What eyepieces for a 12" Meade LX

[Billy- the -Badger]

Right ho

here we go.

what are your thoughts on a couple of eyepieces and a Barlow

for the above.

im tempted by the Hyperion's but I can't make my mind up.

(the wife agreed to Naglers until she saw the price.

all suggestions welcome.

[Damo636]

Personally, I would opt for either of these rather than the Hyperion. In my humble opinion the Baader units are about £40 overpriced in todays market.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Skys-the-Limit-Astro-and-Optical/BST-Starguider-ED-/_i.html?_fsub=2568750014

or

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-x-cel-lx-eyepiece.html

[SplintUK]

If you want naglers but can't afford them, explore scientific do an 82degree range (and 100 degree) which are very good and can be bought from the US at companies like Optcorp at very reasonable prices. They often have them on at sale prices. I've personally bought 4 ES EPs from there and it all went swimmingly.

Don't forget you will be liable for VAT / import duty when they arrive though.

They are very good EPs and are significantly cheaper than televues.

[faulksy]

or another great choice is the nirvana range. but what are your interests planets or dso,s ?

[alan potts]

Meades own eyepieces work very well on this scope and I have owned most of them. Your scope is more or less the same as mine. ExSc will also work very well. I also would not but Hyperions you can do better. I use mainly Televues now which are excellent but at a price.

I find the UWA Meades very good on the Meade scope and for that matter the SWA 68 degree are also tip top., the 34mm SWA was my favourite and the 24mm a close second.

Most of all it comes down to what you want to spend but check out secondhand, you can save a good deal on new.

Alan.

[Billy- the -Badger]

Thanks to all.

My interest is in everything that's why I wanted 2 good lenses and a Barlow

so I can switch for whatever is needed.

Dso for me

planets for the kids

the es 82 degree look great value at $99 each works out at about £130 for two

plus import tax

[Cornflake]

Billy - as you can see from my signature I was in the same boat and couldn't decide. I wanted the William 15mm but it was out of stock with my favourite supplier (Greenwitch) and they suggested the Hyperion 13mm and it is an excellent EP. But I also love my William SPL 6mm which I think is closer to the optical performance of the Hyperion. But the standard suppled Meade 4000 26mm is not bad.

So I think the moral of the story is everyone has a personal preference you just need to find out what yours is.

The best thing I got was a Crayford focuser which make fine focusing a doodle.

Chris

[Billy- the -Badger]

Cheers cornflake.

Ended up with a Explore Scientific 82° N2 Eyepiece 11mm .

and as you point out the Meade ep isn't that terrible

just can't wait for it to arrive.

[Dunkster]

If you fancy a wide view, the ES82 30mm is a cracker in my C11 (focal length almost as long as your 12"). A bit more than $99 though

I'd imagine the 11mm, as great as it is, is too high magnification most of the time. The 14 or even the 18 might be a better choice under the British weather. 16mm Nirvana might be a better match...

Apologies if I'm obsessed with 82 degree views and you're not into 'em

[Billy- the -Badger]

If you fancy a wide view, the ES82 30mm is a cracker in my C11 (focal length almost as long as your 12"). A bit more than $99 though

I'd imagine the 11mm, as great as it is, is too high magnification most of the time. The 14 or even the 18 might be a better choice under the British weather. 16mm Nirvana might be a better match...

Apologies if I'm obsessed with 82 degree views and you're not into 'em

cheers Dunkster

i bought the 11mm for close planetary viewing.

Untill i get my allowance from the wife i will keep the Meade 26mm

but then i feel a 30mm ES will be on the cards.

[alan potts]

Billy the badger,

I too like the wider FOV eyepieces and even though I have a large spread of F/L fromm 55mm right down to 4mm I rarely use an eyepiece shorter than 14mm on your scope and most of the time do not go below 17mm. I know the ExSc 11mm is said to be the pick of the litter but I am not sure how much you are going to be able to use it due to seeing, this will deliver a magnification of X277. I have very clear dark skies here with much less polution of all types, my personal opinion is this is a bit on the big side and you would have done better to go for say 14mm.

I hope I am wrong.

On the 30mm UWA, I would always go for a longer F/L of 40mm SWA at 68 degrees in these scopes, I think it's better and I do have both eyepieces and rarely use the 30mm UWA Meade in the scope. I now use a Panoptic but still have a Meade 40mm. Be warned though, when you start putting these heavy eyepiece in the scope it is time to consider a balance system.

Alan.

[Dunkster]

Also depends on what your preferred targets are with your scope as to which might be the next best buy... for example, if you into globs (I'm obsessed with them ) then the season is coming soon, so an EP in a good range for those, say 150-175x, would be really useful in cracking those objects open. In my C11 for example, the 17mm Ethos is almost ideal at about 165x ... to be fair, I don't have another EP that close in magnification, so I couldn't tell you the one I find best... but the 17 does a great job

The focal length of the 12" is a bit longer though, 3000mm?

You might get good use out of the 11mm yet... but it'll be in times of exceptional seeing in the UK which are, sadly, few and far between Another scenario is if you had used a focal reducer, that'd probably put it bang into planetary territory, although the FR is usually used to get wider views at lower magnifications bicbw...

[alan potts]

Dunk,

I agree with you, I too like the globulars, I tend to use the 20mm Nagler the most which gives X152 but many times do go to either the 17mm E or the 16mm Nagler on the tighter ones. On the Lx I don't go above X200 for Jupiter, to X240 ish for Saturn and sometimes 300 for Mars. I did spend some nights at X450 looking for the centre star of M57, which I found in the end.

I am just a little unsure how wise it was to jump in and get the 11mm when he clearly is just starting out, as you said useful for times of exceptional seeing. The times I have gone outside with an eyepiece for say Jupiter and five minutes later come back for something longer, I have lost count.

How do you find the 11mm in your scope, mine is 3048mm I believe yours is around 2700mm so it will give a little bit less magnification.

This was the first of the scopes I bought so I have used it more than any over about 5 1/2 years. I think he made the best choice of scope, if the mirror is the same the LX200 is a bit dear and too heavy, but it is better if you want to load up with scopes and counterbalances.

Lets see how he gets on.

Alan.

[Dunkster]

I've just been going through my logs... I don't remember using an EP that short with the C11 (FL=2800mm) to date, shortest recorded is the 17mm Ethos... although I'm pretty sure I've used the ES82 14. Must write logs before I go to bed

But the clarity and detail of the E17 (about 165x) is outstanding. My last session with it, I was floored with the amount of detail I could see on Jupiter, and was so engrossed I don't recall reaching for another. Says it all really

In the C8, the 11mm is a bang-bang EP for planets... I'll usually start with the 14 (about 145x-ish) to see how it's looking (first bang), then bang in the 11 (about 185x), which in the UK is the one I usually stick with. The 8.8 (about 230x) often gets a go in the barrel, but usually gets swapped back out for the 11 That was my justification for the XW10 (don't ask me if I've had a chance to use it yet though )

If I ever make it big enough to have an obsy or move somewhere where the sky is kinder, I'd probably sell out and get the C14 or even bigger Dob once you get used to FL of 2000 or so, there's nothing to fear

[alan potts]

Dunk,

You seem to use more or less the same magnification for things as I do, likewise I have never had the 11mm Nagler in the LX. I knew you had an 11mm UWA ExSc but I didn't know you had a C8, now it make much more sense. The Ethos range are really as good as it gets and the 17mm is great in all my scopes. I wish they did a buy 2 and get one free promotion. I still want the 21mm, I don't need it I just want it.

Still lets hope Billy gets on with his 11mm, I just hope it comes with first class skies.

Alan.

[Dunkster]

I'm either obsessive, compulsive, some combination of the two or just outright crazy

I have the 8SE (C8 on single arm alt/az), great grab and go from a physical point of view, can be carried more or less with one hand and doesn't crash to the floor when you need to open a door The C8 is so compact yet gives such great views. I've even used the E17 and ES82 30 with it! It's no C11 or LX 12" but doesn't require Hercules to move/set it up either

If Billy doesn't get on with the 11mm, it shouldn't be too hard to sell it on, it's a sought after EP

[alan potts]

Dunk,

Yes I am sure that he will be able to sell it but that would be a shame, I think it's his first up market eyepiece. You are not kidding about Hercules, when I bought it I was building my house and the weight was nothing, almost 6 years later it is becoming a pain. I will finish the observatory this year or it will finish me.

Just seen something I have never seen before. I saw there was a clearing coming in the clouds, so I quickly put out the refractor. Weather only moves slowly here so I knew I had an hour. Started on Jupiter way before the scope had cooled down, one side of it with a blue fringe and the other red. Just before the clouds came in again there was no colour at all ( 70 mins later ). The difference in temperature inside to out is 26 degrees, it's minus 3 at the moment. Never seen that before, it's only an APO when it's cooled down.

I am not sure that the 30mm on the C8 will do the worm drives and motors any good with extended use, be careful.

Alan.

[Dunkster]

Very green about the obsy Alan none of us are getting any younger

I expect you're right about the motors, I try to keep the scope balanced best I can, been eyeing one of those Baader Aspherics instead for the little 'uns...

[Billy- the -Badger]

Wow.

Thanks for your thoughts/advice.

i may have dropped a clanger with the EP choice then???

we will have a go and see what happens if its no good then it will be an eBay jobbie.

No point keeping it if its the wrong tool for the job.

But will it be ok to use it in the Skywatcher 130 that I have???

[Dunkster]

Should work nicely in the 130

Never say never in the LX... those rare nights creep up on us when we least expect it!