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Monarch ATB 8x42 question ... eye relief doesn't lock (right eye) (2 Viewers)

T

Tim_in_NC

Member
Hi everyone,

I've been looking for a set of bins for use while birding, hunting, and general viewing ...

After comparing several models, the Monarchs won due to their great bang for the buck combo ...

I received them yesterday and have noticed that the eye relief knob for the left eye rotates out for use without eyeglasses and clicks once when at it's most outer position and will lock there. However, the right eye relief knob will rotate out to it's most outer position but not lock out, it just stops but can easily be pushed back in ...

I first noticed this while viewing through the bins and noticed that by applying pressure of the bins to my face/eye area, this would cause the right eye relief to push in and kinda aggravate me a little :) ...

So, I was wanting to see if this is common or if my set needs to be returned for another ... Maybe this is common due to the construction and that the right eye focus knob interferes with the locking function ...

Thanks ...

TIM
 
Tim, this the one weak spot in Monarchs. Get a replacement. When they get old, they will do it again, even on the new pair. If you want the eye cups to stay out, put rubber bands made from bicycle inner tubes..probably smallish diameter...to get them to stay out. Just s;ip it over they eye cup when it is in the out postition. They will then stay out, so be careful to store them so they do not get pushed around. The cups stay OK for a while. I like to turn mine in when storing, as I once almost twisted one off the thread.
 
+1 to what Tero told you. The eyecups are indeed the achilles heel of the monarch. It is also typical in my experience that it is also quite common for the eyecup to have a little slop in its position when extended. I have an 8x42 and the eye cup is the only mechanical issue I have had.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys ...

I need these for an upcoming trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina so I called up the e-tailer. They agreed to allow me to return these for a full refund without a restocking fee due to the faulty right eye relief not locking out as it should and they will even pay the return postage. So, I ordered another set and they should arrive this Friday which will be fine for use during my upcoming trip. We both agreed that this would be a better alternative versus going through the more lengthy exchange process.

Hopefully the new set will lock out much better. If not, I'll be using the rubber band trick by Tero ...

These Monarchs really do have nice optics for the price ...

Thanks again,
TIM
 
Hi Tim,
I recently had some Bushnell 7x42 Discoverers that had a similar problem.
I rectified the issue with O-rings, see pics.

Find some that fit tight and take a minute to position them to hold the eyecup out. In the case of the Discoverers, rolling 'down' the O-ring one revolution while collapsing the eyecup worked perfectly to allow the eyecup to seat in the "eyeglasses" position + 2-3 mm (thickness of the O-rings). Reversing this action brought the eyecup out with the O-ring locking it in the 'out' position.

It really was a simple and elegant solution, and no inner tubes were harmed in this exercise.
 

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Kevin Conville said:
Hi Tim,
I recently had some Bushnell 7x42 Discoverers that had a similar problem.
I rectified the issue with O-rings, see pics.

Find some that fit tight and take a minute to position them to hold the eyecup out. In the case of the Discoverers, rolling 'down' the O-ring one revolution while collapsing the eyecup worked perfectly to allow the eyecup to seat in the "eyeglasses" position + 2-3 mm (thickness of the O-rings). Reversing this action brought the eyecup out with the O-ring locking it in the 'out' position.

It really was a simple and elegant solution, and no inner tubes were harmed in this exercise.
Click to expand...


Great idea Kevin!!!
 
I can't believe this ... Nikon, China QC must be pretty poor ...

New bins arrived today, right eye relief adjusts out and locks great ... but guess what, the left eye doesn't lock out ... This is the exact opposite as the 1st pair ...

Oh well ... I'll be looking for some O-rings ...
 
Nice, huh? Seemingly 3-4 hundred bucks doesn't guarantee a bin that's free of defects.
The O-ring trick works well, but it is probably a good idea to pen a letter to Nikon about this.
 
Hi Tim, I have had the same issue with mine since the day I got them. I do like the bins though. For the most part they are great.

Kevin -- That's a great tip! Thanks dude. : )
 
I thought of the same. I had Nikon Sporters, pretty good for the day. The moved up to Monarchs. Visible improvement in optics. But the eye cups were nearly the same. Hunters carry this through woods and rough them up. They must be sending a few back for eye cup repairs.
 
Kevin Conville said:
Hi Tim,
I recently had some Bushnell 7x42 Discoverers that had a similar problem.
I rectified the issue with O-rings, see pics.
Click to expand...


Interesting. I have these bins as a spare pair and immediately had this eye cup issue being discussed. My solution was also installing O-rings. An assortment pack (or the "right" size) can be picked up at any hardware or home improvement store in the plumbing section. It's a very inexpensive and easy fix to the problem. Mine took two (stacked) on each side for the proper eye relief. I'm glad this didn't happen with my Leica's or I would be really upset.
 
The collapsing eyecups have been a problem since Nikon came out with the Monarch line and it should have been resolved long ago. A friend of mine got a 10 x 42 Monarch very soon after they were put on the market. He didn't know the eyecups had a problem because he wears glasses and he keeps the cups down. I don't wear glasses so when he showed them to me it was the first thing I discovered while looking at a soaring Red-tail. The right eyecup kept collapsing. He still wears glasses and he still uses them and thinks they are great. If they were mine I'd have sent them back.
Bob

PS: I'm a Nikon enthusiast. I own 7. No Monarchs though.
 
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I'm now all O-ringed up ...

I ended up having the reliefs extended pretty much all the way out ... Worked better for me ... there is still enough room to not effect the right eye focus ...

If I find that for any reason I need to have the release in further as time goes by, I'll just simply remove an o-ring or two ...

Thanks again for the tip !!!
 

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Luckily I got some 10x36 with the cups working OK, three clicks on each side. After one year they are just a bit sloppy on each step. Since I use either glasses or contacts I need to reposition them quite often, would be hard with the O-ring trick.

Glad it worked out for you Tim.
 
pinussen said:
Luckily I got some 10x36 with the cups working OK, three clicks on each side. After one year they are just a bit sloppy on each step. Since I use either glasses or contacts I need to reposition them quite often, would be hard with the O-ring trick.

Glad it worked out for you Tim.
Click to expand...

If you read post #6 carefully, you'll see that by using one O-ring the eyecups can be easily re-positioned. By rolling the O-ring up or down it allows the eyecup to be seated in either position, and holds the eyecup quite well when extended.

On the Discoverers (shown) I used 2-3mm O-rings which limited the fully seated (eyeglass) position the same distance. This was not an issue as the Discoverers have plenty of eye relief.

Thinner O-rings are available if a thicker one robs you of required eye relief.
 
Tim_in_NC said:
I can't believe this ... Nikon, China QC must be pretty poor ...
Click to expand...

Having done a fair amount of QC/QA I would say this is a design issue that should be fixed in a design revision rather than blaming QC at the factory. That would make it a Japanese problem rather than a Chinese problem. See also the SE eye cup problems ;)

Given that it happens quite a lot and gets worse over time it seems to be a tolerance and wear issue in either the eyecup part or the stop (probably the former as they always seem to have the helicoidal thread with stop indents on it (I presume, I've not looked at this particular design).

You can't test quality into a product. ;)
 
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