Binocular Repairs in NE England? (1 Viewer)

[Gill Osborne]

Last Wednesday I had three hours to burn when I finished work at 1pm so decided to nip along to the coast and do Amble Harbour, East Chevington and, if I had time, Hauxley.
Well, I did the latter two first and decided to pop into Amble on my way home for a quick look.
Despite glorious sunshine and it being relatively early afternoon ( 3.30pm) the harbour area was quiet and I had the place to myself...until a group of youths ( for want of a better word :-C ) approached me and gave me the choice of hand over my bins and scope or go for a swim!!! Well, being on my own and them being a lot taller than me I did as they said :storm: and legged it back to the car....suppose I should be thankful they didn't realise I had car keys on me or that would have went for a burton too no doubt!!!
Anyway I was EXTREMELY upset and adamant that I was giving up birding as it just wasn't safe for a girl on her own.........but all this week I've had the most terrible cravings and have realised that I couldn't stop birding even if I wanted to - and my upset has turned to anger at the low lifes who have no respect for others!!!
So I put a cheap pair of 8X30 bins into the boot and decided to nip along to Hauxley after work today and, to cut a long story short, as I was driving through Amble I saw a notice in a shop window saying that a pair of bins and a scope had been found! I described them to the shop owner and, joy of joys, they WERE mine!!! They had been found in a back alleyway on Saturday so I imagine they'd been outdoors in the rain for a day or so.
BUT, and I am getting to the point here 3 , the binoculars ( Opticron 8 X 42s) have got a fair bit of condensation inside them and looking through them is a bit like looking through fog!

Does anybody in the NE know where I could take them to be fixed? I once took a pair of bins that had been dropped *shock, horror* to a company right next door to Chester-Le-Street train station and they realigned them for just £11. This apparently is the place where the shops such as Bonsers in Newcastle send the ones customers give them to be fixed...for a lot more than eleven quid!
I don't mind driving down to Chester-Le-Street if it's the only place around but if anybody knows any places closer I'd be their friend forever! :flowers:

I'm currently COPING with a pair of 8X30's but, after my Opticrons, they are as much use as a chocolate fireguard!!!!

I don't care about cost....I JUST WANT MY BINS BACK & WORKING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gill

 

[pduxon]

Hi Gill

what a horrid story! pleased you got the stuff back though. You could contact opticron direct [email protected]

keep up the birding Gilly.

 

[delia todd]

Gill I can't believe this happened to you, how awful - makes me feel really angry that us 'girls' aren't safe doing our thing in such a place. :storm: The middle of the day too!

Think I would have slung the tripod at them grr, but you did the right thing, your safety is more important.

I remember walking round the harbour there in May and was on my own for a while - wonder if I'll feel the same on a return trip.

I am sorry about your binocs, hope you get them sorted.

D

 

[Jos Stratford]

What nice guys! Why did they steal them only to dump them?


As for the bins, if they have fogged, it means they aren't waterproof, so a repair as such isn't needed, just a complete drying out. A few days [or weeks ] in the airing cupboard could well do the trick if they are not literally dripping with water inside.

 

[tom24]

What a horrendous ordeal,you did the right thing though.I hope you informed the police even if only for information.Their descriptions may well tie them in with other incidents.Although it may seem a lost cause at times,report everything and eventually the scumbags will be found out at something. Tom.

 

[salty]

probaly dumped them when they saw a passing cop car and panicked!

glad you are OK though Gill, if i bump into them i will 'have a word'...........

 

[Keith Reeder]

Count me in, Salty - I'm sitting here, effing seething, and seriously contemplating what I'd do to the sacks of crap if I get the opportunity.

There's a "nick it first then wonder about what to do with it" mentality among these tossers, and I expect that once they'd realised that it wouldn't be easy to offload Gill's optics (charver with decent bins and scope that "just happens" to need to sell them... in Amble..? Oh aye) they dumped them.

Gill, I hope that you bounce back from this and that it doesn't put you off for too long - and yes, as Tom says you should tell the Boys In Blue, if you haven't already.

Back to the original question: the only optics repairer I know of locally is the Bonsers lot, but - as has been posted on here before now - they're probably best avoided.

Sorry.

But I reckon that Jos is dead right, and that a bit of warm TLC will fettle the bins anyway.

 

[John Fleet]

Gill
Ditto the advice re the police - at times like that a mobile phone is also a godsend. Even if you didn't do it at the time, report the matter now - what happened was robbery and that's a serious crime punishable by imprisonment. If they did it to you, then they will have almost cetainly done it to others and need to be dealt with.

On a more positive note; cheap bins don't HAVE to be rubbish. Do yourself a favour and get a pair from 7dayshop.com for back up. You'll be amazed at what you can get for about £20 - if you do get a pair don't let on how much they cost and have fun asking other birders to guess - it will certainly make you feel smug!

In the meantime get those Opticrons in the airing cupboard or a warm (only slightly) oven!

Best wishes

John

 

[level seven]

Gill, that's a shocking story. It certainly brings it home to you that these days such a thing can happen in a public place like Amble harbour and in broad daylight. I can only imagine how frightened, and then downright angry you must have felt.

Naturally I'm not denying that women by themselves are particularly vunerable, but I can't help thinking that a bloke like myself, not young or physically strong, and certainly not giving the look of being able to take care of himself in a fight, might have found himself being robbed in the same circumstances when confronted by a group of yobs.

Thanks for sharing that with us, as I know I'll certainly be more cautious when out birding in future and aware of what can happen.

I'm pleased you got the equipment back, and at least the vast majority of people around are decent and the sort who take the trouble to put notices up about property being found.

 

[BazR]

Hi Gill.

What cowardly scum. The main thing is that you are unharmed. Re. your bins: my pal's bins were in the same state as you describe, and he was panicking, but after a few hours on the window ledge above a radiator they were back to normal, and 9 months on are as good as new. Whatever you try, hope it works.

Kind regards. Baz.

 

[postcardcv]

Hi Gill

Sorry to hear that you had such a nasty experience, some people are such scum.

I'm very glad to hear that you got your optics back (it's horrible being without them). I agree with others that if you let them dry out they should get back to normal. I'd recommend putting them in a paper bag with some silica gel, this is what I did when an old Opticron eyepeice of mine fogged up, solved the problem in a couple of days.

 

[Gill Osborne]

Thanks for the info everyone :t: - great to hear that a wee bit of warmth may solve the problem of the condensation inside. They're not sodden so things may not be as bad as I first feared.
Neil has found a place that does repairs in Newcastle - it's the same company in Chester-Le-Street apparently that fixed the first pair of bins a few years ago! They have opened a shop/workshop in the Bigg Market so, as we are in Newcastle tomorrow, we're going to pop along with the scope & bins and let them have a look at them. Neil reckons they've been dropped as the scope, to him, doesn't feel right and the bottom lens of the bins looks like it's had one hell of a bang ( hard to describe but I imagine it's probably slightly out of alignment). Here's the link Neil saved for reference...

http://www.camera-clinic.co.uk/

Hopefully they'll be able to fix my 'life support' and I'll be back out in the field in no time at all ( trust it to happen just BEFORE peak migration....could have happened in JUly when there's nowt doing!!! ).
Neil has seen a pair of 8X40's at Machine Mart ( think I have the name right?) for only £21 so if I feel ok with them I may just get them to be going along with...and then they can be my spare set for keeping in the car for emergencies - or for Neil when he DOES venture out with me.)

I DID pop into the local police station the day after it happened....was so distraught the day it happened that I felt so defeated and deflated about it all.....and gave them a description of the losers responsible so hopefully it will lead to them being caught one day!

But don't worry - I'm NOT going to be beaten into giving up by a pack of worthless losers who have such a pointless bored-out-of-their-skulls existence that they do things like this and give the lovely port of Amble a bad name! I just CAN'T understand how they, or ANYONE, could possibly be bored with all this glorious countryside on their doorstep - Druridge Bay, Hauxley, Chevington, Coquet Island and so much more! I feel so fortunate to be able to live up here and be surrounded by so much wildlife! :t:

And to think that folk usually look at me as though I was an alien when they hear that I enjoy birding and being outdoors instead of having babies :-O - LOL It's not ME who's strange or weird!!! o

Gill

 

[matt green]

so sorry to hear of your misfortune gill,we all know such trash exhists in this world so it is important for all you lasses to be carefull out there.glad you have'nt chucked in the birding,the upset will pass.if i had been there i think i would have performed a craniotomy on them all with my bare hands[not a very intelligent response but feels good].there will always be for more decent people in this world than the minority of idiots who cannot reach beyond there empty lager can fag end lifestyles.

 

[Gill Osborne]

...there will always be for more decent people in this world than the minority of idiots who cannot reach beyond there empty lager can fag end lifestyles.

So true Matt :clap: I'd say the majority of folk up here are really nice - it's just the occasional idiots who make it seem worse than it is! Perhaps if the government had the balls to STOP the ridiculous benefit system ( except for genuine cases) then these losers would HAVE to go out and get a job and then they wouldn't be bored!!!
I would still live in Amble given half the chance - just for the chance to have so much great habitat on my doorstep but Neil isn't too keen now.
We're ok where we are up in the hills, virtually on the Cheviots' doorstep, for now though.
Must say though, I've always felt safe when I'm up in the hills......don't get many weirdos and perverts up there! Perhaps they'd be too knackered after climbing those hills to manage to harass us girlies LOL And climbing all that way uphill on the off chance of finding a helpless female on her own must put them off! Not worth the effort!

IF it ever happens again I'll go on the attack first.....run AT them screaming and swinging my tripod above my head!!! :'D That'll scare 'em off! :t: Boudicea will have nowt on 'Mad Gill' :-O

Gill

 

[matt green]

thats the spirit gill,though i feel delia todd is correct in saying that your personal safety is more important than bins and scope that are easily replaced.most of these people are harmless burgerbar louts but there are also some nasty pieces of work out there.

the hawk no shame feels
to flee the ravens cry's anon

 

[Squirrel]

Hi Gill, I haven't been on the forum for long (hello!) but just wanted to say that I'm sorry to hear of your horrible experience, and thank goodness you're alright. Well done for not letting it keep you down!

It's great that you got your things back - I hope they're ok. Would they be covered by any insurance?

 

[cuddy]

Hi Gill sorry to hear of your ordeal, but i am impressed with your attitude to not be beat by these worthless scum.

Please let us know how the Bigg market repair shop does.

Regards Cuddy.