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Building a Better Binocular Mount (1 Viewer)

Kevin Conville

yardbirder
Henning Hauksen and I have been exchanging designs and ideas over in the Swarovski sub forum under the title "Swarovski Universal tripod adapter review" https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=361138.

A few of us have concluded that the Swarovski mount, and pretty much all others, leave something to be desired. Henning and I decided to start building and see if we could come up with something better.

The goal was to have a rock solid mount, that doesn't affect the IPD of the bins, is light and simple, is as universal as is practical, and allows the use of the bin when the mount is attached but handheld, and more recently, allows the mount to remain attached but can be returned to it's case.

If interested, please review the other thread to see the evolution of design that Henning and I have done to get close (my opinion) to the ideal mount. https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=361138
Note Henning has gone high tech with a 3D printable design and mine is the "organic" version.

Here's some pics from what I made today, my interpretation of Henning's version 8:
 

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Here's the Leica 12x50s with the mount attached going back into the Vortex case I use for them. It fits!
 

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Hi Kevin,

Here's some pics from what I made today, my interpretation of Henning's version 8:

That's a great looking adapter you created! Hard to beat the aesthetics of wood in any other material. The metal plate is great too as it allows a very thin yet perfectly stable connection, saving a few millimeters in height.

How do you treat the ends of the chock cord so that they don't fray? I tried clear tape, but that doesn't look as nice as the cord ends your pictures.

For the sake of completeness in this thread, here again the link to my 3D printable adapter version:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2971091

Regards,

Henning
 
Thanks Henning,

I trim the ends of the shock cord neatly then burn them with a flame.

The aluminum connector plate is stronger and more space efficient and I tapped a 1/4"-20 thread in it to allow the Arca plate to directly attach. I also used hard maple this time for strength

The height of the "bridges" can still be made lower somewhat and not have an interference issue for the thumbs. I use a thumbs up hold, myself, when handholding binoculars and this narrower mount allows that with no issue at all.
 
Hi Kevin,

I trim the ends of the shock cord neatly then burn them with a flame.

I see - thanks for the tip! :)

I use a thumbs up hold, myself, when handholding binoculars and this narrower mount allows that with no issue at all.

Observing myself, seems I use a thumb-down grip with one hand and a thumb-up grip with the other :)

I have printed another adapter version which was inspired by Bob's comment on extra bulk ( https://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=3733149&postcount=75 ).

This version reduces the extra bulk pretty much to the height of the adapter plate, but in its current form is a bit limited with regard to maximum interpupillar distance you get without re-printing the entire thing:

P1320742s.JPG

Regards,

Henning
 
This version reduces the extra bulk pretty much to the height of the adapter plate, but in its current form is a bit limited with regard to maximum interpupillar distance you get without re-printing the entire thing:

View attachment 666676

Regards,

Henning

Well that's about as minimalist as you can get! I think my next version will be somewhere between what I last produced and this latest version of yours, with an eye on it working with any of my bins I'd want to use it with, at different IPDs.

This last version must really cut down on print times for you!
 
Hi Kevin,

This last version must really cut down on print times for you!

Ironically, I tried out printing it with 0.1 mm layers to get smoother results, and the nozzle clogged at the low feeding speed. Since I had to clear the nozzle first, this print took longer than all others before! :-(

I also had to print a couple of partial models to get the "bridge" size just right:

P1320749s.jpg

Regards,

Henning
 
Hi Andy,

I am curious how they work when viewing the night sky at zenith.

What are the specific challenges associated with that use case? I have little experience in astronomic observation, I'm afraid.

To get some clearance from the tripod, it probably would be best not to use the "minimal" adapter, but the "version 8" style as built by Kevin, since it has a bit of extra height which will displace the sight axis from the centre of the tripod if the binoculars are pointed straight up.

Regards,

Henning
 
Hi Kevin,

Well that's about as minimalist as you can get! I think my next version will be somewhere between what I last produced and this latest version of yours, with an eye on it working with any of my bins I'd want to use it with, at different IPDs.

Here's version 11, having the roof ridge cut off because the focus wheel bumped into this if you tried to adjust for larger interpupillar distance.

I've also added a a central hole so that the cord stops can be located on the outside of the adapter. (There's not enough room in the inside.) This hole was drilled conventionally in the previous version because I didn't think of this during the design phase :)

Parametric Binocular Tripod Adapter 11.png

Regards,

Henning
 
Hi again,

Here's version 12. I have re-located the central hole in the ocular-side bridge because with version 11, my nose kept touching the cord stop :)

Parametric Binocular Tripod Adapter 12.png

Regards,

Henning
 
Great work, Kevin and Henning. I am seeing the evolution of a most practical binocular mount. I am not impressed with the Bogpod which I have, it should have a Velcro strap instead of rubber.

Andy W.
 
I continue to gape at what you Kevin and Henning are up to.
Henning, could you please say: what are a and b in mm now? Thanks.
(Asking now because I fear than by about v.15 that will be nanometers :)
 

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Hi,

Henning, could you please say: what are a and b in mm now? Thanks.
(Asking now because I fear than by about v.15 that will be nanometers :)

a = 15 mm, b = 50 mm

As this picture shows, these values are pretty much unchanged since version 2 :)

P1320761s.jpg

Regards,

Henning
 
Hi,



a = 15 mm, b = 50 mm

As this picture shows, these values are pretty much unchanged since version 2 :)

View attachment 666803

Regards,

Henning

A fascinating insight into the evolution of a functional design. I await the 'finished' item with interest. Maybe then - thanks to the kindness and enthusiasm of two forum members - we will get a decent, no-frills binocular tripod mount that is really meant for serious use in the field!

RB
 
Hi RB,

A fascinating insight into the evolution of a functional design. I await the 'finished' item with interest.

Interesting idea to consider it an "evolutionary" progress ... in fact, I could probably re-arrange the adapters to show different lineages :) Some cross-pollineation between the lineages, though ;-)

Basically, the progress was:

#1 Kevin's original idea
#2 Smaller and with a lateral cut-out to facilitate holding the bincoulars when not on tripod; extra height to create clearance to quick release lever
#3 Vertical cut-out to allow "thumbs through" holding
#5 "Mutation": Cords run horizontally through bridges, primary advantage: bridges can be very compact
#9 "Mutation": Exploit secondary advantage of #5 mutation (cord stops don't protude below adapter) to create minimalist adapter.

We have two endpoints of the development now:

#8: Fully developed "thumbs through" version
#12: "Minimalist" version (not pictured, very similar to #10 in the picture)

#12 is the close-to-final "minimalist" version, except that I still need to provide a slightly angled surface for the ocular-side cord stop to get it out of the way of my nose tip.

Somehow, nose clearance turned out to be the most difficult problem with the adapters! :eek:)

Regards,

Henning
 
Hi again,

#12 is the close-to-final "minimalist" version, except that I still need to provide a slightly angled surface for the ocular-side cord stop to get it out of the way of my nose tip.

Here's #13:

Parametric Binocular Tripod Adapter 13.png

The small protuding cylinder is the only part different to #12.

If that solves the nose interference issue, #13 is probably going to be the final version :)

Regards,

Henning
 
I ran into a little snag that needs to be corrected before my next (lower profile) version.
The self adhesive neoprene migrates under the pressure of the bins. I didn't incur this on the larger version as the pad had much more surface area that helped it resist movement.

I may use a rubber tee molding or maybe find a way to affix leather in lieu of neoprene.
 

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Hi Kevin,

The self adhesive neoprene migrates under the pressure of the bins. I didn't incur this on the larger version as the pad had much more surface area that helped it resist movement.

Ouch - I had a similar effect with self-adhesive felt on an eyepiece adapter, and that was quite messy since the pressure squeezed the glue out from beneath the felt :-(

Somehow, I'm not happy with #13 though it technically is close to perfect ... The many 180 degree turns in the cord of #13 make it a bit hard to adjust the tension evenly between both sides.

I wonder if re-rigging it for a single piece of cord with a single cord stop might be more elegant.

Regards,

Henning
 
Hi Kevin,



Ouch - I had a similar effect with self-adhesive felt on an eyepiece adapter, and that was quite messy since the pressure squeezed the glue out from beneath the felt :-(

Somehow, I'm not happy with #13 though it technically is close to perfect ... The many 180 degree turns in the cord of #13 make it a bit hard to adjust the tension evenly between both sides.

I wonder if re-rigging it for a single piece of cord with a single cord stop might be more elegant.

Regards,

Henning

You may in experiencing the point of diminishing benefit from too much downsizing. It reminds me how phones and other personal electronic devices are limited to an interface that human hands can use.

Sure two single cords going over the top would be more elegant, in several ways, but you'll lose the redundancy and (maybe) the IPD stability. That's a different mount.

Maybe the answer is to go back up in size, a bit. I suspect my final shape won't be very much smaller than this last one I built.
 
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