Pulling a scope apart (1 Viewer)

[Sirpotato]

Well, I found what looks like fungus inside my Svbony SA401 scope.

I saw something similar in another thread and contacted Svbony and they want me to post it back to China for repair - probably cost more than the scopes worth. I pointed out to them if it had been sealed and nitrogen filled from factory then this shouldn't have this issue... Especially for a scope thats a year and half old. No doubt go round and round in circles with them so I figured I'd pull it apart myself if possible.

Anyone have any pointers about pulling it apart?

 

[henry link]

Almost certainly not fungus. Probably lubricant droplets that have precipitated onto a lens surface. If the photo was made through the eyepiece the droplets are on a lens surface inside the eyepiece near the field stop and may disappear at some magnifications as the surface moves in and out of focus.

 

[Sirpotato]

Almost certainly not fungus. Probably lubricant droplets that have precipitated onto a lens surface. If the photo was made through the eyepiece the droplets are on a lens surface inside the eyepiece near the field stop and may disappear at some magnifications as the surface moves in and out of focus.

Ahh thanks Henry, so it would still be needed to be taken apart to get rid of them I'm guessing.

I noticed it appears as little black dots almost like sand in images through the scope. At first when I was looking through the scope I just thought it was dust or an issue with the coatings.

 

[henry link]

I'd start by trying to find the location of the spots. Take off the eyepiece and look through it from both ends while racking back and forth through the zoom range. If it's an eyepiece problem then the eyepiece is all you'll need to return.

Taking apart a sealed body is a last resort since that will break the seal and without the proper skills and tools you're more likely to void the warranty than to fix the scope.

 

[Bifi]

Hi Sirpotato,
if you dont mind, can you tell us if the dots were in the eye piece or the objective? And what did you end up doing? Im thinking about getting this scope or its cheaper brother sv406 which i currently have but which has two focus knobs, which i dont really like (the main one is really stiff...).
Thanks in advance.

 

[Sirpotato]

Hi Sirpotato,
if you dont mind, can you tell us if the dots were in the eye piece or the objective? And what did you end up doing? Im thinking about getting this scope or its cheaper brother sv406 which i currently have but which has two focus knobs, which i dont really like (the main one is really stiff...).
Thanks in advance.

I think it is in both eyepiece and scope to be honest. Definitely some sort of lubricant droplets. I've since also knocked the eyepiece and the rubber around the top fell off too. I'd suggest saving for a Kowa or Swaro if possible as I'm pretty disappointed in the quality after these occuranances. Optically its sharp upto about 40x and diminishes from there. The focus compared to a swaro 80HD was significantly stiffer.

 

[Bifi]

I think it is in both eyepiece and scope to be honest. Definitely some sort of lubricant droplets. I've since also knocked the eyepiece and the rubber around the top fell off too. I'd suggest saving for a Kowa or Swaro if possible as I'm pretty disappointed in the quality after these occuranances. Optically its sharp upto about 40x and diminishes from there. The focus compared to a swaro 80HD was significantly stiffer.

Ty for ur answer. Yea that stuff focus stiffness kind of annoys me so far, and I guess that looks even worse with that barrel focus of the sa401. It’s really hard to nail the focus on high magnifications when it’s shaking so much. Does the focus wheel feel evenly throughout the focus range or are there parts where it feels harder to turn the wheel?

 

[Sirpotato]

Ty for ur answer. Yea that stuff focus stiffness kind of annoys me so far, and I guess that looks even worse with that barrel focus of the sa401. It’s really hard to nail the focus on high magnifications when it’s shaking so much. Does the focus wheel feel evenly throughout the focus range or are there parts where it feels harder to turn the wheel?

I'd say its pretty even all the way to be honest, but due to the resistance it makes it hard to focus quickly, compared to the Swaro it is a lot slower.

I believe the dual focus dials are better for dialing in focus at high mags but I suppose its also a personal choice. I originally had a Celeston Regal and didn't think I liked the dual focus and then swapped to the SA401, but now I realise I miss it 😂