John

Fair enough Dave. This is another CN link I'm afraid but at least it is Don Pensack who is also a member here of course: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/395293-eypiece-transmission/?p=5062914 That was the original "smooth side" Meade UWA 14mm of course. They might have improved things a little with the Mk II ones ? What matters most is how YOU find the eyepiece, of course

Their light transmission could be better ..... http://www.amateurastronomie.com/Astronomie/tips/tips3.htm (last eyepiece listed)

The original question was whether the TV Panoptic 24mm was worth double the price of the ES 24 / 68. If the OP pays £200+ for the ES 24 / 68 then the Panoptic 24 is 1.5x as expensive. Probably a similar answer to the question posed for some but it is a slightly different question now I bought my mint condition Panoptic 24 used for £160.00. Still a lot more than I sold the 24mm ES / 68 for. No regrets though - as you say, it doesn't matter a few pounds ......

Meanwhile, back at the original question asked ......

My skies are Bortle 5 according to "Clear Outside". I can see quite a swathe of the milky way, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula without a scope, on a decent night. Another interesting test of local darkness in the winter is the Orion star count: https://www.cpre.org.uk/what-we-care-about/nature-and-landscapes/dark-skies/star-count-2021/

Go with whichever works the best for you. I now use my big alt-az with a Berlebach UNI 28 so I don't need the pillars etc. The mount worked just as well on the EQ6 tripod though and I didn't need the pillar with that either.

That's interesting. I have always really liked very wide fields of view so when 100 degree eyepieces were launched (the Ethos 13mm) I jumped at the chance to go wider still, hoping that I would find them to be good as well as delivering even more expansive views than the Naglers that I had at that time. So I really wanted to like them, and I did. I'll have a small bet with myself on how you will find them - so I'll await your findings with interest to see if I've guessed right

Plus an handling charge of £8 or so I think. That was the 25% that I was on about.

Is that including the UK import duties / handling charges ?

The triplet will need more time to cool than a doublet. Not as much as a 180mm mak-cassegrain but a bit more none the less.

It will be very interesting to see how you get on with 100 degree eyepieces. The APM 20 / 100 is an excellent way to find out

Nice ! I had the 6.7mm Meade 4000 UWA (Japan made, rubber eye cup version) for a while. It was very sharp. Around 76 degrees AFoV I think but sill pretty wide and well corrected.

When I tested the 6mm Vixen SLV I found that it matched the Baader Genuine Ortho 6mm in every way each time I used the two of them. The SLV was more comfortable to use of course. The Baader GO 6mm was a touch better than the Circle-T 6mm ortho that I had at that time too although I do prefer the ergonomics of the "volcano" tops in the shorter focal lengths. I have a flat top 4mm HD Ortho at the moment (Fujiyama) and while sharp as a knife it's not an eyepiece that I enjoy using. Finding and holding that tiny eye lens in the dark needs a steady head and patience. I tried a couple of the HD orthos (Astro Hutech and Fujiyama) in 25mm and didn't like them much I'm afraid. Optically fine but the eye relief / eyepiece shape ergonomics just did not work for me - too much "eye hovering" involved.

When I've bought things from outside the EU in the past I've mentally added 25% to the costs that I pay up front to cover the UK handling charges and import duty and that seems to have been approximately what I did end up paying. I think the value that you can import without duty is much lower here - maybe £32.00 GPB ?

I think it is the cooling time for the 180 mak that is the OP's main concern ?

My fracs range from 100mm to 130mm. 120mm is a real "sweet spot" in terms of combining performance potential with relative ease of mounting and portability. They all deliver superb lunar, planetary and double star performance. The 130 is a bit more of a handful in terms of mounting needs but it is one of the 130mm F/9.2 triplets that you refer to. I tend to favour alt-azimuth mountings but I have owned and used an AVX equatorial and it did a good job even with the 130mm F/9.2:

It's a shame that the prices are escalating. I sold my mint condition ES 24mm / 68 about 18 months back for £65.00 which included delivery. I think they cost about £110 new back then.

Yes, that was what was on my mind when I asked the question. I needed two of the Rowan weights to properly balance my 130mm F/9.2 refractor on the AZ100. That scope weighs around 9.5kg all up.

No green 'til February and then it's in the early hours

Are you going to use those lovely Rowan counterweights as well ? More ££££'s but very nice https://www.firstlightoptics.com/all-mounts-motors/rowan-az100-375kg-stainless-steel-counterweight.html

I'm just about controlling my OCD

No GOTO from Skywatcher in 2004.

I didn't know that the OP wore glasses when observing ?

I think it has. I have a 2004 Skywatcher brochure and the mak-cassegrains were known as the Skymax range back then. Blue tubes with black trim for the 127 back then and an optical 6x30 finder fitted as standard.