Whiterab
member
Reged: 12/09/07
Posts: 14
Loc: Hunt, Texas
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Another example of accessories costing more than the original.....
I would really like to mount a red dot finder to my Zhumell 20x80s but have yet to figure out how to get a dovetail mount to connect to the center bar of these binos.
Any suggestions?
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Celestron Nexstar 8" SE
Baader 5mm, 8mm, 17mm & 21 mm
Binoculars
Celestron 8 x 40, Zhumell 20 X 80 & Oberwerk 25 X 100
Unimount P-mount, Chaise Lounge chair
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Wes James
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 2267
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There have been many examples of split blocks that have been made to mount various finders onto the center bar of various binoculars. I've made one out of wood- for a 25x100 Oberwork IF, and had one machined out of aluminum for my 20x110's. The one I made from wood I actually mounted a Rigel finder base on- you could do something similar for a RDF. I cut a block of maple to work with- the thickness I wanted the length of the block to be. I then drilled a hole on my drill press the diameter of the center bar- then cut the block out to the height and width of the block I wanted. I then drilled 4 holes along the bore- 2 on each side, for mounting clamp screws- to clamp the 2 halves (once cut apart) back together before splitting the block in half. Actually, I left the block attached to the full size piece after I'd cut it down in one dimension so I could split the block while still have enough stock to safely hold on my miter gauge on my table saw. The kerf of the blade removed onough material so that the block would adequately clamp to the center bar. Then I installed blind nuts on the bottom for 4-40 screws- countersunk the top for 4-40 allens and mounted the Rigel base on the top. You could do something similar for a dovetail base- people have used a dovetail cutter to cut a dovetail on top, made them in plexiglass and aluminum as well as wood.... use your imagination and- hopefully, you have a few tools at your disposal to fabricate something. Otherwise- double-sided tape???
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Wes
Atlantic Beach, FL
Some bino’s from Miyauchi 5x32 Binon's up through Garrett 20x110 Signature's,
Some telescopes from a Stellarvue 80mm NHNG up through a couple of 8” reflectors…
And a wonderful 4.25" Delmarva Shiefspiegler!
Some good friends, made here on C/N.
Oh- several cats and a wonderful wife!
Anyone want a cat???? :-O
"When your work speaks for itself- Don't Interrupt" -Gamble Rogers
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Astrowood
super member
Reged: 04/02/05
Posts: 141
Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
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Here is a picture which is similar to what Wes is describing above. These are easy to make, and hold on really well.
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Roy
22 X 100 Antares
20 x 80 Meade
couple of Pmounts
8" F/5 Dob
4" SkyWatcher
Observing Chair
Wooden gadgets to numerous to mention
Observing Buddies "Max & Sam"
www.astrowood.com
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DJB
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/23/05
Posts: 1174
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Hi Whiterab,
I took a different approach with a //-ogram mount (Univeral). I mounted mine on one of the "extra" slide bars, completely independent of the 25x100 OB.
Once calibrated, it takes only a few seconds or so to get it adjusted for normal observing. FYI.
Best regards,
Dave.
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Wobrak
super member
Reged: 04/18/08
Posts: 180
Loc: SC, USA
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I use the Garrett MRRF on a Bino-Brac III. LINK
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Karl
Zhumell 20x80 Binos
Zhumell 10" Dob
WO 28mm UWAN
TV 13mm Ethos
TV 8mm Ethos
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Wes James
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 2267
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Here's the wood block I described above (spray painted it black)
Wes
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Wes James
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 2267
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Another view
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Wes James
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 2267
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And an aluminum dovetail block made for me by my good friend and fellow C/N member Gary Fuchs for my 20x110's (shown with a 40mm BSA RDF mounted to it)
Wes
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Wes James
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 2267
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Disassembled
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Wes James
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 2267
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Before splitting block. Obviously, one of the first steps in making one of these is to drill the bore. Cutting the bore apart- whether with a bandsaw for an aluminum block- or a tablesaw or bandsaw for a wood one will remove enough material in the kerf for it to snug up tight to the center rod if the size of the bore was the same as the center rod diameter.
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Wes James
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 2267
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BTW- as a side note of interest, I discovered that the Rigel finder was not really a good match to the 25x100's shown above, as the viewing line of the finder was really too high above the eyepieces to work comfortably.
Wes
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Whiterab
member
Reged: 12/09/07
Posts: 14
Loc: Hunt, Texas
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Many thanks for the input.
Favorite is the homemade aluminum bracket but no metal skills. Now I have to figure out "wood build or buying the Bino-Brak".
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Celestron Nexstar 8" SE
Baader 5mm, 8mm, 17mm & 21 mm
Binoculars
Celestron 8 x 40, Zhumell 20 X 80 & Oberwerk 25 X 100
Unimount P-mount, Chaise Lounge chair
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12049
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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Stellarvue Red Dot Finder #F1001 $24 and Curved Dovetail Base $6
base comes with double sided sticky tape. Mount on untapered objective housing.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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DJB
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/23/05
Posts: 1174
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Hi EdZ,
I tried the double-faced tape implementation two times. However, I found creeping of the unit on the tape, due in part, to the climatic changes of the seasons. It proved difficult to achieve "alignment" over time.
Have you tried this method? If so, what say you? Thanks.
Best regrads,
Dave.
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12049
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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I have the exact setup I've described on my Celestron C5 and my BT100. Been using them that way for years. The Stellervue RDF is detachable in 5 seconds and I take the one from the BT100 and mount it on my TV85, but the mounting block on the TV85 is mechanically attahced to the rings. I also have a plastic base that holds the RDF and slides into a finderscope dovetail slot, so I use the RDF on that for other scopes. So I have 2 SV RDFs, one permanent base (TV), two stick-on bases (C5 and BT100) and two different dovetail slot stem bases, and I switch my RFDs in and out of my mounts for almost all my scopes.
I don't use RFDs on my other binoculars.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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DJB
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/23/05
Posts: 1174
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Hi EdZ,
Thanks. Sounds like a plan. I perfer the dovetail approach myself.
Best regards,
Dave.
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rnabholz
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/25/04
Posts: 761
Loc: Iowa
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This is an inexpensive way to add a Red Dot Finder to a binocular or scope.
On the binocular you can clamp the lower clamp to the hinge. You might add some kind of lining to the clamp to keep it from scratching the bino.
Another approach.
Good Luck with the search.
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Rod Nabholz
Home Built Astronomy Projects
Wild Bird Photography
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Richard Hendrix
sage
Reged: 08/02/06
Posts: 232
Loc: Jacksonville, Florida
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Quote:
Another example of accessories costing more than the original.....
I would really like to mount a red dot finder to my Zhumell 20x80s but have yet to figure out how to get a dovetail mount to connect to the center bar of these binos.
Any suggestions?
Hi Whiterab,
Sorry to chime in late but I was going through the same thing you are a few months ago and decided to go with the Bino-Brac. If you would like to read the full story, the post is here.
This addition really made the Z20x80s a pleasure to use for me.
hope this helps,
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Richard Hendrix
Antares 105mm f/9.5 Elite Series Refractor
AstroTelescopes 102mm f/7 Refractor
Orion SkyView Pro 8" Intelliscope
Orion Scenix 10x50 Binoculars
Zhumell SuperGiant 20x80 binoculars
www.nightskyjournal.com
"Every star may be a sun to someone."
Carl Sagan, Cosmos
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Whiterab
member
Reged: 12/09/07
Posts: 14
Loc: Hunt, Texas
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*** UPDATE ***
I really have to stop doing things like this. I spent an afternoon in the shop going over the suggestions here and while trying different postures around the tripod and the binoculars I realized how much I disliked scrunging down to get a good view from the eyepieces.
A quick call to bigbonoculars.com got me some help on how to mount the red dot on a Universal Unimount Basic parallelogram. So now I have a big brown truck heading my way with a new parallelogram, a new finder and a new tripod.
So now I will have a pair of binoculars I got at a fire sale mounted on gear that far exceeds the cost of the binoculars 
I guess now I'll have to start looking for a new chaise lounge so I can get really comfortable
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Celestron Nexstar 8" SE
Baader 5mm, 8mm, 17mm & 21 mm
Binoculars
Celestron 8 x 40, Zhumell 20 X 80 & Oberwerk 25 X 100
Unimount P-mount, Chaise Lounge chair
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Richard Hendrix
sage
Reged: 08/02/06
Posts: 232
Loc: Jacksonville, Florida
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Whiterab, yes, it is an insidious disease! 
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Richard Hendrix
Antares 105mm f/9.5 Elite Series Refractor
AstroTelescopes 102mm f/7 Refractor
Orion SkyView Pro 8" Intelliscope
Orion Scenix 10x50 Binoculars
Zhumell SuperGiant 20x80 binoculars
www.nightskyjournal.com
"Every star may be a sun to someone."
Carl Sagan, Cosmos
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