Highburymark

I have Stu's amazing reports to thank for showing just what's possible with a wedge. Picked up one of the Lacerta units a few months ago but haven't had chance to use it yet.

Don't expect too much - the sun is inactive at the moment, which means it's often devoid of sun spots and active regions - the features that are observable in white light. Have a look at 'gong ha solar' online to see precisely what's going on. When the sun's active, the Baader film gives nice and sharp views of spots - and even a little surface detail if you use a continuum filter. It's a great and cheap way into solar.

I have the 20, 15 and 11mm TeleVue plossls, and for me where their quality really shines out is solar ha. While the difference between the excellent Meade plossls and TV equivalents is more marginal on the night sky, on the sun it's dramatic. Outstanding eyepieces in my opinion.

Congratulations on the Quark Paul. I went the Lunt route. There are advantages and disadvantages to both choices - where the Quark really shines is its flexibility - so you can use it with almost any refractor, and get incredibly detailed views. A double stacked Lunt 80 is over £6k - while an 80mm achromat and a Quark is well under a quarter of that. It should be great with your scope too. Look forward to reading your impressions - roll on spring!

Excellent stuff John - it might become a habit

Agree that's a bargain Dave

A happy Christmas to you too - and to everyone else who has received some astronomical goodies from Santa this Xmas!

Is this your first Delite Mike? When you compare it with your T6 Naglers on the moon, you won't believe they have been made by the same company (apart from having the same top rate TV fit and finish). Naglers give a stone-coloured sheen, while the Delites deliver a cleaner image. I love both - would be interesting to read your thoughts once you've tried out the 18.2.

Interesting comparison from Dave. The other thing worth mentioning is that I remember the Pentax zoom being considerably more expensive than it is right now. If you don't mind the weight and fov, it's clearly a nifty option.

Until 2013 my eyepiece case consisted only of Meade plossls. Used with a much loved 4" Mak, they were superb. It was only when I bought a solar ha telescope that TeleVue plossls showed a distinct improvement. Sadly I lost that collection of Meade plossls - still miss them. Sorry for derailing thread - but Mike's words struck a chord

Quite like 'Mahler zoom'!

There's a purity on the moon in particular I find Shane. I wonder if the coatings are any different to Delos?

Much as I was hoping for a couple of pairs of socks, these two beauties were a very nice birthday present today ? Have found Delites stunning on moon and planets - these will offer 185x and 247x in Tak 100, or up to 166x in Equinox 80 for travel - and maybe a bit of white light solar. Completes move from heavier EPs to a single case of lightweights. And sky looks clear tonight!

Thanks Dave - good to know they are as enduring as they are well built - how long is it since they came out? 10 years?

After 12 different sessions with this telescope, some conclusions: - From this experience, it is possible to have disappointing single stack performance, yet excellent views double stacked. I only presume that this is because my external and internal etalons are very well matched. - With my previous Lunt, the tuning of the external DS filter improved definition and sharpness of filaments and surface features, but on this scope, it has transformed them. Getting the tuning right on the external unit has been the single biggest contributor to the improvements I've enjoyed over the past couple of months. - Having to screw the pressure tuner all the way in is not ideal, but I'm used to it now. The main thing is I'm able to go through the bandwidths - from white light to proms and surface detail. I do wonder, though, if some tuners fail to deliver sufficient pressure to see the full range of solar features. I don't think the new o-rings, by the way, have made any difference to pressure levels with this scope. - The (old model Newtonian) Baader Steeltrack focuser is a great upgrade for anyone who intends to image or binoview with the LS60. The stock Crayford is ok, but not robust enough to carry heavy loads. - I've been so impressed with how much magnification this scope can take. Enjoying great views at 77x cyclops with Pentax XF zoom, and slightly higher with binoviewer. Finally, I hope this thread may be of interest to others considering a LS60. I'm very happy with mine.

Like your thinking - instead of buying more eyepieces, just buy new telescopes to fill in the gaps.?

Maybe time to try binoviewing for the fourth/fifth/sixth time John? Otherwise how are you going to fill the other EP case? You can't just leave it there empty ?

Glad to hear it, and agree about the learning curve. I had to return the first Steeltrack focuser, but the new one is working very well. Maybe not quite as well engineered as the Moonlite. I'm using 15mm and 20mm TV plossls and 25mm Fujiyama orthos - similar eye relief challenges but the views are stunning

Nice - though dangerously large for us eyepiece addicts.

Nice big case Doc - where did it come from?

Just wondering how you're getting on with solar binoviewing Floater? I've found the LS60/Steeltrack focuser/WO binoviewer with 1.6x Barlow combination to work very well at usable magnifications. There's a new Baader binoviewer coming in the spring - sounds like it will be a premium product but half the price of the MkV. My plan was save some pennies for that but so enjoying the WO that may just hold on to this one.

Just to be clear, the blocking filter size does not change the magnification of the telescope. It affects the field of view. Larger blocking filters show more sky around the solar disc and are useful for imaging and binoviewers. But agree that wider blocking filters do make observing more comfortable. I used to have a 4cm bf and ergonomically it wasn't the easiest set up for long observing sessions

Just a quick update on progress - which because of weather and work has been slow. Attached pic shows the two o-ring sizes I bought - with 4mm and 5mm cross sections. The 5mm one is too big for the LS60 pressure tuner - impossible to reattach the piston . The 4mm is very close - if not identical to the stock o-rings. Had a brief session today with a new 4mm o-ring fitted to the first groove on the piston. May have been a marginal improvement in single stack views - would need longer and more thorough test to be sure. Also added a Baader ND filter which slightly increased contrast. Double stack views continue to be very good indeed. Have to say I am loving this telescope. It allows me to use binoviewers and zoom EPs up to 75x with amazing sharpness under good seeing conditions. So it feels like a more substantial upgrade than I was expecting.

Thanks - no Range Rover though. In fact no car at all. Much prefer telescopes and eyepieces to cars.

I really didn't like the two Celestron prisms I've had - stock units bought 4 and 2 years ago - upgrading to decent dielectrics and Baader prism made a significant difference in brightness and contrast