John

Quite a range of pieces there ! Nice to see the Speers-WALER's - very nice eyepieces but rather uncommon over here.

The Vixen is the best 4" refractor I've owned or used Stu. Despite being F/6.5 it's CA control matches the ED100 that preceeded it and it's overall optical figure is excellent. I'm going to put a Moonlite on it next week to smarten it up a little I guess I'd have to move to a Tak or TV 4" to get any improvement and even then I suspect it would be slight. Back on the Bresser 127 tack, look what someone in Germany did with a pair of them :

Thats the problem I have - I can't think of how to explain to my other half why I need a long 102mm refractor as well as my shorter Vixen ED102 !. I suspect the "but it looks really nice" excuse won't do the trick That said I've got a TAL 100R standing next to me at the moment .... gathering dust ....

Nice looking pair of fracs Derek I strongly suspect that the Moonlite will exceed the stock focuser of the Bresser by some margin, if the Bresser one is like the one I had on my Bresser 127L and Meade AR5 (which I believe are the same scope). They are functional and thats about it. I've not tried one of the 102mm F/11 achros as yet. They always look rather elegant in their proportions

I had a TAL 100 RT refractor delivered to my work address many years ago. Back then the TAL's came in large wooden crates and this one had come all the way from the TAL factory in Siberia - it still had it's factory seals intact. My colleages said they thought it was a small coffin when it was delivered ! I ought to add that I did this because myself and my family were on an extended holiday in the USA at the time, rather than any subterfuge

Good point. I've been able to find out with the Myriad 5mm and 3.5mm that FLO loaned me.

Alan, Interesting that you are selling your XW 5mm, have the 4.5mm Delos and are considering the 4.7mm E. As you know I have the 6mm E and the 5mm XW. Looking at it very critically I reckon the XW is probably very slightly better than the E on the sort of things I use that magnification for. I'm wonder if the 4.7 E, apart from the big FoV gain, would really deliver anything for me, other than satisfying curiosity ? I still might get a rush of blood to the head and go for the 4.7mm E at some point but I'm not convinced enough at present. Ask me another day and I might be thinking differently though !

4.7mm something or other ?

What a load of old rubbish Alan If you had invested in that Revelation eyepiece and filter set a couple of years back as I suggested you would have saved youself a lot of trouble and just need one small case !

My observing kit comprises of scope, eyepieces + filters, a red torch and the Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas. Thats enough to keep me busy for a few hours, clouds allowing. I sometimes pop indoors for a coffee to warm up or to consult a more detailed star atlas or my laptop,

The last two cases pictured have both been pretty neat and tidy and full of useful goodies

My set has actually not changed for a while now, which breaks the trend of the past decade I'm going to be playing with a set of the Vixen SSW's for a while though, thanks to First Light Optics

Not a "ramble" at all, very interesting stuff Dave

I think thats the 1st time I've seen your eyepiece case Dave Those ES boxes are massive !. I thought you might be an ortho type person but maybe not ? Nice set though

Thats a great set Dom

This is my favourite mak of the ones I've owned. It's an Intes (despite the Orion sticker !) MN61 an F/5.9 maksutov-newtonian. Lovely scope, great optics and very well put together by the Russians

Great looking scope David Here is the 6" F/12 Istar that I used to have - quite a handfull to mount and a challenge even for an EQ6 on the massive Meade Giant Field Tripod !

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Hi Dave, The conclusion I've come to over Unitron / Polarex refractors is that their quality, like many mass produced scope types, varies. You have had a couple good ones, others were not so lucky. I've had similar expriences with other refractors where I've had a good one followed by a mediocre one a while later. I reckon the Celestron and Meade SCT's are the same as are many scopes.

Hi and welcome to SGL The ED80 doublets are very nice scopes but I can't agree with you about a 12" dob. I've owned loads of lovely refractors including a number of the ED's and currently a Vixen ED102 and Skywatcher ED120 but my 12" dob out performs them in every way apart perhaps from the aesthetics of double stars. I can't compete with your 61 years of scope owning though - my own experience is just 35 years It's great to celebrate the scope designs in these threads but lets not loose sight of the high standards of performance and versatility that the wide range of scope designs available offer us - they all have their strengths and weaknesses

Interesting looking dob theritz What aperture and focal ratio is it ? My 12" F/5.3 dob has an Orion Optics primary of around that strehl - they are good

It looks a lovely scope Mel but it's a shame that the performance does not quite live up to the looks. I have read other similar experiences with these scopes so perhaps they are better to look at rather than through !.

Perhaps we need a definition of some of the terms we use when referring to astro equipment ?: Example: "I'm done" = "I won't be buying any more.....until I do"

With the exception of the 10mm I've resisted the temptation to buy and try more Deloi. I'll do the same with the Delites I expect. In a sense I think I know what they are going to be like so I'd rather invest in something which might have the capacity to surprise, in a pleasant way of course

Very nice Derek I've had both the 8mm and 6mm Ethos for some time. They are practically identical to my eyes although I find the eye relief on the 6mm just a little tighter. It's specified by Tele Vue as being the same though. Having tried a Delos in the middle of my Ethos pack (I had the 10mm for a while) I found I just didn't use it. I was skipping straight from the 13mm to the 8mm Ethos without feeling the need for anything in the middle. The Delos was an excellent eyepiece though in every respect, just not needed by myself. In fact I often jump straight from my 21mm Ethos to the 8mm and skip the 13mm but I won't be getting rid of that one. Unless the Delites are proven to be a step up in terms of transmission, sharpness and light scatter (which would be tough) ie: they get into Zeiss ZAO / Pentax XO territory, I don't think I'll be going for them as I'm not going to invest in them for the sake of it.