Cable-tie sighting device: IMPROVED! COLLAPSABLE! (1 Viewer)

[KorHaan]

On a rainy late afternoon, it seemed a good time to figure out the scope sight on our angled Zeiss 65.

It took a couple of times to see that cable A can't be tightly closed as the diagram suggests, as it forms an elliptical shape which locks it on to cable B, preventing A from being rotated to a viewing position (at least with the cable ties I'm using).

It's difficult to get the stub of cable B into a completely horizontal position, causing cable A (when raised to its vertical position) to be slightly offset to the left. Doesn't seem to make much of a difference in actual use.

With eyeglasses, it's impossible to just move your eyes when alternating between the eyepiece and sight. With a dominant left eye, if I put the tip of my nose at 3:00 o'clock on the eyecup, sighting over the tip of the sight, and then rotate my head down and forward, it works.

Thanks.

Mike Penfold

Hello, Mike,

Thank you for posting your findings, much appreciated!

It seems you're having a problem with the cable-ties you are using; I've just re-read Folkerts original posting on the Dutch forum, and also looked closely at the three photographs of his set-up on the Nikon ED50. They're in the second link of my post 1 in this thread.

Folkert states, in his original post, that if you pull the cable-ties real tight, it should work, the sighting A should - as he describes - ' click in ' between the heads of B and C. It could mean, that he and you are using different ties.
If you look at his photo's of his set-up, could you tell me if the ties that you are using are different in any way? The heads of the ties Folkert is using are tapered, slightly conical. This may be the reason that it works for him splendidly.

As for not getting the stub of B into a horizontal position, so that the vertical cable A is slightly offset to the left, may I suggest that you can slightly shift the entire ring set-up to the right? Would that make a difference? ( I'm guessing here, trying to come up with a solution that might make it work for you.)

Actually using the sighting device with glasses can indeed be difficult; I wear specs and I have owned an angled Zeiss 65, like you, but with the original 1-cable tie sighting I could hold my head in the adviced position, albeit a little awkward to not look against the rim of my specs. I take it, this is your problem also; for this nuisance I'm afraid I've no solution ready, I'm really feeling sorry you experience difficulties with this new tie set-up.
Have you used the original, 1-tie sighting on your Zeiss? The 'fixed' one as opposed to the collapsable one, I mean?

I hope more posters will share their thoughts, so maybe we can find a solution that's satisfying for you. I would really like that.

Best regards,

Ronald

 

[Mike Penfold]

Ronald,

The collapsible scope sight works like a charm. Thanks again.

When folded, the sight tucks under the Creedmoor stay-on case on our scope.

The Marr "Multi-purpose Ties" I used are made in the US by Thomas Betts, and are sold through the local Home Depot, a large hardware store chain in North America. I included concrete details about the installation of the ties, as it appears that there's a fair degree of latitude in implementing the concept of the collapsible scope sight.

Eyeglass wearers can get replicable results by using the process (or some variation) of sighting with nose to eyecup at 3:00 o'clock, and then rotating head forward and down (in my case, bringing the left eye to the eyepiece).

Mike Penfold

 

[KorHaan]

Ronald,

The collapsible scope sight works like a charm. Thanks again.

When folded, the sight tucks under the stay-on case on our scope.

The Marr "Multi-purpose Ties" I used are made in the US by Thomas Betts, and are sold through the local Home Depot, a large hardware store chain in North America. I included concrete details about the installation of the ties, as it appears that there's a fair degree of latitude in implementing the concept of the collapsible scope sight.

Eyeglass wearers can get replicable results by using the process (or some variation) of sighting with nose to eyecup at 3:00 o'clock, and then rotating head forward and down.

Mike Penfold

Excellent, Mike,

Thanks for letting me know it works well. I also welcome your comments on installation of the ties, so confusion can be ruled out. I'd like it to be as straightforward as possible.

I wouldn't know what cable-ties we have over here, I must confess I didn't even look for a brand name. They're in a plain, plastic bag.

Best regards,

Ronald

 

[SGBirder]

Reviving a decade-old thread but thought useful to share my experience and actual photos. Thanks Kimmo and Ronald for this invention.

I just added this cable-tie sight to my scope and found that it's been quite helpful in target acquisition as a new user of scopes. Helps most with the horizontal positioning of the scope onto the target which is nearly 100% accurate.

Will need more practice with the vertical positioning to get more consistent, and thinking of adding white marking(s) along the length of the cable tie for use with other eyepieces, which require a different eye position (due to eyepiece size and eye relief differences). White marking for contrast against the night sky for stargazing.

Took about 5 minutes to install based on the instructions (which I did in a bird hide during a downpour), though I had to use 2 cable ties to loop around the scope (my cable ties are 1.8mm x 200mm).

Compared to the earlier version, this collapsible design makes it easier to store and transport the scope, and less bending of the cable tie which could require more re-adjusting.

Not sure if there are 3D printed solutions these days, but this is a easy DIY costing less than 10 cents.

Side view of the cable tie sight, extended. I've since trimmed the cut ends of the cable ties with a nail clipper to remove sharp corners.


Side view of the cable tie sight, retracted for storage/transport


View of the sight in use. To calibrate the sight when building it, point the scope at a target object through the lens. Then look up over the eyepiece and rotate the cable tie sight to be in-line with the target, and trim the cable tie to the correct height.

To calibrate the sight at the start of each session, do the same with the target object. Rotate the sight in case it has shifted, then adjust the front/back angle of the cable tie to get it back to the correct height.

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

Reviving a decade-old thread but thought useful to share my experience. I just added this cable-tie sight to my scope and found that it's been quite helpful in target acquisition as a new user of scopes. Definitely helps most with the horizontal positioning of the scope onto the target.

Will need more practice, and thinking of adding white markings along the length of the cable tie for use with other eyepieces, which require a different eye position (due to eyepiece size and eye relief differences). Took about 5 minutes to install based on the instructions, though I had to use 2 cable ties to loop around the scope (my cable ties are 1.8mm x 200mm).

Compared to the earlier version, this collapsible design makes it easier to store and transport the scope, and less bending of the cable tie which could require more re-adjusting.

Not sure if there are 3D printed solutions these days, but this is a easy DIY costing less than 10 cents.

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Excellent! Where did you get the cable tie?

 

[SGBirder]

Excellent! Where did you get the cable tie?

I bought it at a hardware store in a pack of 100. There are different sizes available, this would be a medium-sized cable tie

 

[Hauksen]

Hi,

Not sure if there are 3D printed solutions these days, but this is a easy DIY costing less than 10 cents.

I've designed and printed a couple of sighting solutions, but of course, it's hard to beat the value-for-money ratio of the cable tie sight

The advantages of a fully 3D printed solution is that it aligns immediately (upon setting up the scope) without the need for being bent back into shape every now and then, and that it's possible to use red dot (reflex) sights that give a close-to-perfect sightline reference without the difficulty in the vertical axis you noticed.

Their disadvantages are that they are hard to get right as most scopes are not designed to alllow easy mounting of suitable adapters, and that each solution has to be mostly scope-type specific.

I'm currently trying a new adapter I designed into a tripod quick-release plate, fitting my Velbon tripod and my Kowa 883 scope, and accepting a cheap and very light red-dot sight. It's very promising so far, but it's at least the 5th design I printed, and I also made quite a few designs I didn't print, so it's not so easy if one is starting from scratch.

Here's a link to the thread with my current design iteration:

Quick release plate adapter to mount a "red dot" (reflector/reflex) sight to a spotting scope

Hi everyone, After designing a couple of different solutions for mounting a reflex sight on a (Kowa 883) spotting scope, I've tried something new now and decided to create a mount that is part of the quick release plate rather than mounted directly to the scope. The challenge with designing a...

www.birdforum.net

Regards,

Henning

 

[wllmspd]

Made me a cable tie sight recently for my 60mm Opticron. Managed to confirm the species of flying birds on its first outing. Needs the occasional tweak, but folds flat when not in use and takes up no spacer, wonder why I’ve never seen any in the field?!

Peter