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Note that AOKSwiss has an AZ mount in this class, the AYOmaster and that encoder versions are available:

http://www.aokswiss.ch/index_mont.html

9 hours ago, Moonshane said:

Very nice! I doubt I will be taking mine overseas much for the same reasons as John.

 

I have never had a problem on a dozen or so trips. I have only been asked twice about it.  On one occasion I was asked was it was and were satisfied with telescope, on the other occasion a security man wanted my observing list...

My set up: https://stargazerslounge.com/uploads/monthly_10_2011/post-22550-133877686183.jpg

is still similar to what I describe in this thread: https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/122515-aircraft-cabin-baggage-compatible-astronomy/

Well with 6 elements even if you know the correct order there are 64 different combinations just depending which way each is facing. If you don't know the correct order then there are 46080 combinations!

And that's assuming the spacers are all the same, if they aren't your looking at 5529600 combinations.

If you test a combination every five minutes for 12 hours a day every day it would take over 105 years to try them all.

I think I'd rather send it back to the manufacturer

TSED70Q, iOptron Smart EQ pro, ASI-120MM, Finepix S5 pro.

Although the panoptic has 6 lenses, there are only 4 separate pieces of glass (6 elements, 4 groups).  See:

http://www.televue.com/engine/TV3b_page.asp?id=214&plain=TRUE#.U_hGzrtx0xA

This gives only 48 arrangements (ignoring spacers), not all of which will be possible because of lens curvature.   There is a diagram of the lens arrangement here which should be a useful guide:

http://www.handprint.com/ASTRO/ae5.html#panoptic

The problem is, from my own experience, solvable. 

You do have to be very very careful with the lenses which will get stuck and can be chipped if they go into the barrel at an angle.  I have found it a help to support each lens in turn on a post of smaller diameter and to lower the partially assembled lens down, over the top.  You need not worry about the lens getting dirty in trial assembly indeed it can be a help to mark the surfaces for identification purposes.  Thorough cleaning for final assembly is vital and you may need more than one go to completely eliminate annoying dust.  Of course return to base is a good option for Televue eyepieces but not for most other makes.

There are only a limited number of ways an eyepiece will go back together and only one way will be truly sharp.  You have to be methodical in trialing different arrangements.  An artificial star is the best way to test sharpness and has the advantage of allowing assembly and test in the light. 

If you do not have an artificial star, a pinhole in foil with a bright light behind will do.  This needs to be far enough away for your telescope to come to focus (test with an eyepiece that is still intact!).

Good luck

To my mind, this a problem of your choice of eyepieces rather than just the restricted focus travel of the scope.  Bringing a scope to focus for viewing is actually bringing the eyepiece focus and the prime focus of the scope to a common point. Clearly the prime focus is fixed for any given scope so any variation in focal point is solely down to the eyepieces used. 

Personally I have selected eyepieces with a fairly small range of focus at least in part because it is really inconvenient to focus a long way when changing magnification on a very faint field of view.  Apart from Teleview, few suppliers give the focal point so you have to try, However it was a major reason for my selling a Hyperion - its focus point was too far from my other eyepieces.

I would be surprised if it is not collimated. Baader make a big thing about them being correctly set up from the factory and certainly mine (a Mark II) has never needed adjustment. If the spot does not move when the laser is rotated in the focuser then it is collimated.

I have a 17mm Hyperion. It is big and quite heavy and needs a lot of in focus in 1.25" mode and a lot of out focus in 2" mode. It works fine in my newtonians (with a GSO coma corrector). The fact that you can tune the focal length is unique. It has got a lot of eye relief and nothing to guide your eye to the right point for viewing, but I am sure that this is something people adapt to. Try one and see how you find it.

Not all Plossl's are 50 degree. Some are wider, but the image is unlikely good to the edge. On the other hand, the excellent Vixen NPL is advertised as 50 degrees, but my 20mm and 30mm eyepieces give a true field of view equivalent to only 46 degrees (50 degrees to 1 significant figure, I guess).

There is a good diagram and explanation at:

TELESCOPE EYEPIECE

Great Red Spot Transit Table 2011-2012 - SkyTel Beyond the Page - SkyandTelescope.com

Times are in Universal Time which is the same as GMT.

The Altair Astro coma corrector (same as the Astro-Tech, optical design by Roger Ceragioli, manufactured by GSO I understand) works well for me.

Altair Astro Photo Visual Coma Corrector and Field Flattener for Newtonian reflectors

Back focus should not be an issue - the coma corrector gives about 47mm additional out focus. The corrector screws on to a 2" filter, M48 thread. For photographic use, the Astro Engineering 2" to T-mount adaptor, AC493, gives the corrector just about the perfect spacing from the image plane.

Adaptors for telescopes