Aftoforakias

Update: I just tested the eyepiece again in broad daylight and the same thing happens. I then removed the Amici prism and that seems to have fixed it! The eyepiece now is only left with the eye lens and the doublet. The improvement in image quality is really significant. (I did not really appreciate the fact that the prism seems to not be made of glass..) The only difference is that now the eyepiece must not be all the way in its slot in order to get a clear focus with the telescope's stock focuser. But it's pretty easy to pull the eyepiece back a bit and lock it in place there. (Really only pulling it out less than 2cm is enough.) The eye relief doesn't seem to have changed, btw. Finally I can see the whole frame! Thanks a ton! Spyros

@Ricochet I am not using my telescope during the day so I couldn't tell you if it appears then (but now that you mention it I should have tested it). @lenscap Your advice makes sense. I will try removing the Amici prism since I'm not using it for terrestrial use anyway. It is nice to know that this will also improve my view.. It could be that the prism has moved from its initial position or there is some tiny debris producing this obstruction, right? I don't mind the narrow fov, I just want to see the whole circle "frame" when looking down the eyepiece, with clear margins around it like all the other eyepieces I've ever used. Thank you both for the fast replies! I'll let you know as soon as I have some results, Spyros

Sorry Stu.. Just put it aside and get a better one as a present to yourself. That will make you feel better...

Hello to the forum once again. I have noticed something odd using my 20mm erecting eyepiece on my telescope (astromaster 130 eq) and although I've looked around, I'm still searching for a suitable solution for my issue. Here are the details: Looking straight through the eyepiece I get a soft-like "gradient" darkness/obstruction in the middle. It is not a well-defined shadow of the secondary mirror like when I'm out of focus. I'm assuming it has to do with the secondary, but I'm not sure. The focus itself is correct. On the edges of my view I still see well-focused objects but the obstruction is there in the middle. Now, when I look into the eyepiece at an angle, the obstruction is gone. Note that the obstruction seems to pan counter to where my view is panned when looking inside the eyepiece. The end result is that I can never seem to find a "sweet spot" where I see the whole fov my eyepiece can provide, together with the distinct round boundaries of the eyepiece. At best, I can see around 25-30% of the fov and the rest is obscured. I do not have the same problem at all using my 10mm eyepiece. I thought the 10mm would be more difficult to use, but this particular issue makes my 20mm almost unusable.. I am available for any clarifications. Please help! Thanks in advance, Spyros

Hey Apprentice, this conversation https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/353998-budget-purchase-advice-for-beginner/ guided me towards getting the Focal Extender. The effect is similar to the barlow, meaning that what I'll get from it is 2x the magnification of my current eyepieces. Here's some more info on the differences of the two types: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/346379-barlow-vs-focal-extender/ Hope it makes sense. As for the center of the mirror, I haven't marked it yet. Together with the focal extender, I have also ordered this https://www.firstlightoptics.com/other-collimation-tools/astro-essentials-cheshire-collimating-eyepiece.html I have already found many guides about collimation (and Astro Baby's one is probably the one to use http://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/ ) First I will wait for my purchases to arrive, then I will attempt to mark my mirror's center, probably using this https://garyseronik.com/centre-dotting-your-scopes-primary-mirror/ I'll let you know about my results but it may take some days.. Spyros

Hey Steve thanks for the guide. Already printed it and still waiting for my collimator eyepiece.. (any day now, hopefully) Spyros

The exact same one as you do, that's why I was so interested in the upgrades you are planning. I want to purchase items that will also be useful for my next telescope (whenever I get one and whichever that will be).. Spyros

Hey Apprentice! I have some questions about that accu focuser you mentioned. Whenever you can, please give me some info about: which focuser is that? Can you provide a link? have you already installed it? did you have to do a custom mod or not? if it is already installed, how is it working compared to the manual default focuser? Thanks in advance, Spyros

Thanks wookie! I have already printed out two similar guides on collimating but yours seems more comprehensible and comprehensive. I will have a look at it tonight. Needless to say that the guides I’ve read so far were not bad, but I reached a point where I couldn’t understand some aspect because I was still lacking the collimating tool. One of the guides I found (can’t find the link now-have it at home on paper-will post it when I find it) even had instructions on how to collimate without a specialized tool at all! addition: I just realized my primary mirror lacks a center spot so even more work for me... 😕 Spyros

Hey all, I just wanted to let everyone know I opted for the following two purchases: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows/explore-scientific-2x-3x-5x-barlow-focal-extender-125.html (the x2) https://www.firstlightoptics.com/other-collimation-tools/astro-essentials-cheshire-collimating-eyepiece.html Already ordered and awaiting their arrival, hopefully end of this week or start of the next one. The barlow went a little over my budget but I did not tell my wife so everything is good >) (Plus I consider buying a new telescope sometime in the future so I considered the eyepiece as an "investment".) Thank you all for your helpful input. Hopefully with a well collimated telescope and the new eyepiece addition combined with good night conditions in rural Greece during the summer I will get some nice results. I will let you know if you are interested. I appreciate all your help, Spyros

Yes you are right! Already edited. Thanks for your input. I really hope none of the previous answers of all the others focused on that! Spyros

You are right to point this out and thank you. It really was an interesting read! When I started getting into all this some years ago I did have the misconception that I would see stuff like they appear in these nice cgi documentaries but, trust me, not anymore. My post was a little vague and probably also seemed a bit naive but it was due to my lack of explanation about what I was aiming for. I will try to clarify my goal by attaching two images. The first is the approximate illustration of how I view Saturn at the moment, and the second is more or less how I would like to view it (or even better if possible but I don't think so with my current instruments). I probably used the word color in the wrong context. Thanks again for trying to land me to reality! Spyros

Well, if I saw your post two years ago nothing would make sense. Now it totally does. Thanks for your clarifications. So, according to your proposed setup with my existing eyepieces, my max. magnification will be around x130 which would be a bit tough to look at using my shallow 10mm combined with a x2 barlow. I also HAVE to believe that the new 8mm I'm going to buy will be a little easier to look through than my 10mm one which at times is a real pain. Makes sense because although I have read that the maximum useful magnification I can squeeze out of my telescope is around x300, everyone claims not to try more than x200 as it would be a waste of money for useless results.. Spyros

Hey wookie1965, thanks for the quick reply! Here are some clarifications about my inquiries: About the collimation eyepiece: I have already read what it is for, and I am sure need one since I move the telescope around a lot and have already noticed some changes especially when trying to focus on far away objects using my 10mm. Will this particular one help me align both my mirrors? About the barlow eyepiece: my main goal is to gain more magnification compared to what I already have. I understand your stating that a 3x Barlow may be too much, but won't the 15mm and 30/32mm that you suggest provide less magnification than my already 10mm one? Spyros

Greetings to the whole forum! Two years ago I was gifted my very first reflector telescope (Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ). It is still in the vanilla setup: Standard tripod (a little shaky but in the future I am planning for a replacement and/or some rubber padding) Standard two eyepieces that came in the package (10mm and 20mm) Standard red dot finder that came in the package I have to admit I have had loads of fun using it and, since I have moved in a rural area where the light pollution is minimal to none (as I see it, if you can see the milky way line, then it is good!), it became even better. I managed to peek at the rings of Saturn and the phases of Venus and I could go on forever with my excitement! Now, I am interested in enhancing my experience step by step, and for starters I have concluded that I need a collimation eyepiece and a barlow eyepiece. I have found the following: Omegon Deluxe Collimation Eyepiece for around 30 euros Orion 3X, Tri-Mag 1.25" Barlow lens for around 50 euros It is a budget upgrade, I know, but I still consider myself as a beginner and I want to take it one step at a time. My main goal is to enhance my experience a little bit, like for example seeing some color in the rings of Saturn or something similar. So, are these two eyepieces worth their money for what they do? Do you have any alternatives to propose? Any info would be welcome. Thanks in advance and greetings, Spyros