John

54 minutes ago, Skipper Billy said:

PS - I should counsel that chucking money at it is no guarantee of success. Maybe the best £20 you could spend right now would be on this.....

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

Excellent comment and recommendation

4 hours ago, Louis D said:

.... Does the 31mm Nagler have the same usable eye relief as the 22mm NT4? .....

 

It's been a long time since I owned the 22mm T4 but I seem to recall that it was an easy eyepiece to see the full field with, maybe a touch easier than the 31mm T5 ?

Don Pensack might see this and comment - he probably has more recent experience of these two eyepieces than I do.

I believe that Don now uses the 22 T4 Nagler rather than the 21mm Ethos because he now finds the eye relief more comfortable and the optical quality comparable.

4 minutes ago, Ken82 said:

It arrived today 😀 unfortunately the dhl driver just threw it over my gate, what an *rse. But as ever the packaging is bomb proof and the eyepiece is perfect.....
 

 

I heard this a few times about delivery people but I'm glad that it's never happened to me, so far

If you bought the eyepiece new it would be worth mentioning it to the vendor. I'm sure they would be interested to learn how the delivery company are treating stuff that they supplied to their valued customers.

6 minutes ago, globular said:

Postie delivered:

• an empty baader filter box (for my DGM NPB which comes in a nice case but it doesn't tessellate with all my other cases)
• an artificial star (which seems to just be a cheap torch with some holes in the end but it works ok)
• some of Robert's very handy collimation buttons (I'll call him Bob when I get to know him better)

I have one of those "artificial stars". Despite being a simple design, it does work pretty well I'm pleased to say 

21 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

That would still be a wonderful set in October 2020 John. I wonder how many you still have.

I still have the 31mm Nagler and the 13mm Ethos.

I came across this photo of the eyepiece set that I had back in October 2009. There is a theme there

I've had a couple of the Skywatcher 200mm F/5's in the past (actually mine were branded Celestron and Helios but they were the same thing) and I've been impressed how well they performed. You can get clean and tidy used ones for £130 or so and they deliver a lot of observing potential for not many £'s IMHO.

Mostly I've been sending stuff out lately, clearing the decks, as it were.

I did treat myself to this though to partner my 2 inch Lumicon O-III. Looking forward to trying this on the Autumn / Winter nebulae including good old Messier 42 of course

I don't think the larger CO will be a problem for deep sky observing.

F/4 is a fast newtonian though. I think coma will be apparent in 68 degree AFoV eyepieces, provided that they are well corrected enough that their astigmatism does not mask it.

Excellent choice Ken

Have you used a 31mm Nagler before ?

The eye positioning can take a little getting used to but once you have the knack, it's superb.

I think my Nagler 31 is the eyepiece that I've owned the longest of all of my current ones - over a decade now.

3 minutes ago, Ricochet said:

Not quite. I use a a premium Cheshire for my secondary and switch to a short Cheshire with the crosshair a removed for the primary. I used to use a barlowed laser for the primary, but the batteries ran out and I still haven't got round to replacing them. 

This is the style of short Cheshire I have https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293772110824. You might find sellers with even cheaper prices, that was just the first search result. 

Thats how I do it as well. I do have a laser collimator and it is collimated but I use that more often for checking the alignment of refractor focusers.

My secondary rarely moves so most of the time it's a quick check with the short cheshire, tweak if needed and on we go.

1 hour ago, Ally8446 said:

That's great news, thanks.

Is that a Berlebach tripod ? 

No, it's an Oberwerk I think. These were also supplied with the big Helios 45 / 90 degree observation binoculars and maybe under other brandings as well. Not quite as good as a Berlebach Uni but tall and stable none the less.

The AZ-4 is compatible with EQ3-2 / EQ5 / HEQ5 mount heads and tripods so the extension that fits those will work with the AZ-4.

I used to use my Vixen ED102SS F/6.5 on an AZ-4 and it worked very well. The ED80 will be right at home on one:

16 minutes ago, Ken82 said:

Yes definitely drunk on vodka 😂
 

It was a small gathering near Ashbourne, Derbyshire. 
 

I remember looking through your 22” dob and 13 ethos and thinking my god that is photographic ! We were looking at M51 and to me it is still the best view Of 51 I’ve seen ! 

The views through a really big dob with a quality eyepiece do leave lasting memories

I had a similar experience a few years back with a 20 inch and Messier 13 and Messier 51

1 hour ago, Louis D said:

No problem.  He and Al Nagler of Tele Vue are practically treated as demigods of astronomy gear over here.  I wonder who the UK equivalents would be. 🤔

David Sinden ?

Henry Wildey ?

Peter Drew ?

Rob Miller ?

Dudley Fuller ?

David Lukehurst ?

Edit: maybe better discussed in another thread though ?

Just now, merlin100 said:

Sorry, I've never heard of the gentleman.  No disrespect intended, but being relatively new to the hobby, many of these names mean nothing to me.😲

No problem. There is a lot to learn

4 minutes ago, merlin100 said:

Firstly, who? Secondly, I try never to buy expensive used stuff off of eBay, only ancillary equipment, usually bits and pieces. I prefer to buy brand new telescopes and eyepieces, mostly from 'bricks and mortar' retailers, like FLO, etc.

Roland Christian - founder of Astro-Physics.

Most of my stuff (90% ?) has been bought on the used market. I could not have afforded it all otherwise

I've run an Orion Optics 10 inch F/4.8 on a Giro-type alt-azimuth mount. That was a nice rig and easy to set up and use but the OO tubes are lighter than their chinese counterparts. The AZ100 would certainly cope with it easily. If you are after DSO's the additional light gathering of the 250mm over the 200mm is worth having I feel.

I have owned a Skywatcher 250PX dob but never used that OTA on an alt-az mount.

Good report !

I'm finding Uranus by it's position at the top of a triangle with two stars in Cetus at the bottom. Uranus is the brightest thing in that particular patch of the sky:

54 minutes ago, Don Pensack said:

Eye relief of an eyepiece is a fixed quantity.  Adding the eyeguard extender to the eyepiece doesn't change the eye relief--it's still 20mm--but it pulls the eye back and makes it easier to acquire and hold the exit pupil when glasses are not worn.

I wonder if I could fit something similar to my ES 92 / 17mm ?. I've grown to like the eyepiece but what would really clinch it would be having the eye cup just a few mm further out.

Great looking setup - congratulations

Good to see really effective baffling in a scope. The focuser looks the business as well !

Well I have a clear conscience

I've recently sold a number of items, all in excellent condition and at prices of 50%-60% of the retail. All sold quickly and I'm pleased that they will be continuing to give good service under new ownership

Another plus point for the Delos eye cup adjustment are the calibration marks etched on the eyepiece barrel. Once you know where you like them and where your wife likes them, it is much easier to get the position spot on. With the XW you have to sort of remember how many twists.

This image is from Matthew Hodgson's great review:

The full review can be found here:

http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2014/05/04/televue-delos-eyepiece-review/

Hi Mark,

I think a Skytee II with upgraded clamps and on a 2 inch steel or Berlebach tripod would cope with that. Counterweights on the shaft opposite the scope would be needed I think. The stock 1.75 inch tripod might be a bit on the light / short side.

If he can do without slow motion controls, the Giro Ercole would be another option.

A strong tripod helps to get the most from these mounts when they are well loaded up.

The above will not be entirely vibration free but if the optical tube is balanced they should be quite useable.

7 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Actually a bit more complex than that.  It's the top and bottom of the upper/outer barrel of the eyepiece.  The lowest part of the eyepiece that resides in the focuser plays no part in the adjustment.  Thus, it is a two handed operation compared to what can be a single handed operation for the Pentax XW as you stated.

Sloppy description of the operation by me !

I did try and find a video to illustrate but could not find one quickly.

It's not a difficult operation but I would not want to have to do it repeatedly during a session. Even with the XW's it would be a chore to have to adjust the eye cup position by more than a small amount each time a different observer uses the scope.

Obvious solution: a set of Delos for him and a set of XW's for her