GSO EP's / Meade 4000

[spanglysparkly]

Me again,

As this is a completely different topic, I thought I'd star a new thread...

I know I said that I'm a bit concerned about second had stuff from ebay as I squally end up with rubbish but... This guy is selling all his astro stuff including a set of meade 4000 super wide plossls and a set of GSO plossls. I've read that the GSO's are ok? My lt6 only came with a 26mm.

So should I take a punt at either of these?

There's still 5 days to go and the meades or at £140 but the GSO's are at £30.

Thanks in advance

Jo

[happy-kat]

If it were me I would get the GSO also known often as revelation (or a word like that). I have the 32mm and it is fine. A set will let you decide which ones you like to use and then you could cherry pick and replace one at a time with a better one.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/11670-revelation-eyepiece-set-first-impressions/

30 sounds nice and cheap for a bundle. Especially if postage is not massive.

Plenty on both eye pieces of you search on this site.

[ronin]

GSO's do have a good reputation but £30 doesn't seem over inexpensive for them, sort of about the normal price adn you may as well then just got to somewhere like RVO and get them (I think RVO sell the GSO plossl's)

The catch is that GSO and a few others make plossl's and the major brands buy them with minor exterior differences or just their name on the side. If I recall Meade used to get their plossl's from GSO, and may still do so.

Any chance of a link to the ebay page?

Also what scope have you that you intend to use the eyepieces in?

Also what do you want them for if anything specific?

A 26mm sounds like it is a Meade, they used to supply 3 eyepieces of slightly odd focal lengths, usually 26mm and 9mm.

You may want to look at the Skywatcher plossls from FLO, they are £20 each, and may well be the same.

For £35 the Vixen plossl's (FLO again) have very good reports.

I would also suggest you ignore the terms "super wide" in any of them unless they supply the field of view and it is actually given as bigger. A plossl will have a field of view of 50 or 52 degrees.

The Meades may be a bit ambiguous.

They have Super-plossl's that look as if they are fairly normal eyeryday plossl's:- 4 elements, 2 groups, 52 degrees,

They also have Super-wide eyepieces that are not plossl's they are 6 elements and have a 67 degree view. I would assume that the super wide plossls you mention are NOT the super Wide eyepieces.

Info: http://www.meade.com/catalog/meade_4000/meade_series_4000_01.htm

Meade do say their polssls are parfocal however which I find is a useful feature.

[John]

I'm not sure that I would pay £30 for a used GSO or Meade 4000 plossl. They are decent plossls but the price is on the high side. The earlier Japanese made Meade 4000's are better and might be worth that amount but not for the later chinese ones.

In that price niche personally I'd be looking at the Vixen NPL plossls which can be bought new for £35 apiece.

[spanglysparkly]

GSO's do have a good reputation but £30 doesn't seem over inexpensive for them, sort of about the normal price adn you may as well then just got to somewhere like RVO and get them (I think RVO sell the GSO plossl's)

The catch is that GSO and a few others make plossl's and the major brands buy them with minor exterior differences or just their name on the side. If I recall Meade used to get their plossl's from GSO, and may still do so.

Any chance of a link to the ebay page?

Also what scope have you that you intend to use the eyepieces in?

Also what do you want them for if anything specific?

A 26mm sounds like it is a Meade, they used to supply 3 eyepieces of slightly odd focal lengths, usually 26mm and 9mm.

You may want to look at the Skywatcher plossls from FLO, they are £20 each, and may well be the same.

For £35 the Vixen plossl's (FLO again) have very good reports.

I would also suggest you ignore the terms "super wide" in any of them unless they supply the field of view and it is actually given as bigger. A plossl will have a field of view of 50 or 52 degrees.

The Meades may be a bit ambiguous.

They have Super-plossl's that look as if they are fairly normal eyeryday plossl's:- 4 elements, 2 groups, 52 degrees,

They also have Super-wide eyepieces that are not plossl's they are 6 elements and have a 67 degree view. I would assume that the super wide plossls you mention are NOT the super Wide eyepieces.

Info: http://www.meade.com/catalog/meade_4000/meade_series_4000_01.htm

Meade do say their polssls are parfocal however which I find is a useful feature.

Hey ronin,

thanks for the all the info I'm not good with links but hopefully i've got it right below - this is for the GSO's and the same guy is also selling the meades.

I have an LT6 meade, and it only came with the one  so at the mo i'm just getting used to it but do feel i want some more ep's to broaden my viewing. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181545235529?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Jo

[spanglysparkly]

I'm not sure that I would pay £30 for a used GSO or Meade 4000 plossl. They are decent plossls but the price is on the high side. The earlier Japanese made Meade 4000's are better and might be worth that amount but not for the later chinese ones.

In that price niche personally I'd be looking at the Vixen NPL plossls which can be bought new for £35 apiece.

Hey John, forgot to say - these are for kits of plossls  - mmm I am still toying with new rather than second hand as you never really know the condition of them do you, and as i said, I'm not the luckiest of people 

[spanglysparkly]

If it were me I would get the GSO also known often as revelation (or a word like that). I have the 32mm and it is fine. A set will let you decide which ones you like to use and then you could cherry pick and replace one at a time with a better one.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/11670-revelation-eyepiece-set-first-impressions/

30 sounds nice and cheap for a bundle. Especially if postage is not massive.

Plenty on both eye pieces of you search on this site.

Thanks happy-cat, I think I've got brain/information overload!!! I'm off work recouperating at the mo, so I've had lots of time to read, although I'm not sure if its all sunk in!!!

[John]

Hey John, forgot to say - these are for kits of plossls  - mmm I am still toying with new rather than second hand as you never really know the condition of them do you, and as i said, I'm not the luckiest of people 

Kits are OK but most folks end up cherry picking better quality inidividual eyepieces they actually need as happy-kat says. Knowing e.Bay that GSO set will end up at a much higher price and sometimes not far off the brand new price !. E.Bay is funny like that

Buying used is pretty reliable with astro equipment by the way - 95% of my kit was bought used - I'd never have been able to afford it all otherwise

[rwilkey]

The trouble with these kits is that you only ever end up using one or two, most people only ever end up using the 32mm, which is why everywhere you look on this site people extol the values of this ep only.  The 40mm is useless to most astronomers, esp. if you have the 32mm (similar FoV). I would do what others say, buy individual ep's according to your viewing preferences, the Vixen Plossl's are very good.

[Charic]

I'm not sure that I would pay £30 for a used GSO or Meade 4000 plossl. They are decent plossls but the price is on the high side. The earlier Japanese made Meade 4000's are better and might be worth that amount but not for the later chinese ones.

In that price niche personally I'd be looking at the Vixen NPL plossls which can be bought new for £35 apiece.

Meade [JAPAN] .......These were the original EP's I wanted to invest in, but very hard, or were hard to find last Year.

 I subsequently invested in the Starguiders, with no regrets. I`m also asking around in PM's about the TeleVue Plossl EP's, as I would like to try one out, see how good the clarity is, but I`m getting  good reports of the  better usability of the BST, but  clearer optics with the TV's. And I dont want to spend more than a BST on a second hand 8mm TeleVue Plossl. Its just comparison purposes. I think the eye relief just may be too tight though on the TV.

Also buying / selling on e-bay isn't too bad, and you do have support when / if things go wrong!

[John]

Meade [JAPAN] .......These were the original EP's I wanted to invest in, but very hard, or were hard to find last Year.

 I subsequently invested in the Starguiders, with no regrets. I`m also asking around in PM's about the TeleVue Plossl EP's, as I would like to try one out, see how good the clarity is, but I`m getting  good reports of the  better usability of the BST, but  clearer optics with the TV's. And I dont want to spend more than a BST on a second hand 8mm TeleVue Plossl. Its just comparison purposes. I think the eye relief just may be too tight though on the TV.

Also buying / selling on e-bay isn't too bad, and you do have support when / if things go wrong!

I've just bought some used TV plossls. I've not owned / used the design for several years but judging by their performance over the past couple of nights they seem to put up excellent images.

I'll compare the 32mm TV plossl to the 30mm Vixen NPL which I have on loan from First Light Optics at the moment. I understand that Vixen have used a similar slightly modified plossl optical design along the same lines as the TV plossl so it will be interesting to see how close their actually performance is

From all the positive feedback, the BST's must be very good eyepieces for their cost too and they have that slightly wider field of view and somewhat longer eye relief than plossls as well.

[spanglysparkly]

Thanks, John, Rwilkey & Charic.

I've decided not to go down the kit route and to buy separately. Although now, I'm getting itchy fingers about what to purchase. I haven't  got TV money, but the BST's & Vixens are sounding possible.

As I've got the 26mm I was thinking, possibly a 2x barlow which would then make the 26=13mm, possibly an 18, 15 or 10mm (no lower). 

so now it's just the brand, BST's or Vixen or something else, with good fov and ok eye relief...  Spending £50ish quid each.

Thoughts anyone?

Thanks again

Jo

[happy-kat]

If using a Barlow then it feels a bit close the 18 and 15.

There is an excellent post on working out for a scope what would be a good spread.

[spanglysparkly]

Thanks happy-Kat, still going through older posts on camera / eps , anything actually. Mustn't have got to that one yet . I'll go have a search.

[happy-kat]

It is a big read but I guess you need only look at the start.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/43171-eyepieces-the-very-least-you-need/page-1

This is also great

http://www.swindonstargazers.com/beginners/eyepieces.htm

[spanglysparkly]

Think I read them happy-kat but the info just hadnt sunk in !!!

Yes I think i'll get one or the other of the 15/18mm. have worked out using the info and will probably get the 15mm and a 10mm

although i could get a x2 barlow and a 32mm then i would have 32mm, 26mm, 18mm and 13mm. Although that would mean I wouldnt have any high ep's without the barlow.. Oh decisions decisions, just when you think youve got it sussed!

Is there certain makes of barlow that I should be looking to purchase?

[happy-kat]

This is a fantastic online calculator.

Great for eyepiece and camera information and show you for your telescope how big objects will be here.

[spanglysparkly]

Thanks happy-kat i have a look at this now. I'm still trawling through all the threads on eye pieces!!

I keep changing my mind about which brand, as I'm willing to buy second hand, but still at around £50. Not got enough posts yet for the classifieds on here. but there doesn't seem to be anything on astro buy&sell or astro boot, and the only eps that I could see on ebay that took my fancy were new from skys the limit (bst's)...

any how, off to read that info, thanks again

[spanglysparkly]

I've just seen these on Ab&S but they are a bit out of my price range and Im not sure if there sold as the ads from July and I'm sure someone would have snapped them up by now

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=85529