Timebandit

Best thing Alan is never to be tempted to look into someone else's Ethos to see what they are like. That way you will not get a taste for such eyepieces and bankrupt yourself. Stay away from the" Dark side "Ethos ?

Welcome to the addictive nature of telescope eyepieces mate ?. You are lucky we are not talking Ethos eyepiece money here ?

Hello. I will put my 2pence into the post if members don't mind. I think this post has shown some people get on with the 32mm TV plossl ,and others do not . I consider it for a variety of reasons, we are all different, some were glasses some don't. Some like long eye relief some don't . Some get problems with blackouts and kidney beaning ,some don't. Reason why as we are all different and we all have different eyes some of our eyes are different or better or worse to the next person. And we all have different preferences and our likes and dislikes can vary widely to view eye position ,close like or dislike, long eye relief like dislike. This who!e thread to me has shown that we all have individual eyes and as such as I have said before in posts if you can try an eyepiece before you buy. Then please do. As with the higher price eyepieces this is more important as you are making a considerable investment, and even though the eyepiece may be great ,to your individual eyes it may not perform to your eyes. This is also true with scopes I get the feeling some people buy a premium eyepiece and think this is going to transform there scope set up. For anyone who has been in the hobby for long enough then we all know about the diminishing scale of returns on eyepieces cost to great view. Just because you pay maybe 4 times more for an certain eyepiece compared to your existing eyepiece. This does not mean you are going to get 4 times better views . As this just does not happen. You may pay 4 times more but for example you may only make a viewable gain of 10% over your existing eyepiece. If this is a price worth paying is up to the individual. I have used the 32mm TV in Cyclops mode in my 120ed apo and it was very good. I have used the 32mm TV in my Binoviewers and again very good. I have used the 32mm TV in the 4.7 f 14 dob again very good. Is that my eyes ? My scopes ? or the eyepiece? In my opinion it is a combination of all three. It suits my eyes, it suits my scopes and it is a well figured and well made eyepiece. So I am very happy with the tv32 mm but I did by used and as I have said elsewhere I think the televue prices are beginning to be hard to justify. But as I brought used I am very happy with my TV 32mm As your scope set up is only as good as the weakest link in the optical chain. This could be your eyes,scope,eyepiece. Just my opinion. Thanks☺

Thanks John. It's nice to know that someone with so much more experience than me also rates these eyepieces highly. Steve from FLO Obviously gave you the heads up when loaned you the 10mm to gain your interest, and judging from your eyepiece case you are obviously very happy with them . I first noticed the XW being talked about by the astronomy site on the other side of the pond(CN) . And as those chaps in the US do really seen to like the televues and defend them quite strongly at times, when I heard opinions of the visual sharpness xw equal or better than numerous of the televues then it certainly got my interest. And also with SGL members also rating them highly, when some used came up I put my toe into the water with the Pentax XW and I must say was very impressed and rate these eyepieces as superb . I have had my best view to date of Saturn with the Pentax, so that speaks for itself . The 3.5 mm I got primary for the frac apo but will try it in the dob at 450x should be very interesting on a clear night on the lunar landscape. I presently have the xw 3.5 , 7 and 10 all first class in my opinion and when compared to the cost of something like the delos then they seem sensible price. As you can probably notice the 5xw is missing from my collection, so a 5mm will have to be in my sights in the near future I suspect☺ High Mike, I like the fact that you feel the 3.5 and 5mm xw to be some of the finest eyepieces available. I agree optically they are super and with the extra field and eye relief than you get over the normal Ortho. You get top Ortho visual performance with the xw IMO, but with the comfort of lovely eye relief and such a nice field of view at around 70d .A 5mm will have to be in my sights I suspect and hopefully in the not to distant future.?

Hello there. I have just acquired a lovely pentax 3.5 xw. It was a bit of a debate whether to purchase a delos which was for sale or the Pentax. The Pentax won , mostly because I have got pentax xw already and optically find them first class. I do like televues and rate them very highly. But they do seem to be getting harder to justify some of the price requested. And the Pentax from my use of them seem optically as sharp as you are going to get unless you dip into the pot of the ZAO or TMB supermono. The Pentax has the field of view of around 70 d which I like, and nice eye relief of around the 20mm mark. The eyepiece is for high power use on my Ed apo refractor and is pushing the limits at around 260 x magnification. But on a good clear night then the views of splitting stars and high power lunar ,planetary use should be possible and interesting. It is also going to be tried in the dob . I have heard the 500 x lunar magnification possible and this eyepiece in my dob will give around the 450mark, and with a 1/10 mirror it will be an interesting experiment how the dob reacts to such a high magnification on the lunar landscape. Therefore I do look forward to a nice clear steady atmospheric night to put the frac and the dob to the test with this very capable eyepiece , I hope you approve of the Pentax as an addition to the eyepiece case☺

Hi Mike. Is the Faulksy Dob all ready for the SW meet? I take it this will be the first public appearance of that cannon of yours(better give it an extra bit of polishing later). I should imagine you are not going to get to much time at the eyepiece , as lots of people will want a little peek through the eyepiece to see what a 20" 1/10 mirror can produce and see what us with normal ish size aperture scopes do not experience. Your 20" scope can reach parts that other scopes cannot?. Anyway Mike have fun at the SW meet and enjoy that lovingly hand made dob of yours, you deserve to enjoy the fruits your labour. And by the way a , lovely location and a great wide expansion of open sky's, hopefully will stay dry and clear for you .?

Very very nice John. I wondered what your collection of eyepieces consists of presently . The secrets out and what a cracking line up it is. It makes my eyepiece collection look rather basic and underwhelming?. Lots of green and black there John with some nice helpings of pentax xw (real quality the pentax and I love mine). See you have some ethos in 6 and 8 . How does the Pentax 5xw and 7xw stack up against these in side by side comparison in the frac and dob John. Which provides the sharpest image out of the two ? I see no Orthos there John ? I take it the eye relief is not up to your requirements and you prefer a better eye relief nowerdays. I do like my Ortho and especially as I have managed to pair up some for Binoviewers . Anyway pure quality in those cases John . Like a case of fine wine just waiting to be tasted ?.

Hello I thought I would put a picture of the eyepiece case with my Big uns in☺ There is the William Optics uwan 28mm 2" , this eyepiece is big and I know sometimes jokingly people call larger eyepieces hand grenades . The WO uwan really is like a big hand grenade , it's big as well as heavy. This in not a eyepiece I would recommend for a refractor, do to size and weight it is just to much for a refractor imo. This eyepiece really does come into its own in my Dob, it's size and weight balance's the bottom heavy dob to a neutral feel. This William Optics also works well in fast scopes. I mostly use this eyepiece for lower power getting a large amount of targets in field , and can pick up star clusters nicely. There is also the televue 55mm plossl. This is also rather a big eyepiece (I know it's a plossl but it's size does not make it seem like one) . From handling and weight I would compare it to more of a nagler sort of eyepiece. This is a very low power eyepiece that works well in both the dob as well as the refractor. I mainly use this for a nice whole moon in view experience and getting a great deal of star points of light into the visual sight line. Because it's a 2" the field of view does feel a lot more than its 50d fov in actual use IMO. The televue nagler 20mm in again 2" barrel. Even though this eyepiece is no light weight or small , the refractor does really like this eyepiece and I really like using it in the refractor due to its very crisp and sharp views. At a 82d fov you also get a really nice wide angle of view and does love star clusters in this as well as lunar. In the fast dob this eyepiece is my most used eyepiece for locating of faint fuzzys. With a good/moderate power this eyepiece is just so versatile as a locator and viewing eyepiece in the dob. I really do rate this eyepiece Then there is the two pentax and xw in 7mm and 10mm. Well what can I say about these eyepieces than they are great. Weight and size wise they are not small but more than manageable in the refractor. The refractor absolutely loves these eyepieces and they really do excel in a decent refractor. The views they produce are stunning sharp and crisp. I had my best views ever of Saturn in the refractor using these pentax eyepieces. The eyerelief in nice , but black outs do happen if you do not get your eye placement correct. I also feel the field of view around 70d is very nice for planetary views. As you can concentrate on the target but at the same time do get a bit of extra view to frame the target nicely. They are also effective in the dob with higher power views on steady nights of atmospheric conditions. These eyepieces are really well put together optically. That's a view of my Big uns and why I have them. Thanks☺

I thought I had clicked on the max power site by mistake when I came across these? I did not realise you chaps were into petrol Mph ,as well as universe lights speeds . Heavy duty speed freaks , We like ?

Yes , that's a big old piece of glass to reach ambient temperature. To fan or not to fan comes into mind now. Above or below the mirror. But I think with a mirror that size then some type of converted industrial blower would probably be a better bet. I better not start a debate again on fan cooling, different post for that elsewhere . Anyway scope set up looking great?

Me second in the queue please Mike ? Very very nice , really have made a cracking job of that dobby. When it's in the dismantled state. How long does it take to put everything together Mike, and get collimated, so ready to use? Also love the truss shroud, your pretty good with the needle and thread, well talent. Nice to see a few more pics?

Hello. I have just poked my head round the corner to see if it Is it safe for me to come out of my bunker now and give an opinion?. I think the televue 32mm is a cracking eyepiece and this is the advice I will give and stick to. Not because it is a televue and the marketing, but because it has proved it's worth in my frac and dob, but yes it does have the green and black televue on it. I have also just had it in the Binoviewers in the daylight. And my opinion of this 32mm I am afraid to say has just got more impressive, It is just as smooth as butter to use and images are so crisp and sharp. A lovely eyepiece . I am not looking for another bust up with Charie?. But I get the feeling you are disappoint with the televue delos you own, in comparison with other cheaper alternatives. I would be very interested in the 6mm and 8mm, as these I feel would work very well in my fast dobby. If the delos are in excellent condition and you want to let them go then please give me a pm to see if we can sort something out. Thanks☺

Hi . I am still confused at your seemingly dislike at my "little collection" statement. If Alan already has a tv 20mm which he likes . And I have recommended a 32mm the televue, to which I still stand by this as this was the question posted by the op. Then this would be a little collection? If Alan decided to buy. My advice is based on me using the televue 32mm in an 120 Ed apo and a OOuk 14" 1/10 , just to clarify which scope my opinion is based on, so maybe the eyepiece come into its own in these quality scopes, and allows the televue to stretch its legs in these scopes and reach its full optical potential. As the scope set up is only as good as the weakest link in the optical chain I hope this clarifies my advice and opinion Thanks☺

Hello. I think the op has the 20mm already and is very happy with it compared to his meade. The question he raised was about a 32mm televue to which IMO is a great eyepiece and therefore recommend this to him and still recommend this to him. As for the 8mm televue the op did not raise a question on this and therefore I did not give an opinion on this. Therefore in regards to 32mm plossl to which the question by the op was raised then IMO this is a very very good eyepiece. Others may disagree , but I stick to my opinion. Thanks☺

Hello Alan . You have tried the televue and seen for yourself the quality and sharpness of this eyepiece, Don't forget these televue eyepieces are tested and design go for fast scopes down to f4, they need to be good for that . The ES eyepieces if a remember correctly are recommended for f5 plus scope by FLO. I think this tells you which eyepiece is going to work best in faster scopes. I have had numerous eyepieces and televue plossl are very very good I have to say if you are happy with the 20mm then you will be very happy with the 32mm. Get yourself a little collection of televue plossl and you will have some cracking quality eyepieces for your scope?

Hello Alan. The 32mm televue is a quality eyepieces. Very nice clean sharp views and nice eyerelief to go alone with the quality optics. I have the 32mm and can recommend it. I am that happy with the 32mm televue that I have just brought another one , to pair up for Binoviewers . A quality eyepiece you will not be disappointed You have got the black and green fever by the looks of things and this does mean your pockets are you going to take a bit of a battering I think. Welcome to the televue club.?

Hi Derek. The 40 and 32 mm televue. Original the 40mm came up for sale and I had nothing in the lower magnification at that time. And the price was very good also, so could not resist the temptation to buy☺. Then the 32mm came up for sale a few Months later second hand, and so again nothing in that range of quality at that time(now have a 28mm uwan). But around that time I was also seriously thinking about getting into binoviewing(managed to get the TS Binos from yourself later down the line), and lots of people seem to rate the 32mm televue for Binos . So luckily a couple of days ago I also managed to secure another TV 32mm. So now already to pair up at 32mm tv. As a collectionist, it's a good job I do not have to pair up Naglers or ethos or alike, otherwise I think Mr bank manager would be calling me in for a word?

With a 16" it sounds like Paul that you will have the queue next to your dobby at the SGL event. As the man with the biggest one there?

O well Derek thats done it, you will have to stand in for the dob mob this year. It's a good job you have been buying up all those Dobs. I hope you have a big vehicle to get them all in. As single handed you are going to have to be the Dob mob replacement this year at SGL(even though people might notice that the dobs have shrunk a bit) .?

Hello Mike, all seems to be going to plan with your newborn and you seem to be sorting out the teething problems and nearly finished. I bet it will be a relief to put all the past months of hard work and stress behind you with this Big dob build and instead look forward to the years of enjoyment. When will be the first public appearance of your new build? Maybe ready for the sw meet or SGL meet?. I am sure you will have lots of sgl followers of this whole build wanting to have a look in person of the 20" Dobby and maybe a little look through the eyepiece with your kind permission. Maybe you should issue tickets in advance as there will probably be a bit of a queue for a little peak?

Hello. Thought I would put up a pic of my little case that I mainly use with the refractor . This case is mainly plossl and Ortho based. No extra wides or extreme eye relief eyepieces here. Just good old basics that seem to work well in my refractor and produce great views from basic glass. Included is the 2" William Optics dielectric diagonal. A old Japan televue 1.8x barlow. Televue plossl in 40 , 32, 15 , 10.5 ,8. . An older Japan vixen 7.5mm plossl. Starting to get a few baader genuine Orthos , so a 18mm and 7mm in these. And more recently acquired is the 6mm Fujiyama Ortho ,and the very rare I understand Research Grade meade Ortho in 4mm. No fancy glass , just decent quality that works IMO?

Thank you stu for those stats on Mike's 20incher , us who only have a wee 14incher in comparison really wanted to know how much more surface area Mike mirror has(over twice as much?) , how much more light gathering ability, therefore how much more magnification he can use to get into those DSO and to produce a much better image than us with 14 inches get ?. i wonder which view Mike will be getting through the Faulksy big dob build with a 20" Orion Optics UK 1/10 high grade mirror? ?

Don't forget to take the mirror cover off first? . Overwise you will have found a really dark site again.

Hi Mike well done. I am not envious of your 20incher?. All these positive postings are giving me aperture fever again. I think I will need to go and lay down in a dark room and hope it passes. But when you are making observation like" can't believe the different colour stars never noticed it before " it really does make me think I am missing out on a great experience. And as you have had a OOuk 14" also ,then the 20incher has obviously showing you a new and greatly enhanced experience. I am sure others reading this post will also revaluate there current scope set up and bouts of aperture fever may set in (your a bad man Mike ?). I am really happy though all your hard work has come together to produce a great big dob from your initial session, well worth the effort by the sounds of things. PS ,keep the posts coming Mike ,as It will be really interesting the full extent of an increase in aperture and quality mirror brings to the overall viewing experience, and if my aperture fever gets to much, then maybe its time for a 20" dobby as a cure ?

Well done Mike, after your low point on Tuesday I was half aexpecting a pm with a for sale price and negotiations to commence . And myself looking through a 20" dobby this weekend would of been very nice ?. But I am so happy that you took all the feedback on board that helped you get through the low point ,and in the end everything has come together for you. And after all your hard work over these months ,you would of really kicked yourself if you had of sold your big dobby in your low moment. I hope when you get your first few proper session's in with dobby (uk weather conditions kindly permitting ) that those DSO really are intensified with that Big 20" light grasping mirror combination and 1/10 superior quality ground mirror finish. Should be a great view and a far more in depth view of this vast universe we are in. As your a DSO man Mike I can see this dobby being a long term companion for you so great you will reap the benefits. Mike congratulations on getting to the end lap with 20" Faulksy built big Dobby . Enjoy☺