DIY Fluid Goggles

[whucash]

Nostres nice work!

 

[nostres]

Thanks Luke but this is just so easy to do

Ptoot, I just got back from pool and I can see good above and below water. I see sharper than I expected and I see no rainbow, even thou it's raining

Regarding Your other two questions, did You read my previous post with pictures? I know phone camera takes poor pictures but they should give You idea how it works. I will take good pictures next week when I am back home, for now I attach two more pics. where I am pointing with pen the points where glue is applied.

 

[qai4321]

[FONT=&quot]Well I got round to ordering the lenses. I got 3 pairs of 20mm 20fl PCX for 22$ from optotronics.com and with them I made three different goggles. I used plastic cap tops for one and some rubber table leg stoppers for the other. The third I mounted outside. They all work pretty well, with the clear lens performing better than the colored lens. The lens is a bit thick so it touches my eye lashes on the two that are mounted inside.
I recommend anyone interested to give it a go, they were easier to make than I initially thought.

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[nostres]

[FONT=&quot]Well I got round to ordering the lenses. I got 3 pairs of 20mm 20fl PCX for 22$ from optotronics.com and with them I made three different goggles. I used plastic cap tops for one and some rubber table leg stoppers for the other. The third I mounted outside. They all work pretty well, with the clear lens performing better than the colored lens. The lens is a bit thick so it touches my eye lashes on the two that are mounted inside.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I recommend anyone interested to give it a go, they were easier to make than I initially thought. [/FONT]

$22 for 3 pairs? I was ripped off

I just want to add here that placement of the lenses is crucial, it will cause double vision if lenses are not in center of the eye. So I had someone to make a marker dot on my goggles, I alligned center of the lens with the dot and double vision is now gone.

 

[monkeyhatfork]

I just made the same order from optotrinics you actually have to buy three sets cause there is a 20$ minimum order, can't wait to try them out

 

[monkeyhatfork]

optotronics

 

[ptoot]

I bought those lenses from Optotronics as well, they arrived today and to be honest, I can't see through them under water!

The ones I received weren't 20mm diameter, but 18mm. I reckon the focal length I expect to be less than 20mm.

I can compare: I have a 20/20PCX from Edmund Optics that gives me perfect vision under water (alas I broke the 2nd one, hence my need for a few lenses).

@monkeyhatfork,
@nostres,
@qai4321 : Could you check the diameter of the lenses that Optotronics sent you, so I can compare with mine? Thanks a lot!

 

[nostres]

Ptoot, I didn't buy my lenses from Optotronics. I got them from Anchor Optics - 21dia./23fl but they came correct 2nd time. First time they sent me not even PCX lenses but some flat lenses. So there is slight chance they messed up Your order.

 

[qai4321]

Hah, as a matter of fact they are 18mm in diameter. However I havent had any problems in the pool. Im going to try them out on a deep dive this weekend and ill let you know if they work in the ocean.

 

[ptoot]

@qai4321: do you usually wear corrective glasses? I had Edmund's Pcx20/20 and they were significantly sharper. Thanks!
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[efattah]

It doesn't matter if you need corrective glasses on land. That has no effect underwater.

 

[qai4321]

@qai4321: do you usually wear corrective glasses? I had Edmund's Pcx20/20 and they were significantly sharper. Thanks!
Posted via Mobile Device

No as a matter of fact, I dont. Ill get to try them out against some of the commercially available googles this weekend and post some results.

 

[nostres]

I bought those lenses from Optotronics as well, they arrived today and to be honest, I can't see through them under water!

The ones I received weren't 20mm diameter, but 18mm. I reckon the focal length I expect to be less than 20mm.

I can compare: I have a 20/20PCX from Edmund Optics that gives me perfect vision under water (alas I broke the 2nd one, hence my need for a few lenses).

@monkeyhatfork,
@nostres,
@qai4321 : Could you check the diameter of the lenses that Optotronics sent you, so I can compare with mine? Thanks a lot!

Ptoot,

You are second person now with this problem. Emero got his lenses and vision is far from expected which sucks even more for people from EU who pay expensive shipping.
This may be warning to others who order from Optotronics. I would recommend using Anchor Optics since everybody was happy with them so far. They use Grade 1 optical glass which may play big role here.
Optotronics is either selling lower grade lenses or sending wrong focal length.

 

[qai4321]

Just tried the goggles in the ocean and yah, they weren't very clear. They were a little better than not having anything on, but not as good as the liquivision goggles. I think ill try Anchor optics for my next attempt. The problem Im having ordering from Edmund optics is that they dont tell you the shipping prices until after you give all the credit card detail?!

Nostras what did you pay for shipping for you Edmund lenses?

 

[qai4321]

Ptoot, I didn't buy my lenses from Optotronics. I got them from Anchor Optics - 21dia./23fl but they came correct 2nd time. First time they sent me not even PCX lenses but some flat lenses. So there is slight chance they messed up Your order.

How did the 21dia/23fl lenses work Nostres? were you able to compare them to 20x20 lenses? whats the difference?

 

[nostres]

How did the 21dia/23fl lenses work Nostres? were you able to compare them to 20x20 lenses? whats the difference?

They work near perfect for me but I am not sure how much of a factor is my slight astigmatism here. Efattah says it doesn't matter so let's stick with that.
Till now I only had 21.5/23 lenses so no comparison. I just ordered 20/20 lenses from Anchor Optics what a hell, one life.
I should get them in few days and will post results from pool.
But I did discover something big, I am able to get my 23mm lenses to give me perfect vision just by tilting the goggles!
By tilting I mean changing agle between eye and lens by moving them underwater, top of goggles slightly away from face. So by mounting lenses inside goggles on angle I should achieve the same effect, it's just tricky to find sweet spot as it has to be done underwater.
Almost there, we'll make it perfect
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[nostres]

Thank you for contacting Anchor Optics, a division of Edmund Optics. I show that your order has been received. However, item 23086 is on backorder. The current ship date is 8/6/10. We are in the process of trying to expedite this item. We are hoping to receive this item in stock by 6/30/10.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact our customer service department toll free at 1-800-363-1992.

Regards,

Danielle Kay
Catalog Sales Support Rep
Edmund Optics | America
1-800-363-1992 x 6005
Fax 856-573-6295
Website & on-line catalog : Optics, Imaging, and Photonics Technology - Edmund Optics
Learn more about Edmund Optics Products & Capabilities at: Marketing Literature - Edmund Optics

 

[ptoot]

Hi all,

Apparently Optotronics did not send lenses according to their specs on the website. I have not yet been able to determine the actual focal length of the lenses sold, but the diameter sure is not 20mm.

Now, as others have noticed as well, the spheric lenses (half marbles) hardly give you better vision that no lenses at all under water. Yesterday in the pool I experimented with one lens inside the goggle and one held in front of the goggle and guess what? It works!

The underwater vision is sharp, it does not take much of an effort to get used to (it is slightly enlarged, as is often the case with masks too) but allows me to see the line, plate and watch ) Happily not all is lost.

Downside is that with these weak lenses you actually need 4 of them. But some of us ordered quite a few to get to the 20$ minimum order. I used clear "silicone glue" (the kind they used for fishtanks) to glue the lenses with one drop to the inside and outside of the goggle.

I have to admit: The field of vision is not very wide but what do you expect from watching through a crystal ball?

Optotronics have run out of stock, seems to have sold anything that remotely looked like a lens a a PCX20/20.

There is NO comparison with optical lenses sold by Edmunds. I was as clumsy as to drop two perfect lenses, but check out the picture below: The flat lens on the left is actually TWICE as strong as the two hemispheres on the right.

Also notice the difference in diameter and hight of the two lenses on the right, sold as 20mm diameter but actually measuring 17.x and 19mm.

I'm thinking of filling anything out of my sharp field of vision with silicone to minimize the risk of a 'frozen brain' from thermocline.

Now are these the lowcost goggles I intended to build? Depends on where you live! I had it sent to Europe, adding another 29$ (!) postage to the order, but this is the final account:

I used Arena kiddy's goggles (these are clear, enough space between the goggles for me and the lenses are perfectly flat (they often are NOT parallel in adult models, pointing outward).

Here goes:

Arena goggles: 7 euro
4 Optotronics lenses including postage: 41 euro (51$)
Glue 6 euro

Total: 54 euro

BTW: Optotronics sent me 5 lenses rather than the 6 I ordered in two different sizes.

They suggested I'd send the lenses back ($29) and so they could replace them with actual 20mm ones and return them ($29) but they would not pay for the postage (an extra $58). Alternatively, I could send them back ($29) to get a $21 refund, actually costing me 8 dollars; Which one would you choose? :blackeye

 

[qai4321]

Ptoot thats interesting info you supplied. Ill try that idea of placing a second set of lenses on the outside just so that I can make use of the damn things.

Did I see correctly, you placed the lenses with the flat bits facing each other? Im not sure if I have the optics right, but doesnt that almost cancel them out?

I did place an order with Anchor optics, unfortunately they have a back order till the end of June.:head

The website claimed the shipping would cost 10$ but after I made the payment they claim the cheapest option available is 24$...which sucks a bit.

Your lenses look really neatly attached, can you explain further how you used one drop of silicon glue to attach them?

 

[ericvrp]

I took the new toys to the lake and loved the noseclip. The fluid goggles were of the same unsharpness as in the bathtub. I'm mailing with Trygons to see why things are like this.

- Eric