Rick Towns

THAT'S FRIGGIN SWEET!!!

Here are my Plössls and lone Ortho. I love all these eyepieces.

I have the 8, 11, 15 and 20mm TV Plössls's - I love them all. They are absolutely a cut above my other Plössls (Meade, Orion, etc). I too prefer a narrower field of view. The human eye only has acute focus over about 2 degrees - so whether you have 50, 68, 82, 100 or 120 degrees of total view is pretty much irrelevant to me. I have a RA motor on my scope - I could see wanting a wider FOV if I was using an undriven scope. I have used wide angle eyepieces and I do not prefer them. The narrower FOV of a Plössl, Kellner or Ortho helps me concentrate on what I'm viewing. That's what I find anyway. After 30+ years of observing, I'm not likely to change. Mind you... I did move up from the Huygens and Ramsden eyepieces of my childhood... so maybe there's hope for me yet! LOL!

The business end of my ED-102!

This was my "frac" for 6+ years - an Explore Scientific ED-102 APO triplet. It was fantastic, but I had gone from a 10" SCT down to this as my primary scope. As much as I loved the "Snap!" of the focus and the beautiful star colours, I gave up way too much aperture. So, after a lot of soul searching, I sold it and bought a mint 1982 vintage Meade 2080 8" SCT (f/10). I don't regret that decision (I also outfitted myself with additional gear like a set of Tele Vue Plössls), I do miss the old girl. She was a great observing companion. In a perfect world, I would have them both! But funds and other priorities dictate I keep my astro-gear a bit minimalist.

Clear skies!

Rick