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From microscopes to telescopes, rifle scopes to night vision, eHow’s got the optics information you’re looking for. In the market for binoculars? On the hunt for the perfect optical accessories for the bird watcher in your life? Advice from eHow experts make shopping for optics easy. Having trouble getting a good look at Mars on a perfectly clear night? Learn how to focus a telescope. From sighting wild game to locating a paramecium on a microscope slide, see it all with step-by-step instructions from resident experts.

Categories in Optics

Articles in Optics

How to Adjust a Rifle Scope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Knowing how to properly adjust a rifle scope will pay dividends when it comes to getting consistent and accurate results during hunting or target practice. How you perform these adjustments will depend on what type of rifle scope you are using... more »

How to Buy a Rifle Scope for a Junior Hunter

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Rifle scopes are available with a variety of options, including different magnification, reticle type and resolution. Choose a rifle scope wisely, and your junior hunter will get much more out of hunting... more »

How to Buy a Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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The best telescope is not the most expensive or the biggest - it's the one you'll use most... more »

How to Calculate the Field of View of the Sky-Watcher Short Tube Refractor Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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The area in which you can see through your telescope is known as the true field of view. Your telescope’s field of view is determined by the design of the eyepiece. Here is how to find the field of view of the Sky-Watcher Short Tube Refractor ... more »

How to Change a Microscope Light Bulb

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Microscopes can bring those seemingly invisible creatures of our earth to life on your glass slide. Sometimes the light bulb gets too dim or burns out. If your microscope light bulb needs to be changed, hurry to your computer and order a new ... more »

How to Maintain a Microscope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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A microscope is an investment. Even student models come at a price tag that will make you take your microscope seriously. Microscopes vary in quality and function, but their lifespan will be extended if you maintain them properly. In fact, with ... more »

How to Protect the Lenses on Binoculars

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Birders, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts who want to check out the terrain consider their binoculars a necessity. Nature watchers rely on them for quick species identification. Rafters or mountaineers use them to scout up ahead. You may ... more »

How to Use a Camera Adapter Tube With the Sky-Watcher SK1206AZ3 Short Tube Refractor Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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One of the main reasons for using a telescope is advanced photography. A telescope can be attached to a camera for high quality detailed photos. The Sky-Watcher SK1206AZ3 Short Tube Refractor Telescope also offers such functionality. However, ... more »

How to Use a Dobsonian Reflector Telescope

By eHow Hobbies, Games & Toys Editor

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Dobsonian refers to the kind of mount - inexpensive, but cumbersome - on which the telescope sits. It moves the telescope on an XY axis, which is to say, up and down and left to right... more »

How to Use a Retina Biometric Scanner

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Retina scanners are one of the most reliable and effective biometric scanning devices. By scanning the ultra-specific retinal blood vessel patterns unique to every person, retina scanners provide an almost foolproof means of identifying a person. ... more »

How to Use an Apochromatic Refractor Telescope

By eHow Hobbies, Games & Toys Editor

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Apochromatic telescopes are more expensive than reflecting telescopes, but they require less maintenance and are extremely portable... more »

How to Disable Offensive Streetlight Glare

By jiminflux

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If you've ever wished you could do something to reduce the glare of public streetlights in your windows at night, or wanted it a little darker in your backyard so you could see the stars, here is a legal, non-destructive way to improve the ... more »

How to Sight in a Rifle Scope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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A rifle scope lets you employ the full potential of your hunting rifle at the rifle's maximum range. Before you can use your scope, you must sight it in with your rifle... more »

How to Align the Equatorial Mount of the Celestron FirstScope 114 Short Newtonian Equatorial Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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The setting circles of the equatorial mount make it easy to locate objects in the sky. To use these setting circles, you must first align the equatorial mount with the earth's axis of rotation... more »

How to Align the Red Dot Finder of Your Meade 8N LightBridge Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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The Meade 8-inch LightBridge truss tube Dobsonian telescope comes equipped with a red dot finder instead of the traditional crosshair configuration found in other telescopes. To get the most of your new red dot tool you need to align this tool ... more »

How to Assemble Your Meade LX90 Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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The Meade LX90 telescope line comes almost fully ready to view the stars. Within a few minutes of unboxing and unwrapping your telescope, you will be ready to look at the many constellations in the sky. Just follow these simple instructions to ... more »

How to Calculate the Magnification of a Sky-Watcher SK MAK Maksutov-Cassegrain Spotting Scope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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You determine the magnification power of a telescope from the focal length of the eyepiece and the focal length of the telescope. The eyepiece in the Sky-Watcher SK MAK series is either 10 mm or 25 mm; the telescope ranges from 1250 to 1500 mm... more »

How to Collect Rifle Scopes

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Collecting rifle scopes can be a fascinating hobby, especially when you take into account the craftsmanship and precision of these optical instruments. You can choose to collect rifle scopes on the basis of their size, crosshair type, relative ... more »

How to Find Objects From a Star Chart With the Celestron FirstScope 76 Newtonian Equatorial Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Use the setting circles for right ascension and declination on your Celestron Firstscope to quickly locate heavenly objects. You can find the objects' coordinates in star charts or atlases. Just follow these steps... more »

How to Increase Accuracy when Using a Rifle Scope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Using a rifle scope will give you a big advantage over conventional rifle sights when it comes to accuracy. By choosing a scope that is right for you, and knowing how to adjust it properly, you will be able to increase that advantage even more... more »

How to Maintain a Rifle Scope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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While the majority of rifle scopes these days are very robust instruments that are very difficult to damage, you will still need to perform some basic maintenance on them. By keeping your rifle scope clean and the lens protected from the ... more »

How to Select Astronomy Binoculars

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Observing the stars is a hobby that requires good equipment if you plan on getting the most out of it. Astronomy can be done from home or while you travel, but you'll need the right tools, especially if you're going to enjoy astronomy away from ... more »

How to Set the Polar Home Position of Your Meade LXD 75 Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Setting the polar home position of your telescope will help you accurately view celestial objects. By following these steps, you will be able to set the polar home position without too much trouble... more »

How to Use an Extension Tube

By eHow Electronics Editor

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An extension tube for a telescope or other optic acts between the objective lens and the eyepiece of the instrument by spacing and funneling light. Extension tubes affect focus capability by moving the lens within the eyepiece further from the ... more »

How to Use the Guided Tour Function of the Meade LX90GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope

By eHow Electronics Editor

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Your Mead telescope can provide a guided tour of the heavens that can be as inspiring as it is educational. Here's how the guided tour function works... more »