Help with loose focuser wheel on a Svbony SV202 8x42 (1 Viewer)

[K-Optic]

I purchased a Svbony SV202 8x42 in August 2023 through AliExpress, and have been very happy with it so far.
I use it mainly indoors to view ships in the harbour here in Mossel Bay, South Africa, where I live.

Yesterday afternoon I picked up some play on the metal focuser wheel which I haven’t noticed before.
It grew worse within minutes to the extent where it wobbles on turning. (See attached video.)
It should be a fairly standard procedure to tighten it since it seems most modern roof prisms have their focuser wheels in similar arrangement?
Due to the expense and difficulty to send it back to China, I would prefer just fixing this little niggle by myself, if at all possible.

Admittedly, I have a bad case of binocularlightis, and own at least 30 pairs of binoculars including older porro's and newer roofs.
(Vortex Diamondback's, Leica Trinovid, Zeiss Deltrintem, Conquest and SFL, Swarofski Habicht, CL, and Curio, Sky Rover Banner Cloud, Nikon EII, Kowa and Minolta Porro's from the 80's, etc.) I also have the Svbony SV202 in 8x32, and just ordered their new SA205 8x42.

Even with all the above choices, the Svbony SV202 8x42 is one of my favourite binoculars and I would dearly like to repair it.

Any help or advice will be appreciated.

 

[paddyluke]

i would guess that there's a screw in the middle of focus wheel that has come loose

 

[K-Optic]

i would guess that there's a screw in the middle of focus wheel that has come loose

Hi paddyluke. My guess as well. The question is how do you get to it? It seems the focuser wheel is a machined piece of metal with no screw showing or accessable. On older porro prisms, this screw are usually visible and accessable, but on this binocular I can't figure out how to access it with the single cup like design of the machined focuser wheel.

 

[paddyluke]

Hi paddyluke. My guess as well. The question is how do you get to it? It seems the focuser wheel is a machined piece of metal with no screw showing or accessable. On older porro prisms, this screw are usually visible and accessable, but on this binocular I can't figure out how to access it with the single cup like design of the machined focuser wheel.

there is probably a metal disc which is glued in place, prise it off and i would say there would be a screw underneath

 

[K-Optic]

So after further investigation this afternoon, with phone camera and light, it turns out that the focuser wheel has a machined metal cap that covers two tiny screws that holds the wheel in place.
This metal cap can be popped off from from the wheel by approaching if from the objective side. The "back" of the focuser wheel is basically a hollow cup when seen from this side, with the metal cap stuck to the outside bottom.
I used a sturdy wooden pointed kebab skewer, about 3.5mm thick to press the cap off from the inside. You have to align the "tool" with a slot made for this purpose, with 4 holes on the cap side to press on the metal cover plate. This then pops off quite easily.
It's actually quite simple, as can be seen by the attached photos.
I then tightened the screws after a nano drop of "locktite", and re-glued the metal cap back in place with a drop of epoxy glue.