Alright guys
I did a survey in the pouring rain recently and my beloved Leica Prism carriers now have moisture inside them which has collected around the inside of the glass as shown in the picture.?ÿ
Does anyone know how to strip them apart so I can remove the moisture??ÿ I live in the middle of nowhere so would really like to do this myself. It would take too long to send them into a service centre. I'm very practical so I'm confident I can fix them.
Cheers, Andrew
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Rice, a sunny window sill, plenty of ventilation, and about a week.?ÿ Good Luck.
Take it from a PNW lifer- it didn't get fogged up because you used it in the rain. It got fogged up because you left it sealed up in the box while wet.
Thanks Norman, yeah you're right
Would still like to know how to strip it down if anyone knows how. I've had a "residue" inside them before so it would be good to know how to take them apart to clean em up.
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@fobos8 best not to do that, especially if they have seals.?ÿ There's also a strong potential to mess up tolerances.
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order new ones, when you get them, send those in for repair...likely the estimate will cost more than your new ones
Once they get water in their, these types of things can get mildew and water spots (in fact that may be what you are experiencing). I have seen dozens of tribrachs go into the trash over that...
(Again PNW...rain is fine, just dry them out before enclosing them!!!)
If you are willing to experiment, how about the oven at 110 for a couple of days.
I've never taken one apart, but it looks pretty straightforward.?ÿ Get yourself a pair of snap ring pliers (most hardware and auto supply stores carry them) and remove the snap ring visible in the photo by expanding it far enough to slide it off the bottom.?ÿ After that it should come apart easily. Take photos as you go and keep track of the small bits.
If you don't have snap ring pliers you can improvise with nails and pliers, but that can be pretty frustrating.?ÿ Once you've used a good pair of snap ring pliers you'll never want to use anything else on those things.
If you don't have snap ring pliers you can improvise with nails and pliers, but that can be pretty frustrating.?ÿ Once you've used a good pair of snap ring pliers you'll never want to use anything else on those things.
That is true wisdom right there.
They are extremely easy to take apart. If I'm remembering correctly;
Snap ring pliers needed at the bottom as already pointed out. Slide that stuff off. Then, I believe three screws hold the bottom portion to the top portion. It will all separate with no loss of adjustment in my experience.
Hi guys
Many thanks Jim and kjypls. All sorted. Took apart, gentle blast with the wife's hairdryer, back together no problem.
I needed to do a small calibration of the bubble level and eyepiece but now as good as new.
Will be keeping in the house from now with the box open.
Many thanks from a very happy surveyor
It will all separate with no loss of adjustment in my experience.
As long as you DO NOT touch any of the screws around the optical plummet eyepiece!
I do what Jim does whenever the plummet needs a little bit of lubricant so that it turns smoothly again.
Hi guys
All the moisture is out of the prism carrier but I noticed that there appears to be a small residue left somewhere inside. Maybe when the water dried off it left a small film of crap.
Anyone have experience of cleaning this off? It might be e DIY
It will either be on the glass in the eyepiece barrel (quite hard to get to), the 90 degree mirror (easy to get to), or the glass at the bottom of the carrier.
I have some lens cleaning paper and fluid that I use on my laser scanner mirrors that might do the trick.
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Cheer, Andrew
