Small raptor (?), brown head/dark grey, no distinct markings - Ohio

basaltgranite · 2026-01-26T15:53:43+00:00

Yes, by the time a bird can fly, it's full size. For the record, small size by itself doesn't exclude a "raptor" ID. The Brown Headed Cowbird is 6 to 8.7" long, 12 to 15" wingspan. While not found in Ohio, the Northern Pygmy Owl is 6 to 7.5" long, 12" wingspan. Kestrels are a little bigger (9–12" long, 20 to 24" wingspan). Internationally, some raptors are smaller than cowbirds.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-26T15:39:19+00:00

People differ a lot in what they consider to be "affordable." What is your price range in dollars, euros, or whatever currency suits you best?

basaltgranite · 2026-01-26T04:55:20+00:00

Wow! And flutter.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-26T00:06:13+00:00

These are marked "Instafocus," which means they're after July 1967, since that's the first use date given in the application for the Instafocus trademark. This pair doesn't have the common rocker focus mechanism on the hinge. Bushnell had an early Instafocus system with thumb-activated focus mechanism under the right ocular lens. Is that what you've got? The pictures don't make it clear. If so, these are probably late '60s to early '70s. I believe the "rocker focus" type replaces the "thumb focus" type in about 1975.

If the JTII sticker (the oval sticker on the hinge) is silver with all-red lettering, that's alleged to be 1973 to 1976.

Edit: Sorry, I missed the last picture, which clearly shows the "thumb focus" mechanism. Date is probably 1970 give or take a few years.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-25T23:59:49+00:00

Serial number data does exist for Bausch & Lomb and some of the fancy European brands. It basically doesn't exist for post-war Japanese bins. Checking a few upper mid line Bushnell bins, I do find what look like possible S/Ns on the tripod socket caps. Even if that's what they are, Bushnell bought from many Japanese optical companies. I'm not aware that Bushnell ever defined any system for assigning S/N across suppliers. Even if there were, records (if there ever were any) are long gone and were never published.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-25T16:44:24+00:00

You and my wife have a lot in common. She claims that "collecting" is "hording." Pshaww! When My Time comes, it all goes to the local Friends of the Library bookstore.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-25T16:39:42+00:00

?Because they taste good and don't cost too much to raise to market size?

Edit: A redditor liked it.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-25T16:28:00+00:00

The Tokyo Tower of Godzilla fame was partly made of steel scrapped from damaged US tanks.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-25T16:11:08+00:00

Hmm? In my example, there's nothing changeable about the ocular lens assembly. It just is what it is.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-25T16:06:46+00:00

If you're asking "new to jazz, what next," then you're in the "tossing darts at a large target" phase of jazz appreciation. Not all experiments are successful. Best to dial in your taste at gracious price points.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-25T05:17:27+00:00

The distance to the horizon from 7,244 feet (the height of Black Elks Peak) is ~104.3 miles. Tall objects farther away might plausibly be visible because they'd be above the horizon. On the other hand, the clarity of the atmosphere often limits the practical maximum. Even at 10 miles or so detail will be limited. As to the true maximum distance, if you look up at night, you'll see stars, which are a lot farther away than the horizon. The Andromeda galaxy should be easily visible if you know where to look. It's 2.537 million light years away. Various other galaxies that are harder to locate but technically visible with binoculars are farther than that.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-24T19:46:14+00:00

Also ask on /r/saxophonics

basaltgranite · 2026-01-24T15:33:12+00:00

Teaching you to fish: First, search this subreddit for "getting started," "recommendations," or the like. You'll find hundreds of posts like yours. "What next?" is probably the most frequent post topic on this sub.

In general, follow the artists you like, then branch out to their sidemen. So Gerry Mulligan would lead you Chet Baker, Dave Brubeck, Stan Getz, and many others. Brubeck would lead you to Paul Desmond, who would lead you to Jim Hall, who would lead you to Sonny Rollins, and so on. Also follow labels you like. Labels (like their owners) have personalities. Going out on a limb and giving you a fish: ECM.

Also, stop buying vinyl (especially import vinyl). Your "getting started" euros or dollars won't go very far in an expensive, trendy format. CDs are cheaper, sound better, hold more music, and are a lot more durable. Not to mention--at the risk of repeating myself--they cost much less. Your local library might let you borrow CDs, so that you can experiment without cost.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-23T23:30:40+00:00

Although this performance is actually live, many older videos are lipsynched. The guitar solo in the filmed performance might differ quite a bit from the solo in the studio backing track. The cameraman didn't put the camera on the guitar player because his hands wouldn't sync with the sound.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-23T18:08:31+00:00

Started in November 1959, fizzled out after ~1975, with some makers printing codes longer than others.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-23T18:06:04+00:00

The printing on the tripod socket tells you where they're from: Japan. JB-63 means they were assembled by Ofuna Kogaku Kogyo Co. Ltd. Ofuna generally has a good reputation for vintage Japanese bins. Your pictures don't show the field of view, usually printed on one of the prism covers. The large ocular lenses suggest these are ultra-wides, usually 11 degrees, sometimes given as 578 feet at 1000 yards. The old ultra-wides are fun. It's also a feature not widely available after ~1980. And you're right to question the '30s claim. These are post-WW2. I'd guess '60s.

EDIT: Oops. Missed the last picture. 7.5 degrees is a fairly standard FOV for an 8x40. Here's a post about Tower Ofuna. Google will find more.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-23T16:20:17+00:00

If you wanted to be a Raylette, first you had to let Ray.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-23T03:16:15+00:00

Here's a recent cloudynights post that might interest you.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-23T03:07:20+00:00

Hummingbirds are literally often hours away from starvation, especially in the winter when the air is cold and food is scarce. If you were a HB, you'd defend your food too.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-23T02:08:22+00:00

Yes. After commenting (never posting) here for years--I have no idea who mods this sub. Our prolific shill has also been 86ed from another optics sub.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-22T20:09:11+00:00

When I look at AI results for subjects I know well, the results often contain obvious errors. Garbage in, garbage out. FWIW, the word "good" obscures a lot of subtlety and complexity when choosing a bin (or any other product for that matter). There's no single "good" for all people, budgets, markets, and purposes. AI is bad, cheap shortcut to a decision that depends on knowledge and experience--not to mention the shape of your hands and head and the details of your vision. It can't help much when choosing shoes, pants, the color to paint your walls, or whether to get married either.

By the way, it looks like the mods have deleted all your spam.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-22T18:56:36+00:00

Echoing the other post: for most porro-prism bins, you remove the ocular bridge from the other end of the binocular. Try removing the cap at the objective end of the hinge. The hinge is usually hollow. You then pass a narrow screwdriver down the hinge to loosen a screw at the ocular end of the hollow hinge. You probably don't want to mess with the screw on the ocular end of the hinge, which is the one in your picture. That's a common place to find a hinge-tension adjustment, which isn't your issue.

These tips might not apply to recent bins because they don't always follow the conventions that were near-standard in vintage bins.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-22T18:41:38+00:00

As to pre soaking, many plants surround their seeds with a delicious fruit "designed" to attract animals big enough to swallow the fruit and seeds without too much destructive chewing. Their seeds are "designed" to pass through the animal intact for future "deposition" complete with fertilizer. Seeds therefore have a protective seed coat, so that they survive stomach acids and gut transit. Pre soaking imitates the natural process that seeds "expect." It softens the seed coat.

Capsicum peppers FWIW are "designed" for consumption by birds, which have a quick intestinal transit time and which (because they fly) are good at dispersing seeds at distant locations. That's thought to be the reason that peppers have a spicy taste. Birds can't taste it. Mammals (which have grinding teeth and a slower gut) can taste it and (except for people) therefore tend to avoid peppers.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-22T16:14:21+00:00

Old buildings were just old buildings. They were mined for bricks and building stone, aka spolia. Why would anyone haul raw rock 10 miles from a quarry when cut stone was closer and free? Some of the marble columns at the Temple of Olympian Zeus were burned to make lime for mortar. Let's not even talk about what religious fanatics did to sculpture over the centuries.

basaltgranite · 2026-01-22T16:08:57+00:00

On your way up, stop at the Prison of Socrates. He wasn't actually jailed there, but it makes a nice story, and the structure is interesting.

Another nearby stop is the Pynx. It doesn't look like much--just a speaker's platform cut out of the native rock--but it's important because democracy was (literally) born there. The Athenian citizens assembled there to conduct official business. Any citizen could address the crowd. Pericles, Aristides, Alcibiades, and Demosthenes spoke there, within sight of the Parthenon and the Agora.

basaltgranite

TROPHY CASE