Attaching ED50 eye piece??

[old_coyote]

Hey ya’ll, rookie question… but need some help.

I just got a ED50 body with 27x and the stock 13-30x eye piece. The rokslider shipped with the 27x attached and it is great! But I can’t seem to figure out how to get the 13-30x attached. It is like a different diameter? When it inserts into the body it is clearly too small.

Am I missing an adapter?
Am I crazy??

 

[PC356]

Any help would be very much appreciated. I’m the seller and bought the scope so long ago I can’t remember if there was an adapter required to affix the zoom eyepiece to the scope. Should’ve verified fitment before I shipped it his way. All I know is that this particular zoom eyepiece (13-30) came with the Nikon ED50 Field Scope.

 

[4th_point]

I had the ED50 with 13-30x zoom eyepiece, and a fixed eyepiece. Myself and others could probably speculate on different explanations as to why the zoom doesn't fit. However, perhaps the best thing would be if the OP simply posted pictures of the scope and eyepiece(s) in question. That would save a lot of back and forth and guessing?

 

[old_coyote]

 

[old_coyote]

Good call on pictures! Let me know what you see (or don’t see).

Also, @pc365 has been very kind and is working towards a solution with me

 

[4th_point]

I sold my ED50 several years ago so I don't have it to look at, but I do have a fixed EP and zoom EP for reference. Mine are different models/vintages but the mounting geometry and design should be similar.

Anyway, it appears that part of the scope unscrewed and came out when the 27x fixed EP was removed. It looks like it is still attached to the EP, as I don't see the o-ring on the EP that normally seals to the scope. And if you look at the image below, you can see a metallic piece aft of the red ring and black ring. I don't see that in your image. Yours ends at the black ring.

Jason

PS - you're not crazy!

 

[4th_point]

Here's an image of the DS version of the 27x/40x/50x. It is difficult to see in that picture, but the o-ring seal is in that step just above the Nikon label (and below the male threads). On your EP, it doesn't look like that. And you can see that there is a color and finish difference in that area with yours because part is the EP and part is the scope piece that came out.

Unfortunately, if all this is true then the genie might have been let out of the bottle and you may need to send it in to get purged if you have the time. If not, the scope should be waterproof once reassembled, but you'll have atmospheric gas inside instead of N2.

Dry air is supposed to be 78% N2, so some people don't worry about it. And if you think about it, we swap eyepieces on scopes and lenses on cameras and I've never had condensation between the bodies and EP or lens but that is definitely something to consider.

You can also do your own N2 purge at home, if you have access to bottled gas.

Good luck, and if possible, please let us know how it all shakes out.

 

[old_coyote]

@4th_point very helpful. Your description gave me the confidence needed to muscle the adapter/ring loose from the 27x! It was on there TIGHT.

I screwed the adapter back on the body, and the 13-30 works… but three open items now:
1. Why did it happen? And will it happen again?
2. Need/want to do the N2 purge; hopefully Nikon will honor/perform/fix as I am 2nd owner
3. I can only hand tighten, it looks to really tighten with a special tool.

Oh, and I leave for my backcountry mule deer hunt in 2 weeks!

Thanks again all! Appreciate the help!

 

[4th_point]

Glad that I could help and that you got it figured out!

"Oh, and I leave for my backcountry mule deer hunt in 2 weeks!"

Yikes! That's not much time.

I have two Fieldscopes at Nikon right now. They provided me an estimate for inspection/repair within two hours of receiving them. I believe Nikon states one business day once received to get an estimate.

My estimate was $0.00 for cleaning and inspection on both, and a more involved inspection for one. If that one needs repair, I might have to pay but I have read online that Nikon will service for free even without proof of warranty. I don't know for sure though.

I believe that Nikon states turn around in five business days. I don't know how accurate that is but you also need to factor in shipping time back and forth to CA. Unless you happen to live near their facility and can drop off in person.

Regarding your three questions below:

"1. Why did it happen? And will it happen again?
2. Need/want to do the N2 purge; hopefully Nikon will honor/perform/fix as I am 2nd owner
3. I can only hand tighten, it looks to really tighten with a special tool."

First, I would check the 27x EP to make sure that the o-ring is in good condition. When you install that EP into the scope, you should feel the o-ring compress. If not, the metal on the EP might bottom out on the metallic portion of the scope body. And if you snug it down tight, it may have higher breakaway torque than the scope piece, as you experienced (where the works came undone).

I have used o-rings from the hardware store as a makeshift solution , but they are imperial and a metric o-ring might be better.

Second, I bet Nikon will take care of it. I have read online some concerns of scope bodies purchased from Japan being considered "grey market", but I don't know that Nikon actually rejects them for service. What you can do is call the service center and tell them the situation. They will ask for the serial number. When I called, they told me an owner can always send in a Fieldscope for inspection.

Third, I just scrubbed those images that I posted from eBay and don't see what tool is needed. A spanner of some sort would be my guess? Not much room for a strap wrench! I bet hand tight is fine. You could always mill flats if needed or make a tool, but I'd just let Nikon deal with it.

Jason

 

[4th_point]

PS - I've never done it, but some people just get dry N2 and a plastic bag. With the optic inside the bag, they purge a few times and then refill the bag so that it's basically 100% N2. Then reassemble the optic. Seems like it would work.

If you don't have access to dry N2, you might be able to simply assemble the scope in your home and put it in the freezer for a bit. Then take it out and see if it fogged. There's so much N2 in our atmosphere that depending on where you live there might not be much moisture.

Or maybe get some unused desiccant packs and put them in a plastic bag with the scope open? That might dry out the air in the bag, then you can reassemble and do the freezer test.

Those are just stop gap measures obviously, until you can send the scope in for professional service after your hunt.

Please let us know how it all works for you, and good luck with your hunt!

 

[old_coyote]

... to close the loop on this...

I mailed the scope to Nikon and then power called their customer service team to talk about my situation. I talked to one gal, and she was nice, but couldn't do much. Then I talked to a saint-of-a-man and he said, "hold on, let me see what i can do" and then followed with an email and said i would have by scope repaired and returned in time. NOW THAT IS CUSTOMER SERVICE!

I will NOT hesitate to buy more Nikon stuff in the future!