Fitting or Re-Fitting Zeiss FL/HT/SF Eyecups (1 Viewer)

[Troubador]

Over the last couple of years a few visitors to these pages have had some difficulties fitting or re-fitting eyecups to their Victory models after replacing the eyecups or after dismounting them to clean them and the eyepiece lens. The method below has proved reliable for me and recently helped out one of the regulars on here.

Here is the method I was shown by a gentleman from Zeiss and apologies to him for me not being able to recall his name.

When you have unscrewed the eyecup to the top (non-spectacle position) and kept on screwing, eventually the eyecup is unscrewed and sitting in your hand. For the next bit refer to the pics below. The eyecup that you have in your hand is fully extended and the first step to fitting it back on the bins is to collapse it back down to its shortest length by sticking two fingers up the inside of the eyecup from the binoculars-end, that is the other end from the one you look through (Pic1). This is to hold still the inner component as you grip the eyecup rim (where it rests against your face) and screw it down. Now you have the eyecup in its shortest length (= the spectacle-wearer's position, Pic2) and you can offer it up to your FL/HT/SF (Pic3)and screw it down all the way (Pic4). Be only moderately firm while doing this, you are not trying to strangle it. Once it has bottomed out you can then adjust its height according to your needs.


If Gary at Zeiss reads this and can improve on this method his advice would be gratefully received.

Lee

 

[Alexis Powell]

Yes, screwing in Zeiss FL eyecups is tricky (fine threads in plastic are easy to cross-thread) compared to Swarovski threaded, and to reattaching Leica bayonet style. From your post, I take it they didn't improve the design for the HT and SF? As with any fine thread, I find it best to push the loose cup against the thread gently, turn it the wrong way (as if to loosen) very slowly to feel the spot where the thread begins (pops down a bit, maybe with a little click sound), then turn to tighten.

--AP

 

[Troubador]

Yes, screwing in Zeiss FL eyecups is tricky (fine threads in plastic are easy to cross-thread) compared to Swarovski threaded, and to reattaching Leica bayonet style. From your post, I take it they didn't improve the design for the HT and SF? As with any fine thread, I find it best to push the loose cup against the thread gently, turn it the wrong way (as if to loosen) very slowly to feel the spot where the thread begins (pops down a bit, maybe with a little click sound), then turn to tighten.

--AP

Excellent advice Alexis and actually I do this with all screw fittings.

Lee

 

[BruceH]

I just want to vouch for Lee's method. It worked great for me. The eyecup came loose on my 10X a while back and it took multiple tries hacking away to get it back on tight. I was not sure what I did when it finally tightened down without any effort.

Next I was messing around with the 8X recently acquired and I stuggled to get the eye cup tightened until doing it as suggested by Lee. It tightened right up the first try! In a sentence, I think the key is to make sure the eyecup is fully collapsed before screwing it back on to the eye piece.

Good job Lee!!!

 

[Troubador]

I just want to vouch for Lee's method. It worked great for me. The eyecup came loose on my 10X a while back and it took multiple tries hacking away to get it back on tight. I was not sure what I did when it finally tightened down without any effort.

Next I was messing around with the 8X recently acquired and I stuggled to get the eye cup tightened until doing it as suggested by Lee. It tightened right up the first try! In a sentence, I think the key is to make sure the eyecup is fully collapsed before screwing it back on to the eye piece.

Good job Lee!!!

You are most welcome Bruce.

Lee

 

[james holdsworth]

Need help from anyone with expereince....

Just received new eyecups for my 8x32 Conquest - old ones were getting crushed and deformed from use.

No problem unscrewing and inserting the new cups - problem is I cannot tighten them enough that, trying to raise the very tight new eyecup, doesn't re-loosen them from their threads.

I have put enough tightening pressure on the cups that I dare, as more force might cause real damage.

I should also note that Lee's method of extending the eyecups in hand does not work, as the HD eyecups are seemingly impossibly stiff to move in that way.

 

[Bloodstriker]

Need help from anyone with expereince....

Just received new eyecups for my 8x32 Conquest - old ones were getting crushed and deformed from use.

No problem unscrewing and inserting the new cups - problem is I cannot tighten them enough that, trying to raise the very tight new eyecup, doesn't re-loosen them from their threads.

I have put enough tightening pressure on the cups that I dare, as more force might cause real damage.

I should also note that Lee's method of extending the eyecups in hand does not work, as the HD eyecups are seemingly impossibly stiff to move in that way.

Hi James,

I have a pair of Conquest HD 10x42 and I have replace the eye cups on mine. I had the same problem, until I just tightened it down with more force. They don't come loose anymore.

I just took my bins and removed my eyecups while typing this to test.

I need to use about the same amount of torque to open a stuck cap on a jar of maple syrup, but in the opposite direction. (Yes, I had to use maple syrup in my example as, you know, eh?)

Don't worry too much about damage, as if your in Canada, there's the no-fault 5 year warranty. Plus, these bins can take abuse.

 

[Troubador]

Need help from anyone with expereince....

Just received new eyecups for my 8x32 Conquest - old ones were getting crushed and deformed from use.

No problem unscrewing and inserting the new cups - problem is I cannot tighten them enough that, trying to raise the very tight new eyecup, doesn't re-loosen them from their threads.

I have put enough tightening pressure on the cups that I dare, as more force might cause real damage.

I should also note that Lee's method of extending the eyecups in hand does not work, as the HD eyecups are seemingly impossibly stiff to move in that way.

James, the trick that was taught to me was to close the eyecup down to its shortest length before inserting it and screwing it down into the optical tube. But I am not surre that this will help in your case. I have never come across any Zeiss eyecups as tight as what these sound like.

Lee

 

[BruceH]

..........
I should also note that Lee's method of extending the eyecups in hand does not work, as the HD eyecups are seemingly impossibly stiff to move in that way.

James .... The replacement eye cups should be in the fully collapsed position before screwing them into the eye piece. Your statement above makes me think you had them extended rather than collapsed when you replaced the originals.

I had the same experience of the eye cups not staying tight when I replaced them without first being fully collapsed. Once I followed Lee's instructions and collapsed the eye cup first, no more problems of them coming lose.

It can be difficult getting them fully collapsed using the method shown in Lee's pictures because the tubes are somewhat slick. I was able to get a grip with the tip of my thumb to prevent slippage. Do you have any thing of rubber such as a glove or jar opener that you can slip inside the tubes to get a better grip? That may stop the tubes from slipping.

 

[james holdsworth]

They are supplied in the fully down position. The big problem is the POS eyecups [as supplied] are so bloody stiff to move, even one detent up, that no amount of pressure to tighten the eyecup assembly will keep them in place after I try to extend the eyecup after insertion.

They are too stiff to get them to move in the manner suggested by Lee, and I really have no other way to see if they even move at all - they could well be jammed in the down position.

 

[Troubador]

They are supplied in the fully down position. The big problem is the POS eyecups [as supplied] are so bloody stiff to move, even one detent up, that no amount of pressure to tighten the eyecup assembly will keep them in place after I try to extend the eyecup after insertion.

They are too stiff to get them to move in the manner suggested by Lee, and I really have no other way to see if they even move at all - they could well be jammed in the down position.

James

This is weird especially as it sounds as though both eyecups are the same.

In the UK elderly people without much hand strength can buy various rubber devices to grip things like the lids of jars to open them. One of these is the conical rubber grip shown in the pic. I am wondering if a small shot of WD40 on the internals of the eyecups and then the outside of the summit of the cone stuffed up the internal diameter of the eyecup might give you sufficient grip to unjam the eyecups.

If you would need to internet order these then you might be better off asking Zeiss to send some more eyecups.

One last thing. have you tried running hot water over them? Expansion caused by this can often unlock stuff that is stuck. If it works then dry them with a cloth and leave them near but not on a radiator in the extended position and when dry give the internal surfaces a small finger-tip's worth of light grease.

Good luck with this one.

Lee

 

[paddy7]

James - it sounds like exactly the same problem that i had recently with my old FLs. I just contacted Zeiss and got a new set sent through, as i didn't want to apply so much force that it damaged the thread on the barrels. The new ones are fine. It is weird it seems to be the same with both eyecups - i wonder if a 'bad batch' is possible? In my case it was just the rh eyecup, but it was eventually so stiff i couldn't lift the eyecup at all, without the whole mechanism unscrewing.

 

[james holdsworth]

Problem is, even if I can get them to move [without ruining them], they will [probably] remain way too tight and sticky to be effective in the future. I think I need to try for another set....

Of course, anyone who owns an HD knows what I'm talking about - the eyecups have all the precision and smoothness of a set of rusty lugnuts.

 

[paddy7]

Problem is, even if I can get them to move [without ruining them], they will [probably] remain way too tight and sticky to be effective in the future. I think I need to try for another set....

Of course, anyone who owns an HD knows what I'm talking about - the eyecups have all the precision and smoothness of a set of rusty lugnuts.

Sounds like the best option. Zeiss UK were good as gold about it, even though these were a second-hand pair bought a couple of years back on ebay. After months of struggling, putting the new pair on was an instant cure, and i've subsequently realised how much it was irritating me in the field. They're now perfect!

 

[garymh]

Hi,

Just my opinion but I would never go anywhere near a binocular with WD40 - I have had to clean and properly lubricate countless binocular mechanisms that people have used it on.

 

[Troubador]

Hi,

Just my opinion but I would never go anywhere near a binocular with WD40 - I have had to clean and properly lubricate countless binocular mechanisms that people have used it on.

Gary is dead right about this; normally you shouldn't go anywhere near bins with WD40. The lubricant inside bins is very carefully and specifically chosen to operate within a specific temperature range to not only prolong the life of the focusing mechanism but to give the desired feel during focusing, and not to out-gas or weep onto the lenses or prisms. The last thing you want to do is mess up this careful balance with WD40 creeping around inside your bins.

Lee

 

[garymh]

hi,

WD40 is a water repellent and NOT a lubricant - the clue is in the name WD = water displacement !!!!!!

And because it is a water repellent it is virtually impossible to clean off once it has been applied - the only good thing is that it earns repairers a fortune because they normally double the price to repair anything that smells of WD40.

 

[BruceH]

hi,

WD40 is a water repellent and NOT a lubricant - .....

Let's see. With a can of WD40 and a blister pack Barska, I can have a water repellent near alpha! It is like having LotuTec or Swaroclean in a can.

Watch out Dennis, your Tract Toric is just a couple of spritzes away from being replaced by the less expensive Barska.

(For those folks from Yorkshire or computer programmers who take things quite literally, I am just joking about the WD40.)


On a serious note to Gary, do you have any ideas on why the eye cups from James are so stiff? Also, do you have any additional suggestions for the proper installation of the eye cups?

 

[james holdsworth]

Let's see. With a can of WD40 and a blister pack Barska, I can have a water repellent near alpha! It is like having LotuTec or Swaroclean in a can.

Watch out Dennis, your Tract Toric is just a couple of spritzes away from being replaced by the less expensive Barska.

(For those folks from Yorkshire or computer programmers who take things quite literally, I am just joking about the WD40.)


On a serious note to Gary, do you have any ideas on why the eye cups from James are so stiff? Also, do you have any additional suggestions for the proper installation of the eye cups?

Thanks for asking Bruce, but I think the answer will be that the eyecup design is what it is, under-engineered crap - the rest of the package is superb but let down sorely by this flaw. Boggles my mind to think that no one at Zeiss was even a bit concerned with the high effort, lack of precision and propensity to break / fall-apart. Seriously, how does stuff like this get through the door at all?

***and this isn't a one-off - complaints about the eyecups seem nearly universal, so every user saw the problems but no one at Zeiss did.....

 

[Troubador]

Thanks for asking Bruce, but I think the answer will be that the eyecup design is what it is, under-engineered crap - the rest of the package is superb but let down sorely by this flaw. Boggles my mind to think that no one at Zeiss was even a bit concerned with the high effort, lack of precision and propensity to break / fall-apart. Seriously, how does stuff like this get through the door at all?

***and this isn't a one-off - complaints about the eyecups seem nearly universal, so every user saw the problems but no one at Zeiss did.....

James

I have been complaining about eyecups on Zeiss bins for years. Most of them that I have encountered have just about done the job they are there to do (and I have never found any like the ones you have posted about) but none of them on Conquest or Victory have felt or operated in a manner in keeping with the price of the bins. Crazy as it may seem, the best-feeling Zeiss eyecups I have come across are on the Terra 8x32s, their cheapest bins.

Lee