Alan White

Bionoculars for our Daughter for Christmas, she has expressed the need for some, she works shifts and stops and looks at the night sky on lates when going home. So nice (we tested them) that I have just ordered another pair for myself. All via FLO of course. 10x50 Opticrons

I would be interested if anyone had used both filters as well. My experience is with the Baader one, its very good, but based on a sample of 1.

From the web, Global Optics UK, they tell us this about BK7. 'BK7 is a glass with excellent optical quality. It is a hard material which is almost completely free of bubbles and other inclusions. Borosilicate Crown Glass provides uniform transmission in the visible and a very high refractive index homogeneity. Borosilicate Crown Glass – BK7 is typically used as a base material for precision optics, and for windows, lenses, and prisms. It is also used as a substrate for mirror and filter coatings, measurement and sensor-technology use.' So in that case if the PYREX was Borosilicate Glass, I would deduce (rightly or wrongly) that BK7 is now much alike to the old PYREX and not the present pyrex which is soda lime glass.

Good luck, I hope you get a true spectacle.

Let's been more optimistic and it will launch by Christmas, Which Christmas no one knows, but it will go by Christmas...

Resistance is futile... Nice one Doug, those grabbed hours can be so rewarding. Sadly for me this morning at 6.45 it was raining and full cloud.

@JeremyS I too feel your pain on this, my eyesight has been blighted by Astigmatism in both eyes, but the right (observing eye) is far worse. It came to light with me moaning about a scopes performance to another forum member when we observed together, we had the same telescopes at that time. I then also realised I was not seeing easier doubles, the second stars never showed. Solved with a Dioptrex, but alway had a fight to keep kit right, so now long eye relief eyepeices and glasses, distance ones are the order of the day. It also helps me pick out dimmer objects when I look up with just the MK1's. Add in needing readers these days and it adds a challenge to the fine art of visual astronomy.

@Siegfried1969 thank you for the pointer to the books, sadly I do not read French well so a book is a challenge to say the least. One question for you if I may, are you using a driven or manual mount?

We shared a cafe table with Michael Morris just after he had finished his talk, nice guy. He was showing us pictures of and talking about his Space Craft model making, really interesting and very skilled.

Home after a Saturday visit with @Saganite and a most enjoyable day was had. Nice to catch up with Rowan and FLO and look at some other bits. It did indeed feel more spacious and less attended than previous years, folks feeling the present financial caution I expect. Some super kit, what a time it is for new arrivals into the hobby. As always glad to the IAS organisers for making it possible. Was good to meet @Chris formerly Lockie after all these years.

Letting te side down, reading the manual, really whatever next 😉

Nice to see someone sketching and taking time to observe 👍

Soak in White Spirit did the job, Primary now off clean and better than I thought it was. Anyone able to comment on the David Hinds mirror markings on the side or serial number please?? Start with the highly polished back, note the lines on the side seen through the glass (bottom rhs) Then the front coatings, just going on edge. The lightly engraved (serial) number

APM UFF 30mm is a reall peach, I have had my one for some time and works well in many scopes fast and slow, but take that as f4.8 slow not slower. This is staying in my case, it replaced a Panoptic 27mm by the way. Plays nicely with Pentax XW and Morpheus as well.

Sounds like anywhere in Essex or wider afield.

OK after pondering, no purchase needed just some big enough and very carefully cleaned Plant Pot Saucers reqd. The long soak now begins.

The mirrors are bonded with Thixofix or similar contact adhesive via a Baize material. Clearly fine glue as its still well bonded. But to recoat the mirrors have to come off. I soaked the Secondary in White Spirit and that slowly did the job, now shows how poor the coating is. Now to find a big enough tub to do the same for the Primary, thankfully for doemstic harmony, the Tupperware etc. is all too small or far too big. Off to the A to purchase something.

Having now had some use with the scope, I managed to get a longer Vixen Rail fitted and use the scope. Amazingly good, nearly collimated and a very pleasant focal length indeed. Made me look more and dig out some details on it / them. Lets start with an old Astro Systems brochure, same scope differing mounting set up I think. The above is from a Cloudynights Posting, a scope known to many here on SGL if the CN thread is all spot on. I can report that my above note that the coatings were all good was a bit off, the Secondary is terrible, the Primary just starting to go on one edge. But based on this and the views shown on an average night, well I want to turn this into a keeper. This little revelation stunned me, I had turned from Reflectors to Refractors only, now rethinking this. I am so pleasantly surprised that it has David Hinds decent mirrors, at least 1/8 grade or better, Are these the Hinds A Grade I wonder? So the dismantle and rebuild starts, it will be slow, I have too much going on for it not to be the case, But once completed then I think it will be a mighty fine instrument. I have a hankering now to build a new scope with these mirrors, make it collimatable in a present day way and enjoy it. Sometimes its hard to improve on a classic design and build, but I will try and do it justice, watch this space....

Baz Lets face it, you already have a nice set of Morphei, why not round it off? And you are unlikely to regret it, unless its too close to others in magnification and gets overlooked. Alan

I have always had floaters, noticed ever since I looked through any optics and before as a child. @Stu's method of looking up and getting 30ish seconds is the one I have learnt to apply with some sucess, but I have tried to stick at Exit Pupils above 0.5 as @Ags mentions and larger where possible. The aperture fever mentioned sounds good to me, I wonder is a 16" Dobsone would resolve this? And can I get one on prescrition from the Doctor? 😉

I am going Saturday, hope to see some folks walking about. As always, look forward to looking at all the at kit, all so temptin of course, thankfully wallet is a tad challenged so should keep me in check......wel for now anyway.

Your secret is safe with us @Stu, clearly to be drummed out you had to join the Brownies in the first place 😉

Blimey you buy heavy Beans 😉

@Barry-W-Fenner I again own a Morpheus 12.5 to step in with the 10, 7, 5 Pentax XW and it holds its head up. I feel other than the eye cup being fixed and being different in looks, they stand side by side. I had a 17.5 Morpheus, stupidly sold in a EP shift about, I would have another tomorrow.

Baz Great to see you observing again 😁 In answer to a question on another thread the Morpheus 12.5 that I own holds its head up alongside my 10,7,5 Pentax XWs.