DRT

3 hours ago, DRT said:

It is now

I’ve just bought a Meade prism diagonal from a member here so will report back on that later this week. 

 

My experiments with this scope continue in this thread...

I have now managed to focus on the Moon with the butchered diagonal and a TV 32mm Plossl. 

I still have a few mm of Travel to play with so hopefully infinity won’t be a problem. 

1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

Looks like your Tak FS60CB has come with the wider ring clamp, Chris - looks wider than mine, anyway.

It means I still have some space on my tube for a few Primaluce rings 

I reckon if you utilise the dew shield you could easily get six CNC rings on there just to feel safe ?

I’m off for a few days on a narrow boat this week so I have put this little travel case together to combine with a TV Telepod tripod and GR-2 Mini Giro ?

The Stella has been poured simply to give a sense of perspective in terms of the size of the flight case ?

I managed to shorten the light path of a cheap mirror diagonal so can now reach focus on terrestrial objects with about 8mm of inward focus to spare to hopefully reach focus on infinity when the sun goes down.

I’ve also bought a Meade Prism from a member here which I will try later this week. 

If the Meade works the long term solution is likely to be the Baader T2 Prism with a twist-lock EP holder the same as the one I use on my Lunt 50...

1 hour ago, happy-kat said:

Looking good. I guess that's about the same length as my unknown star diagonal. 

 

It is now

I’ve just bought a Meade prism diagonal from a member here so will report back on that later this week. 

I've just managed to modify (i.e. butchered!) a cheap 90 degree mirror diagonal to reduce the light path by around 10mm and it now reaches focus on terrestrial objects. There is still around 8mm of inward focus available to try to reach focus on infinity but can't test that until this evening.

Whilst this isn't a long term solution it at least convinces me that a short light path diagonal or prism will work  

Here is what I did to the diagonal...

1. Cut out the internal lugs that set the position of the mirror

2. Raise the height of the mirror on the base plate using a sponge pad

3. Cut half the length of the eyepiece holder with a hacksaw and tap a new hole for the retaining screw

4. Hey presto! A cute looking wide field scope that actually reaches focus  

32 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

With the diagonals I own with the extension removed (39mm) there is still not enough back distance with the focuser fully wound in (focuser has 20mm of travel to fully wound out). Rick_it  suggests a few other diagonal types to try but I don't have those.

I don't have the prism diagonals suggested by Rick_it to test with and obviously neither does DRT. So still unanswered whether there is any diagonal that will.

I'm trying to get a hold of a cheap prism to give it a go. If it works I might order a Tak or Baader equivalent but don't want to do that and find that it doesn't work.

What was the configuration that worked for you when you said you could focus on leaves?

1 hour ago, nicoscy said:

I wonder what the threading on the back of the OTA is.. if it’s something “sensible”, possibly a Borg helical focuser could go there and really reduce the length of the finderscope, permitting the use of a diagonal without a Barlow....

I had a look at the OTA yesterday and can't see a way of removing the focuser. I have a Lunt helical focuser and wanted to see if that would fit but the stock focuser and the plate it is attached to just don't want to budge.

Thanks, Chris. 

I need to try a simple prism. 

I've just had a look at Jupiter and although the disk and the moons were clear and in focus there were two rather distracting horizontal diffraction spikes shooting out across the FOV. I wonder if this is caused by the Amici Prism?

I think this is the first time I have used this prism for nighttime viewing. Perhaps it is intended for daytime use in a spotting scope?

Good news - I just caught a lovely view of the new Moon through the ED50. Unsurprisingly it showed a bit less detail than the ED120 next to it but it was certainly a satisfying view from such a small scope. 

Waiting for Jupiter...

1 hour ago, Stu said:

It’s definitely a very nice piece of kit. Hopefully you can find some way around the problem, how about one of the T2 Baader prisms? Is there a T2 thread on it?

That's exactly what I am planning, Stu, as soon as I forget that I'm supposed to be saving money and cutting down on expensive glass  

Just now, Timebandit said:

Its a shame Derek that it does not come into focus with the diagonal as intended. Hopefully with a bit of experimenting and trial and error you will find a solution that works for you.

I personally really like the colour scheme that SW have adopted with the Green. But I think its a bit like Marmite, love or hate it. 

I think a simple prism might be the answer to the focus problem. As for the green trimmings - I just assume it was designed to go well with Tele Vue accessories  

I recently had cause to part with my beloved TV-60 which I used as a travel scope and as a bling finder on my OOUK VX12 Dob. When I saw the new Sky-Watcher EvoGuide ED50 I immediately saw the opportunity for a much less expensive replacement so picked one up from Rother Valley Optics earlier this week.

My first impression is that this is a quality piece of kit - very solidly put together and with a stylish livery. My only initial grump is that the EP holder and extension tube have screw fitting rather than a compression rings. I would willingly pay another few pounds to bring that feature up to the same level of quality as the rest of the package.

My intention is to use this for visual observing, not guiding, so some sort of diagonal is required. This is where it gets difficult. So far the only way I have been able to reach focus with my Baader 45 degree Amici Prism is by adding a 2.5x Powermate, which results in this becoming an f12 mini planet killer rather than a wide field scope. I still need to try a simple prism diagonal to see if I can eliminate (or at least have the option of eliminating) the Powermate but I don't currently have one.

I have replaced the stock extension tube with a slightly shorter TS Optics 35mm T2 eyepiece holder so that gives me a compression ring to hold my Powermate. I have also bolted the mounting plate onto a Vixen dovetail so that I can attach the scope to a mount rather than a finder shoe. It its intended use it will be attached to a mini Giro rather than an Ercole as shown in the pictures.

I will report back later once I get the chance to point it at the sky...

27 minutes ago, 25585 said:

That would be a great finder!

It was - I used it with my Orion Optics UK F4 VX12 - it was brilliant!

35 minutes ago, Piero said:

Sure, but Derek has a TV-60 if I am not wrong.

Unfortunately the TV60 went along with many other TV items  

The 50ED is intended as a replacement travel scope, not as a finder.

Yes, that works, but only by pulling the EP out about half way and standing on one leg ?

Just now, Stu said:

That’s a shame, limits it’s use as a RACI finder with a decent field of view

I’ve yet to try it with a simple prism diagonal, which will have a shorter light path that the Amici I am using. If anyone has a prism and an ED50 please try and report back. 

10 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Yea gads, thats a f15 finder now 

It's not that bad - only f12.1  

The prism won't reach focus without the Powermate - there isn't enough inward travel for it even with the extension tube removed. I reckon that Powermate is adding about 40-45mm to the focus point  

I had assumed the supplied T2 extension tube should be removed when fitting a diagonal but it should stay on. This configuration is in focus...

56 minutes ago, Pig said:

@DRTdo you ave any info on the scopes weight or better still have you weighed it ? I was wondering if my mount could cope with it ?

Do you mean the weight of the ED120, ED50 or both together?

2 hours ago, Stu said:

What a lovely looking setup Derek, looks very simple and very colour co-ordinated. The 50ED last oks fab too, have you tried it out yet?

Is that an Ercole it’s mounted on?

Yes, Stu, it’s your old ED120 on an Ercole with 11” ADM Losmandy clamp and plate and CNC rings from Teleskop Service. Solid as a rock ?

I received my ED50 today and tested it with a Baader 45 degree Amici Prism (which I think is identical to the William Optics) and a TV 32mm Plossl and it would not reach focus.

It would be good to know of a prism or diagonal that works with this little scope.

Just now, Ricochet said:

That is a shame. It seems to me to be a bit of an oversight by Skywatcher not to make it easily compatible for RACI use. 

True. It is also quite bemusing that they could build a unit of this quality and still not put a compression ring in the EP holder