Floater

Hmmm ... Something not hanging together here. ?? p.s. Have used the same company. Thumbs up. ?

Hi, Mark. I think Peter has hit the nail on the head. I’m visual only and enjoy the extra ‘teasing out’ of detail that the DS set-up affords. The difficulty in answering your question is that your take on ‘worth the additional cost’ can only be subjective ... and you can only know once you’ve tried it! Any way you can arrange a test view somehow? Perhaps at a shop (the outlay for the etalon justifies any trip) or do you know anyone or any club that might help?

Welcome. Have fun with the forum. And your command of English is already good! ?

It’s just an attack of the clouded-out blues. We all (I think ?) get that sometimes. You’ll be fine - and we’ll all still be around to hear from you when you get better ... ?

Want to give a great big thumbs up for the Widescreen Centre, who have provided me with service above and beyond the call of duty. I lost a small component from my finder which was not available as an off-the-shelf purchase. Simon at Widescreen chased it up from their suppliers and, despite problems with a shortage of stock at the manufacturers, continued to follow it up and after a couple of months successfully sourced the replacement. Widescreen posted the part and, to cap it all, there was no charge. This despite all their time and effort. It’s not the first time I’ve had good service from the Widescreen Centre but I think they went the extra mile here. Well done and thanks!

I’m late in coming back, Paul, but obviously you already know the answer. It’s ‘YES’! ? I repeat, you’ll love it. It is quite quiet at present but you’ll be an expert by the time the cycle turns. ? I very much doubt that your Quark will be a paper weight !!

I’m sure you will love Ha, Paul ... even though the Big Fella is rather quiet just now. ?

Sunshine, I think you have stumbled upon a man who will happily praise the Quark in some depth. But I’ll leave him to extol the virtues ... and sit back with some popcorn. (Or perhaps more in keeping with Shaun’s habits, that should be sit back with guitar and a sip of something nice!) ??

You have filled “the unforgiving minute” well, Sunshine.??

Nurse! The screens! ???

Solar binoviewing going well enough, Mark, thanks. And I’m glad you’re enjoying it, too. I decided against replacing my Moonlite focuser and took the route of using longer EPs to help manage the magnification. I also picked up one of the WO 2x nosepieces which were on offer from Astroboot. That was a good purchase, I think. I’m using TV 25mm plossls, mostly. I found the cheap 30mm plossls are usable - once I discovered where to put my head! The eye relief is enormous and I have to float above them. Altogether happy enough but I would still put myself in the ‘learning’ category ... ??

The Lunt 50 will out-perform the PST, if only because of the larger aperture. I’m pretty sure the PST has a 5mm blocking filter so the Lunt with a BF600 will again be superior to the PST. I don’t know where you’re based but in the UK the price difference will be in the order of £400. You will have to decide whether your budget will cover that and whether the extra outlay is worth it for you. Hope that helps, even a little. ?

Looking good, Bob. Enjoy.

Wonderful to see how this thread has unfurled - and I'm aware that I am guilty of sometimes turning it into a personal conversation. Please forgive. ? Glad you started it, Paul. Could you have envisaged that 18+ months later, albeit with a hiatus, it would still be running? What's your setup now?

Ah, but there's a fly in the ointment - my Lunt has a Moonlite focuser fitted, in place when I bought it. Nothing like muddying the waters to keep things interesting! Blue sky thinking would see me slot in the Steeltrack and find a way to fit the Moonlite onto my TV76. Then again, how often is there blue sky? ?

Excellent. Thanks, Mark. I had forgotten some of the earlier stuff in the thread because I wasn't using/attempting to use a BV back then. Now off to plan my justification case for funding ... ?? EDIT: That was easy! She's an angel. Focuser ordered. (After ordering remembered my Lunt is tilt tuned ... hope it fits! ??)

Can you give me a link to that please, Mark? Can see only NT focusers for Newts on the site?

Oh. Mrs Floater will be pleased. ? Will have a look. Thanks for the info ... I think!

Neat and tidy job, Kevin. ?? There's no doubt in my mind that 'solid' foam, rather than pick n' pluck, delivers a 'tighter' looking job. But haven't bothered to start all over again ... yet. ?

Yes, Ade, the blurb said they had 'a small number' of these so I knew Mark would get one if he wished even if I ordered. A lot of the kit on Astroboot is 'one-of' and it would have felt like stealing if I had taken the only one. ??

Same here: thanks, Ade. ?

It may be 'low tech' - but, wow, it's in high quality surroundings! Lovely to see. ?

I have to refine my initial statement, Mark - and this may open a can of worms ... The '2x Barlow' with which I can reach focus is actually the lens element unscrewed from an inexpensive (cheap) Barlow and screwed onto the BV nosepiece. Now I know all the stuff about this meaning it's only about 1.5x, instead of 2x, and how that doesn't chime with the supplied 1.6x unit not allowing focus. I'm just telling it like it is: no focus with the 1.6x (as you have found) but focus with the lens element from a 2x Barlow and with the 2.5x PowerMate. I will be happy - no, delighted - if someone can explain that. ???

I can reach focus with the WO 20mm using 2x Barlow or 2.5x PM but not with the 1.6x Barlow provided with the BV. But still enjoying the hunt with the Lunt ... ?? Sorry! Couldn't resist.

Looking good, Mark. I'd be very interested to hear about your binoviewing experience with the new set-up. I'm currently battling with my Lunt 60 and WO Optics BVs. I'm strongly attracted to the idea of binoviewing and spurred on by those who rave about it. But focus is an issue (2x Barlow or PowerMate only), balance can be challenging and trying to find EPs which don't produce unmanageable magnifications is ongoing. ? (Bought a couple of cheap 30mm Plossls but a complete waste of time!) I'm also aware that some folks say they just don't get on with binoviewers. I'm trying to stay out of that group ... ??