Twistup Eyecup broken on Minox BD8x32BR (1 Viewer)

[Sydneybirder]

Underneath the rubber covering on the eyecup is a plastic ring that engages with some grooves on the eyepiece barrel to slide up and down. In discussion with the Minox product manager he referred to it as the wind up shroud assembly. Anyway, the plastic ring on the right eyepiece broke and I contacted C.R.Kennedy who are the current Minox distributor to see if they would send me a replacement. Although this model is 15+ years old I was hopeful that the eyecup mechanism would have remained the same on the newer models. In the photos they certainly look the same, particularly the HG series.

Their response is that I should send them to their workshop in Melbourne, rather than sending me the parts and fitting them myself. I am reluctant to do this as I bought mine secondhand in an eBay auction and I'm dreading the likely bill for what appears to be a simple repair. I'd be grateful if anyone here could advise me which eyecup and windup assembly (if that's Minox's designation) from a current model would fit and what the part number is, and secondly whether it is possible to fit it myself and if so how.

I'm not the only person to have that plastic ring break as the user review in Allbinos refers to the exact same issue interestingly also on the right eyecup
https://www.allbinos.com/index.html...225&powiekszenie=0&srednica=0&pryzmat=0&sort=
Has anyone else experienced this with Minox?


Below is a photo of the bins. These are the pre-aspheric model with serial no
301026xx. Anyone have an idea of roughly when these were made?

 

[Sydneybirder]

Hmm, no photos. Maybe the files were too big. I'll have to work out how to resize them.

 

[WJC]

Underneath the rubber covering on the eyecup is a plastic ring that engages with some grooves on the eyepiece barrel to slide up and down. In discussion with the Minox product manager he referred to it as the wind up shroud assembly. Anyway, the plastic ring on the right eyepiece broke and I contacted C.R.Kennedy who are the current Minox distributor to see if they would send me a replacement. Although this model is 15+ years old I was hopeful that the eyecup mechanism would have remained the same on the newer models. In the photos they certainly look the same, particularly the HG series.

Their response is that I should send them to their workshop in Melbourne, rather than sending me the parts and fitting them myself. I am reluctant to do this as I bought mine secondhand in an eBay auction and I'm dreading the likely bill for what appears to be a simple repair. I'd be grateful if anyone here could advise me which eyecup and windup assembly (if that's Minox's designation) from a current model would fit and what the part number is, and secondly whether it is possible to fit it myself and if so how.

I'm not the only person to have that plastic ring break as the user review in Allbinos refers to the exact same issue interestingly also on the right eyecup
https://www.allbinos.com/index.html...225&powiekszenie=0&srednica=0&pryzmat=0&sort=
Has anyone else experienced this with Minox?


Below is a photo of the bins. These are the pre-aspheric model with serial no
301026xx. Anyone have an idea of roughly when these were made?

Welcome, Sydneybirder,

The number one reason binoculars were sent to me was for collimation. The number two reason related to screw-up eyecups. They were either broken or wouldn’t stay where the observer wanted. Often IMPROVEMENTS for the manufacturer are NOT IMPROVEMENTS for the consumer. :cat:

Bill

 

[Sydneybirder]

Thanks for the welcome Bill. Like a lot of modern technology it's terrific while it works until the day it doesn't. At least the old flexible rubber eyecups could be user-installed or at a pinch improvised from bicycle inner tube. Progress is often 2 steps forward and one step back, or should that be t'other way round?

 

[Sydneybirder]

Bill, in your experience how easy is it to replace the twistup rings on the eyepiece, bearing in mind that unscrewing the eyepiece to insert from the bottom would breach the airtight seal and release the nitrogen filling, which opens up a whole new can of worms. The only way I can see otherwise is to slip the plastic ring down over the top of the eyepiece, which might be difficult as it's necessarily a close fit and presumably has a stop to prevent it twisting all the way off the top of the eyepiece.

Mentioning the airtight seal brings another thought - just how long do the airtight and waterproof seals last in such binoculars? My 'nocs would have to be 15 years old, they predate the aspheric version of the same series. As you'll appreciate I'm reluctant to toss them in the swimming pool to test their waterproofness.

 

[eitanaltman]

I don’t know what their policy is there in Oz, but here in the USA you wouldn’t get charged anything for that repair. Minox has a fantastic no hassle warranty policy.

I use a pair of BD 8x32 BR for many years as my main bin until recently. A few years ago I dropped them and, as always happens, they landed on the eyecup end and bent one eyecup barrel and the focus knob was a little wonky. I sent them in and was very transparent that it was my fault, and that I was not the original owner. They sent them back fully repaired for zero cost! Was not expecting that!

 

[WJC]

Bill, in your experience how easy is it to replace the twistup rings on the eyepiece, bearing in mind that unscrewing the eyepiece to insert from the bottom would breach the airtight seal and release the nitrogen filling, which opens up a whole new can of worms. The only way I can see otherwise is to slip the plastic ring down over the top of the eyepiece, which might be difficult as it's necessarily a close fit and presumably has a stop to prevent it twisting all the way off the top of the eyepiece.

Mentioning the airtight seal brings another thought - just how long do the airtight and waterproof seals last in such binoculars? My 'nocs would have to be 15 years old, they predate the aspheric version of the same series. As you'll appreciate I'm reluctant to toss them in the swimming pool to test their waterproofness.

200708

First, understand that although my optical repair business is soon to be cranking up again, at this moment I haven’t been on the bench in a few years; things may well have changed.

Some of those with which I had experience, could be pried off with replacements being pressed (snapped) on. Others could be gripped at the base and unscrewed—if only lightly glued in place. Even so, I have never seen a screw-up eyecup that I saw the reason for (preposition at the end and all). They wear out and become useless and annoying too quickly. I am old enough to know that “different” doesn’t necessarily equate to “better.”

I am also old enough that there is a thin line between inexperience and gullibility and that experience is the best teacher. :cat:

“Good advertising need not be accurate or even meaningful, it has only to be believed.”

Cheers,

Bill

 

[Patudo]

Best to send them in, especially given that the Allbinos link you referenced says that "The eyecup was replaced no problem free of charge and free postage, even thought the five year Australian warranty had expired". If the "plastic ring on the right eyepiece" is the ring with notches/indents below the eyecup itself, there may not be an exact replacement part from a current model. The advice to send them to the service center is also likely meant well. I'm sure most binocular repairmen have horror stories about owners who attempted what seemed to them like a simple repair and ended up making a hash of things.

If you are worried about the condition of the seals and so on, they would also be the best people to advise.


PS. This glasses wearer is very grateful indeed for twist-up eyecups.