Jimmy81

1 hour ago, cajen2 said:

You're very welcome, Jimmy. I got so much help from here when I was starting out that it's nice to give some back.

I was a little worried that you might look at the lurid green of the FO EPs and go "uuuurgh!" but then I reasoned you wouldn't be able to see it in the dark anyway! 😄

Don’t get Me wrong, the green is a less than ideal colour (to put it politely) but hey, I can live with that. 

@cajen2 @Louis D I think you have solved my issue. The Founder 14mm 80° is it. It’s the optics I want but at price I’m willing to pay in compromise for the eyecup issue I had with the 20mm. At that price I’d be willing to try some diy workarounds to get it perfect for me. 
it’s strange that those eyepieces aren’t listed under the ‘eyepiece’ section on FLO website, you have to search under telescopes!! I would have never just stumbled across these so thank you for the link and all the helpful advice. 🙏🏼 

2 hours ago, cajen2 said:

My personal choice would be a Morpheus 17.5mil, or the 14mm if that suits you more. I have the 17.5 and it's excellent but I'm told the 14 isn't quite as good.

I think I read somewhere on here that you had reviewed the SL 14.5mm 68°. This is something I was looking at as an alternative, what was your overall impression? I think you said it kinda got put back on the shelf when you got the 20mm but I’d be interested to hear how it compares optically. I have the cost of the 20mm (£179) to spend on a different eyepiece and I just can’t stretch to the Morpheus at £229. The 14.5 is £149 and the SL 14mm 80° is £179 but I’m going to have the same issue with the eyecup (unless I can find a cheap workaround)

2 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

My personal choice would be a Morpheus 17.5mil, or the 14mm if that suits you more. I have the 17.5 and it's excellent but I'm told the 14 isn't quite as good.

This is something I have considered as I keep hearing great things about the Morpheus range

4 hours ago, Naughty Neal said:

13mm 82 degree Nirvana  is £85 at FLO.

I emailed Steve at FLO when I enquired about returning the 20mm and I suggested I might try the Nirvana as an alternative and his response was ‘you will be disappointed’. 
I have read fairly positive comments regarding the Nirvana eyepieces and figured I could get 2x Nirvana for the price of the 20mm. 
being a novice I do not demand the best of the best, and would be happy as long as the general consensus of an eyepiece is that is good. I just so happens the 20mm and 30mm are pretty exceptional for their price point and beyond. What I hope to end up with is a 3 piece setup consisting of a 30mm / 13mm - 17mm / 5mm - 7mm. I don’t demand edge to edge sharpness, around 80% + would be great but I don’t mind a touch of edge distortion as at the higher mag I find my eye tends to wonder a lot less. But I do enjoy a wider afov as I think it frames things nicely. So 68° or greater. 

@Don Pensack that’s a good shout with the o ring solution. I was just really surprised that they opted for that design?!

it leaves me wondering what to do in terms of filling the gap with a 14mm/15mm/16mm in that price range.  There is a StellaLyra 14.5mm  68° eyepiece, ES 14mm 82°, or the SL 14mm 80° and try a find a work around with the eyecup?? Decisions, decisions!

Second up was the SL 20mm 80° LER/UWA. 

First impressions on this are wow! It’s slightly bigger and heavier than the 30mm UFF, but again, not in a bad way. It feels premium and very well made. I wasn’t as keen on colour scheme of the black and red, I felt the all black 30mm looks a bit better. But that just my taste. 
I popped this into my scope and the first impressions of being wowed were quickly reduced by the hassle of getting the eye relief right. It’s neither a flip up/down or twist up/down. It’s a screw up/down affair. There is no resistance when screwing/unscrewing the eyecup and no stop point when you reach max, so it just simply comes right off in your hand. I found that when I finally got it to position that was comfy and I could see the whole field of view, it felt loose like it could move easily because of the lack of resistance in setting the position. 
Anyway, moving on to the viewing, the wow factor came back! The images I was seeing were again pin sharp from edge to edge. Each star was a wonderful point of light, contrast seemed better than the 30mm even with the now full moon high in the sky. The 20mm (60x in my scope) framed things really nicely, especially with the 80° Afov. Orion again looked superb, as did the starfish cluster. Optically I just cannot fault it. The only negatives I can comment on are that I was concerned the 20mm was too close in magnification to the 30mm, and for me it is too close. The 30mm gives you the vista, but the 20mm, for me, is kind of at that range where it’s not enough to be considered ‘a closer peek’ at something and not quite wide enough to replace the 30mm full time. 
the other negative is the eyecup. I really struggled to set it right so I could view without getting that blackout effect from my eye being in the wrong position. Now this is a deal breaker, as £179 for an eyepiece that will just frustrate me and will struggle to use, just doesn’t make sense. 
if this eyepiece had a different eyecup I would still return it and swap it for it’s 14mm sibling (as this will be a much better useful mag for me). I would still highly recommend this eyepiece to anyone, because if you can get the eye relief right then this is an astonishingly good eyepiece to look through. 
 

I hope someone finds this info useful. Both are superb and capable eyepieces. 

So I have had a chance to use these 2 eyepieces now over a few nights so thought I’d share my findings. I’m fairly new to astronomy so don’t have  or know all the technical talk so this will be a very laymen’s style review. Both eyepieces used in my 8” f6 1200mm Orion Goto dob.

First off is the SL 30mm UFF. 
Going from having 1.25” eyepieces to this was a substantial change in terms of size and weight, but in a good way. It feels hefty and solid in the hand, it looks slick and subtle. 
I tried out a few clusters - Starfish Cluster, Double cluster, Pleiades etc. Eye relief was comfortable and easy to get set. The views were great, lovely wide field of view and pin sharp stars across the whole view - which is what I expected given what I had read about it. I did have an almost full moon lighting up the sky which affected the overall contrast of the image and prevented me from looking at things to the east and south east. But Orion Nebula looked great, even without any fancy filters, I could make out more of the gas/dust clouds than with my cheaper 28mm 2” Orion eyepiece. The only other eyepieces in my collection to date have been BST Starguiders (which I really enjoyed using). 
so overall the 30mm UFF is a fantastic heavy weight sturdy well built eyepiece. Pin sharp stars across the 70° view and just comfortable to look through. I will be keeping this lens. 

8 hours ago, Don Pensack said:

8" f/6 dob 1200mm focal length

For a set of 50x/100x/150x/200x/250x for generally good seeing.

24mm, 12mm, 8mm, 6mm, 4.8mm

For a set of 40x/80x/120x/160x/200x for generally poor seeing.

30mm, 15mm, 10mm, 7.5mm, 6mm.

Eyepieces can be +/- of course.

My preferred viewing is DSO and wider star views, but I also like the checking the planets every now and then. I really wanted to limit myself to 3 eyepieces. So at the moment I have:

30mm, 20mm, 12mm. 
I haven’t had a chance yet but I’m hoping to try the 20 & 30mm tonight as the forecast is for clear skies from 8pm.

i may change the 20mm for the 14mm and then change the 12mm for a 10mm or 8mm. We’ll see how tonight’s viewing goes with the 2 new eyepieces. 

6 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

I have both of those and I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Oh, by the way, the SL has NO light scatter that I can discern.

I think I mentioned before about whether the 20mm might be a bit close to the 30mm in terms of magnification, but all will be revealed. If I find them too similar (40x and 60x in my 8” f6 dob) then I may switch the 20mm for the 14mm LER/UWA. With regards to the light scatter issue, that seemed to come up on the CN forums when I was searching for reviews, but it seems the SL range has been very well received. Maybe a few people who have shelled out on higher priced branded pieces don’t want to believe that they can be bettered or equalled by a lower costing lesser known brand?? Either way, I gotta feeling I made a good decision.

I took the plunge and purchased the 30mm UFF and the 20mm LER/UWA. 
I’ll leave some feedback when I’ve had a chance to try them out. Can’t wait 😛 

These 2 arrived for me today and I’m very much looking forward to trying them out. I’m still a little undecided whether I will keep the 20mm UWA or exchange it for the 14mm UWA to give a bit more range when partnered with the 30mm. 
I’m hoping for a couple of clear hours one evening this week (although it’s looking increasingly unlikely) to put them to the test and see if they are as good as I’ve read about. 

On 15/02/2024 at 17:32, Louis D said:

Not sure what telescope you have, but most folks tend to jump from 30mm to somewhere around 12mm to 13mm.  If you start with the 20mm, then you'll probably jump to 10mm, give or take.  The difference in view between 30mm and 20mm tends to not be that significant except in very long focal length scopes such as SCTs and Maks.

Thank you for your response, I’m not sure hi I missed this?!

I had the same thought and was undecided whether to go for the UWA in 20mm or 14mm. I ended up ordering the 30mm UFF and 20mm UWA 80° this weekend so will see how they are once they arrive. I already have a BST Starguider 12mm which is a lovely eyepiece for the money. 
I may end up returning the 20mm but who knows. 

8 hours ago, Don Pensack said:

One thing to know: The eyepieces have 20mm of eye relief from the glass, but only 12mm of eye relief from the rubber eyecup up.

If you wear glasses and wish to use these eyepieces, the best course of action is to replace the rubber eyecup with a regular flip up/fold down type.

You then would easily have enough eye relief for glasses use.  If you don't wear glasses, the eyepiece is fine as is.

Long Perng, the maker, has, I understand, addressed some of the internal light scatter issues they had with the earlier versions from Orion (the LHD), so this has likely improved.

Comparing the Orion LHD 14mm (80°) to the 14mm Baader Morpheus (78°), the Morpheus had better contrast and went deeper, but it looked like the culprit was light scatter in the Orion LHD.

The issue was communicated to the maker and I've been told that later productions have been better in that regard.

Since StellaLyra is a latecomer to the model, it is likely the issue has been addressed.

Thanks for sharing. I had read somewhere about the light scatter issue and have since read that this has been addressed in the Stellalyra incarnation. One of the big factors that is attracting me to this brand is what appears to be the value for money. A lot of people are talking about how good some of the eyepieces are and how they compete (and in some cases better) some of the established higher end brands. If they are as good as many others have suggested, then I think I would be happy to give them a try. 

5 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

The 20mil LER/UWA is a real gem: mine is sharp, flat to the EOF and almost a 3D image. A friend of mine also has the 14mm and says it's just as good. HOWEVER, I don't think this is true right across the range. I also got the 4mm for planetary views and find the image much softer and less detailed than my Morpheus 4.5mil.

So two of them highly recommended but one not. 

Edit: I also own a Celestron Ultima Edge 30mm (same as the UFF range) and it's excellent. The SL 20 is as good imo.

Thanks for replying. I actually just found your review of this eyepiece (I shoulda looked harder before asking) and found it to be very helpful. I’m pleased to hear that the eyepiece performs well. I feel for what I want to view the 30mm and 20mm are the way to go. I will retain my BST 12mm which gives a 60° view and is good for wider planetary as this eyepiece gives lovely sharp images but for wider views I would like to go really wide to get that ‘star walking’ immersive feel to viewing. 

Afternoon all

I'm after some advice on the Stellalyra eyepieces. Particularly their LER/UWA 80° range. I’m already convinced on buying the 30mm UFF as I’ve only heard good things about them. I currently have a nice selection of BST starguiders 8mm, 12mm, 18mm and 2x Barlow. Plus a 28mm 2” Orion eyepiece. I love viewing wide open space/DSO so am thinking of refining my lens selection. I was thinking of keeping the 8mm and 12mm BST for planetary/luna  and selling the 18mm, 28mm and Barlow to make way for the 30mm UFF and 20mm LER/UWA. 
does anyone have any hands on experience with the 20mm 80° UWA from Stellalyra?? Are they as good quality and value as the UFF range?

Thanks

Jim

1 hour ago, Naughty Neal said:

The 18mm UFF I have gave me pin point nice stars in my slow acro frac, how it would perform in a faster telescope  I don't know . The  reviews of the other FL's are great inc the 10mm so I doubt one will  be dissapointed with the 18mm's  performance.  

The other eyepiece I was looking at was the stelllalyra 20mm 80°  LER/UWA. my scope is an Orion 8” f6. I find that I enjoy wider field deep space viewing. So I’m thinking of ditching my 2x Barlow, 18mm and 28mm in favour of 30mm UFF and 20mm UWA

I too am looking to purchase one of these eyepieces to replace the 28mm Orion Deepview 2” that came with my telescope. I am also considering selling a couple of my BST Starguiders to get something in the range of 20mm. Nice to see all the positive comments regarding the 30mm UFF

3 hours ago, westmarch said:

I agree that the gap is unlikely to be the problem and battery or motor is worth checking. 
 

Another thing to check is that the grub screws on the flexible link collar are tight and not allowing the shaft to slip inside. 
 

John

Thanks @westmarch I’ll double check all the connecting parts and make sure they are as tight as they should be. 

3 hours ago, Orange Smartie said:

That's annoying. How good are your ellipse profiles? One could imagine that if you hadn't filed them smooth enough, any notch or bump might cause the platform to stop tracking. Not meaning to cast aspirations on your craftsmanship, just trying to rule that out as a possibility.

 

I had initially made the ellipse profiles from sheet aluminium as per the plans, but I found it difficult to get them right with the tools I had, so I adapted the design to use ellipse segments like the Omegon (see attached image). I was able to cut and create the profiles very accurately. I will recheck the aluminium edge just to make sure it is notch free. 
thank you for your input, it all helps 😃

Sorry meant 9v battery, not 12v. 

Just now, PeterStudz said:

@Jimmy81 - the gap between my top & bottom board is 58mm (about the same) and I don’t have any issues, so I doubt it’s that.

I use mine with an 8” Dob, although my homemade base is “solid” and as such has some weight to it. 

I think that slipping is a possibility. Is your battery OK and have you tried a fresh one? The drives can go through these little 9v batteries quite fast. Mine would struggle as the battery drained. In the end I actually change mine to a more substantial rechargeable unit. 

Thanks @PeterStudz I did buy a brand new 12v battery but when I was trying it all out it was freezing outside (literally) so the cold could have affected the battery voltage.

The first time I tried the platform I forgot to polar align (I was so excited to try it out!!) but second time I got  all lined up (pivot end to the south) made sure base platform is level, made sure the top platform is level, powered up, aimed at Jupiter with a fairly wide angle lens (18mm 60° BST) and at times along the tracking path it seemed to stay put for about 20 seconds or so,  then suddenly it would just start drifting again.
I’ve worked out that the speed of the drive needs to be around 50% or below, any faster and objects drift in the opposite direction but haven’t managed to find the sweet spot yet.  I will experiment a little more now that the weather is slightly warmer, but it’s baffling me. Maybe I should also invest in a more substantial power source. 

So I’ve had a couple of nights to use my platform and have had mixed results. I get moments of tracking followed the dreaded drift. I have been tweaking the motor speed to try and eliminate this, but doesn’t seem to make much difference. I’m wondering that because I’m using a 6” Dob it’s not quite heavy enough and I’m getting slipping??

the only other difference to the design (from the original plans) is that I had to make the gap between the top platform and bottom platform 60mm because my motor drive had to mounted upside down due to the position of the driveshaft - would the bigger gap make any difference? My segments are still the correct curve for my location

So I finally got an opportunity to test my new platform a few nights ago. It was freezing cold so didn’t spend too long outside but I could not eliminate the drift. I made sure the platform was level, fiddle with motor speed adjustment but still no joy. After going through the whys in my head - was the motor defective, are my segments not precise enough etc etc I gave up. 
Then it came to me. In all the excitement of trying out my new ‘toy’ I’d forgotten 1 crucial setup process - I did not polar align the platform!!!! Man I felt like a complete idiot. Anyway, hoping to test it again this week with clear skies forecast, just hoping the temperature rises a bit 🥶 

Finally got round to making my platform. Started last weekend and almost completed this weekend, just waiting on some adjustable feet and some clear skies to put it to the test. Additional part needed was a 5mm to 8mm flexi coupling to attach the spindle from the motor to the 8mm bearing rod. Other than that, just stuck to plans as best as possible.