Birthday treat

[boabsta]

As a birthday gift my fiancee (financer) has said she would like to get me something for my latest fad so I have suggested an eypiece, which then naturaly led to the question "which one?"

Help!

I have a skywatcher 127 mak and through reading other posts I know that 8mm is propably the most powerful I can go. Do I need to go this powerful? I mainly want to see planetary and lunar but also like a peek at some dso's now and then.

She has given me a budget of £50. While not exactly a fortune compared to some of you guys and gals budgets I think I can do quite well out of this.

I already have the standard 10, 25 and 2x barlow so I am looking to compliment these.

Do I spend the lot one 1 eyepiece or do I try and get a few cheaper plossl's? should I just get a 3x barlow?

Oppinions on what you would do and any links to any decent offers would as always be superb.

I'm off to my bed now as got early start for work in the morning but I look forward to reading any replies in the morning.

Cheers, Boab.

[AWR]

Hi Boab,

I'd stay clear of a 3x barlow, they're of much more use to planetary imagers. I agree that 8mm is about as short as you're going to go. I have a 9mm which gets used and very occassionally I will barlow my 15mm plossl to give 7.5mm although most of the time this does not seem to offer any improvement on planetary views over the 9mm.

My TS planetary comes in at about £50 and a lot of folks on here are raving about BST Explorers (£41). For plossls, I'd stay away from the really cheap end and go for ones made by a recognised manufacturer. I love my Vixen NPL plossl (£30) but the eyerelief will be a bit tight at 4.5mm if that is of concern to you.

Andrew

[boabsta]

Thanks for reply Andrew. I don't realy know much about eye relief yet so that's not a concern at the moment. I was starting to think about maybe a 15 or 16mm eyepiece as I can then Barlow it for 8mm. I am I better to have an 8 or 9 instead without Barlow. Also though about maybe getting a 36 or 38mm again with Barlow to hopefully make 2 decent lengths. Would that be a good idea?

[AWR]

Don't go for anything longer than 32mm!

The widest field stop a 1.25" scope can support (ie the 127 Mak) is 27mm. This equates to a 32mm plossl (or a 24mm Hyperion for example). A 40mm plossl will not give you any wider view, just a lower magnification. You will need 2" EPs for that and the 127 is not designed for 2" EPs (it is possible but that's another story and not entirly successful).

A separate EP is better than barlowing another EP but it obviously depends on the quality of the barlow. Saying that, I love my 15mm plossl (Vixen NPL) anyway, even if I rarely barlow it. It is a really useful FL in the 127 and cheap at £30 from FLO. Even though I now have some much more expensive EPs I still use my 15mm.

Andrew

[boabsta]

Cheers again Andrew. I have ordered myself (on behalf of my missus of course) an 18mm BST Explorer. I spent the whole day going over all different types and costs and that 1 seemed to jump out at me the most. And that a lot of people on here rave about them is no bad thing either. There was another thread that covered a lot of what to buy and what to avoid and focal ranges etc that has all been an eye opener and I do feel just that wee bit wiser for that.

Thanks again, Boab.

[AWR]

I've not used any of the BSTs but they do sound excellent for their price. I don't think you've made a bad choice at all. You must write a review when you've had a chance to use it.

Andrew

[boabsta]

Cheers, I shall try a review but I dont think I have had enough experiences with any other eyepieces except supplied kit to give it a fair description. If it is a lot better I'll end up saying I want to marry it and if its only a little better I might say I have been ripped off. Chances are it should be noticeably better but to what extent I wouldnt realy know.

I shall put my tuppence worth up on here for all to see and draw their own conclusions.

Wont be until after first clear night after march 11th though as I'm not aloud it until then