DIY Digi Scope Adapter

WoodBow

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The last couple of hunts, I really enjoyed taking pics through my binos but it is a real pain without an adapter. I decided I would buy one for the next hunt. That decision changed as soon as I saw the price of them. So i decided to build one.

Perks of building one is cost savings and that you can make it so you do not need to remove your phone case.

I used 3" sdr 35 pvc. That is sewage pipe basically. You could probably use any pvc. This is just what I had on hand and have good success with in the past.

First I cut off a section of pipe and then made a cut down the length of the piece. Oven was heated to 300 and the piece was heated until it gets malleable. It only takes a couple of minutes. You will see it begin to wilt. I then took it out of oven, placed it on the floor, spread it flat and pressed it with a cutting board until cool enough to keep shape.

So now I had a flat piece of material to work with. I traced around my phone and then extended the lines for the straight edges to make measurements easier. I measured in 3/4" from each corner and used a jar lid as a radius to notch the corners. I found where the center of the case cut out for the camera was and transferred that to the pvc pattern. I drilled that area out with a forstner bit. A paddle bit would work fine. I left wings to bend up around the phone.


I then used a cheap harbor freight heat gun to heat the areas that needed to bend up around the phone. Don't scorch it. Just get it soft enough to shape. I orginally planned to make a dummy phone from wood to shape around but ended up just using my phone. Do not heat the material while your phone is on it, obviously. Just heat it, place the phone where you traced around it, and bend the pvc up around it with a gloved hand. If your case makes a lip, try to form it around that lip. That will make for a very nice fit. Only do one wing at a time. After all sides are bent up, mark your lines to cut off the excess material.



Cut off the excess and sand the corners and edges. I had originally planned to have a 4 sided enclosure. That's why it still has a tail. However I realized it is not necessary and would only make it harder to take the phone in and out.


I took my kaibabs to the hardware store and tried several fittings until one fit well. A sch 40 1.5" cap fits PERFECT! I drilled the center out of it with the same size as the case portion.


I roughed up both surfaces with 80 grit and used 5 min epoxy to attach them after I had my wife trace around the cap while I held the phone portion up to the binos with the camera on to maintain proper alignment.


The epoxy is more than sufficient but I went ahead and counter sunk a couple of screws as well. It was more trouble than it was worth.
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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A little paint



I already had the supplies from doing my bow so i dipped it in asat. I was lazy and didn't warm the water so the results kind of sucked but oh well.






Will post some pics through it sometime soon. Going on a hunt in 10 days so will add some real use pics after that. I am very happy with the end product. It fits the phone insanely well. It goes on and off the binos very easy but is still stable and secure.
 
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Wow that's impressive.
May have to try that. I wonder if Kydex would be stout enough to hold the phone and mount the piece that goes over the scope/binos.
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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Wow that's impressive.
May have to try that. I wonder if Kydex would be stout enough to hold the phone and mount the piece that goes over the scope/binos.

I have never worked with kydex. I assume it comes in various thicknesses and would work fine. There is minimal stress applied in this application. PVC is just cheaper and I don't have to order it.
 

efnm

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Oct 1, 2015
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If anyone has access to a 3D printer (and simple CAD software), I'd also recommend going that route as an option.

What I've done is get a big cylinder that I can superglue on to a cheap, backup phone case. The cylinder should be oversized so that you can then 3D print additional, smaller cylinders that slide in to your big one. These smaller cylinders are sort of the actual adapters and have the inner diameter sized to match your binos. This gives you a chance to fiddle with the right size and to have different adapters for different optics.

If you look closely you can see both the main piece and smaller inner adapter piece.

View attachment 46216
 

Low_Sky

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I have never worked with kydex. I assume it comes in various thicknesses and would work fine. There is minimal stress applied in this application. PVC is just cheaper and I don't have to order it.

I've made several kydex items (holsters, sheaths, battery holders, etc.). Kydex would absolutely work for something like this.
 

twall13

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I may have to try this. I have a few spare sheets of kydex laying around from some knife sheaths I made awhile back. Thanks for posting it up in such great detail.

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Wow, that is very ingenious!!! This is absolutely my next project. I've got a brand new to me spotter that needs this. Thank you!

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The issue with the ASAT pattern was you didn't use enough activator that's all. I dip my stuff in 70 degree water. The key is keeping it in water more than the 60 seconds. Then spray more activator than what you did on that one. When the film opens like that in small spots, its simply under activate-. Great job on the whole thing I say
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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The issue with the ASAT pattern was you didn't use enough activator that's all. I dip my stuff in 70 degree water. The key is keeping it in water more than the 60 seconds. Then spray more activator than what you did on that one. When the film opens like that in small spots, its simply under activate-. Great job on the whole thing I say
I would have to disagree to some extent, but i am no expert. I dipped some items the next day with warm water, possibly even less activator, and got very nice results. But i do agree that you can get by with lower water temp if you utilize a longer pre soak. Im just now starting to get an eye for when its ready. There is definitely a learning curve. I need to do some more experimentaion with more activator to see what happens. Should the clear areas feel gummy when i pull it out? Always feels that way until i rinse. Makes me feel like im gonna smear the pattern. Which did seem to happen when i was using more activator.
 
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There's no doubt you're under activated. No need to argue though so I'll drop it.
Yes the pva film is normal till rinse, as you know

If you are still using an aerosol can for activator you won't get a consistent application and know you are under activated until you pull it out.
I do it professionally and just trying to help you avoid that in the future

Get you some hydro vator and spray it out of an actual paint gun in your results will be dramatically more consist

Best of luck

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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There's no doubt you're under activated. No need to argue though so I'll drop it.
Yes the pva film is normal till rinse, as you know

If you are still using an aerosol can for activator you won't get a consistent application and know you are under activated until you pull it out.
I do it professionally and just trying to help you avoid that in the future

Get you some hydro vator and spray it out of an actual paint gun in your results will be dramatically more consist

Best of luck

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

I was not intending to come across as argumentative. I was just saying that that my limited experience showed that I could get quality results with warmer water and less activator. I do agree that i could use more activator in colder water. It is a chemical reaction happening. Heat accelerates it. In theory more activator would compensate for the lower water temp and vice versa. Thank you for your input. I may have more questions for you in the future.
 
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No problem
Id love to see your bow you did

Sometimes guys tape around the edges of the film and that limits the movement of the film and without enough activator it spots like that.

I'd say quit using tape and get commercial grade film

I have asat and the ink isn't uniform thru out the roll
So one time it activates great then the next it doesn't and you wonder what you did wrong when in fact you did nothing wrong you did it the same process every time it's just that the ink is thicker in some spots on the road than other and you end up under activated not your fault I wasn't meaning to put the blame on you most of the time it's the parts we use

Digital camo a really difficult just because of the way it's printed needs a ton of activator I still think you did a great job

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Felix40

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Well I had to try to copy this project. I can't get a pic with my phone in it but it works great. Mine is a rougher around the edges as usual. Total cost was less than a dollar.


Took a pic across the lake at the house. Those chairs are somewhere around 700 yards. Too far for my rangefinder to figure out.
 

Jimss

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Mar 6, 2015
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That's an amazing idea! Is there any trick to lining up the eyepiece with the cap that fits on the binos or spotting scope? My I7's camera lens in the extreme corner so the attachment fitting will have to stick out from the end?
 
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WoodBow

WoodBow

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Look at felix40s he made in this post. He has an iPhone as well. There is a suprising amount of room for error when lining it up. I thought it would have to be dead nuts but you can adjust it a few mm without the image changing. I would probably just drill hole in the case portion as close to center of camera lens as possible. Drill same size hole in center of cap and then line those holes up when you epoxy. I dont think their is any need to line it up live like i did. Especially if you do a flatter design like felix40.
 
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