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1Roman
member
Reged: 03/04/07
Posts: 26
Loc: London, Ontario, Canada
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Hi everybody, so I finally treated myself with a "purchase of a lifetime", giant 25x100. First light: they are awesome,
clusters looked great, Jupiter with moons was great, view of 'our' moon perfect. I bought them together with Zhumell tripod and head.
The only problem is that a centerpiece on the parallel bar which attaches them to a tripod head is, by my opinion, too close to eyepieces. It causes binoculars to slide down on a tripod head no matter how tight I tied the screws. I was observing and supporting them with my hands, otherwise they would slide down. The center of gravity is not near when that center piece is and the head cannot hold them. I checked different pictures of the similar binoculars and it seems to me that some of them have this center piece closer to the middle of the center of the parallel bar. I called Binoculars.com, explained the problem, and they told me to return a tripod with the head for replacement. But I do not think replacing a head will solve the problem judging by the weight and location of that center piece. If only I could move that center piece to the middle, but they told me it was not movable. Maybe construction of my binoculars has a flaw (not optics, they are perfect), and they need to be replaced, not a tripod? But they insisted of replacing a tripod.
So before I send it (the tripod/head) back with little hope to solve this problem, I would like to ask the knowledgeable people here what could be done about it? Any suggestions? Anybody else had this problem with giant binoculars? Other than that they are pretty stable on the tripod provided by Zhumell.
Thank you for your input,
Roman
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Rich V.
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/02/05
Posts: 1395
Loc: Carson Valley, Nevada, USA
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HI, Roman, it doesn't sound like the tripod's to blame. You should be able to loosen the knob on the binocular's mounting post (tripod adapter) and slide it back and forth on the hinge rod until you have the proper balance for the binocular. It should lock down at any point along the rod.
You may still have to keep the tripod head tension set pretty tight to keep the binocular from tilting at your viewing angle. I don't have experience with the tripod/head you have but that is usually the case. It looks like a 3 way head that doesn't have a true clutch mechanism.
Before you send the tripod/head back (???) I hope you'll find the solution is with the binocular mount post.
Good luck,
Rich V
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Binoculars:
33/50/75/150x100 Saturn III, 16x70 FMT-SX, 10x50 PCF-V, 10x43 DCF-SP, 10x35 E2, 7x35 E, 8x30 E2, 7x26 Custom, 8x23AS Diplomat, 8x23 Travelite
Scopes:
C9.25, 6" f8 reflector, SV80S
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hallelujah
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/14/06
Posts: 2157
Loc: Rocky Mt. High Colorado
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If you are saying that the 25x100mm is sliding down the CENTER ROD of the braced-in tripod mounting post, remove the knob and look inside the hole, there should be a very tiny nylon washer. If no nylon washer is visible, inside the hole, you will need to make one. The washer allows the knob to tighten securely against the CENTER ROD to keep the binoculars from sliding along the rod.
When I remove the large knob, from the mounting post of my Burgess Optical 20x90mm, the tiny washer sticks to the very bottom of the threaded portion.
http://www.zhumell.com/
http://www.astromart.com/common/image_popup.asp?image=/images/classifieds/585000-585999/585785-3.jpg
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Celestron Traveler 8x25 & B. & H. 8x40 FC JAPAN & Revue 10x50 CF Porro FC JAPAN &
Pentax 12x50 PCF WP II FMC & Pentax 16x60 PCF WP FMC &
Pentax 20x60 PCF WP II FMC & Orion 12x63 Mini Giant FMC JAPAN &
SPECTRUM I 20x65 FC JAPAN &
Orion 15x70 Little Giant II FMC JAPAN & Orion 20x70 Little Giant II FMC JAPAN
Orion 16x80 Giant FMC JAPAN & Orion 30x80 MEGAView FMC JAPAN
Barska 30x80 X-Trail LW FC & Burgess Optical Series II 20x90 FMC
Hallelujah! For the LORD God Omnipotent Reigneth
Edited by hallelujah (09/19/08 09:09 PM)
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GlennLeDrew
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/18/08
Posts: 1296
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Any heavy instrument attached to a tilt/pan head will be seriously out-of-balance at most positions. This is because the center of mass is far from the center of rotation (in altitude).
You could try rigging up a counterweight bar to carry a weight so positioned as to be opposite the binocular's center of mass with respect to the center of rotation.
Alternatively, some kind of stout, offset "L"-type bracket could be made from bent metal which allows the bino to be mounted *beside* the rotation point. This will greatly diminish the amount of cantilevering. Ideally, the bino's center of mass should be located right at the axis of rotation--then the altitude motion will be so well balanced as to never require locking the altitude axis.
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Home-made 11X50 right angle bino, 8.1 deg. FOV
Modified 26X100 bino, 3.5 deg. FOV
Home-made Mk II RA bino, using interchangeable objectives and eyepieces
My Gallery
Mediocre minds discuss people. Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas.
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Scanning4Comets
Postmaster
Reged: 12/26/04
Posts: 5637
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I recall having the same problem with my 25x100's mounted on my home made P-mount. EdZ helped me tremendously and told me about the center of gravity thing.
I then moved the mounting hole on the side of the L-bracket on the P-mount and the center of gravity was fixed thanks to EdZ !!! 
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Markus
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Mike Rapchak
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/17/06
Posts: 568
Loc: Indiana, USA
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Roman,
I had a pair of these - plus a Z heavy-duty tripod/head combo - a couple of years ago. As I recall the mounting post could be repositioned along the center-support post. I hope you can solve this problem because if you have a pair of big Zs with great optics you should defintely hang onto them[!].
Mike Rapchak Jr.
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DJB
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/23/05
Posts: 1590
Loc: Lisle NY
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Hi guys,
These quite large L brackets can be found at most hardware stores, and thay usually have some holes positioned down the line. I know our local True-Value has them. Just FYI.
Best regards,
Dave.
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 14732
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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Could it be you are limited because you do not have the extra added 1" attachement on the bottom of your center post. many of these large center post binoculars have a post which is too short. What happens is the post must be kept back near the eyepiece end to keep the barrels from hitting the tripod head. Bby adding the 1" extension post, it raises the binocular just enough so the barrels don't hit the tripod head, regardless of what postion the post is at.
See extension post
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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1Roman
member
Reged: 03/04/07
Posts: 26
Loc: London, Ontario, Canada
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Thank you all for your help. I managed to unscrew center knob after all and move it along. It was so tight, that when I tried to do it originally, it seams to me that it was permanent. Of course I did not want to break anything by forcing. Strangly though when I called Binoculars.com, technician there told me that the knob is permanent. It is not. I moved it along the center rod and binoculars are now well balanced with the center rod close to the middle of the main bar. And washer was there too, thanks again.
Roman
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hallelujah
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/14/06
Posts: 2157
Loc: Rocky Mt. High Colorado
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Excellent!  
--------------------
Celestron Traveler 8x25 & B. & H. 8x40 FC JAPAN & Revue 10x50 CF Porro FC JAPAN &
Pentax 12x50 PCF WP II FMC & Pentax 16x60 PCF WP FMC &
Pentax 20x60 PCF WP II FMC & Orion 12x63 Mini Giant FMC JAPAN &
SPECTRUM I 20x65 FC JAPAN &
Orion 15x70 Little Giant II FMC JAPAN & Orion 20x70 Little Giant II FMC JAPAN
Orion 16x80 Giant FMC JAPAN & Orion 30x80 MEGAView FMC JAPAN
Barska 30x80 X-Trail LW FC & Burgess Optical Series II 20x90 FMC
Hallelujah! For the LORD God Omnipotent Reigneth
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Mike Rapchak
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/17/06
Posts: 568
Loc: Indiana, USA
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Ahh, success!
Mike Rapchak Jr.
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