Swaro El focus problem

Joined
Dec 14, 2018
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607
Have a pair of ELs that will not focus the right eye worth a damn when they are really cold. When they warm back up everything works as it should.

I called swaro and the wait time is pretty long, and I still have some season left so I'm going to wait until spring/summer to send them in. Just curious if anyone else has had similar problems?

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svivian

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Can you be more specific? Is the center knob not engaging the Right eye focus during colder temperatures? or is the lense not moving when you spin the Diopter adjustment?
 
OP
SneakyThunderCat
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Dec 14, 2018
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607
Yes sorry, it's the diopter adjustment that isn't working correctly. Gets really stiff and only adjusts if you turn it all the way to the left or the right. You have to push fairly hard towards the end of the rotation to make it adjust and this makes it very difficult to focus. There is zero middle adjustment when it's cold if that makes any sense.

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tdot

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Ask Swarovski about their express service. It's a little bit of coin, but they get your optics back to within a week or two. May be worth it to you.
 

svivian

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What do you mean by unlocked it? Did you simply pull out the focus Knob then turn? there is an actual locking mechanism you can rotate on those for taking it apart. Can you take a close up picture of your focus wheel?
 
OP
SneakyThunderCat
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I did some reading about the locking mechanism. I didn't know about that feature! That does not seem to be the issue however.

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I did some reading about the locking mechanism. I didn't know about that feature! That does not seem to be the issue however.

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If you were making diopter corrections on a locked diopter, you possibly broke the mechanism and that's why it's not working (unless your diopter was unlocked the whole time).
 
OP
SneakyThunderCat
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If you were making diopter corrections on a locked diopter, you possibly broke the mechanism and that's why it's not working (unless your diopter was unlocked the whole time).
It was unlocked the whole time. I was never unable to pull the diopter out for adjustments.

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svivian

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Without seeing it or getting my hands on it will be tough to see if its a simple fix or needs to be sent in... Most dealers wont be Savvy on the fact that there are two locking mechanisms on that unfortunately as that's not a common thing to unlock the second part. PM me if you have the ability to video chat and I can try to take a look that way.
 

Firehawk

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Without seeing it or getting my hands on it will be tough to see if its a simple fix or needs to be sent in... Most dealers wont be Savvy on the fact that there are two locking mechanisms on that unfortunately as that's not a common thing to unlock the second part. PM me if you have the ability to video chat and I can try to take a look that way.
You got me wondering where my lock was at on my EL as I hadn't noticed it before. Best I can see, is this is part of the newest variation of the EL including the Field Pro package. Mine doesn't appear to have that feature. Mine is a 2014 model. Am I right or am I just missing it somewhere?
 
OP
SneakyThunderCat
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This is what my focus knob looks like.
3610d2ff99d2cbf8af55fa458dca321d.jpg


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svivian

WKR
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You got me wondering where my lock was at on my EL as I hadn't noticed it before. Best I can see, is this is part of the newest variation of the EL including the Field Pro package. Mine doesn't appear to have that feature. Mine is a 2014 model. Am I right or am I just missing it somewhere?
I believe it is only on the field pro models.
 

svivian

WKR
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This is what my focus knob looks like.
3610d2ff99d2cbf8af55fa458dca321d.jpg


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Ok so are these your binos or a screen shot of someone elses? you can see the dot lined up with the dash on the middle of the focus wheel. This is how it should be aligned for it to work, if not that might be your problem. If you turn the knob by holding the center with your finger nail you can turn to the right until the dot lines up with the dash again. Otherwise if it looks like the picture above, unlock it by turning it to the left until the dot on the wheel is in line with the unlocked lock on the left. Then See if you can pull the knob off and look for any obstruction. Otherwise if you dont feel comfortable send them in to be looked at. Swaro customer service is good and should be a quick easy fix for them.
 
Last edited:
OP
SneakyThunderCat
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Dec 14, 2018
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I sent the binos in via their express service. They replaced the focus knob, replaced the rubber armor, cleaned interior and exterior, and refilled the nitrogen. Was supposed to get them back on the 29th, and I got them back last night. They looked brand new. Beyond happy with the service.
 
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