binoculars damaged

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Ardenfour

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I know these are cheap and cheerful, Lidl specials, I think. But the optics I find are pretty good and I like the compact size. Anyway, they slid off the chart table and the floor impact has knocked a prism out of allignment. Anyone know if they can be opened up to reset the collimation? I've peeled off the rubber handgrips but still can't find any adjustment screws or any way to open them. There were two small grub screws under the rubber grips but they don't seem to adjust anything, they just come out.View attachment 51377
 
I have had binoculars serviced, but not for many years and it was expensive then. It can't be worth having inexpensive binoculars repaired as the minimal charge will be more than the cost to buy. Buy another pair. You could try phoning Monk Optics, but I don't think they will be interested in attempting repair.
 
I had the same problem with a Lidl pair and with a Kelvin Hughes pair. I took them both to the Glasgow Binocular Centre near Central Station and got them repaired. I did so because I like both pairs and I knew the cost before I proceeded. I am delighted with the results. Here endeth the good news.

Mow the bad bit. Re-collimation cost (in 2013) £35 per pair. The Lidl pair only cost me £29 new! The K-H ones were dearer and more worthy of repair. However as I said, I liked both pairs and you cannot just walk into Lidl or Aldi and buy a pair, you need to wait till they are selling them.
 
When your eyes are as screwed up as mine..... it matters not. I can only ever use one side at at time.... the horizons are always about 25 degrees out for me.... one of lives little disappointments...... #ShouldHaveBoughtATelescope
 
Yes, not worth a professional repair, but I've realigned other binocs myself, but the traditional type. These Lidl jobs don't seem to have the adjusting screws or visible means to open them up. I'd just wondered if anyone else had had a go at them
 
Have a word with actionoptics of this parish. He very kindly advised me on an old pair of Miranda bins that needed "adjustment".
 
Aldi will be mortified to think you bought those at Lidl.

I bought a pair and they are good, in fact brilliant for £50. Other places sell them for £90. It might be a long shot,but why not contact Aldi and see if they can still supply them. If so and the price is right buy a new pair. The only "fail" on mine is that the compass light is unreliable. Somehow the contacts are imperfect as it works...... Then it doesnt...and I haven't figured it out yet.

Tim
 
I have the same set and it was I thought less than £30 someone dropped them and they landed on the eyepiece which broke off but superglue did the trick
If I saw them for sale again would have a spare pair
Using them on race committee boat it was amazing how often they were the preferred pair used by all if I left them down
 
Ardenfour said:
I know these are cheap and cheerful, Lidl specials, I think. But the optics I find are pretty good and I like the compact size. Anyway, they slid off the chart table and the floor impact has knocked a prism out of allignment. Anyone know if they can be opened up to reset the collimation? I've peeled off the rubber handgrips but still can't find any adjustment screws or any way to open them. There were two small grub screws under the rubber grips but they don't seem to adjust anything, they just come out.View attachment 51377
Click to expand...

It is possible to realign these models and as long as the errors are fairly small, it can be done without taking too much apart.
If the error is large, it suggests that one or more prism has moved and needs to be reset before realigning. That involves
removing the front lenses and the whole prism assembly.
The screws for correcting small errors are found under the eyepieces.
Each eyepiece assembly is secured by three screws but there are three more holes in the base.
In the left side, the holes at 8 o'clock and 1 o'clock will have small screws screwed into rubber bungs.
It is easiest to undo the three securing screws and lift the eyepiece off. A long thin screw driver can
then be inserted through the holes in the top of the opening
and the adjustment screws can be located and turned - very gently - one way or the other.
The right side is the same but the holes are at 5 and 11 o'clock.
To get to all these screws it should be possible to turn the eyepiece focus out as far as possible and then
use a sharp knife to prise up the plastic ring that sits on the body. Undo the three screws at 2 o'clock;
10 and 6 ( on the left side )Many of the less expensive models
have glued the eyepiece components together so you can't dismantle from the top as on a more
expensive model.
If you get stuck, give me a call. My number is on my web site ( google actionoptics.)
 
Alpha22 said:
When your eyes are as screwed up as mine..... it matters not. I can only ever use one side at at time.... the horizons are always about 25 degrees out for me.... one of lives little disappointments...... #ShouldHaveBoughtATelescope
Click to expand...

I have just bought a nice monocularx50 for the princely sum of £7 from Banggood.
I have the same problem with binoculars and whilst clearly it has a narrow field of vision it works really well and the optics seem pretty good.
 
FWIW, when I have dropped binoculars & they produce a double image I have found that twisting them while using them can realign the view. If that is so, it is more likely to be a slight bend or misalignment of the casing rather than a prism moved. I have twice found that once I know where they are out of alignment a sharp knock (or 3 - as one tends to be overcautious) in the right direction has sorted them out.

No guarantees, of course, but if they are cheap & knackered, there probably isn't much to lose is there? It's just my alternative to chucking them in the bin when repairs are dearer than replacement.
 
Actionoptics, thank you for excellent info, did find said screws and small, trial and error adjustments got the glasses sorted. Searush, mine were the same, flexing the two halves solved the double images, but battering them off the table didn't work, adjusting the prisms did
 
Have two pairs of the Aldi binoculars. Excellent to know that they can be realigned. And how.

We also have a pair of Pentax binoculars that went out of alignment. Fortunately I found an adjustment screw under the rubber cover. I found I could adjust enough for my eye to compensate for the rest. But not enough to actually centre the object within each half.

Interesting how the eye compensates for misalignment. It seems to tolerate a certain amount then gives up. I wonder if this amount changes when the boats is bouncing about?
 
Ruffles said:
Have two pairs of the Aldi binoculars. Excellent to know that they can be realigned. And how.

We also have a pair of Pentax binoculars that went out of alignment. Fortunately I found an adjustment screw under the rubber cover. I found I could adjust enough for my eye to compensate for the rest. But not enough to actually centre the object within each half.

Interesting how the eye compensates for misalignment. It seems to tolerate a certain amount then gives up. I wonder if this amount changes when the boats is bouncing about?
Click to expand...

Pentax binoculars have four adjustment screws. One for each prism so you should be able to move the two images until they align.
The top (nearest the eyepieces) on the left side will move the left image to and fro from 11 to 5 o'clock;
the top right from 2 to 7; the bottom left from 2 to 7 and the bottom right from 11 to 5.

Our eyes find it easier to compensate for fairly big sideways errors but not much vertical error. If you take your binocular
away from your eyes and feel your eyes relax, then the alignment is probably in need of adjustment.
 
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