Spotting scope and LRF tripod mount

[dgheriani]

I got lotsa compliments and people asking me if they could take pictures of/did I sell the spotting scope and LRF tripod mount that I was using this past weekend at the Snipershide Team Cup. I figured I'd put up some pics and details on how to make this pretty useful and super simple adapter. Basically it's a 6" ARCA (male) plate that I attached 2 (female) ARCA receivers to. I have a tripod adapter for my Kilo 2000 that a friend of mine 3D printed that has a male ARCA dovetail on it and I put another male ARCA plate on my spotter. I then lined them up so that when I got on target with the LRF, I could transition to the spotter and already be on target. It's not an absolute co-witness but it's enough to get you on target and works for me. The nice thing is that with all the ARCA plates nicely torqued down, you can take the whole thing apart and pack the LRF, spotter and adapter separately then reattach them and maintain co-witness. Here's some pics:

 

[ZiaHunter]

Nice setup. PM sent

 

[Dave1]

[No message]

 

[BLopina]

Where did you get the parts? What brand? I found a way to do it with rrs gear a while back but it ain’t cheap. This looks more cost effective

 

[TAMU20]

Could you provide links to these parts? I am struggling finding them myself.

 

[shoobe01]

Yup, good setup. I haven't done the side by side, but it's a good idea. I have created some odd setups using generic Picatinny rails, Arca rails, Arca bases, etc. I just got a new rail today, am gonna try to get a laser pointer/illuminator on one of my setups, need more rail space.

Amazon is excellent for reliable knockoff Arca bits that make this sort of stuff cheap, and easy to experiment with. I have all my camera gear set up to use it, and my thermal, my spotter, etc. so I buy a lot of the parts. Some I have bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V9M66TM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016IOGYBU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KNPITI2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RK2DSIM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KGUCEWQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J5DYWCK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009EI3N58/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Small ones are for small cameras, or small tripods, or both. Not all apply to you therefore, but all above are ones I like and would buy again. Several I have bought over and over.

Weird curved one fits my thermal pocketscope. There's a lot of weird shaped ones like this that you can make work if you have hard to fit sights like that.

Most come with inserts from some large thread to 1/4-20 camera thread. The insert is meh, use care when tightening so both sides of the threads have full engagement as you tighten. The inserts are often wobbly enough that loctite doesn't help.

 

[flyer]

If you go to eBay look under photography and search for parts. Arca tends to be spec'd in mm rather than inches.

Tripod studs are usually either 1/4-20 or 3/8-16, both standard UNC threads. The Arca clamps tend to be threaded 3/8-16 and often come with a 1/4-20 adapter.

An interesting thing in photography is the cheese plate which is an aluminum plate drilled and tapped with a bolt pattern of 1/4-20 and/or 3/8-16 holes on a 9mm grid. A cheese plate can incorporate slots too. They can be handy as a versatile prefab bracketry to connect rails, clamps and anything else you can attach with 1/4-20 (or 3/8-16) threads.

 

[Strykervet]

Glad you found your part and it worked out well. Nice setup indeed.

I was looking at a similar solution but yours is FAR better than the cheap side by side solution I was looking at. You can get a bar with two 1/4-20 studs about a foot long where the studs can move closer or father apart. Basically same thing you did but MUCH simpler.

I wanted mine stacked though for easier use in the prone. And I have odd shit that was never intended to be used that way. Almost every part on it was either bought from or fabricated by members here. I figure I'll show it again here so others looking for ideas will have some different ideas to choose from to make what suits them best. Here was my solution:

 

[45cal4life]

I'm going to try a slightly different approach using a Nodal rail, leveling base and an Arca style clamp. The Nodal rail has a built in Arca clamp, then the leveling base will mount to the rail and the clamp to the leveling base. Plan to use the spotting scope or binos in the Nodal clamp and LRF on the leveling base. Theory is to be able to adjust / move the LRF separate from the spotting scope or bino's

 

[MPHReallyRightStuff]

There are quite a few ways to get this done with varying levels of cost. Here is one of the medium cost options.
http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/MPR-CL-II-MPR-with-integral-clamp
http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/BC-18-Micro-Ball-Clamp
All you need besides these are the plates for each.