Hawke AirMax Compact illumination wheel very difficult to turn

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Well Healthservices - there IS a fix! I started tinkering with it since I had another AirMax Compact to use as a guide if I needed to see how things went together. Mine is now easy to turn. This took a lot longer to type than to actually do it! I hope this works for you as it solved my issue completely. Try this at your own risk but here is what I did that worked great:

(Sorry I didn't make pictures of my progress - it just didn't occur to me)

  1. Note the position of the illumination selection/adjustment turret so you can line things back up for reassembly.
  2. Remove the cover of the battery compartment and the battery.
  3. You will see a green circular plate with a gold dot -- note the position of this dot since it is important that it be in this same position when reassembled as that matches the reticle brightness with the numbers on the selection/adjustment turret. The connection points on the bottom of this green circular plate correspond to the brightness levels of the reticle so it needs to be reinstalled in the same orientation as it was originally.
  4. Remove the circular ring the battery fits into noting its orientation (the larger flat part goes down). Mine wasn't in very tight at all. There are two notches in the ring where a pin-spanner is probably supposed to fit. Not having a pin-spanner, I used a sharpened ice pick as a tool to put into one of these notches to turn the ring to loosen and remove it. No real force was required at all.
  5. The green circular plate with the gold dot will come out now as it simply sits underneath the ring.
  6. Now you will see 4 round-head Philips head screws holding down a brass plate with some cutouts in it (the internal battery prongs stick up through this plate) -- these screws were my problem and are probably your problem too. They hold the selection ring to the parts underneath and were too tight. Loosen all 4 of these (don't do anything to the 2 much smaller Phillips head screws) just a bit, test, and reassemble. That should solve the problem. 
  7. I could have stopped here but I didn't. I removed these 4 round-head screws and the brass plate (note its orientation before removing). When the brass plate comes out, there will also be a notched wheel that comes out underneath it. The teeth on this wheel fit into some notches on the inside bottom of the selection/adjustment turret. This is what creates the notch-stops as you turn the wheel. 
  8. Once the plate and notched wheel comes out you will see through the notches in the bottom of the selection/adjustment turret where the notched wheel sits to the surface underneath. I put a very, very, very tiny bit of silicone O-ring lubricant down into 3 of these notches just to lube things up a bit. Turn the selection/adjustment turret around some to spread the lubricant if you go this far. Return the selection/adjustment turret to it original position.
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    Reassemble in reverse: 
    1. The notched wheel fits into the notches.
    2. The brass plate with the cutouts goes over that. The screws go in the corners of the cutout. Tighten the screws lightly and check to see how difficult the selection ring is to turn. These screws and plate hold the notched ring down and also create the tension for the selection/adjustment turret. When you have the tension where you want it, return the selection/adjustment turret to its original position noted at the very beginning.
    3. Now place the green circular plate with the dot in and get the circular ring that holds the battery in place started threading in. Once started, align the green circular plate with the gold dot the way it was before you removed it. Hold this down with one hand (finger) while tightening the circular ring with the other hand. This requires a bit of coordination but you can get it done.
    4. Then, reinstall the battery and cover.
    5. Test -- if the brightness of the reticle doesn't match the numbers on the selection/adjustment wheel you will need to loosen the ring and rotate the green circular plate accordingly using the dot on the plate as a guide.
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Yeah. I’m serious, it took more time to type than to do it. The most difficult thing was getting the blooming battery cap off! Whoever tightened that must have tightened those 4 screws as well. One of the 4 was really tight and that was the problem. That explanation sounds really complicated, once you get into it it’s pretty simple really.
 
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Thanks Ron Yes that was it. The 4 screws that apply pressure to the round springplate was screwed down excessively. Back off the screws and the dial turns easily 👍



Screenshot_20201224-081629_Gallery.1608826646.jpg

 
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I have an Optisan EVX 6-24X50F1i and it was impossible to turn the illumination switch so I found this thread when trying to work it out.
Optisan has an easier method to free it up. There is a chrome collar with a C spanner fitting. By undoing it completely the switch mechanism drops out. Use a pointed object to turn it.
I lubricated the collar threads slightly and put it back and my switch worked again! You have to tighten it just enough so that central switch mechanism does not rotate or it won't work properly. Too tight and the switch on the side will not rotate. The illumination was an upgrade they gave me when I bought my FX MK2 and I could never use it. Now I will give it a go. Hope this helps others.
 
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