Hello TMT,

Not for the faint of heart, but here goes:

First, it is important to recognize the (1x, I believe) setting on the
Magna-Changer, if your Cycloptic is so equipped. This is the lensless position
on the Magna-changer tumbler. Here, we can achieve true binocular alignment -
if any of the other positions on the Magna-Changer are out of alignment, it
might be the individual lenses requiring adjustment.

OK - we are at the 1x position on the Magna-Changer. Now, we will need an
eyepiece with a crosshair reticle - and a stage micrometer, or other accurate
reference to focus on - preferably with a 90 degree crosshair in the center.
Use modeling clay or Silly Putty, we position the stage crosshair parcentric to
the eyepiece crosshair on one side. Move the eyepiece with crosshair to the
opposite eyetube, and you will see the magnitude of your out of alignment
circumstance. Factory specification for most stereo scope alignment is .001" in
X-axis, and .003" in the Y-axis. The reason for this is that the human brain
can accommodate lateral mis-alignment much better than vertical mis-alignment.

The lack of infinite wisdom on behalf of American Optical engineering (or their
intention to create planned obsolescence!) created a nightmare of the next step.
The eyetube, at the base, is filled with an alloy similar to solder. Using a
propane torch or similar, you must heat up the tube until the alloy becomes
molten, and move the eyetube with eyepiece until the crosshairs are parcentered.
Moving the eyetube can be accomplished with gentle taps of a small brass mallet,
I recall also using rubber gripped pliers to assist.

If your scope has been re-aligned before, or too many times before, the alloy
could indeed be gone. In this case, you must disassemble the eyetube assembly,
use 5-minute epoxy to replace the alloy, and you now have 5 minutes to align.
When you are happy with your effort, hold the tube in position until the epoxy
cures.

Once you have aligned the "empty" position, you can check each magnification
alignment using the same stage micrometer crosshair, and crosshair eyepiece. If
any position requires re-alignment, you will want to remove the magna-changer
knob on the side of the detent (click-stop), so you can slide the magna-changer
out, make small adjustments to lens position, and reinsert to check.

By the way, by moving or pushing the eyepiece in the eyetube, you can get a feel
for which direction the eyetube needs to be moved (or the lens in the
magna-changer). Good luck with this - let us know how you fare!

Cheers,

Gregg

----- Original Message -----
From: too_many_tools
To: Microscope@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 26, 2006 9:40 PM
Subject: [Microscope] Re: Refurbishing AO Cycloptic stereoscope


"The biggest challenge, if the prisms need to be re-cemented, is
aligning the eyetubes for perfect binocular alignment - which we can
cover in another thread(if required!)."

Please do....I have a scope awaiting this corrective surgery.

Thanks

TMT
.

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