- Warning! Warning! Warning!
- DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN WITH THIS UNIT!
Severe Eye Damage can and will occur Instantaneously!
- This unit is meant to be used under Dark Night Skys!
- The above warning is true for Telescopes as well that are not equipped with safe and proper Solar Viewing accessories.
- Keep out of the hands of small children! Adult supervision advised!
- First Surface Mirror's for the Bino Box
- Folks!,
- I have seen and used these mirror's and they are extremely affordable mirrors, they are excellent for this task! And I have no doubt you will enjoy the heavenly views...Great Stuff!"
- Mark McLaughlin (President) Fraser Valley Astronomers Society
- PLANS
- Click on the plans for a larger picture! If you wish to print these plans, print using "LANDSCAPE" in your printer setup.
- RECOMMENDATION:
- Use a FIRST SURFACE MIRROR for the best results! First surface mirrors from optical companies can be very expensive! A Great Source for First Surface Mirrors can be found above, just click on the graphic to find out more!
- These mirrors are sturdy and flat, and have a first surface coating. These Mirrors can appear to be silvered on both sides, if the protective covering is removed! To check for the correct surface that you will be needing, you will need to do the credit card test. With the edge of the card placed edge down onto the mirror, see if you can see a gap between the image in the mirror and the card itself, if you can!? That is the WRONG SIDE! Flip the mirror over, and do the same test, if the image in the mirror meets the edge of the card and there is NO GAP between them, then THATS the side you Want!
- Also when you mount your first surface mirror, here is a tip from STEVE "Saratoga Smitty" place long nails under the mirror prior to setting it down on the silicon dobs. This way the mirror never really touches the surface below and it allows the mirror to expand or contract, if it needs too. DO NOT PUSH DOWN ON THE GLASS, just set it in place and let GRAVITY do the work.
- Once the Silicon has dried, slip the nails out and your done! Enjoy and Have fun!
- Troubles? Questions? Send me an
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- ANSWERS FOR YOUR QUESTIONS:
- Yes the image will be upside down if you are looking at the sky in front of you - but right way up if you are looking at the sky behind you.
- Dowels could be ok, but you need something to 'lock' in position so you don't have to balance the Binoculars. The "Original" used wing nuts and short bolts for the pivots.
- a) Base is 12" x 12" usually
b) The Mirror can be mounted onto either a piece of wood or one could use a rearview mirror that has a central swivel point as depicted in the pictures above. This would eliminate the need for the 3"x 3" supports for the mirror board as depicted in the plans. Note of Caution here, you can purchase an entire rearview mirror unit with the mirror included, but I find that most of the time the mirror is of poor quality, so personally I will purchase both the entire rear view assembly and purchase a mirror replacement at the same time.
Mount the entire unit, fill in the depression of the unit until it is level with silicone or some other filler, let it dry over night in a level position and then mount the replacement mirror on top of that again using 5 dobs of silicone, Place several LONG NAILS between the dobs so that the mirror will not settle right down onto the surface, mount the mirror but DO NOT PRESS DOWN. Let the mirror settle on its own. LET GRAVITY WORK FOR YOU!
c) Side supports for bino box is 10" high where as the mirror supports are 3" high and about 2 to 3" wide, 1/2" or 3/4" thick. Support board for binoculars is 10 1/2" wide (just like the mirror support) enough to rest binocs - rest at front can be a 1 1/2" square block, for the front swivel of the binocs to rest on ( mounted close to the inside of the binoc support board) Only needs adjustment if other family members have different-size binocs or different widths between their eyes. Usually not necessary. Hope all this helps.
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Bino Box
