100° Eyepieces, EQ mounts and standard focusers.

[spaceboy]

Hi All

I was just wondering with the increasing amount of people using 100° eyepieces how people have got on with using the given what is in most cases a great deal more weight and length than the run of the mill EP's.

While I'm directing this question more so towards EQ users because of the focuser on occasions ending up in gravity unfriendly directions during slewing it is also open for discussion to dob / AZ owners as I also question what peoples views are on focusers and their ability to hold such a lump of glass.

I am new to the 100° club and have an after market focuser although based on the standard Crayford design and no where near the build of moonlite or some of the better R&P out there. As I chose the 100° EP just for low power observing I can remove the EP every time I GOTO with no real hard ship but I am tinkering with the idea of going for a medium power which this could well become a chore (sore eyes and irritable due to lack of sleep) to remove every time I slew to an object so I was thinking it may just be better to stick to my 82° EP's which are less than half the weight of the 100° alternative.

What's the views from those already hardened to the 100 degree club?

[spaceboy]

Guess I'm just gona have to figure this one out for myself then

[Tinker1947]

Put a band around the top tube ring so you can swivel the tube to keep the EP in a more pleasant position for viewing.....

[John]

With some judicial tightening of the friction I've found all my focusers able to cope with even the ES 20mm / 100 and the Nagler 31 eyepieces. MY Vixen refractor has a decade old (but nice) rack and pinion focuser and my 12" dob has an older Chinese made single speed crayford. I don't use EQ mounts so I can't comment on those. My ED120 has a Moonlite on it now and that seems to cope with virtually anything.

[Moonshane]

for visual I have never had a problem with my 13mm ethos or 26mm nagler with any focuser assuming it's correctly adjusted. if you mean whether the focuser will hold a heavy eyepiece upside down that's another question I suppose. put it this way. I am happy my focusers always have the drawtube angled slightly upwards!

[Dude_with_the_tube]

Every eye piece has a deeper cut in the barrel to prevent theme rom felling out. ES In This case have a narrower top section of barrel what acts the same as such even a simple Crawford focuser should be able to keep the eye pieces in at all the times.just make sure you have it secured properly by tightening it up.other question I would ask is,if you focuser can actually handle the weight of EP and it is not slipping when you turn the knob,then you need to adjust the tension.

[russ.will]

I don't know whether you're referring to refractor or reflectors mounted on an EQ mount; but with respect to reflectors, if you align at polar home with the EP pointing straight up, then the focuser never achieves an orientation below the horizontal. Its a pain for polar alignment, but then you do only do that once per session and with a good observing stool, the EP is (unless you're looking near Polaris!) accessible without snapping your neck.

For the refractor, I tend to set a balance point midway between that of the ES82 30deg and the ES82 11mm and just get on with it. I probably should re-balance, but I'm lazy and I've not suffered any GOTO accuracy issues, nor can I hear the motors labouring. I am somewhat fanatical about doing up thumbscrews though. Although I tend to observe on grass, I also have a padded picnic mat that I place under the scope to provide an added level of assurance.

Russell

[alan potts]

Nice one Russell I will try that on the M/N, I always put it in a nice position for my first object of the night and then end up on my hands and knees. What you say would be correct, funny how one doesn't see these things.

Alan, ( red faced )

[russ.will]

I can't claim it was my idea, but it is surprisingly effective.

Russell

[spaceboy]

Thanks for the advice guys. I had some fun earlier with trying find the happy medium balancing the scope between a 20mm 100° (968g) plugged in to a x1.6 Barlow (248g) and a 6mm BCO (40g) + counter weight (880g). Looking like a longer shaft is also going to be required to counter the OTA fully ladened against 3 x 5kg weights.

I don't know whether you're referring to refractor or reflectors mounted on an EQ mount; but with respect to reflectors, if you align at polar home with the EP pointing straight up, then the focuser never achieves an orientation below the horizontal. Its a pain for polar alignment, but then you do only do that once per session and with a good observing stool, the EP is (unless you're looking near Polaris!) accessible without snapping your neck.

For the refractor, I tend to set a balance point midway between that of the ES82 30deg and the ES82 11mm and just get on with it. I probably should re-balance, but I'm lazy and I've not suffered any GOTO accuracy issues, nor can I hear the motors labouring. I am somewhat fanatical about doing up thumbscrews though. Although I tend to observe on grass, I also have a padded picnic mat that I place under the scope to provide an added level of assurance.

Russell

Thanks Russell. Sorry I never stopped to mention it was a newt I was planning to use the ES in on the EQ. I tend to have the focuser pointing straight up anyway when parked as other than grabbing steps now and again the focuser is often assessable with out having to rotate the OTA but I have to admit I never realised "the focuser never achieves an orientation below the horizontal"

[russ.will]

Well, if your GOTO allows you to point below the horizon, that's not strictly true, but I've never managed it. Not yet, at any rate...

Russell