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Binocular question (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter bucks33
- Start date
Please post some pictures.
When you look down at the prism housings from the eyepiece side is there any descriptive information such as 7x50, country of origin, etc?
Does the text you described look like it was put there after the fact? If so I wonder if there are laboratory or military binoculars that were marked as having been collimated (optically aligned) at some point in their life.
Looks to me as though you have an old collimating device and not useable binoculars. There are several guys that specialize in binocular repair on Cloudy Nights binocular forum. You might post your pictures there as well.
henry link
Well-known member
Collimator it is. I have one just like it, thanks to the generosity of Ron (Surveyer), who gave it to me when he moved on to a new one. As you can see it's not very useful as a binocular since there's no erecting system.
You use it by aligning it behind the eyepieces of a mounted binocular with the IPD set to match the collimator. Sight on a distant target and note the position of the target within the grid patterns that you see in the collimator eyepieces. Right now I can't remember the value of the line spacings in the grids. Ron can tell you much more about it than I can.
You use it by aligning it behind the eyepieces of a mounted binocular with the IPD set to match the collimator. Sight on a distant target and note the position of the target within the grid patterns that you see in the collimator eyepieces. Right now I can't remember the value of the line spacings in the grids. Ron can tell you much more about it than I can.
Surveyor
The more I understand, the more I understand why I
The grid is 1 degree x 1 degree in 5 minute increments. Attached is some K&E literature.
You can use either a distant target or use another lens to create an infinity target within inches of the objective to accomplish the same thing. See photo.
Hello Buck;
Just a couple of comments on the double collimator. These are very useful to optics geeks. If you decide to sell or trade them, find an optics nut.
They are 6x, I think 30 mm objective.
If you want to try to use them as binoculars to measure angles, place your left hand at the front of the tube, assuming you right handed, and grasp the eyepiece with the right hand. To keep a target centered, move your right hand toward the target; you move the eyepiece toward the target, not the objective end.
The collimator is fixed focus, infinity, but has a great depth of field. The eyepiece only focuses the reticle, not the image.
A collimator is generally made to work the other way around, most do not have eyepieces. Look into the objectives with a pair of binoculars. The binocular will always focus at infinity whether you are 1 inch away or 10 feet. The grid will measure the same 5 minutes between lines at any distance, as you back away, the lines will appear to get larger but the angle remains constant. When the center of the grid is in the center of the bino field of view, the optical axis of both are about parallel, but not necessarily in line with each other. This is what makes a collimator so useful. Even if looking into the very edge of the lens, if the reticles match, they are parallel to each other and do not have to be on the same line.
You can use either a distant target or use another lens to create an infinity target within inches of the objective to accomplish the same thing. See photo.
Hello Buck;
Just a couple of comments on the double collimator. These are very useful to optics geeks. If you decide to sell or trade them, find an optics nut.
They are 6x, I think 30 mm objective.
If you want to try to use them as binoculars to measure angles, place your left hand at the front of the tube, assuming you right handed, and grasp the eyepiece with the right hand. To keep a target centered, move your right hand toward the target; you move the eyepiece toward the target, not the objective end.
The collimator is fixed focus, infinity, but has a great depth of field. The eyepiece only focuses the reticle, not the image.
A collimator is generally made to work the other way around, most do not have eyepieces. Look into the objectives with a pair of binoculars. The binocular will always focus at infinity whether you are 1 inch away or 10 feet. The grid will measure the same 5 minutes between lines at any distance, as you back away, the lines will appear to get larger but the angle remains constant. When the center of the grid is in the center of the bino field of view, the optical axis of both are about parallel, but not necessarily in line with each other. This is what makes a collimator so useful. Even if looking into the very edge of the lens, if the reticles match, they are parallel to each other and do not have to be on the same line.
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As others mentioned it's a specialized tool so you will need to find some with an interest in optical equipment. You might get in touch with either Cory Suddarth (Suddarth Optical) or Gordon Rayner on Cloudy Nights.
Surveyor
The more I understand, the more I understand why I
Hello Bucks33;
These show up on the auction site about once a year and I have seen them sell for $10 to $200, probably averaging around $35.
These things were very expensive in their day due to government standards for the industries that use a lot of them. Airplane and ship builders used to use a lot of collimators but have been phasing out for years in favor of quad CCD detectors and other newer technology. You see a lot of collimators on e**y from Boeing surplus. These are used by people wanting a precise center line control. Large machine installations, like paper machines, still use collimators.
The double collimator is something you do not see much. I am not sure if it is actually intended for some kind of binocular test stand or, since fitted with a T-slide, something made for alignment on either side of a bulkhead.
The people who would pay the most for something like this would be machinist, surveyors or, as stated, binocular repair people. Most collimators for commercial use these days are about 14” long with a machined diameter of 2.5”, the standard bores for machines that use them for alignment. So this is not a standard machine type instrument.
K&E in now Brunson and you can look at some collimators but I do not know of anything similar to this being made these days. When I find one in good shape and cheap, I will pick it up just to have access to one.
http://www.brunsonkc.com/p/ListCollimators.asp
These show up on the auction site about once a year and I have seen them sell for $10 to $200, probably averaging around $35.
These things were very expensive in their day due to government standards for the industries that use a lot of them. Airplane and ship builders used to use a lot of collimators but have been phasing out for years in favor of quad CCD detectors and other newer technology. You see a lot of collimators on e**y from Boeing surplus. These are used by people wanting a precise center line control. Large machine installations, like paper machines, still use collimators.
The double collimator is something you do not see much. I am not sure if it is actually intended for some kind of binocular test stand or, since fitted with a T-slide, something made for alignment on either side of a bulkhead.
The people who would pay the most for something like this would be machinist, surveyors or, as stated, binocular repair people. Most collimators for commercial use these days are about 14” long with a machined diameter of 2.5”, the standard bores for machines that use them for alignment. So this is not a standard machine type instrument.
K&E in now Brunson and you can look at some collimators but I do not know of anything similar to this being made these days. When I find one in good shape and cheap, I will pick it up just to have access to one.
http://www.brunsonkc.com/p/ListCollimators.asp
