It is best to entrust the repair of an optical sight to a specialist, but if one is not nearby, we take matters into our own hands. This article in general outline will help you understand the structure of optical sights, learn how to disassemble them and carry out simple repair work. Please be patient and attentive - we are plunging into the precise world of optics.
Before we delve into the insides of the optical sight, let’s understand its technical structure. The sight consists of the following components:
- Lens. This is a complex system consisting of several lenses. One of the key parameters of a lens is aperture; it directly depends on its diameter. The outer lens is coated with an anti-reflective coating.
- Sighting reticle. Thanks to it, you aim your weapon accurately. The reticle is localized in the focal plane of your scope (ocular or objective). The simplest grids are half-cross and cross.
- Wrapping system. It consists of a pair of lenses that reverse the image, making the picture “straight”.
- Eyepiece. An enlarged direct image is fed to the eyepiece, thanks to which the shooter examines the target. In rifle scopes, the focal length of the eyepiece is about 50-70 mm. Often the eyepiece is equipped with a rubber eyecup.
- Mechanism for entering horizontal/vertical corrections. Combines two points - aiming and hitting. Two types of correction mechanisms are common - tactical drums and permanent correction devices. The drums are equipped with a scale along the axis of which the handwheel rotates. When adjusting, the arrow is guided by characteristic clicks.
- Illuminated aiming reticle. Modern sights are equipped with an LED that illuminates the central part or the entire reticle. Some scopes have a brightness adjustment that allows you to adjust the acceptable level of illumination.
- Frame. Usually the body of your optics is plastic, sometimes it is made of a lightweight and durable alloy. The housing connects the components of the sight into a common structure that is resistant to overloads that occur during shooting.
Disassembly
Before disassembling the sight, make sure you have necessary tools and "accessories". You will need:
- repair kit (set of flat screwdrivers);
- inexpensive transparent sealant (solvent-free);
- cotton buds;
- a clean cotton cloth;
- jars (for storing small bolts);
- flashlight.
As an example, consider disassembling the VOMZ-P model. You will encounter the following configuration:
- lens;
- eyepiece;
- lever;
- screw;
- lid;
- net;
- angular scale of lateral corrections;
- lens wrapping system;
- installation ring;
- aiming angle scale.
First you have to unscrew the lenses (back/front). The adjusting drums are screwed in until they stop (clockwise), then unscrewed together with the pressure washers. Then the pressure and locking bolts are unscrewed one by one. Half of the pipe is unscrewed. The cassette containing the adjustment lens is carefully squeezed out.
The lens is removed from the cassette (while trying not to touch the glass with your fingers).
The lens-turning system is localized in the remaining segment of the pipe. If desired, it is not difficult to unscrew it - the system is secured with one microbolt.
The structure is assembled in reverse order. Pay attention to the stained lenses - they should not be touched with your fingers. The lenses are wiped with one-sided movements (zero pressure).
Do-it-yourself scope repair - highlights
The time has come to study the mounting of the basic components of the optical sight. Please note that this is a fragile device, so you need to disassemble it with extreme caution. It starts to act up after about one and a half thousand shots. To prevent future problems, tighten the mounting screws and watch for horizontal alignment.
This video explains how an optical sight works and how to repair it (Leapers 3-9×40 model):
Attaching the lenses
Lenses for hunting weapons have a large diameter, designed for shooting at short distances (150-200 meters). Hunting optics have many rubbing surfaces that wear out over time. Backlashes, mechanical displacements and optical parallaxes occur.
The lenses are attached using sealant. After disassembling the sight according to our instructions, you reach the ring nut that holds the crosspiece. The next procedure is as follows:
- squeezing out the cassette (do not lose the pressure spring);
- unscrewing the front nut, lens and guide screws (2 pcs.);
- removing the adjustment lenses from the inner cylinder (this must be done carefully, without giving the cylinder a vertical position);
- remembering the location of the lenses;
- repair.
If the tuning lens (usually the front one) has a loose locking ring, the threads will have to be lubricated with sealant. After waiting for it to dry, reassemble the entire structure in reverse order.
Pressure spring
During repair operations, you will inevitably encounter a pressure spring, which you need not only to preserve, but also to ensure its functionality.
A little advice: you can unscrew the nuts (if you don’t have a repair kit at hand) with pointed tweezers.
Loose screws and nuts (if they do not tighten well) should be placed on sealant. Now the repaired structure, together with the spring, must be pushed back into the pipe - this is a rather labor-intensive process. One end of the spring should end with teeth, the other should be completely smooth.
If necessary (presence of jags), the second end of the spring must be sanded. The spring is installed in the central part of the sight - between the holes intended for the adjustment drums. The tube slides onto the cassette with the assembled lenses, while the spring must be held through the holes.
Lubrication
Not all parts and components of an optical sight require lubrication. And even more precisely, only the rings need this. It is highly undesirable for grease to get on the surface of the lens. For the lubrication procedure you will need:
- The vertical correction drum is turned all the way down, and the horizontal drum is turned all the way to the left.
- The vertical and horizontal drums are clicked (“up” and “right”, respectively). In this case, it is necessary to count the number of clicks over the entire range.
It's best to do this in splendid isolation- Household members can throw off your mental calculations. In addition, a rifle occupying the kitchen table (on a special machine) is not the most positive sight for a wife.
- Let's assume that you are 300 clicks away from the extreme positions of the drum. Count halfway (in this example, 150 clicks). This is the middle of both ranges. The sight is “zeroed” - its optical and mechanical axes are combined.
To reduce the risk of having to deal with repair work, protect your scope from bad weather - heat, humidity and direct sun rays. Cover lenses with caps and avoid mechanical damage and contact with lenses harmful substances(lubricants, alcohol solutions). Periodically (after 1000-1500 shots) check the internal fastenings. Have a good hunting!
To begin with, I will explain to you what it is red dot sight and how it works. In a nutshell, this is a sight in the form of a body with a piece of glass, in the center of which we see an aiming mark (it could be just a dot, or maybe a more complex figure). But if you think about it, it’s immediately clear that in order for the sight not to lie, you will need to look into it at a strictly defined angle.
So the sight is precisely designed to avoid this. When the shooter looks through the scope, he sees the reticle aimed at the target; if he slightly changes the angle at which he looks through the scope, the reticle also shifts, and eventually points in the same direction.
The inconvenience of conventional sights is that the shooter must combine the front sight, rear sight and target (a total of three objects). The human eye can focus only on one object, either it will be a sight, or a target, that is, another object (on which the gaze is not focused will be blurry). Inconvenient, isn't it?
In a collimator sight, it is enough to combine two points: the aiming mark and the target. The aiming mark and the target will be in the same plane at whatever distance the target is. The shooter clearly sees both the target and the aiming mark.
And now about how this miracle works. With the help of various optical devices (lenses, mirrors), light from a source (usually an LED) is collected into a parallel beam of light and directed into the eye of the shooter.
The human eye perceives parallel rays of light as light from an infinitely distant object. The line of the aiming mark is parallel to the aiming line. The dot is not on the glass, but at infinity, so when the head moves, the aiming mark remains on the target.
Collimator sights come in open and closed types.
Closed sight consists of a light source and a focusing lens, the light source is located behind the lens, at its focus, and these same parallel rays of light are created.
With one eye the shooter looks into the sight, with the other at the target, in the human brain the two images are combined, and the shooter sees the aiming mark on the target. Firing accuracy directly depends on a person’s peripheral vision. Closed sights are currently practically not used.
Sights open type They use the same lens and light source, but use mirrors to direct the light onto a translucent lens. The lens reflects parallel rays of light into the human eye, and at the same time he can see the target through it. Through such a sight you can aim with one or two eyes.
There are many other options for collimator sights, but we won’t talk about that.
And now I will tell you how to do DIY red dot sight.
You can see the device in the diagram. The light source must be a point source (a diode from a Chinese laser pointer) and must be at the focus of the lens. Light passes through the lens, is reflected from the mirror (the mirror is set at 45 degrees) and hits the glass (we will consider it a translucent lens).
The glass is also set at 45 degrees and is reflected into your eyes. The lens must be large enough, otherwise the viewing angle will be small. This is the simplest collimator that you can make at home. Sights of this type were widely used in aviation. WWII.
Watching action movies or playing games computer games, related to combat operations, we are accustomed to seeing weapons that have a special device in the form of sights. Almost no weapon can do without them. You can see sights not only on weapons used in battle, but also on such historical and ancient ones as crossbows or bows. Therefore, it is advisable to pay attention to the sights, since the most accurate hit on the target depends on them. Install sights on dovetail mount.
photo. Dovetail scope mount
Nowadays, there are many sighting devices that meet the requirements of both professional shooters and beginners. Many even try to make a sight with their own hands, some even succeed and do quite well. Among the varieties of sights there are the following types:
- optic;
- mechanical or dioptric;
- collimator;
- laser
Such devices are used as crossbow sights. Because in order to choose best option you need to know at least a little about them, let's look at each type separately.
Collimator crossbow sight
A collimator sight is a type of optical sight that differs significantly from a mechanical and diopter device. Such sights are used for crossbows and firearms. The collimator sight consists of the following components:
- translucent lens;
- collimator - conventional or laser type, that is, an LED that projects a luminous dot onto the lens - an aiming mark.
The lens is a kind of reflector of the aiming mark on the retina of the shooter's eye; it is capable of aligning with the target plane. If the shooter looks at the sight, changing the viewing angle and leaving the weapon stationary, the sight will remain on the target, despite the changed viewing angle. Using a collimator sight, a weapon can be aimed at a target without losing aiming accuracy, even if the shooter’s eye at this moment is not located in line with the target and the sight.
photo. Collimator sight for crossbow
Collimator sights come in open and closed types. They have the same operating principle, but differ in the design of the sight body. In the video you can see how to make a red dot sight yourself, which is mounted on a dovetail mount.
Mechanical sight for crossbow
It is worth saying that an optical sight today will not surprise a single shooter or even ordinary person who has seen or held a weapon at least once in his life. This sight consists of a front sight and rear sight, that is, it is a standard set of pneumatics.
photo. Mechanical sight for crossbow
Using such a sight is very simple; just combine the front sight, rear sight, and target into one plane. But when making a shot, everything is not so simple, since the human eye cannot focus on different objects at the same time. Therefore, when aiming with the eyes, the arrow first hits the rear sight, then moves to the front sight and again to the rear sight, only when the shot is fired does the eye move to the front sight. Such eye manipulations must be performed quickly, without thinking. The sight can be mounted on a dovetail mount.
Laser sight for crossbow
There is also a laser sight that can be adjusted in any direction, horizontal or vertical. A laser sight is more suitable for weapons used for aiming at not too long distances. The advantages of such a sighting device are that the shooter only needs to point the sight at the target and follow the luminous dot on it. But the laser sight also has a disadvantage, namely that it cannot be used to aim correctly in bright daylight.
photo. Laser sight for crossbow
Optics for crossbow
When considering the types of sighting devices, it is worth paying attention to optical sights. Despite the fact that until recently our shooters could only dream of them, today optical sights are available to everyone. Such scopes are quite diverse and are used by the military, hunters, and athletes. People who own air rifles often equip them with an optic. After all, with its help you can conduct the most accurate aiming and shooting.
Optical sights are almost always different and differ from each other, despite the similarity appearance. The composition of the optical sight is unique - it consists of lenses in blocks and high-precision adjustment mechanisms. In the figure you can see the structure of the optical device:
photo. Optical sights for crossbows
The complexity of the optics design can only be compared to a telescope or photographic lens. The most important element Any optical device is a lens, with the help of which a clear image is formed.
When choosing optical sights, you must understand their characteristics; this is the only way to do it optimally right choice and install on dovetail mount suitable optical device. You can even try it yourself make your own sight, and we will help you with this a little.
DIY diopter sight - diopter sight device
There is a diopter sight, which makes the aiming moment more accurate, but the process is somewhat slower. The diopter sight is a type of mechanical sight; it is mounted on a dovetail mount. Using a diopter sight in a weapon, the shooter's eye is aimed at the target and the front sight through a special cut made in the body of the sight itself. The peculiarity of such sights is that the front sight and target are clearly visible only if they are in the same focus, with correct aiming, otherwise the target will not be visible to the shooter. The downside of a diopter sight is the difficulty of shooting in poor lighting and its slowness, that is, it cannot be quickly transferred to another target. That is why such sighting devices are more suitable for sports competitions. On our portal you can watch a video on how to make an optical sight for a rifle; these sights are also used for a crossbow.
Making a diopter sight yourself is quite possible, the main thing is to have everything necessary materials, desire and patience. To make a sight you need to prepare the material. The diopter sight is a regular plate that has a small hole (0.5-1.5 mm). You can take the rail of any standard sight, which you will then have to disassemble, take measurements from the sighting rail and draw a new drawing.
photo. Diopter sight device
If you do not have a standard plate with a slot 0.5 mm thick, you can take a steel plate with a thickness of 0.6 mm. Next, you will need to mark all the necessary lines on the workpiece according to the prepared drawing and cut the sight model using them. To improve the viewing angle, you can trim the edges of the plate. The landing ring is made using ordinary round nose pliers, as well as a drill with a shank with a diameter of 2.5 mm.
As a result, you will have a finished part, which will then need to be adjusted, processed and assembled for the sight.
The manufactured sight can be mounted on a dovetail mount. Such sights are quite suitable for small arms in the form of crossbows. After you make your own sight or buy a new one, you will definitely need to complete an important task, namely zeroing.
How to make an optical sight with your own hands
Assembling optical sights for crossbows with your own hands is quite difficult, but if you have such a desire, then you will need a scope tube, a sight lens, a reticle, a wrap-around lens and an eyepiece lens. When collecting all these lenses, it is necessary to select the correct focal lengths.
Zeroing a crossbow with optics - how to zero a crossbow?
Once you have fully assembled the crossbow and are holding it in your hands, you will need to test it to know the principle of the weapon's operation and firing range, as well as its other capabilities. But to get started, you need to know all the rules on how to shoot a crossbow.
Sights for crossbows can be diopter, optical, collimator, or another type convenient for you. The zeroing process itself is very simple and will not be difficult even for a novice shooter. The fact is that the sights have special drums that allow you to make adjustments to the aiming. One drum is located on the side of the sighting tube, and the second on top. The adjustment drum scale is covered with a special cap, which can be easily removed if you are careful.
In order for shooting to be as accurate as possible, you need to learn how to handle the trigger and aim correctly.
Zeroing a crossbow begins at short distances, which gradually lengthen, more precisely, with each accurate hit on the target. If you cannot hit the target even at close range, make sure that the sight is installed correctly, if everything is in order with the sight, make a small adjustment. Remember, adjustments are made until you hit the point you see in front of you at close range.
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photo. Crossbow sight
When you have succeeded, you can start zeroing your crossbow or other small arms by mounting the scope on the dovetail mount. To aim, you need to select a base distance at which the center of the aiming point of your scope coincides with the target. Zeroing a crossbow is carried out using many mistakes and new trials. The shooter shoots, makes adjustments, shoots again, makes adjustments, and so on many times. You need to start zeroing with several shots at the target, and then check exactly where the arrows were aimed. To make it easier to understand the technique of zeroing a crossbow, we suggest watching a training video review on our portal, or better yet, several.
Video shooting with a collimator sight
The times when anyone could make a discovery in science are almost completely gone. Everything that an amateur can discover in chemistry, physics, biology has long been known, rewritten and calculated. Astronomy is an exception to this rule. After all, this is the science of space, an indescribably vast space in which it is impossible to study everything, and even not far from the Earth there are still undiscovered objects. However, in order to practice astronomy, you need an expensive optical instrument. Is a homemade telescope a simple or difficult task?
Maybe binoculars would help?
It is too early for a novice astronomer who is just beginning to take a closer look at the starry sky to make a telescope with his own hands. The scheme may seem too complicated for him. At first, you can get by with ordinary binoculars.
This is not as frivolous a device as it might seem, and there are astronomers who continue to use it even after becoming famous: for example, the Japanese astronomer Hyakutake, the discoverer of the comet named after him, became famous precisely for his addiction to powerful binoculars.
For the first steps of a novice astronomer - in order to understand whether this is mine or not - any powerful marine binoculars will do. The bigger, the better. With binoculars you can observe the Moon (in quite impressive detail), see the disks of nearby planets, such as Venus, Mars or Jupiter, and examine comets and double stars.
No, it's still a telescope!
If you are serious about astronomy and still want to make a telescope yourself, the design you choose may belong to one of two main categories: refractors (they use only lenses) and reflectors (they use lenses and mirrors).
Refractors are recommended for beginners: these are less powerful telescopes, but easier to make. Then, when you gain experience in making refractors, you can try to assemble a reflector - powerful telescope with your own hands.
What makes a powerful telescope different?
What a stupid question, you ask. Of course - by magnification! And you will be wrong. The fact is that not all celestial bodies can, in principle, be enlarged. For example, you will not magnify the stars in any way: they are located at a distance of many parsecs, and from such a distance they turn into practically points. No approach is enough to see the disk of a distant star. You can only “zoom in” on objects in the solar system.
And the telescope, first of all, makes the stars brighter. And this property is responsible for its first most important characteristic - the diameter of the lens. How many times is the lens wider than the pupil? human eye- all the luminaries become so many times brighter. If you want to make a powerful telescope with your own hands, you will have to look, first of all, for a very large diameter lens for the objective.
The simplest diagram of a refracting telescope
In its simplest form, a refracting telescope consists of two convex (magnifying) lenses. The first - the large one, aimed at the sky - is called the lens, and the second - the small one, into which the astronomer looks, is called the eyepiece. You should make a homemade telescope with your own hands exactly according to this scheme if this is your first experience.
The telescope lens should have an optical power of one diopter and a diameter as large as possible. You can find a similar lens, for example, in a glasses workshop, where glasses for glasses are cut out of them. various shapes. It is better if the lens is biconvex. If you can’t find a biconvex lens, you can use a pair of plano-convex half-diopter lenses, located one after the other, with convex points at different sides, at a distance of 3 centimeters from each other.
Any strong magnifying lens will work best as an eyepiece, ideally a magnifying glass in an eyepiece on a handle, such as those that were produced before. An eyepiece from any factory-made optical instrument (binoculars, geodetic instrument) will also work.
To find out what magnification the telescope will provide, measure the focal length of the eyepiece in centimeters. Then divide 100 cm (the focal length of a lens of 1 diopter, that is, a lens) by this figure, and get the desired magnification.
Secure the lenses in any durable tube (cardboard, coated with glue and painted on the inside with the blackest paint you can find will do). The eyepiece should be able to slide back and forth within a few centimeters; this is necessary for sharpening.
The telescope should be mounted on a wooden tripod called a Dobsonian mount. A drawing of it can be easily found in any search engine. This is the easiest to manufacture and at the same time reliable mount for a telescope; almost all homemade telescopes use it.
