F15Rules

Great find and at x12 worth mounting in a light tripod to get the best from them, even though they can be handheld.

My Opticron 8.5x50s are great handheld but even better mounted - I've seen all 4 main Jupiter moons when mounted, but there would be no way I could hold them steady enough to see them cleanly by hand☺.

Dave

14 minutes ago, Alan White said:

Well, the good post person visited today and delivered a new family member, brand new and boxed.
Nice and far lighter than I expected although I had the specification and read 25585's write up about his version.
This is the second 2" eyepiece I have ever owned, had the 28mm Sky-Watcher with my ED100, thought that was big,
but no this is a little bigger and very nice build quality.
I even like the eye lens cover (cup) 25585!

Here it is with the rest of the family,
some further additions may be added as funds and availability allows.

 

That is turning into a very nice family Alan! Congratulations?

Dave

On 05/05/2018 at 10:42, LukeSkywatcher said:

Love my Vixens. NPL for me. One of these yrs ill upgrade and buy a low, medium and high mag of the top range. Hope your new Vixen performs as well as it should. 

NPLs are cracking eyepieces for the money IMO?. What you gain with LVWs is build and wider fov, but on axis there is very little to choose☺.

Dave

On 09/05/2018 at 19:03, dweller25 said:

To give you peace of mind I have purchased a lot of Astro gear from FLO and received excellent service. I only ever had one issue which FLO dealt with to my complete satisfaction.

Es Reid cleaned, collimated and star tested my 5” Takahashi - I was delighted with the results and his professional approach

HTH

Ditto. I have had several objectives checked and most recently my Takahashi FS128 a few months ago. In the latter case I had the pleasure of meeting Es in person, and watching him do his checks. He is a very personable, professional chap who I found generous with his time and knowledge.

I have always found FLO and their service to be first rate and quickly delivered too.

If you are serious about the purchase of a 150 Esprit, I suggest (and I do understand your wish to get it right with a larg outlay of funds), you are in very safe hands, so  get on with it and "press the button"!??.

Dave

I received a nice used Baader Maxbright Binoviewer in the post this morning.

I've owned one of these in the past, a good while back, but having recently bought a Revelation pair on ebay that arrived, literally, in bits, I am struck by how much more robust and better made the Maxbrights feel. It may well be the case that these lower end binoviewers are all made in the same plant, but they are NOT all built to the same standards!

Mine is an earlier version with a single retaining screw for each eyepiece holder, rather than the 3 for each of the later models. I much prefer this one as the single screws are larger, and you only have one each side to fiddle with, just like the WO version. And it does have compression rings, I hadn't realised that, so that's a bonus. And a good range of individual dioptre focus, around 6-7mm I would estimate. And of course the Baaders are unique, I believe, in having the T2 threading system, so these will go nicely with my Baader T2 prism diagonal to give the shortest possible light path.

Obviously the first light will be the real test, but so far so good and I'm optimistic.

Dave

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

Well the incoming has arrived, thanks Tring Astro.
Mmmm a collection starting I think.

That now makes 22mm, 13mm and 8mm LVW's.
 

That's a nice spread of magnifications Alan

I think the LVW range is one of the most (if not THE most) comfortable to use, and tactile to the touch, pleasing eyepiece designs I've ever seen. I predict these will become future classics.

Dave

6 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Always beware of stock photos. Ask the vendor for WYSIWYG ones before bidding. 

That wasn't a stock picture.

And "What I saw was most definitely what I got"!!

Dave

12 hours ago, L8-Nite said:

Obviously a deceptive add, but were you able to check the optical quality and function before deciding to send it back ?

It looks like a glue failure which could be a production issue for others manufactured as well. Could you tell us what brand it was ?  

It was a Revelation unit with a pair of 20mm 66deg WO eyepieces.

One of the prism covers was literally hanging off, the other was held on by very sticky tape, not shown in photos and clearly known about or even actually applied by the vendor..After that, the trust is gone so I don't care if they were usable or not, they weren't what I thought I was buying based on the description.

I messaged the vendor and they quickly accepted my return request and I was sent a post paid return label by eBay to affix to the parcel. So I'm sure I will get my money back..eventually - PayPal have a habit of hanging on to refunded funds for far too long IMO!

Dave

I"ve bought a few things from eBay over the years and only had one or two "bad" experiences. 

Normally for an item such as binoviewers I'd look here or on  UKABS, but this time I hadn't seen any for sale for months.

I may just put up a wanted ad on here before too long, or just buy new, although  binoviewers in general seem to be in short supply at the moment, whether old or new..

Dave

No apology needed,☺..I edited the post and I think you responded before I'd added the comments..

This is what I bid on and won on eBay..

And this is what arrived today at my work..

Needless to say it's gone back by return post...Described as "very little used and therefore in very good condition"...

On the plus side I also received today a nice Baader Eudiascopic 10mm and a pair of Opticron 8.5x50 Japan made binoculars (thanks FLO?)..

Dave

20 minutes ago, L8-Nite said:

Another photo, anyone recognize it ?

Sorry, bored now...☺

Looks like it could be a longish eyepiece..Something like a Speers-Waler perhaps?

Dave

21 minutes ago, 25585 said:

Any difference in use between your Parks & Ultima 30mm eps? As the same optically, potentially a good bino pair. 

I've tested them briefly in daytime (and the 7.5mm as I have the Parks and Ultima in that size too), and they are almost exactly partial -certainly a fraction of a mm difference if any, so well within the reach of individual binoviewer eyepiece adjustments☺?.

Dave

55 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

The post man kindly handed me a parcel this morning, which I found after opening it, contained pristine 18mm and 12.5mm Celestron Ultimas.  

Lovely EPs Mike, glad it worked out

Dave

On ‎18‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 13:28, Lockie said:

7 and 15mm Celestron Luminos to go with my 10mm. I had these before, sold them, regretted it. It's 82 degrees with decent ER = rare thing.

Nice eyepieces Chris - and they make great doorstops too, big things that they are!

And I'm liking your Spiderman observing tray too...

Dave

Parks Gold set (3.8mm to 30mm except the 5mm), now joined by a pair of Celestron Ultimas in 7.5mm and 30mm.

All in a nice new Ali case☺..

Dave

I owned a 7mm Luminos a couple of years back and it was a very good ep. It got top marks in a Sky at Night review, but despite that it was actually a really nice eyepiece!

Big, heavy , and well screwed together ☺.

Dave

Nice StellarVue 9x50 RACI finder arrived a few days ago. It takes 1.25" eyepieces too -- shown with a Parks Gold 25mm in place.

It fits my FS128 finder bracket nicely and will save me a cricked neck..

I'll be sorry to see the original 7x50 Tak straight through finder go though. It's a wonderful mini scope in its' own right with illuminator and helical focuser' and the sharpest finder I've ever used..

Here's a view of both in situ..☺

Dave

Just protecting the old girls' feelings Steve?..

6 minutes ago, Saganite said:

spotted Dave. I even went through it again when I edited it ! Doh

Dave

That Brandon should be superb in Andromeda at F5, er, I mean F15..

Clear skies Steve,

Dave

5 hours ago, Saganite said:

and in the 5" f5 Andromeda,

Steve...!! Have you been chopping Andromeda's tube??

Congratulations on the new Nagler?☺

Dave

On 26/03/2018 at 13:25, BinocularSky said:

Main Stable (i.e. stuff I use regularly):

From the back, L-R: Miyauchi Bj-100 (my most used astro instrument by a long way), Lunt Magnesium 16x70 (quick & easy grab-and-go on a monopod), Lunt Magnesium 10x50 (my brightest hand-held bino)

Strathspey Marine 10x50 (robust, abused, live in the car), Opticron BGA 10x42 (lovely quality, small & light enough to be a "holiday" binocular when space/weight is tight), Vixen SG 6.5x32 ED (stunning image, now my favourite hand-held bino), Vixen SG 2.1x42 (magnificent under a very dark sky).

Outreach bins (used for teaching, outreach, etc.):

From the back, L-R: Opticron Oregon 20x80 (recently acquired for outreach project; also used for teaching; OK on monopod or Skymount/Paragon parallelogram), Revelation Astro 15x70 (BA-1 variant, used for teaching, and as a "loan" instrument), Unbranded (well, would you want your name on something like this?) 12-60x70 zoom with the "latest ruby coatings"  (the result of a manufacturer stooping to the challenge: "Just how bad can a binocular be for £79?"; used for teaching/warning)

Opticron Adventurer T 8x42 WP (Used for outreach; the result of a manufacturer rising to the challenge: "Just how good can a binocular be for £79?"; I recently acquired a bunch of these for an outreach project), Vortex Raptor 6.5x32 (used for teaching & visiting grandchildren), No-name plastic-lensed Galilean type 4x20 (used for teaching, mostly to demonstrate that two of Jupiter's Galilean moons can be visible with cheap toy binoculars; ridiculously narrow FoV)

 

 

So, you like Binoculars then, Steve?

By comparison, I have this pair as recommended by your good self..Opticron Adventurer WPII and am very happy with them too☺

Dave

3 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

I really love this Vixen tripod Dave. It's got an exceptionally wide spread and is surprisingly solid and vibration free. It makes the cheap Chinese clones look pathetic by comparison. I like wooden tripods but the Vixen AL 1.5 is just too good to part with. So it seems that the only issues i'll have to contend with is the local seeing, and of course this Tak lens! And that WHITE counterweight!! It plays havoc with my OCD!

6 minutes ago, 25585 said:

For example?

http://ensoptical.co.uk/celestron-vixen-japan-vintage-mount?search=vixen mount

Nice old mount but not exactly cheap! It seems to me that ENS prices have been rising quite a bit in the past few years?

"Proper" GPs  often with electric drives come up for sale on here or the other site..☺

Dave