DRT

Very nice! Definitely a candidate for "Pimp My Dob"

Where did you buy the carry handles?

This was my travel kit for SGL-X...

4 minutes ago, John said:

I hope the Quark keeps working Derek.

One device that I'd not risk I'm afriad.

 

From what I've read since I bought it I hope it works at all!! The 5 year guarantee is a comfort but I hope I'm one of the lucky ones.

Cute indeed. I just stuck the numbers in a FOV calculator and my Pan 41mm is going to give me 6° of sky and a usable exit pupil

I bought if for my Quark so that I can try full disk observing in Ha. Let's just hope the Quark performs as well as this little thing looks!

A couple of new additions...

Skylight 60mm Carton F16.7

Altair Starwave ED72 F6 (my first real shorty )

That was one of the reasons I didn't fall in love with the P24mm, Alan, it just felt too small. I know that is a silly reason not to like an eyepiece as it should be all about what you can see through it but the aesthetics are a big part of it for me and like you I prefer my beautiful things to be big and to look in proportion to one another. As you might have picked up from other threads my money is running down a different drain at the moment so the Pans will have to wait.

1 hour ago, Moonshane said:

Talk about slumming it.

I was thinking exactly the same as I read Stu's post, Shane

Very nice set, Stu and some real gems in there that don't come up often. I am sure you can replace the stuff you sold easily enough if you ever decide to but you would wait months or years for some of that kit to come along unless you were prepared to buy it all new. Looks like you have made some very sound decisions on what to keep

2 hours ago, Moonshane said:

Personally I think the 24mm Pan is one of the best eyepieces ever made. Certainly one of the best I have ever used. My 26mm Nagler gives a wider view but I feel the 24mm Pan provides a sharper view. Of course you can borrow it for a while mate.

Thanks, mate

2 hours ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Derek the 35mm Panoptic is a fantastic eyepiece and it was wonderful in my 4" and 6" frac I had at the time. In the end I did a straight swop with a 26mm Nagler but I do regret not having it.

Look forward to seeing you again at SGLX1 especially with all your new equipment. I looked 'finger on the button' at Chris Lock's 60mm Skylight f16.7 Frac but I am glad its gone to a good home. Are you bringing that to the star party or is it too much to bring.

 

It will all be there, Mark

I won't be selling the 31mm in a hurry. I am hoping for some nice clear skies at SGL XI to let me 16" Dob do its stuff and he 31mm would definitely be part of that test. The 27mm and 35mm Pans are definitely next on my wish list, probably in that order as I have a big jump from the E21 to the N31. I bought a P24mm a few months ago for my Lunt 50Ha and didn't get on with it so passed it on to Shane. I might ask to give that a go in my Dob to see whether or not I need to look out for another one.

18 hours ago, alan potts said:

The question is Derek, where do you go now, full house. Lovely set of eyepieces which sadly not everyone can afford but for those that can they really lift the pleasure of the hobby, though of course some do not get on with them, fortunately I do.

I do get a sense of satisfaction from having a complete set of things and I have now well and truly scratched the Ethos itch. I don't see me selling any of them unless I lose interest in the hobby, so hopefully these really are for life. My completest mind is now being drawn to the lower power end of the scale and the Panoptics are talking to me in my sleep. I never thought I would say this, but my Nager 31mm is starting to look slightly nervous

I'm getting a much bigger SCT soon, so I'll certainly consider an Ethos then.

Depending on how big, bear in mind that a 13mm EP will be getting close to the maximum usable power in an SCT if you have any light polution. My CPC1100 (2.8m focal length) performs best at around 17mm and needs good seeing to allow the E13mm to show its best.

Sell stuff! Shock horror! 

I'm getting a much bigger SCT soon, so I'll certainly consider an Ethos then. I've never regretted buying a TeleVue eyepiece, not even the 8mm Plossl. Although I think I've only used it once. It's there for when I need an 8mm Plossl. 

Start with the TV 40mm Plossl - no point having it and the 32mm as they show the same FOV. Then move on to two or three of those diagonals - how many do you need? Next is the 15mm TV Plossl and then the 16mm T5 Nagler. You now have enough for an Ethos 13mm and haven't lost much in terms of flexibility of your kit

You know it makes sense

I so want a 13mm Ethos ... 

I see from your signature that you are not averse to spending dosh on good stuff. Sell some of it an get yourself one - you won't regret it

Alastair has exposed several of us as being very weak willed (mine arrived today as well).

Paul

He has indeed, Paul. I bought the 4.7mm a couple of weeks ago and promised myself I would evaluate it for at least two months before deciding whether or not to buy the 3,7mm. Two days later Alistair cruelly posted his tempting offer and my legendary willpower crumbled in an instant. Try as I might I cannot persuade Mrs T that it was Alistair's fault

awsome,awsome set, do you realy feel you need to group them all so closely as the fov will overlap massively. lovely collection though

Hi, I'm Derek, I have Completistitis and I don't want to be cured

The one question I keep telling myself I shouldn't ask is "do I need all of these?". I fully accept that I am well and truely spoiling myself but in return I do have a good range of magnification at the high power end that will allow me to get the best out of whatever crappy sky turns up over the house and at the other end I have a great combination of FOV and magnification to allow me to get good contrast out of at least one of my scopes.

I often run two or three scopes at the same time, so having options at low, middle and high power also helps spread the capability around.

Did I mention I am spoiling myself?

Ooh, lovely!

That said, I am seriously considering the 27mm and 35mm Panoptics as I love the 41mm, particularly for white light solar.

I have put the latest final piece of the jigsaw in place...

I've only used the lightweight Alt-Az Aluminium tripod once and put it away after 5 minutes as it was just too unstable. They might be ok if weighed down with sand in the legs of weights on the EP tray but that sort of defeats the purpose of it being a lightweight grab-n-go option.

if like me you weight 9 1/2 stone wet through and have knotted string for muscles.

I can only assume that my muscles are much, much, much, much more well defined than yours, Chris

The Panoptic's fabulous, but not fab enough to dislodge a 17.3 Delos (which is probably my single favourite eyepiece, though am slowly absorbing the charm of the Ethos 13).

If I ever find myself in a position where I have to sell my kit the Ethos 13mm will be the last thing to go. It was the first Ethos I purchased and I don't think I have ever pointed it at any target in any scope and been disappointed. A real gem

I bet your nose has grown Derek. Coincidental, a likely story.

Congratulations on your latest completion, Shane - I'm sure it won't last too long

I must say now that my Ethos purchases are complete I am struggling to know what else would add anything useful to the case. I did wonder if a couple of Panoptics to break up the 21mm, 31mm and 41mm set would be useful but I'm not sure I would get sufficient use out of having so many low powered EPs.

Food for thought.

Very nice Derek.

I've just acquired an Ethos 4.7mm as well as it happens. Curious to find how it compares with my Pentax XW 5mmm.

What happened to all that willpower of yours, John?

The last remaining space in my case and in my Ethos collection is about to be filled

Here is my latest update with the addition of an E4.7mm...

The E3.7mm space left at the bottom is purely coincidental

Hi John,

These are the handles I bought: http://www.wdsltd.co.uk/product/3851/bridge-handle-with-steel-or-brass-insert-wds-8532

I put two on the lower tube of my 16" Flextube Dob and one on the ED120. They are very sturdy and well priced. You need to buy some M8 bolts to attach them.

Derek

I had a 17mm Ethos for a short while and it's just as good as the others of course but I could see straight away that I didn't need it.

I try to avoid the use of the word "need" when considering which eyepiece to buy next