michael.h.f.wilkinson

Nice one digger. I got one of those 4mm "UWA" EPs (more like a planetary) second-hand for my son when he got glasses, and he could no longer use the 6.3mm Plossl on his 4.5" mini-Dob. I was impressed by the quality of that EP. It is also comfortable to use. On my F/6 APM triplet it produced some really nice images of Saturn, Mars and Jupiter.

A "Modicum of Mods" is also appropriate

A Mob of Mods still has my vote

The 31T5 is very expensive, but there are good alternatives, like the MaxVision 24mm 82 deg (bit shorter, not sure there is a 30mm) and the 28mm Nirvana, for a more reasonable price (still not cheap). The 30mm Luminos from Celestron might be worth a punt too

Even n my C8, I prefer the 31mm T5 (Panzerfaust, because it dwarfs a hand grenade and has the right tapered shape) to the LVW42 becaus the exit pupil is 3.1 rather than 4.2. In my short frac I get 5.17 with the 31T5 and 7 with the 42mm. The latter is OK in very dark sites, but I still prefer the 31T5 in most cases. It gives 5.3 deg FOV (5.7 or so with the LVW42) so it is perfect for wide-field sweeping.

People keep the long ones, and sell the short Plossls more often (not just a TeleVue thing). This has much to do with eye relief.

I have compared the 31T5 "Panzerfaust" with both the TMB Paragon 40mm (very similar to the 40mm TV) and he Vixen LVW42. At F/10 the LVW and Paragon offer a bit more FOV, but I must say I do not use them often. Just occasionally, the framing is a bit better, and the larger exit pupil can be useful. In my F/6 scope, the 31T5 has a clear edge, and the 40mm produced somewhat washed out views, unless the sky was perfectly dark. I haven't used the 42mm in the APM 80mm F/6 yet, might check it out from a dark site in France coming summer.

My solar set is just a matter of practicality. First of all, I like to leave the solar set in the case of the LS35, so I can simply grab it and go. I also sometimes leave the solar scope at work, complete with EPs, if I have something bulky to take to work the next day. If it is clear at night I might miss out on certain EPs. Second, both solar set-ups (APM 80mm with 1.25" Lunt wedge, and LS35) only allow the use of 1.25" EPs, so all EPs beyond 12mm in my old set were unusable. Hence the acquisition of some 1.25" EPs in that range (14mm Radian, 20mm MaxVision). These have now been sold off, and the solar set is a singleton, consisting of the WO 22.5-7.5mm zoom.

Very nice indeed. Which do you use most, the SLVs or the Lunt Zoom?

Very nice, Derek. Nagler 31T5, 22T4, and 17T4 are also in my case. No session goes by without using at least one of them. The 12T4 takes the place of your Ethos 13 (eye relief is too short for me on that one (or at least, that is what my wallet tells me ))

I had one of those (came with my scope in 1995), and it was very good indeed. I preferred it to the 25mm Circle-T Ortho I had at the time. A colleague of mine bought the 26mm from me when I got my Nagler 22mm. Difficult to say how much I would pay for one. In good condition prices for similar Plossls range from GBP 25 to 50

This has been seen before: the SW Nirvanas were clones of WO UWAs. Initial report sounds very promising

Very nice collection

Must remember that next time the missus claims I never grow up

Very nice collection. Nice to hear the Luminos 23 does well next to the mighty 31T5 Panzerfaust. Maye you can write a report on it. Reviews of the Luminos are few and far between

That's what we all say

Great set you have there Mike. Michael

Lovely eyepiece, that 31T5 Panzerfaust