Littleguy80

Thank you! That was actually my best guess on what it might be. Had no idea it was possible myself

Fantastic sketch! Can I ask what WLF stands for?

Got the two scopes balanced nicely now. It doesn’t quite balance perfectly without the solar scout unless I screw the extra bar in. Perfectly workable though

Looks good, Jeremy. I was reading about the Extender Q. Sounds like a nice bit of kit. Wasn’t sure how it compares to something like the Baader VIP Barlow, which I have.

Thanks Stu. The seeing improved a bit as the evening went on. The granulation is so much easier to see with the Tak. Can’t wait to use it more and see what it can do at higher powers. With regards the balance, it’s the side to side rotation that’s a bit off. I just need more weight on the solar scout side. Not sure if one of the other bars I have with the WR can have the counterweight and clamp for solar scout on? I haven’t played around yet to see what I can do. The tripod I have is decent carbon fibre one. I do have plans for Berlebach in the future. A Report 312 or maybe a Uni 28.

Thanks John! I’m really chuffed. I’m sure I have many happy years of observing with it ahead of me!

It’s been a long wait since I started this thread but I can finally reveal my choice of 4” APO… Takahashi FC100DF. The edge in optical performance and the fact that I can pack it up for trips abroad made it the one for me. I’ve really enjoyed bringing my 80mm frac on holidays with me, so being able to bring a telescope of this quality instead was a big selling point. Managed a quick first light on the sun today. Seeing was on the poor side but the granulation popped so much more than in the 80mm. My only issue so far is balance with the little Daystar Solar Scout. The Tak is noticeably heavier than the 80mm. The Giro-WR is struggling a bit. Will have to figure out how to deal with that. Strangely I was surprised by how big the Tak looked after my 80mm scope. Really looking forward to getting to know it better As always, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who advised me on this. I had some people reach out on PM’s too. Whether I followed your advise or not, I can promise you that it all helped

Way back in 2019 I spent a long agonising over a travel setup. It was fun 😁 I settled on an 80mm refractor as I also wanted to do some white light Solar with it. I’ve been really happy with it. I’m I took it to the States last summer and finally got the final few Messiers I was missing.

Welcome to SGL! Observing reports are a great source of inspiration on here for me too. Happy observing 😊

I just checked and eyecup on XW 5mm is twist up so you can adjust to whatever’s comfortable for you

@jetstream recently decided to hold onto his VX10 after giving it a final go before selling. Maybe a couple of sessions with those eyepieces will help you decide if they’re keepers or not.

Very true plus sometimes eyepieces just suit some scopes much better than others.

You’ve got my curiosity with this one, John. What are the eyepieces that didn’t live up to your memories of them?

I’ve never been lucky enough to use a Zeiss Ortho but 100% understand that regret

Oh man, that’s not good. Still you have someone a very good day when they got themselves a bargain.

That can’t be good for your health 🤣🤣 This is probably it’s own thread but I have noticed that 100 degree eyepieces aren’t universally loved. I went down from 3 of them to one. I kept my 20mm APM HDC but sold the 13 and 9mm. No regrets 😂

Love it! All round brilliant performer and works great with the Baader VIP. Thank you for letting it find a new home with me! The only Vixen eyepiece I have is an HR 3.4. That’s another special eyepiece. I’ve seen lots of love for the LVWs on here. Despite the talk of modern coatings, it does seem some of the older eyepieces more than hold their own.

Buying and selling eyepieces is part of the fun of the hobby but every now and then we let a gem go. For the most part, I’ve always been pleased with the results of my wheeling and dealings but I do have a couple of regrets. Regret number one is selling my 12.5mm BGO. I bought a Docter/Noblex which is the same focal length and sold a couple of eyepieces, including the BGO, to fund it. The Docter is superb and for night time viewing I don’t miss the BGO. However, for white light Solar, it has been missed. Simpler eyepieces like orthos are pretty much unbeatable for white light Solar so here I do miss the BGO. Regret number is selling my Pentax XF zoom. It’s terrible at night but is a dream for Ha. Mine was sold to purchase another zoom. Sadly the new zoom has an issue and went back. This story has a happy ending as I’ve sourced another XF zoom so that regret can be put to rest. Anyone else have any regrets on selling eyepieces? What would you buy back tomorrow given the chance?

Excellent John! Looking forward to your reports on TOE

What did you replace them with, Piero?

I have made that suggestion to them in response. I guess only they have the sales and manufacturing numbers to know what is and isn’t viable though.

I received the response below from Vixen: ”Thank you very much for your inquiry. The HR-series eyepieces were discontinued and we do not keep stock any more. The Reason for the discontinuation was due to dramatically increasing material costs. We wish to keep your comments in mind for future product plans.”

Nice review, Mike. I just checked my APM equivalent and all darkened. One of my favourite eyepieces

You can attach 2” eyepieces via the filter thread to the Barlow but it will be in 1.25” mode at the telescope/diagonal end. If you want the telescope end to be in 2” mode then you need the Tak Adapter. 2” mode can help with reaching focus for some eyepieces. Hope that makes sense!

I found following the Lunar 100 list really increased my interest. Trying to spot something based on photos/descriptions becomes a challenge. For my observing in general, I’m much more engaged when I have some sort of goal. Through the Lunar 100, which I’m yet to complete, I’ve seen a lot of features that I would otherwise have completely missed. DSO’s are my first love but when I have focused on the Moon, I’ve always enjoyed myself