Acuter DS-PRO spotting scopes with 1.25" eyepiece fitting

[FLO]

We have two 80mm Acuter DS-PRO spotting scopes that we think worth a mention because they are designed to accept most 1.25" astronomy eyepieces. The more expensive model also features an ED lens element for reduced chromatic aberration.

Acuter 20-60x 80mm DS PRO

Acuter 20-60x 80mm ED DS PRO

Spotting scopes are designed primarily for bird-watching and nature observation. Not astronomy. But when fitted with a suitable astronomy eyepiece (around 12-25mm) they can be used for low-medium magnification wide-field astronomy. And the 80mm aperture, built-in image erecting prism and comfortable angled viewing position offers a convenient alternative to binocular astronomy.

If you already own a set of astronomy eyepieces and fancy a spotting scope then these models from the Acuter DS PRO series have a lot to offer.

We like them and are confident you will too but if you are not 100% pleased you can return them within 30-days for a full refund

[giltbrook]

I have recently purchased the Acuter DS Pro 100mm version, used, but in excellent condition, and combined with the supplied 22x - 67x lens gives some very clear views.

I bought a cheap, used, 25mm 1.25" lens, (the one supplied with most cheap telescopes), to try on the Acuter, and it worked well, which spurred me on to try something better. I picked up a kit of used, as new, Revelation plossl lenses, but they would not focus at infinity in the Acuter due to the metal barrels being  slightly longer, and too long for the Acuter eyepiece holder. I removed the metal barrel from the cheap 25mm, (which was shorter than the Revelatios, and screwed it on to the Revelation lenses, that seemed to make the Revelation lenses perform correctly, but due to the poor weather, I have not had much chance to try out any accurate tests.

I have now bought a Seben 2x Barlow lens, (£15.99 new), this fits perfectly in the Acuter eyepiece holder, and when used with the Revelation lenses, seems to have overcome the previous problems of the short eyepiece holder of the spotting scope. The Barlow lens will also help with the 2x increased magnification for astronomy use, but I just need some clear weather to test this out.  If everything does work out OK, it should make a very good terrestrial scope capable of achieving good results when looking at the sky.

To be continued after further testing.

[Seme]

The links are not working are they?

[giltbrook]

The links are not working are they?

Below is a link to the Acuters on the FLO site, but the original post is just over a year old now.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/acuter-spotting-scopes.html

[giltbrook]

Does anyone know if there is a standard, reasonably priced, dovetail mount to fit this scope?

[Seme]

Below is a link to the Acuters on the FLO site, but the original post is just over a year old now.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/acuter-spotting-scopes.html

I'm sorry i never even looked at the first post date.

I'm a wally.

[Tinker1947]

I'm sorry i never even looked at the first post date.

I'm a wally.

 Wallies are what you have with Fish and Chips...

[giltbrook]

I'm sorry i never even looked at the first post date.

I'm a wally.

I didn't know whether to start a new topic, or tag on to this one, but there does not seem to be  much information about regarding the Acuters, so I added it here.

I tried testing again last night, and managed to get a bright view of a star using the Barlow and Revelation lenses, but it only lasted for about a minute before it disappeared behind clouds. The Manfrotto tripod is not very good for astro work, so I will have to look out for a used EQ5 mount in the near future.

[giltbrook]

 Wallies are what you have with Fish and Chips...

I have never heard of that before, and I've been to Cromer and had fish and chips

What are wallies?

[FLO]

The links are not working are they?

They are now  

Sorry about that, not sure what happened to the original links. 

We have also lowered the prices of both models following a price-check. 

Steve 

[giltbrook]

They are now

Sorry about that, not sure what happened to the original links. 

We have also lowered the prices of both models following a price-check. 

Steve 

Steve, could the Acuters be attached to an EQ3 mount dovetail using an adapter plate, and if they could, would it cause any problems? The adapter plate would have to be less than 120mm long otherwise it could interfere with the angle of the scope housing. If there is an adapter plate available, is it a reasonable price, and if there is not, is there a cheap solid plate that would fit the dovetail and could be drilled and made to fit?

[giltbrook]

There was a clear spot in the sky earlier, just enough to do a quick test of the Revelation 20mm plossl, through the Seden Barlow, and looking at Jupiter. The bands around Jupiter were visible, but when I compared them with the images on Google, there was a lack of clarity, this might be that the images on Google are very good, or as I am very new to this game, I am not sure what to be expecting

Still experimenting as to why the plossls won't focus properly unless used with the Barlow, it definitely appears to be due to the longer length of the 1.25" barrel part, but the length of the Seben Barlow 1.25" barrel is the same as the plossl, the only difference being the actual Barlow 'lens' part at the bottom of the barrel is a bit narrower than the 1.25" barrel, so the eyepiece holder appears to be narrower at the bottom. This could mean that although the Seben Barlow works OK, other Barlows with a lens diameter of 1.25" might not.

[giltbrook]

Another short break in the clouds, this time with a clear view of the moon,

I took the barrel off the Revelation plossl 20mm lens,  and exchanged it with the barrel off the cheap 25mm lens, (the one supplied with a lot of cheap scopes), what a difference. The modified Revelation lens could now focus perfectly all the way to infinity, (and without the Barlow), giving a 27x view of the moon through the 540mm DS Pro 100 scope. Everything seemed crystal clear, the craters visible in great detail, and this was through a double glazed window, so if anyone wants to know how to use plossls on the Acuter DS Pro scopes, just use the barrel from an old 25mm cheap lens.

[giltbrook]

Testing now complete after doing some terrestrial tests today, results confirm the test results from yesterday, which were better than expected.

The lens barrel, used to convert the Revelation lens, was taken from a Super 25, Wide Angle, Long Eye Relief lens, the barrel dimensions are,  Length 28.17mm, barrel outer diameter 31.6mm (1.25"), and internal thread diameter 28mm, (the internal threads differ from each end).

The Revelation plossl lenses are apparently made by GSO , and are also supplied rebranded by other makers in their lens and filter kit sets.

The barrel on the Revelation lens is 30mm long, with the same outer and inner diameter measurements as the Super 25 lens.

All I need now is some 28mm long 1.25" barrels, with a 28mm thread, and I won't have to keep changing the barrels on my different plossl lenses as I use them

[FLO]

Steve, could the Acuters be attached to an EQ3 mount dovetail using an adapter plate, and if they could, would it cause any problems? The adapter plate would have to be less than 120mm long otherwise it could interfere with the angle of the scope housing. If there is an adapter plate available, is it a reasonable price, and if there is not, is there a cheap solid plate that would fit the dovetail and could be drilled and made to fit?

You can use the odd looking dovetail supplied with the EQ3, you need only a suitable 1/4-20 (1/4" diameter, 20 threads per inch) bolt. Use either of the dovetail's unthreaded holes, not the central threaded hole. 

It is good to hear you are enjoying the spotting scope and it is working well for astronomy

Regarding eyepiece compatibility, if the eyepiece field lens (the one in the nosepiece, facing the telescope) is able to reach far enough into the scope then it will be successful. Changing the nosepiece between your two Plossl eyepieces has enabled you to position the field lens at the optimum position. Generally we find the simpler designs, like Plossls, orthoscopics and Kellners, work best. 

HTH, 

Steve 

[giltbrook]

You can use the odd looking dovetail supplied with the EQ3, you need only a suitable 1/4-20 (1/4" diameter, 20 threads per inch) bolt. Use either of the dovetail's unthreaded holes, not the central threaded hole. 

It is good to hear you are enjoying the spotting scope and it is working well for astronomy

Thanks Steve, as long as the bracket supplied with the EQ3 will work, there should be no problem making it fit, using 2 of the 4 fixing holes on the Acuter shoe, even if I have to drill an extra hole in the dovetail to line it up. One thing bothering me is that there might be a problem with the balance of the scope on the mount, as the mounting bracket on the scope cannot be adjusted forwards or backwards to get a proper balance, meaning that the object lens will be much heavier, would the EQ3 mount and tripod be able to cope with that?

[giltbrook]

I think I may have done a disservice to the Acuter when describing the view I had got of Jupiter the other evening. Last night, on The Sky at Night on BBC 2, they showed a picture from the North Norfolk coast that had been taken earlier of Jupiter, which gave me something to compare it with, and the image they showed did not seem to have as much detail as the view that I could remember I had seen with the scope. I had another look at Jupiter during the programme, and there definitely seemed to be more detail in the view I was getting through the scope than the image shown on the TV, so perhaps I was expecting too much after viewing the pictures of Jupiter from a Google search.

[FLO]

Thanks Steve, as long as the bracket supplied with the EQ3 will work, there should be no problem making it fit, using 2 of the 4 fixing holes on the Acuter shoe, even if I have to drill an extra hole in the dovetail to line it up. One thing bothering me is that there might be a problem with the balance of the scope on the mount, as the mounting bracket on the scope cannot be adjusted forwards or backwards to get a proper balance, meaning that the object lens will be much heavier, would the EQ3 mount and tripod be able to cope with that?

The EQ3 will cope easily with the scope and eyepieces, even if a little unbalanced, but if you plan hanging a camera off the back consider a traditional dovetail. The 7" ADM dovetail is a popular choice. It includes a recessed slot and holes and is supplied with the correct Allen screw, but it isn't the cheapest option. 

HTH  

[giltbrook]

The EQ3 will cope easily with the scope and eyepieces, even if a little unbalanced, but if you plan hanging a camera off the back consider a traditional dovetail. The 7" ADM dovetail is a popular choice. It includes a recessed slot and holes and is supplied with the correct Allen screw, but it isn't the cheapest option. 

HTH

Thanks again Steve, everything is starting to make sense now, using the extra length of the dovetail to compensate for the lack of lateral adjustment on the Acuter collar should help with the balance problem, I have just got to decide if the extra expense is worth it against sticking with the Manfrotto, but it is good to know that parts are available if I decide to go down that route.

[fatwoul]

My father is considering a spotting scope for occasional astronomy but probably more for terrestrial viewing.  He doesn't want to spend a fortune, as he'll probably take it down to the caravan when he and my mother go there.

After browsing FLO for a bit we found these.  As was said earlier in the thread, there isn't a lot of information about them on the interwebs.  Would anybody care to comment on their suitability, or perhaps any further comments after more use from those who have bought them, particularly the 80mm?  PM me if you don't want to disrupt the sponsor thread, but I'd really appreciate some thoughts before I recommend the scope to dad.

Thanks all

[michaelmorris]

My father is considering a spotting scope for occasional astronomy but probably more for terrestrial viewing.  He doesn't want to spend a fortune, as he'll probably take it down to the caravan when he and my mother go there.

After browsing FLO for a bit we found these.  As was said earlier in the thread, there isn't a lot of information about them on the interwebs.  Would anybody care to comment on their suitability, or perhaps any further comments after more use from those who have bought them, particularly the 80mm?  PM me if you don't want to disrupt the sponsor thread, but I'd really appreciate some thoughts before I recommend the scope to dad.

Thanks all

I used to own an Acuter Pro ED 80mm which was used for birdwatching.  It was a nice spotting scope with remarkably well corrected optics for the price.  I did have three small criticisms of it.

1 - It was a bit heavy

2 - It was quite long

3 - I could not find a padded cover for it.

After 3 years, I upgraded to the lighter, shorter and higher quality (but much more expensive) Opticron ES GA80 ED.

[fatwoul]

Thanks Michael, that was very helpful. I will pass those comments on to the old man. :-)