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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Sacrilege???? (1 Viewer)

gunut

Registered Offender
I don't know if bringing this forward is sacrilege or not, but are any of the sub alpha grade modern binoculars actually designed to be repairable..you know....like the old 50-70s vintage units......seems like more and more if something goes wrong with any of them they just replace them and I assume just throw the old ones against a brink wall and let them fall into a dumpster....well???
 
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I suspect that if I sent back my Terra 8X42 for repair outside of tuning up the focus wheel etc. If out of alignment, or lets say a bent eyepiece, they would trash them and send me a new one. It is cheaper for them to do so, since the bin probably cost them about 60 clams to make, if that.

A.W.
 
I suspect that if I sent back my Terra 8X42 for repair outside of tuning up the focus wheel etc. If out of alignment, or lets say a bent eyepiece, they would trash them and send me a new one. It is cheaper for them to do so, since the bin probably cost them about 60 clams to make, if that.

A.W.

Andy
Customer services can sometimes work in mysterious ways and binos costing much more than Terras often seem to get replaced rather than repaired. Or do they? Obviously the replacement happens but I have heard of refurbished binos reaching the market sometimes. So perhaps the quickest way to help a customer is to send them a replacement and some of the binos get repaired and end up being sold as refurbs.
Your suggestion that Terras cost 60 clams ($??) to make is a bit wide of the mark though. I remember hearing about how much the genuine Schott ED glass that goes into them costs and it was substantial and the sales guys had to fight to get this past the bean counters.

Lee
 
I don't know if bringing this forward is sacrilege or not, but are any of the sub alpha grade modern binoculars actually designed to be repairable..you know....like the old 50-70s vintage units......seems like more and more if something goes wrong with any of them they just replace them and I assume just throw the old ones against a brink wall and let them fall into a dumpster....well???

Talking to Vortex and Bushnell on this matter, might bring some light on this aspect.
Currently (2017) Vortex has no repair department in the UK so every defect bin is replaced by a new one. As soon as this repair department is up to speed every bin will be repaired and/or kannibilized for parts.
Bushnell has a extensive repair department in France and does both. The cheap ones (H2O etc) are replaced by new ones but above that quality those will be repaired with the same modus as Vortex.
Bynolyt (Dutch brand) repairs everything in house. The same counts for Kite.
Vanquard does not repair AFAIK. It is cheaper to replace than to keep a repair department alive.

Jan
 
I don't think there is a hard rule of thumb here. Maven, for one example, offers binoculars that are completely repairable. Just because the Terra bears the Zeiss logo does not mean that those units won't be replaced rather than be repaired. There is a line somewhere in there that companies will follow according to their own business plan, some things being fixed, others causing replacement. It has been pointed out that there is a dearth of qualified repair people. I can't speak to that, but it seems that there is likely some truth there. Personal choice I suppose as to whether one prefers repair by possibly marginally qualified technicians, or replacement. If the low availability of repair tech is true, then we'll likely see more replacement.
 
Talking to Vortex and Bushnell on this matter, might bring some light on this aspect.
Currently (2017) Vortex has no repair department in the UK so every defect bin is replaced by a new one. As soon as this repair department is up to speed every bin will be repaired and/or kannibilized for parts.
Bushnell has a extensive repair department in France and does both. The cheap ones (H2O etc) are replaced by new ones but above that quality those will be repaired with the same modus as Vortex.
Bynolyt (Dutch brand) repairs everything in house. The same counts for Kite.
Vanquard does not repair AFAIK. It is cheaper to replace than to keep a repair department alive.

Jan

And when the rest of us die off (coming to a planet near you) it will be forever that way. :cat:

Bill
 
Bill;

Any comment on a current and possible future shortage of "screw turners"?

Although I haven't seen any of Brian's work (Baker Marine), I know he is training his son. Other than that—in the States—I would trust only Cory. I will admit there are many folks who get weak in the knees at seeing someone tighten a hinge, wipe off a lens, or do a quasi-adequate conditional alignment.

And, too, I have seen articles and books written by well-meaning but largely clueless people. Recently, over on brand X, I saw a post in which the poster used the term "USUALLY," when phrase he should have been looking for was "ALMOST NEVER."

But, I have learned on binocular forums that the ability to string 3 coherent sentences can set one up as an expert.

EX—as in "has been."
SPERT—as in "a drip under pressure." :cat:

Bill
 
And when the rest of us die off (coming to a planet near you) it will be forever that way. :cat:

Bill

Hi Bill,

Yes and No;)

One could argue that an "expensive" bin is worth the repair and a cheapo isn't, but wittnessing the Bushnell Legend price in the US in regards to the EU price, I can imagine repairs in the US is useless, but repairs in the EU for the same bin is affordable.

Another option to avoid your "nightmare" is you write a Manual Optics Repair.
I know for sure it would sell. Would it create real craftsmen? Time will tell.

Jan
 
Hi Bill,

Yes and No;)

One could argue that an "expensive" bin is worth the repair and a cheapo isn't, but wittnessing the Bushnell Legend price in the US in regards to the EU price, I can imagine repairs in the US is useless, but repairs in the EU for the same bin is affordable.

Another option to avoid your "nightmare" is you write a Manual Optics Repair.
I know for sure it would sell. Would it create real craftsmen? Time will tell.

Jan

Hi, Jan:

I have "toyed" with the idea. Until about the mid-70s it would have been a piece of cake. However, today there are so many versions of way too many models. Back when I was getting into the craft, several companies offered complete, exploded schematics with part numbers to help the retailers who had techs working for them. Today? No way! :cat:

Bill
 
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It may well be that in somewhere like India, there are competent binocular repairers using old but efficient aids, who can repair most binoculars, including cheap ones.
They may not have the necessary tools for expensive binoculars.

I think it is routine to dismantle lenses in Hong Kong.

One of the most skilled opticians was in Australia, recently making as perfect a sphere as possible. I think he had spent 18 months and it still wasn't ready.

In the movie industry I think that stripping lenses is routine.
Also military optics.
 
I don't know if bringing this forward is sacrilege or not, but are any of the sub alpha grade modern binoculars actually designed to be repairable..you know....like the old 50-70s vintage units......seems like more and more if something goes wrong with any of them they just replace them and I assume just throw the old ones against a brink wall and let them fall into a dumpster....well???

There are really two different questions.

1. Are modern binoculars are designed to be repaired? Most are designed to be repaired. If the bins are out of warranty the owner is faced with a cost to repair vs cost to replace decision.

2. Do binocular manufacturers repair or replace binoculars that come in for service? The answer is probably yes. The extent of work needed, cost of the repair and availability of a replacement bin would all factor into the decision.
 
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