bosun21

I have made two from a dark green foam camping mat. One for my Dobsonian and the other for my Maksutov. I Sprayed them mat black and used Velcro to secure them. They both work a treat

Hi 👋, and welcome to SGL.

Before you touch the collimation in your Mak ensure that you have exhausted every other avenue first. Make sure that your telescope has cooled down to the ambient temperature as even less than a degree can throw your collimation out. Try and select a bright star high enough to lessen the amount of atmosphere your looking through. Try and not select a star above a house or dwelling as the thermals will have an effect. It’s also paramount that the star is centered as accurately as possible. Good luck 👍

The previous post was referring to the alignment procedure

Hi 👋 Your journey is similar to my own in that i rekindled my teenage and early twenties love of astronomy. I also bought a 127 Maksutov Go to ,and a 8” Dobsonian. With regards to the accuracy of your go to mount, I generally manage to get my targets in the FOV. I started with a 32mm EP to increase my chances, but once I was accustomed to the nuances I swapped to a 25mm 60 deg. When you are centering the stars finish with the up/right keys. I now use a 12.5mm reticle EP for accuracy. If you don’t have one then I found that centering the star as best as possible with a short focal length EP, then defocus the star to a disc as this enables you to judge the centering better Hope this rambling helps

When I bought my 127 Mak I already knew it’s strengths and weakness’s regarding the relatively small FOV. It’s for this reason I complemented it with an 8” Dobsonian. Between these two I’ve got more than enough to keep me busy whilst gaining more knowledge about the hobby. I am also in the process of saving for an astrophotography setup which will probably be an EQ6-R pro with either a doublet or triplet. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s horses for coarses with telescopes, target types etc

Are those the redline SVbony you’re using?. I initially did all my observing from my back garden, but being surrounded by neighbors houses on all sides ,I moved to a playing field in a park. This is only about 100 meters from my house so not an issue. I can honestly say that with my telescopes being cooled to ambient and my collimation being checked my planetary viewing has improved. On poor viewing nights I know that it’s the seeing and transparency responsible. I hope you find the problem.

Hi ScotRod I have the 8” version of your telescope and I have managed to achieve several decent viewing sessions of the gas giants. First and foremost I was pretty meticulous with the collimation, especially the secondary mirror which required adjustment. Secondly having had nothing but trouble with high power eyepieces that are supplied with telescopes I didn’t use the supplied 9mm , but instead used a BST Starguider 8mm. Whilst I have had several good nights I have also had nights when the seeing just isn’t conducive for planetary viewing. I also use the fan on the primary mirror as an aid to the cool down.

The plossl is also generally made up with 4 elements (lenses) in two groups . The Celestron Luminos on the other hand has either 6 or 7 lenses. This will account for the much heavier luminos

Welcome back to the lounge 👋

I have just bought myself a pair of 15x70 Opticron binoculars and a tripod. I thought i could use them on the nights that I deem it not worth setting up one of my scopes. I am just waiting for a clear night to use them on the night sky. I have set the diopter and focus for each eye okay. Bring on the night

Hi Ali 👋 welcome to SGL

I just added a 40mm plossl for this reason as previously i was maxing out with my 32mm. Being a relative newcomer to astronomy, i think that the entire question of exit pupil is overlooked by most beginners

Thank you, it’s very helpful

I have an 8” Dobsonian and a 127 Maksutov. I read about the different types and bought a 1.25” UHC. I was going to buy the Baader Neodymium, is that the LP filter that you mentioned? or is the moon and sky glow different. Finally is the Baader contrast booster called the same?. Sorry for all the questions

What’s the general consensus on filters as an aid to visual astronomy?.As I’ve fairly recently resumed my astronomical journey ,with my previous foray being many years prior. There seems to be a filter for all occasions. Light pollution, contrast, nebula etc. Are these worth looking at?, or are they just a gimmick?

I just measured the back of my 127 and it’s 45mm, so an adapter is required. I do like the way you have organized the fittings with the Baader diagonal and manual filter wheel. I was going to get a filter tray, but thinking about it the wheel is a much better idea. I also am constantly changing the EP position so I may very well adopt the approach you have taken.

I know that the attention is mainly on back focus but this guy on YouTube uses the SVbony 105 & 205 and he highlights the following problems he encountered https://youtu.be/IZJV7a9rAaU

Thanks for that Andrew, and I think that answers all the questions and doubts that may arise when shopping for these and other optically duplicated eyepieces

Whilst I wholeheartedly disagree about copying other designs SVbony are not actually copying anything. They are simply buying the eyepieces from the factory of manufacture, who sells them to anyone with enough money. Whilst I sympathize with APM I cant help wonder why they didn’t license or patent their design

According to the thread on CN they are in fact optically identical. However as you say, it would be great to put this to the test

Thanks for that. It was very enlightening, if somewhat political. It just shows what sort of mark up companies put on the equipment. I may dip my toes in and buy a 10mm. I don’t see the 18mm anywhere

Which SVbony eyepiece?

Thanks for your feedback on your experience using the eyepiece. I’ll pass on them as for the price they are asking for them in some of the sizes i could buy three BST’s

Thanks for the heads up and I’ll look them up to see what they are like as I’ve never tried them