Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Bought Universal Astronomics UniMount Light equipped with the standard 4 axis setup....soon discovered that more were needed for viewing seated or reclining (see "Perfect Binocular Chair?" thread).
After talking with Larry at UA, I purchased the optional 5th axis and DeLuxe L bracket options which give 6 degrees of freedom and provide truely effortless viewing seated/reclining.
The image shows the added 5th axis between the parallelogram arms and the right angle bracket that provides yaw movement.....
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10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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This shows the L bracket which allows roll axis binocular movement....
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10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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View of complete mount....can you identify the 6 degrees of freedom?
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10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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For modularity, mount each binocular on its own L bracket and mounting V-block....
Takes about 10 seconds to swap binoculars.
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10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Rich V.
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/02/05
Posts: 1394
Loc: Carson Valley, Nevada, USA
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Bill, I had a feeling you'd be going back for the hinge; now you understand.
Nice looking setup; I find the Unimount and Fujis are a great combination.
I'm still sticking with my LaFuma recliner! 
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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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Quote:
Bill, I had a feeling you'd be going back for the hinge; now you understand.
Nice looking setup; I find the Unimount and Fujis are a great combination.
I'm still sticking with my LaFuma recliner!
Rich V
Rich...meant to give you credit for putting the "bee in my bonnet" on an earlier post (somewhere.)
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10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Rich V.
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/02/05
Posts: 1394
Loc: Carson Valley, Nevada, USA
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Bill, I think it's great that Larry has made the Unimount more modular; my hinge axis is welded to the upright at the end of the p-gram arms- it had to be ordered that way.
You may find that a little tension tweak at various points in the mount will "customize" it to your personal preferences. The tension of the hinge vs. binocular yaw axis is important as is the relationship of the tension between the central azimuth axis and the hinge. I found the handle mounted close to the hinge is handy to control whether just the hinge swings or the whole p-gram swings in azimuth. The handle just adds a bit more control over the motions; you can hold one axis while moving another.
Oh, BTW, I've gone back and forth with having the bins under the mount and over the mount; since it balances perfectly either way I eventually settled for having the bins over the mount. I usually use a RDF on the bins and I like having open sky above the binocuars. I find it makes the mount "disappear" more easily, FWIW.
Enjoy,
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
Edited by Rich V. (10/05/09 08:52 PM)
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MacRoberts
sage
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 421
Loc: Redlands, CA
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Say Bill, what tripod is that?
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Jim
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?" Psalms 8:3-4
TV Refractors
Fuji Binoculars
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Erik D
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/28/03
Posts: 3196
Loc: Central New Jersey, USA
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Looks like a Bogen-Manfrotto 475 B with adjustable/lockable center spread:
http://www.amazon.com/Bogen-Manfrotto-Digital-Geared-Maximum/dp/B00009R6MA
Have a look at the new series 5000 Tripod offered by Garrett Optical. $150 for legs only.
http://www.garrettoptical.com/product-p/series5000.htm
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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Quote:
Say Bill, what tripod is that?
As Eric says, a Bogen 475.....very stout.
Got mine from BigBinocular for $305 which seems like the going price on the internet.
No such thing as overmounting.....can be used with alti-az mounts for refractors as well (or professional large format cameras); 26 pound capacity.
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
|
Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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|
Quote:
Bill, I think it's great that Larry has made the Unimount more modular; my hinge axis is welded to the upright at the end of the p-gram arms- it had to be ordered that way.
You may find that a little tension tweak at various points in the mount will "customize" it to your personal preferences. The tension of the hinge vs. binocular yaw axis is important as is the relationship of the tension between the central azimuth axis and the hinge. I found the handle mounted close to the hinge is handy to control whether just the hinge swings or the whole p-gram swings in azimuth. The handle just adds a bit more control over the motions; you can hold one axis while moving another.
Oh, BTW, I've gone back and forth with having the bins under the mount and over the mount; since it balances perfectly either way I eventually settled for having the bins over the mount. I usually use a RDF on the bins and I like having open sky above the binocuars. I find it makes the mount "disappear" more easily, FWIW.
Enjoy,
Rich V
Rich
post a picture of your head setup....especially interested in the handle arrangement.
Wish Larry would do a better job showing details on his website...had to guess about some of what I bought from UA.
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
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Rich V.
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/02/05
Posts: 1394
Loc: Carson Valley, Nevada, USA
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Hi, Bill, UA's website really needs to be modernized!
My Unimount is the Deluxe Light from around 7-8 yrs. ago; the hinge and handle were standard. Things have changed a bit since then. I think Larry now provides the "03225 Adjustable Guide Handle $39+7 sh". Kind of pricey for a handle but maybe there's more to it than I think. There's a picture of it on his homepage; it looks like it only points one way now. My old style can be flipped 180°.
Here's a pic of the head of my older Unimount:
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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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GaryHeath
super member
Reged: 08/13/09
Posts: 118
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This is what both of my ~4 year old UA UMDs looks like.
As you can see from all the pictures of the same basic mount, Larry went through some changes during the production runs.
On both I took the pivot SS carriage bolts out and replaced them with longer SS ones (from True Value Hardware) and added some ribbed plastic wire loom around the extension with some tape that, as can be seen .... is coming off (I need to replace that with heat shrink) and a 1/4-20 round knob on it's end.
I don't use the handle that came with the UMD, as I find it easier to position the binos/mount using one hand on the binos and the other hand on this round knob (also available in the specialty hardware bins at True Value Hardware) that I added to the end of the longer carriage bolt.
Best regards,
Gary
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For equipment see: My Gallery
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Gordon Rayner
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/24/07
Posts: 967
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"The added fifth axis between p-gram arms" ?? Do you mean the hinge axis, or the yaw axis? The hinge axis is parallel to the main azimuth axis,is oriented up -down, and is outboard of the P-gram arms, not between them. The yaw axis is not between the p-gram arms. Nor is the roll axis.
What have you found about the usefulness of the roll axis, which in this case is a continuation of the binocular hinge axis? It appears to be most useful for (otherwise?) contorted, reclined viewing with straight view binoculars. (?)
If you were to provide a roll axis for one of your inclined view binocs(how?), would that be worth the added mechanical complexity? How would one add a roll axis to a mount for a hingeless binocular with little separation of the objective barrels, such as a WW II 10 x 80 with 45 deg. inclination of the line of sight ? For this,
one can consider nested gimbals, such as for gyroscopes or compasses on ships. Complex and large.For this axis, a single arm fork would avoid interference with the chest or jaw. But the single arm, unless extremely thin, would obstruct at least part of the objective lenses mounted in closely separated tubes.
I once sat in a 3-axis gimbal(pitch, yaw, roll) , supposedly surplus from NASA astronaut training, in Mazatlan, and found that , contraintuitively, one can rotate oneself by applying a torque, at right angles to the chosen axis,or to more than one axis simultaneously, as I recall. I rapidly became motion sick ( had recently eaten) and dismounted before reaching a vomit condition.
" Can you identify the motions?" 1: Central azimuth rotation (axis up-down); 2: p-gram end up-down translation( The four p-gram joint axes are parallel and horizontal); 3: The hinge,a rotation axis pointing up and down, parallel to the central azimuth axis; 4: Pitch rotation axis, horizontally sweeping part of the horizon during hinge axis rotation. The pitch axis rotates the line of sight up and down; 5: A yaw axis , for side-to-side rotation, through the outer part of the plane of the L-arm; and 6: A roll rotation axis, in this case an extension of the axis of the interpupillary distance changing hinge which joins the two parallel telescopes.
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Gordon Rayner
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/24/07
Posts: 967
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Can we have more pics showing details of the newer, non-welded (?) p-gram end-hinge- pitch axis region? Are those joints dovetails, or tenon-in-slot,or?
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Gordon Rayner
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 03/24/07
Posts: 967
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West Marine is closing out some 2008 reclining chairs, some of which are "zero gravity". I bought one for $35 this week. It is not the "zero gravity", feet up version, which is about $80. I just Googled La Fuma, and their zero gravity ones look very similar, if not identical, to some which West Marine sells. Made in China , of course. <<www.macsports.com.>> Steel legs, aluminum upper part, secure, lockable, foldable, very comfortable for binocular use. I already have a lazy-susan bearing based Baltic birch turntable. Will put the new chair on it soon.
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Rich V.
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/02/05
Posts: 1394
Loc: Carson Valley, Nevada, USA
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Gordon, I'm sure Bill is speaking of the hinge axis he added to the end of the arms as this "fifth axis". All Unimounts are equipped with the yaw axis.
Varying the combination of the hinge movement and yaw movement while aimed above horizontal will "twist" the binocular such that the roll axis at the attachment point is needed to keep the binocular level for comfortable use.
Yes, there are many "clones" of the LaFuma chair now; when I got mine it was the only game going. The prices of the Chinese models are WAY below the French made LaFuma but I don't know about their durability. I guess at the current prices, who cares?
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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Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Gordon...
A couple of pictures of the 5th axis.
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
|
Mr. Bill
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/09/05
Posts: 3149
Loc: Just passing through.....
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Another.....
--------------------
10x50 Fujinon binos + 16x70 Fujinon binos + UA UniMount
Oberwerk BT100 45 degree +24mm Pans + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
130mm TMB 130SS f/7 APO refractor
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/8 homemade achromat
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery "Galactic Cannon"
Member IDA
|
Rich V.
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/02/05
Posts: 1394
Loc: Carson Valley, Nevada, USA
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I see tapped holes are provided on one side of the L arm for handle attachment.
I've never had a close look at this newest iteration of the Unimount. It is interesting to see the changes over the years; thanks for the pictures, Bill and Gary. Larry makes a nice product; I've been impressed with the solid build and functionality.
Rich V
--------------------
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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