place a pair of reference marks, IT
Fig. B 15-one on the objective-lens tube and one on
the binocular body or cover plate. If you can reach a
place on the binoculars that can't normally be seen, you
can use scribe lines-scratches in the metal placed by
a sharp tool. You may be able to make your scribe lines
sufficiently small that they can't be easily detected.

Or you can use a soft pencil to make your reference
marks. You can wipe off the pencil marks after you
complete the reassembly.
Now hold the binoculars by the body. Unscrew the
FIG. B15 Before disassembly, mark the
rotational position of the objective-lens
tube. Your reference marks tell you how
much torque to apply when you screw in
the objective-lens tube.

DISASSEMBL V & REPAIRl23

complete objective-lens tube, Fig. B 13. On reassem-
bly, screw in the objective-lens tube until it comes
against the binocular body. Then check the alignment
of your reference marks.

If the reference mark on the objective-lens tube hasn't

reached the fixed reference mark, add some torque-
turn in the objective-lens tube more tightly. Whatifthe
reference mark on the objective-lens tube has moved
slightly past the fixed reference mark? Back out the
objective-lens tube until your reference marks align.

In many binoculars, the objective-lens tubes are not

separate parts-the body and the objective-lens tube
may be one assembly, Fig. B 16. In that case, there's no
prism cover on the objective-lens side. You reach the
porro prisms by removing the prism cover on the ocu-
lar side-a procedure we'll describe in a moment.

Removing the prism covers:

In Section A, you saw that the porro prisms usually
seat in prism shelves that are built into the binocular
bodies. To reach the front porro prism, it's necessary to
remove the front prism cover, Fig. B 13. Reach the rear
porro prism by removing the rear prism cover, Fig. B 13.
You can reach the front prism cover by unscrewing the
objective-lens tube as previously described. If there isn't
a front prism cover, the objective-lens tube and the body
OCULAR TUBES
FIG. B16 The objective-lens tube and the
body on each side of these binoculars is
one piece. It's then necessary to remove
the oculars and the rear prism covers to
reach the porro prisms.

are one piece, Fig. B16. The prism shelves are then
separate parts. You can remove the complete prism shelf
together with both porro prisms-first take off the rear
prism cover, Fig. B16.

If both oculars are adjustable, as in Fig. B 16, the ocu-

lar tubes normally screw into the binocular bodies. Just
unscrew the ocular tubes, Fig. B 17. You can then re-
move the rear prism covers after taking out their re-
taining screws, Fig. B 18.

COVER-PLATE
SCREWS

-----------
OCULAR TUBE
REAR PRISM
COVER

FIG. B17 Here the complete ocular

assembly unscrews. The ocular tube FIG. B18 Back view, rear prism cover
screws into the binocular body. plate after unscrewing left-side ocular.

24/DISASSEMBL Y & REPAIR

However, if the binoculars have a focus knob or rocker
arm, you can usually remove the complete ocular as-
sembly-both oculars as a unit. The procedure depends
on the design. And, in some cases, you have a choice
of procedures.

Removing the ocular assembly from a rocker-arm

design:
If the binoculars use a rocker arm, Fig. B 19, there are a
couple of disassembly methods you can use. You can
normally remove the ocular assembly together with the
hinge pin-that's probably the easier method.

First remove the decorator plate, Fig. B 19. The deco-

rator plate normally snaps into place. Spring up one
end of the decorator plate to disengage the snaps.

You can now reach the screw on the hinge pin, Fig.
B20. The hinge-pin screw passes through the carn slot
of the rocker arm. FIG. 819

Remove the hinge-pin screw, Fig. B20. Then lift out

the ocular assembly and the hinge pin toward the ocu-
lar end of the binoculars. Typically, the binocular sides HINGE-PIN SCREW
won't separate. Separating the binocular sides requires
removing the threaded rings at the ends of the hinge-
pin bearings.

On reassembly, slide the hinge pin into place with the

ocular assembly. Move the rocker arm until you can
see the hinge-pin screw hole through the rocker-arm
slot. Then replace the hinge-pin screw, Fig. B20.

Alternately, you can remove the ocular arms from the

hinge pin. Take of the IPD (interpupillary distance)
scale-it's held by one screw, Fig. B21. You can then
see the rear hinge-pin screw-the screw that holds the
ocular arms to the rear end of the hinge pin. Remove
the screw and lift out the ocular arms with the oculars
as an assembly.

I FIG. 820 Rocker arm with decorator

o I
plate removed.
I

(8j
7<-
IPDSCALE

FIG. 821 Adjusting the interpupillary-

distance scale. Match the scale reading
a~~ ~
On reassembly, adjust the position of the IPD scale,
Fig. B21. The scale reading must match the distance
between the centers of the eyelenses--distance D in
Fig. B21. Spread the binocular sides until distance D
equals one of the calibrations on the IPD scale (60mm
or 70mm in Fig. B21). Then loosen the screw holding
the IPD scale. Rotate the IPD scale until the proper
calibration aligns with the index. Hold the IPD scale in
to distance D. position as you retighten the screw.

DISASSEM8L Y & REPAIRl25

Removing the ocular assembly from a focus·knob
design:
If the binoculars use a focus knob, Fig. B 22, you again
have a choice of disassembly techniques. Each has its
own advantages and drawbacks.

One method is to remove the ocular assembly together

with the hinge pin. You'll then find that the binocular
sides will separate. Although you can keep the binocu-
lar sides together, there's another drawback:

Removing the hinge pin often disturbs the adjust-

ment on the hinge pressure-how much pressure is
required to spread the sides further apart or to move
the sides closer together.

You can usually see the adjustment after unscrewing

the decorator screw at the front of the hinge pin, Fig ...
B22 and Fig. B23. Use the pointed tips in your span- FIG. B22 Binoculars With a focus knob.
ner wrench to unscrew the decorator screw. Some bin-
oculars use a decorator cap that has a pressure fit. Or
there may be a decorator disc that's held by one screw.

Removing the decorator screw uncovers the adjusting

screw, Fig. B24. The adjusting screw threads into the
end of the hinge pin. A locking setscrew, Fig. B24,
often holds the adjusted position of the adjusting screw.
After loosening the setscrew, you can turn the adjust-
ing screw. Turning in (tightening) the adjusting screw
increases the hinge pressure-it then takes more force
to change the interpupillary distance. Turning out (loos-
ening) the adjusting screw decreases the hinge pres-
sure.
FIG. B23 Front view of the binoculars.
You must remove the adjusting screw to take out the
hinge pin-and that loses the pressure adjustment. If
you're working on your own binoculars, there's no prob-
lem-you can adjust the pressure to suit your own pref-
erences. But if you're working on a customer's binocu-
lars, changing the hinge pressure may result in an un-
happy customer.

The customer will quickly notice any difference in the

hinge pressure-especially if the customer uses the
binoculars frequently. The customer may then think that
you haven't repaired the binoculars properly-the bin-
oculars "feel" different.

Ideally, you should adjust the hinge to the same pres-

sure as it originally had-just to keep the customer
satisfied. But the customer is less likely to be unhappy
if the hinge pressure is slightly tighter than before (rather
than slightly looser than before). If the binocular sides
move more freely, the customer may think you've failed
to tighten something sufficiently. But if the adjustment
feels tighter, the customer may feel that you've done a FIG. 824 Front of the binoculars,
thorough repair-you've "tightened up" the sides. decorator screw removed.

26/DISASSEM8L Y & REPAIR

To remove the oculars with the hinge pin, loosen the
locking setscrew (if used), Fig. B24. Use a large screw-
driver or the flat tips in your spanner wrench to un-
screw the adjusting screw. Now slide out the complete
ocular assembly-together with the hinge pin-to the
back of the binoculars, Fig. B25.

As mentioned earlier, it's now possible to separate the

binocular sides. If you do separate the binocular sides,
watch for spacer washers-the washers, when used, fit
between the binocular sides at the hinge positions. Like
the adjusting screw, the washers are used to adjust the
hinge pressure.

The hinge pin and the hinge-bearing surfaces on the

binocular bodies should be lubricated with the heavy
binocular grease. Because of the grease, the washers
will stick to just about anything. Make sure the wash-
ers are in position before you reassemble the binocular
sides.

With the ocular assembly removed, you can unscrew

either of the ocular tubes, Fig. B25-the ocular tubes
thread into the binocular bodies. It's usually necessary
to remove the ocular tubes to take off the rear prism FIG. B25 Removing the ocular
covers.
assembly.
You can now remove the rear prism covers. The rear
prism covers may be held by screws. Or you may find
that only the ocular tubes hold the rear prism covers.

Some binoculars hide the screws holding the rear prism

covers. If the binoculars have a rubberlike covering,
you may have to peel aside the covering to reach the
screws. You may find that you can then remove the rear
prism covers without unscrewing the ocular tubes. HINGE PIN

Earlier we mentioned that you can also remove the

ocular assembly without taking out the hinge pin. If
you don't unscrew the adjusting screw, Fig. B24, you
won't disturb the hinge-pressure adjustment. One
method is to partially disassemble the focus knob. Be- FOCUS KNOB
fore looking at this technique, you should understand
the focus-knob design.

Fig. B26 shows the hinge pin with the ocular assembly
removed. The ocular arms fit over the shoulder on the
ocular shaft. OCULAR SHAFT
SHOULDER FOR
OCULAR ARMS
Both the focus knob and the ocular shaft are threaded.
The focus knob screws into the end of the hinge pin.
And the ocular shaft screws into the focus knob.

If the ocular arms are removed, the ocular shaft turns

with the focus knob. The focus-knob assembly screws FIG. 826 Hinge pin and focus-knob
in or out along the hinge-pin threads. The ocular shaft assembly.
simply turns with the focus knob.

DISASSEMBLY & REPAIRl27

But, with the binoculars assembled, the ocular arm can't
rotate. The ocular arms prevent the ocular shaft from
turning with the focus knob. Since the ocular shaft can't
rotate, it's forced to move in or out along the threads.
The ocular shaft then carries the ocular arms in or out. HINGE PIN
The oculars move closer to the binocular bodies or fur-
ther from the binocular bodies.

In Fig. B27, we've unscrewed the focus-knob assem-

bly from the hinge pin. Here you can see the threads on
the focus-knob assembly and on the ocular shaft.

You can separate the ocular shaft from the focus-knob

assembly after removing the stop screw, Fig. B27-
the stop screw prevents the ocular shaft from unscrew- STOP SCREW AT END
ing from the focus knob. Then unscrew the ocular shaft, OF OCULAR SHAFT
Fig. B28. The ocular shaft has a left-hand (or reverse)
thread. If you're looking at the front of the focus knob,
turn the ocular shaft in a clockwise direction. The ocu- FOCUS-
lar shaft then unscrews from the focus knob. Thm the KNOB
ocular shaft in a counterclockwise direction to screw it ASSEMBLY
into the focus knob.

By unscrewing the ocular shaft, you can leave the hinge

pin and focus knob in the binoculars. Only the ocular ----OCULAR
shaft comes out with the ocular assembly. But there's SHAFT
one timing point you can lose-the position of the fo-
cus knob. Since the focus knob is threaded, it moves in
and out as you focus the binoculars. Starting the focus FIG. 827 Hinge pin separated from focus
knob at the wrong position may limit the movement of knob.
the ocular assembly.

Let's say, for example, that the focus knob has been
started too far in-too close to the binocular bodies.
Then, as you turn the focus knob to move in the oculars,
V-- STOP SCREW

the focus knob bottoms-it comes against the top of

the hinge pin before the oculars have moved in fully.
And, when you move the oculars fully out, Fig. B29, FOCUS KNOB
the oculars still aren't as far away from the binoculars
as they should be. The focus knob hasn't turned out far
enough.

You then want to start the focus knob at its original

position. One way is measure the distance between
the underside of the focus knob and the topofthe hinge
pin when the threads of the ocular shaft disengage. OCULAR SHAFT
Here's the procedure:

Remove the decorator screw or cap at the objective end

of the hinge pin. You can now reach the stop screw at
the end of the ocular shaft, Fig. B27, through the hole
in the adjusting screw, Fig. B30.

Inselt a long, thin screwdriver through the adjusting-

screw hole, Fig. B30. Then unscrew the stop screw. FIG. 828 Ocular shaft separated from
You probably won't be able to completely remove the focus knob.

28/DISASSEM8L Y & REPAIR

stop screw-the hole in the adjusting screw is prob- FOCUS KNOB
ably too small.

Now turn the focus knob to move the ocular arms away
from the binocular bodies-turn the focus knob coun-
terclockwise as seen from the ocular end. The ocular
shaft unscrews from the focus knob. Stop turning the
focus knob the moment the ocular shaft disengages,
Fig. B31.

You can then measure the distance between the under-

side of the focus knob and the top of the hinge, Fig.
B3l. The distance marks the point at which the ocular-
shaft threads disengage from the focus-knob threads.
As you're working on the binoculars, the focus knob
may turn. But you can return the focus knob to the
starting position by setting the same space gap.

On reassembly, set the focus knob to the measured dis-

FIG. 829
tance. Then slide the ocular assembly into place. You
may have to shift the oculars slightly until each ocular
fits over its ocular tube. HOLE IN ADJUSTING SCREW

Next turn the focus knob clockwise as seen from the

ocular end. The focus knob draws in the ocular shaft.
Continue turning the focus knob until the oculars move
in as far as they will go. Then work through the adjust-
ing-screw hole to tighten the ocular-shaft stop screw.

Finally, there's one more technique you can use-you

can remove the ocular arms from the ocular end of the
hinge pin (from the ocular shaft). Thrn the focus knob
to move the oculars as close as they will go to the bin- FIG. 830
ocular bodies; the ocular shaft then extends a minimum
distance from the focus knob. OCULAR SHAFT MEASURE DISTANCE

Again you'll probably have to disturb the adjustment

on the IPD scale. After removing the IPD scale or deco-
rator ring, the ocular arms may lift off the ocular shaft.
Or you may have to remove a screw holding the ocular
arms.

Avoid turning the ocular shaft or the focus knob with

the ocular assembly removed. If the ocular shaft is at a
different position with respect to the focus knob-or if
the focus knob has turned-you may not get the full
focus movement.

Which of the three procedures you use depends par-

tially on individual preferences-and partially on the
particular binoculars. Removing the hinge pin together
with the ocular assembly sounds easier. But the proce-
dure disturbs the hinge-pressure adjustment. Also, the
adjusting screw, Fig. B30, can be difficult to remove-
not only is the adjusting screw very tight, its threads
OCULAR ARMS
may be sealed with a locking agent.
FIG. 831

DISASSEMBLY & REPAIRl29

 FACE OF
OBJECTIVE-SIDE
PORRO PRISM

FIG. B32 Binocular side with the rear prism cover removed.With the hinge pin
removed, you can separate the binoculars into two halves. Here you can see the
porro prism on the ocular side of a binocular half. In this design, one end of the
prism clamp is held by a screw. The other end slides under a lip in the binocular
body.

Removing the ocular arms from the rear end of the hinge
pin may also lose adjustments-the position of the fo-
cus knob and the position of the ocular shaft with re-
spect to the focus knob. If either part is out of position,
you won't have the full range of movement in the ocu-
lar assembly. Unscrewing the ocular shaft from the fo-
cus knob may then be the safest and easiest technique-
as long as you note the focus-knob position.
Porro prisms, prism shelves:
Once you've removed the prism covers, you can reach
the porro prisms. Removing individual porro prisms
or a complete prism shelf can disturb adjustments. Re-
member the disassembly precaution-disassemble only
one side of the binoculars at a time. You then have a
standard for adjustments on the side you've disas-
sembled. As we go through the disassembly, we'll point
out methods you can often use to retain the adjustments.
After you remove the front prism cover, you can reach
the porro prism on the objective side. Remove the rear
prism cover to reach the porro prism on the ocular side.
A clamp-and usually dabs of cement or wax-hold
each porro prism in the adjusted position, Fig. B32.
Leave the pon'o prism in place if you don't want to
disturb the adjustment-the adjustment affects both
collimation and image tilt.
Note that you can reach one face of the porro prism on
the other side of the prism shelf, Fig. B32. You can
then clean the exposed prism face without further dis-
assembly. And, after removing the front prism cover,
you can reach one face of the other porro prism. How-
ever, to clean the unexposed faces, you'll have to re-
move the porro prisms.
First note the position of the porro prism. Each porro
prism fits into a recess in the prism shelf, Fig. B32.
The recess is slightly larger than the porro prism. If
the porro prisms weren't intended for adjustment, they

30/DISASSEMBL Y & REPAIR

 CEMENT PRISM CLAMP
may fit snugly in the recesses. But if the binoculars
were designed for porro-prism collimation, the recesses
may be quite a bit larger than the porro prisms.

You can then slide the porro prism in one direction or

the other. However, you'll probably find that the porro
prism is against one end of the recess. For example, in
Fig. B33 (top) the porro prism is against the left-hand
end of the recess. Make a note or sketch to indicate the
adjusted position. Then, on reassembly, move the porro
prism against the same end of the recess.

The dabs of cement used to hold the porro prism in the

adjusted position, Fig. B33, can also provide reassem-
bly help. You can cut the dabs to free the porro prism-
leave part of the cement on the prism and part on the
prism shelf. On reassembly, align the dabs of cement.
EXPOSED FACE OF
Quite often you'll find that impact has broken loose the OCULAR-SIDE PORRO PRISM
cement. The porro prisms may then have shifted, throw-
ing off the adjustments. Again you can use the old ce-
ment as a guide as to the original prism adjustments.
Match up the cement dabs to reposition the prisms. It's
possible that the entire dab of cement remains on the
prism shelf. But you may still be able to see the shape
of the cement dab on the side of the porro prism. Just
move the porro prism until the imprint of the cement
matches the position of the cement dab.

To take out the porro prism, remove the prism clamp,

Fig. B32 and Fig. B33. The prism clamp may be held
by screws. Or the ends of the prism clamp may simply
fit into slots in the body. The prism clamp then holds
itself in place because of its spring action-the ends of
the prism clamp spring upward. In some designs, the
prism clamp simply clips over the edges of the prism
shelf.
FIG. B33 The prism shelf with the porro
If the prism clamp fits into body slots, free one end- prism in place (top) and removed
push down the end of the prism clamp to overcome the
spring action. Then turn the prism clamp as needed (bottom).
until you can free the end from the slot. You can now
free the other end and lift out the prism clamp.

You may now be able to lift out the pon'o prism. Or
you may have to cut or pull loose the dabs of cement.
Disassembly and adjustment of the oculars:
There are many variations in the disassembly of the
oculars, depending on the particular binoculars. Nor-
mally you can disassemble the fixed ocular without
disturbing any adjustments (although, as we'll later
describe, there are exceptions). Taking apart the ad-
justable ocular, however, does disturb an adjustment-
the diopter adjustment.
Yet it's usually the adjustable ocular you'll have to dis-
assemble. Normally the problem is the grease on the
adjustable-ocular threads. With age, the grease dries.
The dried grease can cause the ocular threads to seize.
You may then find that you can't even turn the adjust-
able ocular to set the diopter adjustment.
Or you may find that the adjustable ocular turns too
freely. The problem may then be wear in the threads.
As mentioned earlier, you can often correct the prob-
lem by applying a heavier grease.
Setscrews (typically three setscrews, but there may only
be one) often hold the control knob to the adjustable

DISASSEMBLY & REPAIRl31

ocular, Fig. B34. You may be able to see the slotted
ends of the setscrews as in Fig. B34; or you may have
to work through holes in the control knob to reach the EYECUP
setscrews, Fig. B35.

As you turn the control knob, the adjustable ocular

screws in or out. You can loosen the setscrews to change
the position of the adjustable ocular with respect to the SETSCREW
control knob.

To remove the control knob, you may have to first re-

move the rubber eyecup, Fig. B34. The eyecup may
lift off. Or it may unscrew. Then loosen the setscrews, FIG.834 Three setscrews normally hold
Fig. B34, and lift off the control knob, Fig. B35. You the control knob to the adjustable ocular.
can now turn the adjustable ocular in or out, changing After loosening the setscrews, you can
the position-and the adjustment. adjust the position of the control knob.
On reassembly, first turn the adjustable ocular to the 0-
diopter position. Then seat the control knob with its 0
calibration aligned with the index. Finally, tighten the
setscrews.
HOLE FOR
To find the O-diopter position, you can use the fixed SETSCREW
ocular as a reference. The fixed ocular is already set to
o diopter (no correction). Look through the fixed ocu-
lar with either eye. Adjust the focus knob until your CONTROL KNOB
target appears sharp.

Now use the same eye to look through the adjustable

ocular. Thrn the adjustable ocular until the same target
appears sharp; the adjustable ocular is now set to 0 di-
opter. Seat the control knob with its 0 calibration aligned ADJUSTABLE OCULAR
with the index-make sure you don't turn the adjust-
able ocular as you're seating the control knob. TIghten
the setscrews to hold the control knob to the adjustable
ocular.
OCULAR ARM
With some binoculars, as mentioned earlier, both
oculars are adjustable. Here it's even more desirable to
disassemble only one ocular at a time. Let's say you've
disassembled the right ocular. Use the left ocular as
FIG. 835 The control knob removed from
your standard to set the position of the right ocular.
the adjustable ocular.
First look through the left ocular with either eye. Thm
the control knob until your target appears sharp. Then If you can't use one ocular as your standard, you may
note the scale reading on the ocular. For example, say have to use another pair of binoculars to determine your
the target appears sharpest with the ocular set to +I own correction. For example, say you're working on
diopter. binoculars in which both oculars are adjustable. And
the adjustment has been lost on both oculars.
Next look through the right ocular-use the same eye
and the same target. Thm the right ocular until the tar- Use another pair of binoculars to determine your own
get appears sharp. Now seat the right-ocular control diopter correction for one eye. Then set each of the
knob to match the setting of the left ocular. In our ex- oculars in the binoculars you're repairing to the same
ample, the target appears sharpest with the left ocular correction. The scale calibrations on another pair of
set to + 1. Seat the right -ocular control knob at the +1 binoculars may not be exactly the same. But they'll be
position and tighten the setscrews. close.

321DISASSEM8L Y & REPAIR

The knob for the fixed ocular may simply lift off after
you loosen the setscrews. If there are no setscrews, the
HOLE FOR
knob for the fixed ocul ar may be threaded-in that case, SETSCREW
unscrew the knob.

Once you've removed the knob, you may be able to

simply lift out the fixed ocular. The fixed ocular nor-
mally slides into the sleeve on the ocular arm.

In some cases, it's necessary to unscrew the fixed ocu-

lar. A setscrew may then lock the fixed ocular in posi- FIXED OCULAR
tion, Fig. B36. Here there's an adjustment on the fixed
ocular. Screw in the fixed ocular to the O-diopter posi-
tion and then tighten the setscrew.
LOCKING
If the fixed ocular has an adjustment, use the adjust- SETSCREW
able diopter to set the position. Turn the adjustable di-
opter to the O-diopter setting. Then use the technique
described earlier to set the fixed ocular to 0 diopter.

The adjustable ocular may be more difficult to remove.

Once you remove the control knob, you will normally FIG. 836 A fixed ocular that can be
find that you can't completely unscrew the adjustable adjusted for O-diopter correction.
ocular-you can only turn the adjustable ocular to its
maximum extended position.

It's then necessary to remove the complete ocular as-

sembly using one of the techniques described earlier.
With the ocular assembly removed, you can turn the
adjustable ocular in a clockwise direction (as seen from
the back of the binoculars)-the threads move the ad-
justable ocular toward the front of the ocular assembly.
Keep turning in the adjustable ocular until you can
unscrew it from the ocular arm.

Or you may find that the threads for the adjustable ocu-
lar are on a separate ring-the adjustable ocular slides
into the threaded ring. You may then be able to lift out
the ocular toward the back of the binoculars. But you'll
probably have to remove the ocular assembly to take
out the threaded ring. Turn in the threaded ring until
you can remove it from the front of the ocular assem-
bly-just as you would remove a threaded ocular.

With some designs, it's necessary to remove the ad-

justable ocular before you can remove the control knob.
Fig. B39 shows an example. The stop on the ocular
arm limits how far you can turn the control knob. The
stop also prevents you from lifting off the control knob
until you unscrew the adjustable ocular.

First remove the ocular assembly and lift off the rubber
eyecup. Loosen the setscrews around the outer circum-
ference of the control knob. Now unscrew the adjust-
able ocular from the front of the ocular assembly, Fig.
B37 (turn the adjustable ocular clockwise as seen from
the eyelens side). FIG. 837

DISASSEM8L Y & REPAIRl33

You can now remove the control knob--tilt the control
OCULAR HOUSING
knob slightly to clear the stop on the ocular arm, Fig.
B37. With the adjustable ocular in place, you can't tilt
the control knob enough to clear the stop.

On reassembly, first seat the control knob. Then screw

in the adjustable ocular from the front of the ocular
arm, Fig. B37. Temporarily tighten the setscrew hold-
ing the control knob to the adjustable ocular. Or, if there
are three setscrews holding the control knob, tighten
just one. Replace the ocular assembly.

You can now adjust the adjustable ocular. Thrn the con-
trol knob to set the adjustable ocular to 0 diopter-use
the fixed ocular as a reference. Then loosen the set-
screw you tightened. Without turning the adjustable
ocular, turn the control knob until its 0 calibration aligns
with the index. TIghten the setscrews.
EYELENS
VARIATIONS IN OCULARS

We mentioned that you'll encounter several variations
in ocular disassembly. But there are a couple of major
variations in ocular design we should mention here-
the particular designs are covered in the following sec-
tions.
The oculars are considerably different-and more com-
plex-in zoom binoculars. As mentioned earlier, the
oculars in zoom binoculars use movable elements to
change the magnification. Section D covers the zoom
oculars.
You'll also encounter some binoculars that provide the
collimation adjustment on the oculars rather than on
the objectives. The collimation adjustment then shifts
the eyelens-the lens closest to the back of the ocular.
After you remove the eyecup, you'll be able to see if
the eyelens is adjustable. The eyelens may look like a
miniature version of the objective lens in Fig. B 14. Here
the eyelens cell has an eccentric shoulder. An eccentric
ring fits around the shoulder of the eyelens cell. And a
retaining ring screws over the retaining ring to hold the
adjustment. After loosening the retaining ring, you can
turn the eccentric ring to shift the eyelens.
Another variation uses three setscrews around the out-
side circumference of the ocular, Fig. B38. The set-
screws position the eyelens. By loosening one set-
screw-and tightening another setscrew-you can shift
the position of the eyelens.
You should normally avoid disturbing the adjustments
on an adjustable eyelens. However, if the binoculars
are out of collimation, the eyelens becomes your ad-
justment point. The procedures for collimating the bin-
FIG. B38 An adjustable eyelens.
oculars with the eyelens are the same as those for col-
limating the binoculars with the objective lens-only
the actual adjustment points are different. Section C-
Adjusting Binoculars--covers the collimation proce-
dures.
DISASSEMBLY OF OPERA GLASSES
After working on conventional binoculars, you prob-
ably won't have any trouble figuring out the disassem-
bly of opera glasses. But there are some basic differ-
ences. In standard binoculars, as you've seen, you re-
move the oculars as an assembly. In opera glasses, you
normally remove the objective lenses as an assembly.
Here's a typical disassembly:
The opera glasses shown in Fig. B39 have a decorator
cap at the center of the focus knob. The cap is cemented
in position. Slide a thin tool, such as a small jewelers'
screwdriver, under the edge of the cap. Pry off the cap,
being careful to avoid cosmetic damage.
You can now see a crosspoint screw in the center of the
focus knob. Remove the screw. Now turn the focus knob
in a clockwise direction as seen from the back of the
opera glasses. The shaft of the objective-lens assembly
unscrews from the focus knob.
Stop turning the focus knob the moment the tlu'eads of
the objective-lens shaft disengage. Then measure the
distance between the back of the focus knob and the

34/DISASSEMBL Y & REPAIR

 OBJECTIVE LENSES
body of the opera glasses-just as you measure the
position of the focus knob with regular binoculars.

Lift out the objective-lens assembly-the two objec-

tive lenses and the shaft-toward the front of the opera
glasses, Fig. B40. Finally unscrew the focus knob from
the hinge pin-this time, turn the focus knob in a coun-
terclockwise direction as seen from the back of the
opera glasses.

Next unscrew the two oculars-the oculars just thread

into the body. With the oculars removed, you can lift
off the two prism-cover plates. Notice that it was nec-
essary to remove the focus knob before the prism-cover
plates could be removed. You can now reach the porro
prisms. lYpically the prism shelves are separate parts.

Each prism shelf is held by three screws. There may

also be adjustment screws on the prism shelves; each
prism shelf may have two or three adjustment screws
for adjusting the collimation. ADJUSTABLE
OCULAR
\
FOCUS
KNOB

For now, you might prefer to not disturb the prism

shelves-we'll cover the adjustments in the next sec- .
tion. You can at this time reach one surface on each FIG. B39 TYPical opera glasses.
front porro prism for cleaning.

To reach the porro-prism surfaces on the objective-lens

side, unscrew the two objective-lens tubes, Fig. B40.
Each objective-lens tube has a lens-part of the objec-
tive-lens assembly.

t
OBJECTIVE-LENS
Most of the optics are now available for cleaning. But ASSEMBLY
chances are you're working on the opera glasses be-
cause of the need for adjustment. In that case, you'll
want to partially reassemble the opera glasses.

Follow the reassembly procedure. But temporarily

leave off the prism-cover plates. You can then reach the
prism-shelf adjustments. Proceed to the next section
for the adjustments. OBJECTIVE- OBJECTIVE-
LENS TUBES LENS SHAFT

REASSEMBLY OFTHE OPERA GLASSES

Replace the prism-cover plates (unless you're going to

adjust the opera glasses) and the oculars. The ocular
with the diopter adjustment goes on the left-hand side-
the side on which the prism-cover plate has an index
dot. If you leave off the prism-cover plates to reach the
adjustments, you can still screw the oculars into the
body.

Screw the focus knob onto the threads at the end of the
hinge pin-keep turning the focus knob clockwise un-
til it's at the distance you measured during disassem-
bly. Then insert the objective-lens assembly, Fig. B41.
FIG. 840 Removing the objective-lens
You can only insert the objective-lens assembly part assembly.

DISASSEM8L Y & REPAIRl35

way. The objective-lens shaft, Fig. B41, is then blocked
by the focus knob.
Now turn the focus knob counterclockwise (as seen
from the back) to draw in the objective-lens assembly.
Help the two objective lenses pass over the objective-
lens tubes as you turn the focus knob. Draw in the ob-
jective-lens assembly as far as it will go. Then replace
the screw at the end of the objective-lens rod (center of
focus knob). Use a touch of Pliobond to cement the
decorator plate at the center of the focus knob.
SUMMARY OF DISASSEMBLY RULES
AND PRECAUTIONS
1. Disassemble only one side of the binoculars at a
time. You can then use the side you haven't disassembled
as your standard for setting up adjustments. Adjust the
side you've just reassembled before disassembling the
other side. The side you've just adjusted then becomes
your standard.
2. If the objective lenses are adjustable, you can see the
eccentric rings from the front (under the retaining rings
that hold the objective lenses). Removing the retaining
ring will then disturb the collimation adjustment.
3. If the binoculars use eccentric rings on the objective
lenses, be careful when unscrewing the objective-lens
tubes-a change in the rotational position of the objec-
tive-lens tube affects collimation. Mark the objective-
lens tubes before disassembly. On reassembly, use just
enough tightening torque to align your marks.
4. You can usually reach the front porro prisms by un-
screwing the objective-lens tubes and removing the front
prism-cover plates. If the objective-lens tubes are not
separate parts, the prism shelves are removable-it's
then necessary to remove the prism shelves to reach
the front porro prisms. But be careful-there may be
adjustment screws on the prism shelves.
5. To reach the rear porro prisms, it's usually necessary
to take out the ocular assembly. You can often remove
the ocular assembly as a unit together with the hinge
pin. Removing the hinge pin allows you to separate the
two binocular sides. However, there's a problem with
removing the hinge pin-you then disturb the hinge-
pressure adjustment. A customer will quickly notice
any change in the amount of pressure required to spread
the binocular sides. To maintain the hinge pressure, you
can unscrew the ocular shaft from the focus knob and
leave the hinge pin in the binoculars.
6. Removing the adjustable ocular disturbs the diopter
adjustment. Use the fixed ocular as your reference for
36/DISASSEMBL Y & REPAIR
••••••••
'.
,;:t:.
OBJECTIVE-
LENS TUBES
/
FOCUS
KNOB
FIG. B41 Installing the objective-lens
assembly.
resetting the adjustable ocular-the tIxed ocular is set
to 0 diopter.
7. If the fixed ocular is ttu'eaded-and locked by a set-
screw-the ocular can be adjusted. Removing the fixed
ocular then disturbs the adjustment. On reassembly,
screw in the fixed ocular to the O-diopter setting. Use
the adjustable ocular-set to 0 diopter-to determine
the O-diopter setting for the fixed ocular.
Whenever you see a setscrew, use caution-the setscrew
is probably locking an adjustable pUtt. Loosening the
setscrew and turning the part disturbs an adjustment.
8. Removing the porro ptisms from the prism shelves
will disturb adjustments. If the manufacturer uses the
porro prisms for collimation, the cutouts in the prism
shelves are noticeably larger than the pon'o prisms-
you can then shift positions of the porro prisms. Note
the adjusted positions of the pono prisms with respect
to the cutouts.
9. If the porro prisms are used for collimation adjust-
ments, dabs of hot wax or cement hold the porro prisms
in the adjusted positions. Impact may cause the porro
prisms to break loose from the cement. Align the pOlTO
prisms with the cement dabs on reassembly-the col-
limation may then be correct without further adjust-
ment.
 SECTION C-ADJUSTING
BINOCULARS
•.. N
A large
the percentage
repair of the
shop need onlybinoculars that come into
one thing-adjustment.
en
x
oct:
en
x
oct:
The common complaint is, "I see two images" or, "The ...J ...J
c:(
image isn't clear. " c:(
u ~
xc:( u
i= i=
0.. D-
There are two optical adjustments that may bring bin- o ...J
oct:
o
oculars into a repair shop--collimation and image tilt U
(or rotational error). Most other adjustments are only Z
oct:

necessary if you've disassembled the binoculars. ::c

U
w
:i!
COLLIMATION

The most frequently required adjustment is collima-

tion. If the binoculars are properly collimated, each
optical axis aligns with the mechanical axis. The me-
chanical axis is the hinge pin, Fig. C 1. The optical axis
of each side of the binoculars should then align with
the hinge pin as shown in Fig. C 1.

If the binoculars are out of collimation, you may see

two images-one image from each side of the binocu-
lars. After a moment, your eyes may compensate for
the error. You then see only one image. But using the
binoculars still results in eyestrain-and headaches.
The collimation may appear conect when the binocu-
lar sides are fairly close together (small interpupillary
distance). But when you spread the binocular halves
(increase the interpupillary distance), you can see two
images. The collimation becomes more critical as you
increase the interpupillary distance.
When you disassemble to make an adjustment-as
when you're disassembling the binoculars for any other
reason-remember to disassemble only one side at a
time. You can then use the side you haven't disassembled
as your standard. After you reassemble the one side,
make the adjustments on that side-before you disas-
semble the other side. The reassembled/adjusted side
now becomes your standard.
FIG. C1 In properly collimated
binoculars, the two optical axes align
with the mechanical axis.
r----------------,
: "TARGETS' :
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I LENS LENS I
I I
L ~

CHECKING COLLIMATION

Although there are special instruments available for

checking collimation, most technicians simply use a
visual check. The special instruments are expensive.
Plus they can be difficult to obtain.

We mentioned that each optical axis should align with

the hinge pin. Fig. C2 shows a collimator-test fixture
for aligning the optical axes to the mechanical axis. A
clamp holds the binoculars by the hinge pin-the hinge
FIG. C2 A collimation-test fixture.
pin is now perpendicular to the targets in the tester.

ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/37
 MOUNT TO HOLD BINOCULARS
TELESCOPE SLIDE
FIG. C3
Each target sits behind a lens. The distance between
the lens and the target is equal to the focal length of the
lens. As a result, the target appears to be at infinity-
an infinite distance away. And the light rays coming
from the lenses are parallel, Fig. C2.
Since the targets are at infinity, the optical axes of the
objective lenses should be parallel to the hinge pin. If
not, the targets as viewed through the binoculars ap-
pear off center. All you have to do is collimate each
side individually to center the target.
The actual tester may look more like Fig. C3. This tester
uses two collimators to project the infinity targets. A
collimator consists simply of an objective lens, a target
placed at the focal point of the objective lens, and an
illumination system for the target. The actual illumi-
nated target projected by the collimator may be a
crosshair or a special pattern, Fig. C5.
A small telescope mounts on a slide at the other end of
the tester, Fig. C3. As you look through the telescope,
you see a reticle, Fig. C5-the reticle is inside the tele-
scope.
38/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
FIG. C4
~~~UMINATED TARGET
FIG. C5 At left, the view when the
binocular side is out of collimation. At
right, the view when the side is properly
collimated.
Since the image of the illuminated target passes through
the binocular, it may be displaced by the binocular op-
tics, Fig. C5 (left). But the reticle in the telescope al-
ways appears centered. The greater the collimation er-
ror, the fmther the illuminated target is displaced from
the reticle.
In use, you just slide the telescope until you can sight
through one side of the binoculars, Fig. C3. You then
adjust that side until the projected target centers on the
reticle, Fig. C5 (right).
Next you slide the telescope until you can sight through
the other side of the binouclars, Fig. C4. And adjust
that side until the projected target centers on the reticle.

A variation of the tester uses a single collimator. The

table that mounts the binouclars then slides, allowing
you to align each side of the binouclars with the colli-
mator.

The tester shown in Fig. C3 may be too expensive for

most independent shops-you would have to be repair-
ing binoculars all day and every day to justify the ex-
pense. The fixture that holds the binoculars, lenses, and
targets in alignment must be very precise. FIG C6 The image at the right is higher
than the image at the left. But are you
However, most visual techniques-and even the tech-
sure the image at the right is coming
niques with many test instruments-simply align one
side of the binoculars with the other side. You can then from the right-hand side of the
use one side as your standard-generally the side you binoculars? The images may be crossing
haven't disassembled. Align the optical axis of the other over one another.
side with that of the standard side.

Look through the binoculars to check for a second im-
age. You should be able to readily detect if one image
is higher than the other-your eyes normally can't com-
pensate for up-down error.
But your eyes may compensate for side-to-side error-
your eyes may actually cross slightly to merge the two
images into one. By continuously blinking, however,
you can defeat the compensating effect.
If you have a way to mount the binoculars in one spot,
you can align the optical axes to the hinge pin. Aim the
hinge pin at a distant target. A 6" ruler, placed on top
of the hinge pin, can help as a sighting device. Then
sight through each side of the binoculars in turn. The
same target should center on each side of the binocu-
lars. Here you're using a target that's effectively at in-
finity to simulate the tester shown in Fig. C4.

Or close one eye and center a distant target through

one side of the binoculars. Then, without moving the
binoculars, view through the other side with one eye.
The same target should appear centered.

By alternating eyes, you can also make certain which

image is which. For example, suppose a tree appears
as shown in Fig. C6 as you're viewing with both eyes.
Here it seems that the image seen through the right
side of the binoculars is slightly above and to the right
of the image seen through the left side. But it's pos-
sible that the binoculars are so far out of collimation
that the images cross-the image that appears to be
from the right side may actually be from the left side.

You may find that one side is so far out of collimation

that you can only see through the other side. In that
case, you don't know the direction that you have to
move the errant image. Try moving the binocular sides
closer together (decreasing the interpupillary distance)
until you can see images through both sides. When you
can see two images, you can determine which direc-
tion the one image must move.
FIG. C7 A V-block for holding the
binoculars by the hinge pin.

ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/39
 For example, suppose that you aligned the hinge pin
with the tree in Fig. C8. As you sight through the left
side, you can see that the tree appears centered. The
left side of the binoculars is then properly collimated.
But as you sight through the right side, the tree appears
off-center. The right side must now be collimated to
center the tree.

Using the technique shown in Fig. C8, there's no ques-

tion as to which side is out of collimation--or as to the
direction you must move the image. The main prob-
lem is in finding a way to secure the binoculars in one
position-and still be able to sight on a target that's, in
effect, at an infinite distance.

It's actually easier to detect image correction if you keep

your eyes around 6 inches behind the binoculars. You
can then see the circles formed by the oculars as well
as the images, Fig. C9. One technique is to sight on a
horizontal line that's fairly close to the binoculars-
perhaps a window ledge at the other side of the room.
The horizontal line should appear continuous as shown
in Fig. C9.

If the binoculars are out of collimation, the horizontal

line on one side will be higher or lower, Fig. C 10. Here
you're taking advantage of the fact that your eyes can't
readil y compensate for up-down elTor.

/ \ FIG. C9 With your eyes around 6" behind

the oculars, you see two circles. The
continuous horizontal line indicates
proper collimation.

FIG. C8 A test setup that simulates the FIG. C10 The broken horizontal line tells
binocular-collimator fixture. you the binoculars are out of collimation.

40/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
Also check collimation at different interpupillary dis-
tances. The collimation may appear acceptable if the
binocular sides are close together. But when you in-
crease the interpupillary distance, you can see the im-
ages separate.

Some factory testers also ignore the mechanical axis

and simply align one optical axis with the other optical
axis. Fig. Cll and Fig. C12 show a hand-held colli-
mating tool that allows you use one eye and see the
image formed by each side of the binoculars. FIG. C11 A hand-held collimating tool.

Since you're only using one eye, your eyes can't com-
pensate for an error. A properly collimated pair of bin-
oculars shows only one image-the two separate im-
ages merge. But if the binoculars are out of collima-
tion, you see two images. The two images are slightly
different in color. You can then note which direction
you must move the image on one side.

The tool uses a pair of prisms to provide the two im-

ages, Fig. C 13. You look directly through one prism to
see through one side of the binoculars-the prism you're
looking directly through has a yellowish or pinkish hue,
giving the image a light tint. The image from the other
side of the binoculars goes through the long prism and
reflects from the 4Y surface to the eyepiece.

When you're holding the tool as shown in Fig. C12,

the tinted image is coming from the right-hand side of
the binoculars. The white image is coming from the
left-hand side. You then adjust one side of the binocu- EVELENS
lars until the two images superimpose. Again you're FIG. C12
just adjusting the optical axis of one side to match the
optical axis of the other side.

The tool does offer a big advantage over visual tech-

niques. Since the images are different in color, you know
which image is coming from which side. So, if the
images actually cross over one another, there's no con-
fusion. Perhaps the tinted image appears to the left of "" PRISM PAIR
the white image. You then know that the images are
crossing over one another.

If you're repairing binoculars professionally, you can

probably justify the cost of the tool shown in Fig. C 11.
You might check with binocular manufacturers for the LIGHT PATH v
tool availability and cost.

The special tools for checking collimation require little

practice to use. The tool shown in Fig. Cll makes it "'"
readily apparent which way you must move either im- TINTED
age. Visual techniques, however, do require some prac-
tice. Normally you want to note the direction you need
to move one image. Then make an adjustment and check
EVELENS
/ PRISM

your results. Unless you have a way to mount the bin-

oculars in a stationary position, it's very difficult to FIG. C13 Prisms in collimating tool.

ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/41
 ECCENTRIC RING
watch the image movement while you're making the ECCENTRIC LENS MOUNT
adjustment.

There are four types of collimation adjustments you'll

find in binoculars-objective-Iens adjustments, eye-
lens adjustments, porro-prism adjustments, and
prism-shelf adjustments. A pair of binoculars nor-
mally has one of the four types.

What would cause binoculars to be out of collimation?

Impact is a common culprit. If the binocular uses the
porro prisms for adjustment, each porro prism is locked
in place with dabs of cement. Impact can break loose FIG. C14 Two eccentric rings used to
the cement and cause the porro prism to shift. position the objective lens.
Loose screws can also cause the problem. Perhaps the OBJECTIVE-LENS CELL ECCENTRIC RING
binoculars use the objective lenses for adjustment. If
the screws holding the prism shelves work loose, the
porro prisms can tilt. You may then be able to adjust
the collimation with the objective lenses. But unless
\
you tighten the loose screws, the binoculars won't stay
in adjustment.

OBJECTIVE-LENS ADJUSTMENTS

In many binocular designs, eccentric rings position the

objective lenses, Fig. C14. An eccentric ring fits over
the shoulder at the front of the objective-lens cell, Fig.
C15. The lens-cell shoulder is also an eccentric.
ECCENTRIC SHOULDER
Turning the eccentric rings allows you to shift the opti-
cal axes of the objective lenses. Remember that you're FIG. C15 Side view of the objective-lens
viewing the image after that image has passed through cell.
the erecting system. You then shift the objective lens
in the opposite direction that you want the image to
move.

For example, in Fig. C16 the left binocular side is

properly collimated-it aligns with the hinge pin. But
the right binocular side is out of collimation. Here you
want to adjust the right-side image- move the image
from right to left. If you're looking through the binocu-
lars, you must then shift the right-side objective lens to
your light. Or, if you're looking at the front of the ob-
jective lens, Fig. C14, shift the objective lens to your
left.

Similarly, if the image is too high, shift up the objec- BACK VIEW OF
tive lens-moving up the objective lens moves down RIGHT-SIDE
the image. Shifting the objective lens a slight distance OBJECTIVE LENS
moves thc image a relatively large distance.

To reach the objective-lens adjustment, remove the

decorator cap at the front of the objective-lens tube,
Fig. C17. Usually the decorator cap unscrews-hold
the objective-lens tube as you unscrew the decorator
FIG. C16
cap (the objective-lens tube also screws into place). But

421ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
 if the decorator cap is rubber, it may simply lift off.

FRONT VIEW You'll then see a retaining ring around the objective
lens, Fig. C17. The retaining ring both holds the ob-
jective lens in place and locks the adjustment on the
eccentric ring.

If you completely remove the retaining ring, you can

lift out the eccentric ring and the objective-lens cell.
But, for adjustment purposes, you may only have to
loosen the retaining ring.

You can see the eccentric rings without removing the

retaining ring. Each eccentric ring may have spanner
DECORATOR notches, Fig. CI8. The inner ring is the eccentric lens
mount; the outer ring is the free-turning eccentric ring.

:J RETAINING
You can use the spanner notches to hold one eccentric
ring stationary as you turn the other eccentric ring.

The tool shown in Fig. CI9 was designed for turning

the eccentric rings independently of one another. The
tool consists of two tubes. Each tube has tips at one
end to fit the notches of the eccentric rings.
_~~~~~~/~"'3 RING
In use, you simply slip the smaller tube inside the larger
tube, Fig. CI9 . You can now use the tool to engage
both eccentric rings simultaneously. Hold the smaller
tube and turn the larger tube to rotate the outer eccen-
tric ring. Or hold the larger tube and turn the smaller
tube to turn the inner eccentric ring.
SIDE VIEW Since the tool is tubular, you can view through the
binoculars while you're making the adjustment (pro-

FIG. C18 Each eccentric ring may have

FIG. C17 Disassembly to reach the spanner notches. The inner notches are
objective lens. on the objective-lens mount.

ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/43
viding you can find a way to hold the binoculars sta-
tionary). You can then watch the image shift as you
rotate the eccentric rings.

The tool shown in Fig. C19 may not be a practical

investment for most shops. For one thing, the tool fits
only one size. Plus, in most binoculars, the objective-
lens mount does not have spanner notches-only the
eccentric ring has spanner notches.

It's then only necessary to loosen the retaining ring,

Fig. C20-you can reach the notches in the eccentric
ring by working under the retaining ring. To turn the
eccentric ring, use a tool that won't cause damage if it
slips-for example, a sharpened piece of pegwood.
Insert the tool into one eccentric-ring notch. Then turn FIG. C19 A special tool for adjusting the
the eccentric ring to shift the optical axis of the objec- eccentric rings-separated at left and
tive lens. assembled at right.

Here you can't watch the image move as you make the
adjustment. You should first make a mental note as to ECCENTRIC RING
which direction you want to move the image. Then,
working from the front of the binoculars, turn the ec-
centric ring to move the objective lens in the desired
direction.

For example, Fig. C21 A shows the objective lens cen-

tered-the thickest part of the eccentric ring aligns with
the thinnest part of the eccentric lens-cell shoulder. To
shift the objective lens the maximum distance to the
right, you can hold the lens cell and turn the eccentric
ring 180· -to the position shown in Fig. C2lB. Now
the thickest part of the eccentric ring aligns with the
thickest part of the lens-mount shoulder.
FIG. C20 You can see the eccentric ring
Or perhaps the eccentric rings are in the positions shown under the retaining ring. Here the
in Fig. C21B. And you want to shift up the objective eccentric ring has only one notch.
lens the maximum distance. You can then turn both
eccentric rings 90° in a counterclockwise direction.
Shifting up the objective lens, you11 recall, moves down
the image.

Normally you don't need to move the objective lens

the maximum distance-a small amount of objective-
lens movement results in a relatively large amount of
image movement. And you're generally adjusting one
side of the binoculars (the side you've disassembled)
to match the other side (the side that's your standard).
Very little movement of the objective lens should then
be required.

Since you normally need so little objective-lens move-

ment, technicians sometimes try a shortcut. Remem-
ber from Section B that the rotational position of the
objective-lens tube can also affect collimation-pro-
viding the binoculars use eccentric adjustments on the
objective lenses. Turning the complete objective-lens
A 8
FIG. C21 In A, the objective lens is
centered by the eccentric rings. In B, the
objective lens has been moved the
maximum distance to the right.

44/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
tube shifts the position of the objective lens-just as -- B
turning the eccentric ring shifts the objective lens.

In Section B, we stressed returning the objective-lens

tube to its original position. But, if you have to adjust
the collimation, you might try turning the objective-
lens tube. Adding a slight amount of torque to screw in
the objective-lens tube a little further-or backing out A
the objective-lens tube slightly-may provide sufficient
movement.

You can obtain very little adjustment by turning the

objective-lens tube. Trying to overtighten the objec-
tive-lens tube could damage the threads. And you can
only back out the objective-lens tube a slight distance
before it's loose. In most cases, you would probably
only turn the objective-lens tube to fine-tune your ob-
jective-lens adjustments.
FIG. C22 Turning out setscrews C and B
EYELENS ADJUSTMENTS
equal amounts-and turning in setscrew
Section B also mentions the eyelens adjustments found A-moves the eyelens in the
in some binoculars. Remember that the eyelens may arrowmarked direction. Or you could
use an eccentric ring. The eyelens cell then has an ec- loosen B slightly more than you loosen
centric shoulder-like the eccentric shoulder on the
C. Then, as you turn in A, the eyelens
objective-lens cell just discussed. And, like the objec-
shifts to the right and up.
tive-lens eccentric ring, an eccentric ring fits around
the eyelens-cell shoulder.

Or three setscrews may position the eyelens cell, Fig.

C22; a fourth setscrew from the top normally locks the
adjustment. You can then shift the eyelens by loosen-
ing and tightening setscrews.

For example, suppose that you want to move the eye-

lens to the right in Fig. C22-the direction shown by
the arrow. You can then loosen setscrews C and D in
equal amounts. Turn in setscrew A to push the eyelens
to the right-against setscrews C and D. A

Or perhaps you want to move the eyelens at an angle as

shown by the arrow in Fig. C23. You could then loosen
setscrew B. Turn in setscrews A and C.

Not many binoculars use adjustments on the eyelens.

But if the eyelens is adjustable, the collimation proce-
dures are the same as we've already described for the
objective lens. The only difference-you're making the
adjustments on the eyelens.

You can spot an adjustable eyelens after removing the
eyecup-you should be able to see the eccentric ring
under the retaining ring. Or, if the eyelens uses set-
screw adjustments, you can see the setscrews around
the outer circumference of the ocular-and probably a
locking setscrew at the top of the eyelens cell.
FIG. C23 Turning out setscrew B-and
turning in setscrews A and C-moves
the eyelens in the arrowmarked
direction.

ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/45
FIG. C24 Setscrews used to tilt the porro prisms on the objective side. Another pair
of setscrews tilts the porro prisms on the ocular side.

PORRO-PRISM ADJUSTMENTS After removing the cement-and possibly loosening

Many binoculars provide no adjustments on the objec-
tive lenses. To collimate the binoculars, it's necessary
to shift the pono prisms. And reaching the pono prisms
for adjustment requires partial disassembly of the bin-
oculars.
Remember that each side of the binoculars has two pOlTa
prisms. The prisms fit on the prism shelf in the binocu-
lar body, Fig. C24. If you remove the prism cover on
the objective-lens side, you can see the porro prism on
one side of the shelf, Fig. C24. If you remove the prism
cover on the ocular side, you can see the porro prism
on the other side of the shelf.
You've seen that each porro prism sits within a cutout
in the prism shelf. The cutout matches the shape of the
porro prism-but the cutout is larger than the porro
prism. In binoculars designed for objective-lens adjust-
ment, the cutout may be only slightly larger than the
porro prism; the porro prism then fits snugly within
the cutout. But if the binoculars were designed for prism
adjustment, the cutout may be quite a bit longer than
the pono prism. It's then possible to shift the porro
prism within the cutout.
the prism clamp-you can shift the porro prism within
the cutout. Sliding the porro prism as shown by the
double-ended arrow in Fig. C25 shifts the image po-
sition for collimation. TIlting the porro prism also shifts
the image position.
TIlting the porro prism may require using shims-thin
pieces of metal or paper-to hold the adjusted posi-
tion. But many binoculars-especially higher quality
binoculars-have setscrew adjustments, Fig. C24. You
can then tilt the prism by turning the setscrew.
If you see a setscrew, Fig. C24, reach the screw slot
from the outside of the binocular body. You may be
able to see the screw slot. Or you may have to remove
a decorator disc or peel back the leatherlike body cov-
ering to reach the screw slot.

A prism clamp across the top of the pono prism, Fig.

C24, secures the adjusted position. The prism clamp
may be held by screws. Or each end of the prism clamp
may simply slide into a slot in the binocular body. In
binoculars designed for prism adjustments, each pono FIG. C25 To move the image as shown by
prism is also cemented in its adjusted position. Dabs the double-ended arrow, shift the porro
of cement or hot wax hold the pono prism. prism in the same direction

46/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
The positions of the porro prisms, however, affect more
than the collimation-they also affect the rotational
position of the image. Each porro prism must be at a
90° angle to its mate, Fig. C26. If the angle is greater
or less than 90°, the image appears tilted, Fig. C27B.

Check the image tilt by viewing a horizontal line-

such as the top edge of a fence-through the binocu-
lars. View through each binocular side in turn. If the
image through one side appears tilted, the porro prisms
on that side aren't at a perfect 90° angle.

The porro prisms, then, affect two critical adjustments-

collimation and rotational error. That's why you should
avoid disturbing the porro-prism positions. But when
FIG. C26 The angle between the
you do have to adjust the porro prisms, use the porro porro prisms should be 90°.
prism at the front of the binocular side (the porro
prism closer to the objective) to adjust for rotational
error. Use the porro prism at the back of the bin-
ocular side (closer to the eyelens) to adjust collima-
tion. A
ADJUSTING ROTATIONAL ERROR WITH
THE PORRO PRISMS

If the problem with the binoculars is rotational error,

you need only adjust the front porro prism. With most
binoculars, unscrew the complete objective-lens tube,
Fig. C29-the objective-lens tube screws into the bin-
ocular body (but, if the binoculars use objective-lens 8
collimation adjustments, remember to mark the posi-
tion of the objective-lens tube). Then remove the prism-
cover plate at the front of the body. Usually, one or two
screws hold the cover plate. But you may find that the
cover plate simply lifts off after you remove the objec- FIG. C27 The view of a horizontal line in
tive-lens tube. A shows no rotational error. B shows
rotational error on the right side.
You can now reach the front porro prism, Fig. C28. If
there's cement or wax holding the porro prism at the
comers, Fig. C28, carefully remove the cement. And,
FRONT PORRO PRISM
if the clamp is held by screws, it may be necessary to
loosen the prism-clamp screws. You can then shift the
porro prism to adjust the angle.

Check the image tilt without replacing the cover plate-

just screw the objective-lens tube into the binocular
body. Once you've shifted the porro prism to the proper
angle, check collimation-remember that sliding the
porro prism will affect the image position.

If the binocular body and the objective-lens tube are

one piece, it's more difficult to reach the front porro
prism. The prism shelf is a separate part. Reaching the
front porro prism then requires removing the prism shelf
from the ocular side.
FACE OF REAR
PORRO PRISM
FIG. C28 Shift the end of the front porro
prism as indicated by the double-ended
arrow to correct rotational error.

ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/47
You can then reach the front porro prism to shift its
angle. But to check the results of your adjustment, you
must replace the prism shelf.

ADJUSTING THE PORRO PRISM FOR

COLLIMATION

If you have to collimate the binoculars-and there's no

eccentric ring on the objective lens- shift the rear porro
prism. Unfortunately, the rear porro prisms are often
harder to reach than the front porro prisms-you may
have to remove the oculars.

In Section B, Disassembly & Repair Techniques, you

saw that you can usually remove the two oculars as an
assembly. You may prefer to remove the two oculars
together with the hinge pin, Fig. C29-just unscrew
the hinge-adjusting screw at the front of the binocu-
lars. But, as you'll recall, you may then lose the hinge-
pressure adjustment. You can avoid disturbing the hinge-
pressure adjustment by unscrewing the ocular shaft from
FIG. C29 Sliding out the ocular
the focus knob as described in Section B. assembly.

Reach the porro prism by removing the rear-prism cover,
Fig. C29. Like the front-prism cover, the rear-prism
cover is normally held by screws. You may also have
to unscrew one of the ocular tubes, Fig. C29-the metal
tube that passes inside the ocular.
Now check the rear porro prism-there may be an ob-
vious reason why the binoculars are out of collima-
tion. If the binoculars were dropped, the porro prism
may have broken loose from its cement.
cover plates. You can then reach the porro prisms-
either to recement the porro prisms or to adjust the po-
sitions.
If you do have to adjust the collimation, note ifthere's
a setscrew to control the tilt. You can then reach the
setscrew from the outside of the binocular body-but,
as mentioned earlier, you may have to peel aside the
leatherlike body covering to locate the slot of the set-
screw.

In that case, as you'll recall, it may only be necessary The end of the setscrew comes against the upper end of
to realign the porro prism. Use the dabs of cement as the porro prism-the position of the arrow in Fig. C30.
your guides. Part of each cement dab may have re- The spring action of the prism clamp then holds the
mained with the prism shelf-and the other part of each porro plism against the setscrew.
cement dab may have remained with the porro prism.
Shift the porro prism until the sections of the cement
dabs align.

Or the entire dab of cement may have remained with

the prism shelf. But you can still see an outline of the
cement dabs on the sides of the porro prism. Just align
the cement dabs with the outlines.

In many cases, shifting the porro prism to align the

cement dabs corrects the collimation. Also check the
other porro prisms-if one porro prism broke loose,
there's a good chance the other porro prisms broke loose
as well.

Before recementing the porro prisms, reassemble the

FIG. C30 The setscrew comes against the
binoculars and check collimation. Remember that you top of the porro prism (arrowmarked
can often reassemble the binoculars without the prism- position).

48/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
TIlting the porro prism moves the image as shown by
the double-ended arrow in Fig. C31. For example, say
you turn in the setscrew (screw-tightening direction).
The image then moves in the A direction, Fig. C31.
The spring action of the prism clamp allows the porro
prism to tilt.

If you back out the setscrew (screw-loosening direc-

tion), the image moves in the B direction, Fig. C31.
Now the spring action of the prism clamp pushes the
porro prism against the end of the setscrew.

Sliding the porro prism moves the image as shown by A~B

the double-ended arrow in Fig. C32 (A and B). Slide
the porro prism in the same direction as you want
the image to move.

You normally can't watch the image movement as you're FIG. C31 Image movement from tilting
adjusting the porro prism. First check the collimation
the porro prism.
and note which direction you must move the image. If
you want to move the image as shown by the double-

REAR PORRO PRISM ON LEFT SIDE REAR PORRO PRISM ON RIGHT SIDE

SLIDING
ADJUSTMENT

----------------L---------------
TILTING
ADJUSTMENT

FIG. C32 The double-ended arrows indicate the direction the image can be moved
with the adjustments shown.

ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/49
ended arrow in Fig. C31, you know you must tilt the
porro prism. Or, if you want to move the image as shown
by the double-ended arrows by the top drawings in Fig.
C32, you know you must slide the porro prism.

Disassemble the binoculars as far as necessary to reach

the porro-prism adjustments. Make the adjustment.
Then temporarily reassemble the binoculars just far
enough to check the effect of your adjustment.

For example, consider in Fig. C33 that the images do

not cross-the tree appearing at the right is the image
viewed through the right-hand side, and the tree ap-
pearing at the left is the image viewed through the left- FIG. C33
hand side. Here we're holding the binoculars with the
left-hand image centered. But, unless you're aligning
the optical axes with the mechanical axis, you don't
know which side should be centered and which side
B
should be adjusted.

Let's say you've just worked on the right-hand side.

You then know you want to move the right-side image
slightly down and to the right. From Fig. C34B, you
can see that you can tilt the right-side porro prism to
move the image in the desired direction. Thrn in the
setscrew to move the image in the direction of the ar-
row, Fig. C34B.

Or perhaps you've repaired the left-hand side. You can FIG. C34
then move the right-hand image up and to the right by
sliding the left-side porro prism. Move the left-side
porro prism as shown in A of Fig. C34.

As another example, perhaps you see the result shown

in Fig. C35. And you've repaired the right-hand side.
You want to move the right-side image slightly up and
to the left.

You can now slide the right-side porro prism as shown

in B of Fig. C36. Remember, slide the porro prism in
the same direction as you want the image to move.

Whatifyou want to move the left-side image? You can

FIG. C35
tilt the left-side porro prism by turning in the setscrew
as shown in A of Fig. C36.

PRISM-SHELF ADJUSTMENTS

If the prism shelf is a separate part (as opposed to be-

ing built into the binocular body), it may be adjustable.
Look for adjustment screws next to the prism-shelf
screws, Fig. C37. You can easily recognize an adjust-
ment screw-an adjustment screw appears to be a screw
that hasn't been fully tightened.

One end of each adjustment screw comes against the

FIG. C36
binocular body, Fig. C38. Turning in the adjustment

50/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
screw then tilts the prism shelf-and thereby the porro
prisms-in one direction. Turning out the adjustment
screw-and then tightening the prism-shelf screw-
tilts the prism shelf in the other direction.

Some binoculars may have only two adjustment screws.

But most adjustable prism shelves have three adjust-
ment screws--one by each prism-shelf screw. Tilt the
prism shelf in the same direction as you want the
image to move.

For example, say that you want to move the image from
left to right-the direction of the arrow in Fig. C39.
You can then turn in adjustment screw A (the screw-
tightening direction). Slightly loosen the three prism-
shelf screws. Then turn in adjustment screw A. Finally, FIG. C37
retighten the three prism-shelf screws.

Recheck the adjustment after you tighten the prism-

shelf screws. TIghtening the screws may cause the im-
age to shift.

Or you may want to move the image from right to left-

the direction of arrow #1 in Fig. C40. Turn out adjust-
ment screw A (the screw-loosening direction). Then
turn down the prism-shelf screw indicated in Fig. C40.

Moving the image at an angle may require turning in

one adjustment screw and turning out another adjust-
BODY
ment screw. Perhaps you want to move the image in
the direction of arrow #2 in Fig. C40. You can do so by
turning out adjustment screw B. Then turn in adjust-
ment screws A and C
FIG. C38 Side view of the adjustment
screw.

PRISM-SHELF SCREW C
ADJUSTMENT SCREW A

FIG. C39 FIG. C40

ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/51
521ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
Fig. C41 shows some more examples of how you can
move the image in the arrowmarked direction. You can
change the angle of image movement by turning in (or
out) a pair of screws different amounts. For example,
in the top drawing of Fig. C41you can turn in adjust-
ment screws Band C equal amounts to move the im-
age in the arrowmarked direction. Or you can turn in
adjustment screws B and C different amounts to change
the angle of image movement. If you want to turn the
arrow slightly counterclockwise, turn in adjustment
screw C slightly more than adjustment screw B.
Remember to loosen the prism-shelf screws before you
turn in an adjustment screw. And tighten the prism-
shelf screws after you turn out an adjustment screw.
ADJUSTING FOCUS
You'll see a focus error when you can't bring the focal
point of the oculars to the same position as the focal
point of the objectives. The problem is usually in the
oculars.
In Section B, you saw the adjustments on the oculars.
Normally adjustment is only necessary if you've disas-
sembled and reassembled the oculars. However, you
may find that the setscrews holding the adjustable con-
trol knob have come loose. The control knob then slips,
losing the diopter adjustment. Refer to Disassembly of
the oculars in Section B for the adjustment procedure.
You may also encounter a focus error if you've disas-
sembled and reassembled a focus-knob assembly. If
you've reassembled the ocular shaft with the focus knob
in the wrong position, you may not be able to focus
the binoculars throughout the full range. You may find
that you can focus on close subjects. But you can't fo-
cus on distant subjects--or vice versa.
Typically 7X binoculars should focus from around 40
feet to 00. With greater magnification, you normally
can't focus as close. A lOX binocular typically focuses
INCIDENT
LIGHT
RAYS AT 00
INCIDENT
LIGHT RAYS
AT FINITE
DISTANCE
FIG. C42
from around 80 feet to 00.
You'll recall that the light rays from an 00 subject are
parallel to one another, Fig. C42 (top). But if the sub-
ject is closer than 00, the light rays diverge, Fig. C42
(bottom). The objective lens then brings the light rays
together at a point behind the 00 focal point. The closer
the subject, the more the incident light rays diverge-
and the further the light rays come together behind the
objective.
The focal point of the ocular in Fig. C42 (bottom) is
now to the front of the focal point of the objective lens.
As a result, the image appears out of focus. To focus
the binoculars, you must move the oculars away from
the objective lenses.
If you can't focus at a close enough distance, the oculars
aren't moving far enough away from the binocular bod-
ies. It may then be necessary to again disengage the
ocular shaft from the focus knob. Thrn out the focus
knob to move it further from the hinge pin. Then re-
start the threads of the ocular shaft.
Or perhaps you can focus at a sufficiently close dis-
tance-but you can't focus at 00. In that case, the oculars
aren't moving close enough to the binocular bodies.
Again you may have to disengage the threads of the
ocular shaft from the focus knob. Turn in the focus
knob to move it closer to the hinge pin. Then restart
the threads of the ocular shaft.
How far you screw the focus knob in or out qepends on
the amount of error. It may require several tries to ad-
just the focus. You can now see why we stressed noting
the focus-knob position when the threads of the ocular
shaft disengage.
OTHER ADJUSTMENTS
The other adjustments are normally only necessary
FOCAL POINT AT 00
I OCULAR
OBJECTIVE
FOCAL POINT
AT FINITE
DISTANCE
ADJUSTING BINOCULARS/53
when you disassemble the binoculars. We described
the hinge-pressure adjustment in Section B. Remem-
ber that the hinge-pressure adjustment is normally the
screw at the end of the hinge. The adjusting screw of-
ten has a setscrew to lock the adjustment. After loosen-
ing the setscrew, you can turn the adjusting screw-
turn in the adjusting screw to increase the hinge pres-
sure, turn out the adjusting screw to decrease the hinge
pressure.
If you can't adjust the hinge pressure with the screw,
the adjustment may require adding or removing wash-
ers. The washers are between the two binocular sides
at the hinge positions.
Another adjustment you may disturb during disassem-
bly is the position of the IPD scale. Remember that it's
relatively easy to reset the IPD scale. Just set the IPD
scale until the number shown is the distance between
the optical centers of the eyelenses.
If the binoculars have a reticle, there's another adjust-
ment you can disturb-the pOSition of the reticle, Fig.
C43. The reticle normally mounts in a tube that screws
into the prism shelf. A retaining ring at the top of the
tube secures the reticle. If you loosen the retaining ring,
you can turn the reticle to change its rotational posi-
tion.
On reassembly, turn the reticle until its horizontal and
vertical graduations appear visually correct. Then re-
place the eyelens assembly and check the alignment. A
horizontal graduation on the reticle should align with a
horizontal line in the target you're viewing. Or check
the vertical graduation against a vertical line in the field.
Chances are you'll have to remove the ocular assem-
bly, loosen the reticle retaining ring, and rotate the
reticle slightly. Replace the ocular assembly and again
check the alignment. You may need several tries before
the reticle aligns with horizontal and vertical lines in
the field.
Occasionally you may get the complaint that the reti-
cule is out of focus. When you adjust the ocular for a
sharp image of the subject, the reticle graduations aren't
sharp.
Remember that the reticle sits at the focal point of the
objective lens. If the reticle isn't sharp when the image
is sharp, it isn't sitting at the focal point. Chances are
the reticle tube or the reticle retaining ring has worked
loose.
SUMMARY OF OPTICAL ADJUSTMENTS
You're normally only concerned with two adjust-
54/ADJUSTING BINOCULARS
ALIGN THE VERTICAL RETICLE WITH A
VERTICAL LINE IN THE SUBJECT...
...OR THE HORIZONTAL RETICLE
WITH A HORIZONTAL LINE IN
THE SUBJECT
FIG. C43 Aligning the reticle.
ments-collimation and rotational enor (image tilt).
For rotational error, use the front pono prism-the
pono prism closer to the objective lens. Turn the porro
prism to set a 90° angle between the two pono prisms.
Typically a pair of binoculars has one of the following
adjustments for collimation:
1. the objective lens. Unscrew the cap from the front
of the objective lens-but don't unscrew the retaining
ring that holds the objective lens. By looking at the
front of the objective lens, you can see if an eccentric
ring is used. You can see the eccentric ring under the
retaining ring. Move the objective lens in the oppo-
site direction to desired image movement. Some bin-
oculars have the collimation adjustments on the
eyelenses rather than on the objective lenses.
2. the rear porro prism. If there's no eccentric on the
objective lens, the collimation adjustment may require
shifting the rear pOlTOprism (the porro prism on the
ocular side). The pOlTOpIism is then held in its ad-
justed position by dabs of cement. Slide the pOlTOprism
to move the image in one direction, Fig. C32 A & B.
Tilt the pono prism to move the image in the other
direction, Fig. C32 C & D. Some binoculars use set-
screws to tilt the porro prisms; you can then reach the
setscrews from the outside of the binocular body. Slide
or tilt the porro prism in the same direction as you
want the image to move.
3. the prism shelf. If the binoculars use separate prism
shelves (rather than prism shelves that are built into
the bodies of the binoculars), each pIism shelf may be
adjustable. Look for adjustment screws on the prism
shelves. Most adjustable prism shelves have three ad-
justment screws. Some have only two adjustment
screws. Use the adjustment screws to tilt the prism
shelf in the same direction as you wan t the image to
move.
SECTION D-ZOOM BINOCULARS
Zoom cationbinoculars allow As
of the oculars. youyou
to move
changethethezoom
magnifi-
con-
trol, optical elements move within each ocular. The
principle is similar to the zoom lenses used with cam-
eras-the magnification increases or decreases as the
optics move.

To zoom the binoculars shown in Fig. DI, move the

zoom lever. A scale under the fixed ocular shows the
actual magnification you've set, Fig. D2. In some zoom
binoculars, the magnification scale is under the zoom
lever.

Moving the zoom lever moves the optics within the

adjustable ocular. A gear system connects the optics FIG. 01
inside the adjustable ocular to the movable optics in-
side the fixed ocular. Not all zoom binoculars use a
gear system to couple the two oculars; you'll see other
coupling systems in this section.

But regardless of the coupling system, one ocular acts

as the master-it's directly adjusted by the zoom le-
ver. The other ocular acts as the slave. The master turns
the slave through the coupling system. In many sys-
tems, it's necessary to time the slave to the master. The
two oculars then have the same magnification.

OPERATION OF THE ZOOM LENS

A zoom lens is a combination of two lenses-a prime

lens with a fixed focal length and a variable-power
supplementary lens. The supplementary lens uses mov-
able elements to change the focal length. In an ocular,
FIG. 02
the prime lens is the eyelens-the eyelens stays in the
same position during the zoom. The variable-power
supplementary lens then sits in front of the eyelens.

Fig. D3 shows the optics in a varifocallens-a lens

that allows you to change the focal length while shift-
ing the focal point. The zooming element, Fig. D3,
--(j]--
moves along the axis to change the focal length. When A-MAXIMUM FOCAL
the zooming element is as far back as it can go, Fig. LENGTH
D3A, the lens is at the longest focal length. Moving
the zooming element all the way forward, Fig. D3B,
provides the shortest focal length.

Although the lens shown in Fig. D3 changes the mag-

nification during zoom, it also changes the focus. Most
zoom lenses compensate for the different focal length
--(1]--
to maintain the focus. The lens must add another mov- B-MINIMUM FOCAL
ing component-the compensating element. LENGTH

FIG. 03

ZOOM BINOCULARS/55
There are two types of focus compensation used in zoom
lenses: optical compensation and mechanical com-

~E-~
pensation. Fig. D4 shows an optically compensated
zoom lens. Elements 1 and 3 are coupled together. As
you zoom the lens, both elements move as shown in CD
Fig. D4.

But most zoom lenses use mechanically compensated

systems. Here both the zooming element and the com-
pensating element are
move the elements at
different directions-as
positioned by cams. The cams
different speeds-and often in
you change the focal length.
a-ilD CD
Fig. D5 shows the zooming element and the compen- FIG. 04 An optically compensated zoom
sating element in a zoom ocular. The eyelens serves as lens.
the prime lens-it doesn't change position during the
zoom. But the eyelens in the adjustable ocular does COMPENSATING ELEMENT EYELENS
move when you change the diopter setting.

In zoom binoculars, you still set the focus with the fo-
cus knob and the adjustable ocular. The ocular is then
focused at the focal point of the objective lens. As you
now zoom the ocular, the zooming element moves as ZOOMING ELEMENT
shown in Fig. D5. The magnification of the ocular- FOCAL
determined by the zooming element and the eyelens- POINT A-MAXIMUM MAGNIFICATION
changes.

Setting a lower magnification increases the separation

between the zooming component and the eyelens, Fig.
D5B. If it weren't for the compensating element, the
focal point of the ocular would also change. But, as
you can see in Fig. D5, the compensating element
moves toward the zooming component. The compen-
sating element then shifts the focal point of the ocular.
The focal point remains in the same position as you
B-MINIMUM MAGNIFICATION
zoom the ocular, Fig. D5-the position you determined
when you focused the binoculars.
FIG.05 A mechanically coupled zoom
The movement of the zooming element is linear-the ocular.
separation between the zooming element and the eye-
lens changes the same amount for an equal amount of
magnification change. But the movement of the com-
pensating elementis nonlinear-equal amounts of mag-
nification change do not result in equal amounts of CAM SLOT FOR CAM SLOT FOR
movement. The mechanical cams set the positions of COMPENSATING ZOOMING ELEMENT
\
the two movable elements and determine the move- ELEMENT EYELENS
ment rate.

A cam tube holds both the zooming element and the

compensating element, Fig. D6. The screws that hold
the movable elements inside the cam tube also serve as
cam followers-the screwheads ride within the cam
slots in the cam tube, Fig. D6. FOLLOWER SCREWS

Notice in Fig. D6 that the cam slots are different. A

straight carn slot moves the zooming element. Since FIG. 06 The cam tube holds the two
the cam slot is straight, the movement of the zooming movable elements.

56JZOOM BINOCULARS
element is linear. But a curved cam slot moves the com-
pensating element. The curved carn slot provides the LENS CELL WITH ZOOMING ELEMENT
nonlinear movement. Also notice that the cam slots run
in opposite directions. As the zooming element moves
toward the front of the carn tube, the compensating el-
ement moves toward the back of the cam tube.

You can remove the elements from the carn tube by

taking out the follower screws. The compensating ele-
ment slides out toward the back of the cam tube; the
zooming element slides out toward the front (eyelens
LENS CELL WITH COMPENSATING ELEMENT
end) of the cam tube, Fig. 07.

Fig. 08 shows how the optics move within the cam

tube. The eyelens for the fixed ocular doesn't move;
the eyelens for the adjustable ocular moves only when
you change the diopter setting.
With the an ocular set at maximum magnification, the
lens cells are in the positions shown in Fig. 08A. The
zooming element is all the way to the back of the cam
tube. And the compensating element is all to way to
the front of the cam tube. There is now maximum sepa-
ration between the elements.
Setting a lower magnification rotates the carn tube coun-
terclockwise as seen from the eyelens end. Now the
zooming element moves toward the back of the carn
tube. And the compensating element moves toward the
front of the cam tube, Fig. D8B. At the lowest magni-
fication, there's the minimum separation between the
compensating element and the zooming element.
FIG.07 The lens cells removed from the
earn tube.
Changing the separation between the zooming element
and the eyelens changes the magnification. Without the
compensating element, the focal point would also
change. But the movement of the compensating ele-
ment holds the focal point at the same position.
The carn tubes for each ocular fit inside the zoom tubes,
Fig. 09 and Fig. OlO-there's one zoom tube inside
each ocular. As you turn the zoom lever, the zoom tubes
rotate. The zoom tubes then turn the cam tubes. With
the design shown in Fig. D9, a notch in the carn tube
keys over a screwhead on the zoom tube. So, as the

A-MAXIMUM MAGNIFICATION
'"
LENS CELL WITH ZOOMING ELEMENT

LENS CELL WITH COMPENSATING ELEMENT

/-

B-MINIMUM MAGNIFICATION

FIG. 08

ZOOM BINOCULARS/57
zoom tube rotates, it carries the cam tube
in the same direction.

But the zooming element and the com-

pensating element do not rotate-the el-
ements move along straight lines. The NOTCH THAT FITS
guide slots in the ocular tubes, Fig. Dll, OVER SCREWHEAD
ON ZOOM RING
prevent the elements from rotating. The
screwheads on the lens cells-the same
screwheads that ride within the cam
slots-fit into the guide slots. As the cam
tubes rotate, the cam slots move the ele-
ments in or out. The cam slots then de-
termine the direction and the rate that "
the elements move. FIG. 09 earn tube "
removed. ,
Damage to the cam tube may result in
another malfunction-the focus may
shift as you zoom. Once you've set the
focus for your own eyesight and the fo-
cus distance, the focus should remain
sharp as you change the magnification.
But if the cam tube is damaged, the im-
age may shift out of focus.

The design shown in Fig. D12 uses gear

coupling to connect the master zoom
FIG. 010 Zoom tube removed.

CAM SLOT
ZOOMING
ELEMENT

\1------
\
CAM TUBES _

OCULAR TUBES CAM SLOT FOR

\ COMPENSATING
\ ELEMENT
\
\ \
\ \
\ \
",.
\
\ \~ "-

FIG. 011 Cam tubes removed from binoculars.

58/Z00M BINOCULARS
 COUPLING GEAR SCALE FOR INTERPUPILLARY DISTANCE

FIXED
OCULA

RETAINING RING lOOM-LEVER RING

FIG. 012 Underside of binoculars.

ZOOM
tube to the slave zoom tube. The bottom shoulder of the zoom tube TUBE
in Fig. D13 is threaded-a large zoom-tube gear screws onto the
threaded shoulder. THREADED
SHOULDER
The zoom-lever ring, Fig. DB, also screws over the threaded zoom-
tube shoulder-the zoom-tube gear is under the zoom-lever ring in
Fig. D14. A retaining ring screws over the zoom-tube gear at the lOOM-
bottom of the slave zoom tube, Fig. D14. The two intermediate gears,
Fig. D14 , engage the zoom-tube gears. And the coupling gear, Fig. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/~~~~
D 11, engages the two intermediate gears to complete the gear train.

Moving the zoom lever turns the master zoom tube-the zoom-lever
ring connects directly to the master zoom tube. The zoom-tube gear
on the lower shoulder of the master zoom tube then turns the inter-
lOOM-LEVER RING
/
1IIIiWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMlIIlIIlIIlIIlII~;jJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~III1~

(OR RETAINING RING)

mediate gear. Now the coupling gear, Fig. D11, turns the other inter-
mediate gear to rotate the slave zoom tube.
FIG. 013
When you reassemble the binoculars, it's necessary to time the gears

RETAINING RING

FIG. 014 Underside of ocular assembly removed from binoculars.

ZOOM BINOCULARS/59
to one another. The positions of the cam tubes must
precisely match one another. You can see what would
EYELENS
happen if you had one ocular set as shown in Fig. D8A
and the other ocular set as shown in Fig. D8B. The
image from one ocular-the one set to the position
shown in Fig. D8A-would be larger than the other
image.

DISASSEMBLY OF THE OCULARS

You may be able to remove the ocular assembly to-

gether with the hinge pin in a rocker-arm arm design.
With a focus-knob design, you can unscrew the ocular
shaft from the focus knob. Both techniques retain the
gear timing. FIG. 015 Eyelens with eyecup removed.
But you may lose the timing if you remove the ocular
assembly from the rear end of the hinge pin-depend- SCREWHEAD ON ZOOM TUBE
ing on the design. In Fig. DI9, the coupling gear stays
with the ocular assembly. In that case, you don't lose
the gear timing. However, if the coupling gear is loose
as in Fig. DU, you lose the timing between the two
cam tubes.

Unless you have to reach the rear porro prisms, you

may not have to remove the complete ocular assembly.
Let's say you just want to disassemble the fixed ocular
to reach the optics. First remove the rubber eyecup-
with the binoculars shown in Fig. DI2, the rubber eye-
cup screws onto the ocular. In most binoculars, you
can simply lift off the rubber eyecup.

You can now see the two spanner holes in the eyelens
of the fixed ocular, Fig. D15. Since the eyelens is
threaded, you know that there's a good chance it's ad-
justable. Here a setscrew locks the eyelens in its ad-
justed position. FIG. 016 Fixed ocular with eyelens
removed.
Loosen the setscrew at the outer circumference of the
NOTCH
fixed ocular. You can then unscrew the eyelens. On re-
assembly, it's necessary to reset the eyelens to the 0-
diopter position.

With the eyelens removed, you can see the end of the
cam tube, Fig. DI6. You've already seen that the slot in
the cam tube fits over a screwhead on the zoom ring.
So, as the zoom ring turns, the cam tube also turns.

Lift out the cam tube, Fig. D17. As you've already seen,
the zooming element and the compensating element
remain inside the cam tube. You can now see the guide
slot in the ocular tube, Fig. DI8 . The guide slot re-
ceives the screwheads on the zooming element and the
compensating element.

To replace the cam tube, line up the screwheads on the FIG. 017 Cam tube removed, set to
two lens cells, Fig. D17. If you turn the two lens cells maximum power.

601Z00M BINOCULARS
to the 15X position, the screwheads nearly line up with SCREWHEAD ON ZOOM TUBE
the cam-tube notch, Fig. D17.

Pass both screwheads tlu'ough the guide slot, Fig. D18,

as you seat the cam tube. Then turn the cam tube as
necessary until its notch fits over the zoom-tube screw-
head, Fig. D16 . Use the same procedure to remove
and replace the carn tube in the fixed ocular.

As yet you haven't disturbed any timing. But, as men-

tioned earlier, you may disturb timing if you remove
the complete ocular assembly from the hinge pin. You
should therefore make some timing notes before disas-
sembly-notes you can use for reassembly reference.

With some zoom binoculars, it's difficult to install the

GUIDE SLOT
ocular assembly unless you first remove the cam tubes.
You may not be able to see the cam slots or the fol-
lower screws if you're trying to install the ocular as-
sembly as a unit. However, with the cam tube removed FIG. 018 Fixed ocular with carn tube
from the fixed ocular, you can note the timing. removed.

First set the zoom lever to the maximum magnifica-

tion-15X in this example. Then note the position of
the zoom-tube screwhead with respect to the guide slot,
Fig. D18. If you remove the ocular assembly, you now
know the reassembly position for the left-hand zoom
tube-the screwhead must be in the position shown in
Fig. D18 with the zoom lever set to 15X.
After you've replaced the ocular assembly-and be-
fore you replace the fixed-ocular cam tube-set the
zoom lever to 15X. Then lift the fixed ocular slightly
away from the binocular body-far enough to disen-
gage the coupling gear from the zoom-tube gear. You
can now turn the zoom tube to set its position as shown
in Fig. D18.
You can often remove and install the ocular assembly
as a unit. Removing the ocular assembly together with
the hinge pin-or unscrewing the ocular arm from the

ZOOM-
LEVER
RING
(MASTER)

FIG. 019 Ocular assembly removed with cam tubes.

ZOOM BINOCULARS/61
 FOCUS-LEVER RING

o
CAM SLOT FOR ZOOMING ELEMENT

CAM SLOT FOR

COMPENSATING ELEMENT

FIG. 020 Cam tube installed in ocular, set to lowest magnification.

focus knob--normally retains the ocular timing. In Fig.

D19, we've removed the complete ocular assembly from
the rear end of the hinge pin. In these binoculars, the
coupling gear stays with the ocular assembly. No tim-
ing has then been lost.

With the ocular assembly removed, Fig. D19, you can

normally see the earn-tube slot for the compensating
element. But you can only see the bottom end of the
earn-tube slot for the zooming element, Fig. D20.

Position the screwhead for the zooming element at the

bottom of the earn slot. And position the screwhead for
the compensating element at the top of its earn slot, SCREWHEAD
ON ZOOMING
Fig. D20. The zooming element and the compensating
ELEMENT
element are now in the lowest-magnification position.

Now turn the zoom lever to the lowest-magnification

position. Feed the screwheads into the guide slots as SCREWHEAD ON
you seat the ocular assembly. Since the earn tubes were COMPENSATING
ELEMENT
not removed, you should not have to adjust the magni-
fication of either ocular.

With the system shown in Fig. D18, there's only one

way you can adjust the magnification of one ocular to
match the other ocular-change the gear timing. Fig.
D21 shows the earn tube from a similar geared sys-
tem. But this system allows you to adjust the earn-tube
position without changing gear timing. Each earn tube FIG. 021 Cam tube removed.
has six "fingers" on its top edge-three on each side,
Fig. D21. The fingers fit over tabs at the tops of the
zoom tubes, Fig. D22.

62/Z00M BINOCULARS
 ZOOM TUBES

FIG. 022 Ocular end of binoculars with cam tubes removed.

Except for the coupling between the zoom tube and the to the front of the ocular (less magnification).
earn tube, the design is very similar to the first zoom
binoculars we described. The end of each zoom tube For example, suppose that the earn tube is seated as
screws into the zoom-tube gear, Fig. D24. The zoom- shown in Fig. D25. If you lift and turn the earn tube in
lever ring on one side also screws onto the end of the one direction, the zooming element moves toward the
master zoom tube. On the other side, a retaining ring front of the binoculars-lower magnification. If you
screws onto the end of the slave zoom tube. lift and turn the earn tube in the opposite direction, the
zooming element moves toward the back of the bin-
As you turn the zoom lever, the zoom-lever ring turns oculars-higher magnification.
the master zoom tube. The master zoom-tube gear con-
nects to the slave zoom-tube gear through the gear train, As with other binocular repairs, it's best to remove only
Fig. D26. one earn tube at a time. You can then use the other side
of the binoculars as your standard. Adjust the rotational
Both zoom tubes then turn as you move the focus le- position of the earn tube on one side until the magnifi-
ver. The zoom tubes rotate the earn tubes. The
screwheads on the movable lens groups, Fig. D23, pass
into fixed guide slots in the ocular sleeves, Fig. D22.
So, as the zoom tube turns, the lens groups move in or
out along the earn slots. Note again that the earn slots
run in opposite directions, Fig. D23-as the zooming
element moves to the back of the earn tube, the com-
pensating element moves to the front of the earn tube. SCREWHEADS

To reach the tops of the earn tubes, remove the rubber

eyecups. Then unscrew the eyelenses. It's now possible
to lift out the earn tubes-or to change the rotational
positions to adjust the magnification.

Change the rotational position by lifting a earn tube

until its fingers clear the tabs on the zoom tube. Then
rotate the earn tube in one direction or the other. As
you rotate the earn tube, the movable lens cells change
position-the zooming element, Fig. D2S, moves closer FIG. 023 Cam tube removed.
to the back of the ocular (more magnification) or closer

ZOOM BINOCULARS/63
cation matches the other side (your standard side). Later ZOOM
in this section, we'll describe some methods you can TUBE
use to compare the magnification of the oculars.

If you're going to lift out the cam tube, you might first
mark its adjusted position-marking the adjustment
may save you a lot of time on reassembly. You can put
dabs of white paint on the tabs of the zoom tube, Fig.
KNOB
/CONTROL
D25, to mark the positions of the cam-tube fingers.

Then, on reassembly, align the two screwheads, Fig. I I

D23, with one another. Seat the cam tube, making sure
the two screwheads pass through the guide slot, Fig.
D22. Now turn the cam tube until its fingers align with J
=t"0CULAR
ARM
your paint marks. Seat the carn tube and screw on the ZOOM-TUBE GEAR i
eyelens. " !

In some repairs, it may be necessary to remove the com-

plete ocular assembly. Perhaps you want to reach the
ocular-side porro prisms for a collimation adjustment.
~~!~M~ I """"'''''~'''"''''''''"~
ZOOM LEVER
You can remove the ocular assembly together with the
carn tubes. FIG. 024

As with other binoculars, remove the ocular assembly

together with the hinge pin (rocker-arm design). Or
unscrew the ocular shaft from the focus knob (focus-
knob design). In some designs, it may be necessary to
remove the ocular arms from the rear end of the hinge
pin. With the binoculars shown in Fig. D22, you can
remove the ocular assembly from the rear end of the
hinge pin by taking out the center screw.

From the underside of the ocular assembly, you can

see the gears, Fig. D26. The large zoom-tube gears that CAM
screw onto the bottoms of the zoom tubes aren't visible TUBE
in Fig. D26--one fits on the other side of the zoom-
lever ring, and the other fits on the other side of the
retaining ring, Fig. D26. Unlike the design shown ear-
lier, the center coupling gear remains in place-remov-
ing the ocular assembly does not disturb gear timing. FIG. 025 Ocular with eyelens removed.

RETAINING RING
FIG. 026 Underside of ocular assembly.

64JZOOMBINOCULARS
FIG. 027 Binoculars with ocular assembly removed.

Since you can adjust the position of each carn tube, the
gear timing may not seem so critical. However, if you
disturb the gear timing, your timing marks will no
longer be valid. Disturbing the gear timing will also
throw off the index dot for the magnification-the in-
dex dot is on the retaining ring, Fig. D26.

You can now remove the rear prism covers. Unscrew FIG. 028 The metal strap for coupling
the ocular sleeves, Fig. D27. Remove the screws hold- the slave to the master.
ing the prism covers. If the binoculars have a rubber-
like covering, you may have to peel aside the rubber to
reach the prism-cover screw(s).

OTHER COUPLING SYSTEMS

Gear coupling is the most common method of connect-

ing the two oculars. But there are other systems. All
that's needed is a method of turning the slave zoom
tube when you turn the master zoom tube.

A cord or a flexible metal strap can also provide the

coupling. Fig. D28 shows a typical metal strap, a piece
of spring steel around 3mm wide and O.2mm thick.
One end of the metal strap hooks to a slot in the zoom-
lever ring (master); the other end hooks to a slot in the
retaining ring (slave).

The design is similar to the geared systems we've al-

ready described. The zoom-lever ring and the retaining CHANNEL FOR METAL STRAP
ring screw onto the lower ends of the zoom tubes. But
rather than gears connecting the master zoom tube to
the slave zoom tube, the metal strap provides the con- FIG. 029
nection. The underside of each binocular arm has a chan-
nel for the metal strap, Fig. D29. When you assemble
the two ocular arms, the channel runs between the two
ocular openings, Fig. D30.

ZOOM BINOCULARS/65
The metal strap lies in the channel as shown in Fig.
D31. Slots in the retaining ring and the zoom-lever
ring fit over the bent ends of the metal strap. There's no
timing in this system-the proper positioning of the
slave zoom tube depends on the length of the metal
strap.

You can remove the ocular assembly as a unit. Or you

can first remove the carn tubes. To remove the carn
tubes, unscrew the eyelenses. Typically, plastic clips FIG. 030
still hold the cam tubes in place-the plastic clips fit
over the top ends of the earn tubes. Remove the plastic METAL STRAP
clips and lift out the carn tubes.

Remove the complete ocular assembly with the hinge

pin or by unscrewing the ocular shaft from the focus
knob. If you want to remove the ocular arms from the
ocular shaft, take off the IPO scale. There may be a
retaining ring or a screw under the IPO scale that holds
the ocular arms to the ocular shaft. But after removing
the retaining ring, you'll probably find that you still
can't lift off the ocular arms. It's necessary to first loosen
a setscrew at the hinge of one ocular arm. FIG. 031
ZOOM-LEVER RING
The setscrew passes into the slot at the end of the ocular
shaft, Fig. 033. You'll see the purpose of the setscrew RETAINING RING
and the ocular-shaft slot in a moment.

With the ocular assembly removed, you can unscrew

the zoom tubes--one zoom tube screws into the zoom-
lever ring, and the other zoom tube screws into the re-
taining ring. You can now lift out the zoom-lever ring,
the retaining ring, and the metal strap.

FIG. 032

On reassembly, lay the metal strap in the

channel as shown in Fig. 031. Seat the
retaining ring with its slot over one end of
the metal strap. Seat the zoom-lever ring
with its slot over the other end of the metal
strap, Fig. D32. Then screw in the zoom
tubes from the opposite ends of the ocu-
lar assembly.

Turning the zoom-lever ring now moves

one zoom ring-the zoom ring that screws
into the zoom-lever ring. The metal strap
moves the retaining ring in the sarne di-
rection. And the retaining ling turns the
other zoom tube-the zoom tube that
screws into the retaining ring. The zoom
tubes turn the two carn tubes.

FIG. 033 Binoculars with ocular assembly You can now see the reason for the set-
removed. screw and the slot in the end of the ocular

661Z00M BINOCULARS
 CURVED WALL OF OCULAR-SHAFT
FIG. 034
shaft, Fig. 033. When you replace the ocular arms, the
centers of the ocular arms fit over the slot in the ocular
shaft, Fig. 033. The wall inside the ocular-shaft slot
has a curved surface to route the metal band.
Fig. 034 shows the ocular shaft from the underside of
the ocular arms-a view you can't actually see with the
ocular arms in place. When you replace the setscrew,
the curved wall of the ocular-shaft slot and the end of
the setscrew form a channel for the metal strap--a chan-
nel that routes the center of the metal strap over the
ocular shaft. The metal strap follows the curve of the
ocular-shaft wall as you change the interpupillary dis-
tance by spreading the binocular sides.
REMOVING THE OCULAR TUBES
As with other binoculars, you may have to unscrew the
ocular tubes, Fig. 033, to take off the prism covers.
But unscrewing the ocular tubes may be more difficult
in zoom binoculars.
You'll find that the ocular tubes in zoom binoculars are
very tight. The ocular tubes in zoom binoculars have
the guide slots. It's therefore critical that the ocular tubes
don't work loose.
Remember that the guide slots prevent the movable
SLOT
elements from rotating. The movable elements then
move in or out along the cam slots.
But if an ocular tube works loose, it turns with the cam
tube. The movable elements in that ocular then won't
move in or out. And the magnification won't change. If
you note that the magnification in one ocular changes
as you move the zoom lever-but the magnification in
the other ocular does not change, the ocular tube has
probably worked loose.
Yet, even though it takes quite a bit of torque to un-
screw the ocular tube, you must be careful to avoid
damage. If you distort the ocular tube, the zooming
elements won't move freely. The zoom lever may then
bind. Or the magnification change in one ocular won't
match the magnification change in the other ocular.
You won't normally distort the metal ocular tubes with
your flexic1amp wrench. But zoom binoculars often use
plastic ocular tubes. And it's very easy to damage a
plastic ocular tube by squeezing the sides-even with
a flexic1amp wrench.
Clamp your flexiclamp on the base of the ocular tube
(rather than on the top). And try to avoid squeezing
together the sides of the ocular tube any more than nec-
essary for a good grip.
ZOOM BINOCULARS/67
 OTHER TYPES OF ZOOM BINOCULARS

The zoom binoculars we've covered all use variable-

power oculars-that's by far the most common type.
But some high-end binoculars use a different system-
a system that employs zoom lenses inside the binocu-
lar bodies.
BARREL
Fig. D35 shows a binocular style that uses roof-angle
prisms and internal zoom lenses. The zoom lenses are
in the barrels that fit inside the binocular tubes. Thrn-
ing the zoom control moves a threaded shaft that shifts ZOOM
the movable optics inside each barrel. KNOB

As with the zoom oculars, a zooming group and a com-

pensating group follow earn slots. The zooming group
changes the size of the image. And the compensating FOCUS
group holds the focal point of the objective lens at the KNOB
same position.

CHECKING OCULAR TIMING

If you're in doubt about restoring the proper ocular tim-

ing, you may need way to compare image sizes. One
method is to make yourself a target like the one shown
FIG. 035
in Fig. D36-a series of circles. It may take some ex-
perimentation in your own facility to determine the sizes
of the circles-depending on how much room you can
allow.

You can then position the binoculars at a distance that

allows one of the circles to fill the field of view. View
through the ocular you haven't disassembled as you set
the position of the binoculars.

Now, without changing your target distance, view 1 2 3 4 5 6

through the ocular you've repaired. Compare the im-
age size-the number of circles you can see. As you
change the zoom setting, make sure the two oculars
cover the same field.

FIG. 036

681Z00M BINOCULARS
 PORRO
VERNIER
RETICLE
ZOOM
TOTAL
SCREW, PRISM
SOFT-JAW
SETSCREW CALIPER
ROTATIONAL
REAL IMAGE
PRISM TUBE
ZOOMING
VARIFOCAL
LENSPLiER
CLAMP
TERRESTRIAL ERROR
INTERNAL
SPANNER
STRAP ELEMENT
LENS
WRENCH
SCREWDRIVER
ROOF-ANGLE
ROCKER ARM
RIGHT-ANGLE
PRISM-ERECTING
REFRACTION TELESCOPE
WRENCH REFLECTION
PRISM
PRISM
SYSTEM
CROSSPOINT 6
9
18
30
12
5
27
1
11
57
55
4
20
19
16
56
2
132
1 13, 16
10
1
TANCE
TE
RS
TANCE
RS
RIVER
TELESCOPE
ZOOM BINOCULARS
715
32
21
26
53
8 9
8,55
23,42
5,25
INDEX
12,30,46
4,22
4,11
4,27
4,25
4,26
22,37,48
37,38,41
15,38,54
34,45
7,27
4,24,31
22,47
11,

69
ALII SERVICE NOTES
P.o. BOX 30871
Honolulu, HI 96820