Missing my zoom no more!

[spaceboy]

If there was one eyepiece I treasured most it was my 3-6mm Nagler zoom http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/TeleVue_3_6mm_Nagler_Zoom_Eyepiece_1_25__.html which in honesty I never thought I would ever sell.

Although I chose my Nagler zoom over my selection of BGO ortho http://www.f1telescopes.co.uk/shop/baader-planetarium-genuine-ortho-eyepieces/baader-planetarium-genuine-ortho-go-6mm-eyepiece/ I always preferred the clarity and sharpness orthos offer. When a change in scopes reserved even the 5mm focal length of the zoom to those nights of good seeing I'd too much invested in the eyepiece so a plan had to come to mind that would see the addition of orthos back in to my collection. 

That plan seen me denting the bank account with  the addition of 6 & 7 Astro hutech orthos http://www.firstlightoptics.com/clearance/hutech-orthoscopic-eyepiece.html which   was a little slow to realize weren't par focal DUH! I had picked up a 6mm BGO shortly after and after some thought decided not to sit on the side lines in the hopes for further BGO to come up used as for 1 I felt what made the BGO so great was not only there optical excellence but the fact they could be picked up used for £45-£50 delivered. As many will know supply and demand can see some people get slightly carried away and while I knew the quality of the BGO is outstanding they were no longer an amazing £50 eyepiece but instead ridiculous £80-£130 offerings. The 2nd that recent orthos on the market allowed a wider range of focal lengths which led me to go with 6,7,9 and 12.5mm fujiyama orthos http://www.lyraoptic.co.uk/Eyepieces.html with the intension to add the 18 & 25mm at a later date.

In truth I can't tell the quality apart from the BGO other than the seductive green and black  . If anything I seem to remember the BGO as having a better matt finish around the objective lens when looking up the barrel. The fujiyama sure are no slouch in the visual department either and I think to be honest I would be hard pushed to tell the difference if I had to do a blind taster test but then I assume the Japanese already know what they are doing when it comes to producing quality glass and the details are in the pudding which I can only assume the coatings recipe must have made it out of Baader's "TOP SECRET" draw when they stopped selling the BGO ??

As you'd expect the eye relief is short and not really suitable for those who wear glasses. For some reason I think the eye lens has widened very slightly on the new generation of orthos whether this is the case or not I'm not sure but the 40° AFOV still requires you to wear shorter focal lengths like a monocle. Despite this I can't say that not even the slightest bit of eyelash gunk makes it way on to the lens and I have a set of eyelashes on me that women would be proud of.

As I had now found the replacement focal lengths for planetary observing I then had to go about the task to replacing the convenience I had so much loved in the Nagler zoom. This originally fell upon that of a Baader Q turret http://www.365astronomy.com/baader-qturret-quadruplet-eyepiece-revolver-p-3409.html?zenid=f152b851e1b8bd4f4682f5de9cb19444 but frustratingly only one of the HD ortho would hint at anything near focus. Despite the 3-6 zoom being near par focal the increase in magnification often required slight feathering of the 10/1 focuser so I was aware there would need to be a little travel in the focuser to allow all 4 of the eyepieces to focus but this clearly wasn't going to be so and the q-turret was returned.

Thinking it was just going to be a case of putting up with those moments of mushy seeing rather than fumbling around in the dark swapping eyepieces I admitted defeat and just got on with enjoying the clarity the orthos had brought back to my planetary observing. That was until I came across an ABS advert for a low profile eyepiece turret http://www.365astronomy.com/365astronomy-multi-eyepiece-holder-wheel-for-3-eyepieces-with-brass-compression-rings-p-3477.html?zenid=878c1724041de774ad8a4d66d77b5de4. It only allowed for 3 eyepieces over the 4 of the Q-turret but had compression rings over thumbscrews and a lower profile no doubt due to there only being the 3 eyepiece holders and not having to make room for a forth.

This time I was taking no chances and while browsing astro boot found a low profile 2" to 1.25" adapter http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/scopeteknix/accessories/low-profile/eyepiece-adaptor.html. Other than the obvious advantage the adapter is threaded for 2" filters so I have a larger variety of filters to choose from. The turret is also threaded for 1.25" but it can be a little fiddly getting in to the thread with the 2" adapter in place.

I had decided that this time if I could get anything near focus in all three eyepieces that I would wind the primary up or down the OTA to compensate allowing me a little play either side of the sweet spot. As it happens this wasn't needed and the combination of the turret and low profile 2"-1.25" adapter left me with around 5mm -10mm inward travel to spare. I will note that my focuser is a low profile focuser which basically means the draw tube is shorter than that of the standard factory fit SW focuser so while my draw tube is only 5-10 mm of the focuser body itself the intrusion in to the scope itself doesn't interfere with the light path so this might be worth considering if you were to try this with a smaller aperture scope. 

So I'd got the ortho in the focal lengths that will get used and a system in place that I'm not juggling several eyepieces at dust caps in the dark and a system that allowed me to reach focus with no issues. It left only one thing left to do and as luck would have it astro boot came to the rescue once again in the form of Rubber winged eye cups http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p468_Gummi-Augenmuschel-fuer-Okulare---Durchmesser---41mm-bis-43mm.html which for some unknown reason seem to have been discontinued ??? I agree a niche but god don't stop selling them all together. If you have ever used a flat top ortho or plossl then winged rubber eye cups are an absolute delightful addition. No more staring at a reflection of your own eyeball or the half co_ck_ed salute as your hand attempts to keep hold of what little dark adaption you have as light seems to always find away of catching your Peripheral vision. AND to top it all off no longer do you have that cold unwelcoming anodized aluminium flat top but instead have the soft rubber rim that now besotes your eye socket as you snuggle in to your little haven of high magnification heaven

All in all I am very pleased with how it worked out. There is a very slight misalignment due to clamping the eyepieces in at different angles. I would have liked to have seen all the holders with the thumbscrews in identical positions as they may well be compression fit but they aren't self centering and when your tightening one screw one side of the eyepiece and another eyepiece the other side going from x133 to x200 you do notice it. I found if I just let off on the tightness of the screw a little on each of them Jupiter could easily be kept with in the 0.2° TFOV and once done I just left it together in the eyepiece case while I took in some DSO's.

It does go to show how valuable self centering adapters can be in keeping good alignment time after time. Personally I always tighten thumbscrews at opposites to minimize lateral play and still prefer the speed and security of having a thumbscrews. I have a self centering adapter but dam are they a fiddle in the dark with cold hands an a lump of glass waiting to be dropped. 

[John]

Very interesting report

I've not seen a turret used in a newtonian very often so it's good to know that there is an arrangement that works with that scope design. I agree about the Astro Hutech and Fujiyama orthos being as good as the Baader GO's too.

[spaceboy]

Thanks John. I have been known to miss a few details out in the past while trying to convey in text what I'm thinking so it took me ages to type it. 

[John]

You did a good job - it was a nice read

[Stu]

Yep, a good read Nick. Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Peter Drew]

I have made and used turret eyepiece holders in the past. The one problem I occasionally found was that the eyepieces not in use could dew up or get frost on them if not covered, making it a bit of a faff swapping covers about. Also, because they got very cold, placing a warm eye next to them in use promoted misting. 

[spaceboy]

A good point Peter and one I'd not given any thought to. I'm fortunate in that I had intended to use this set up for high magnifications on a tracking mount and with that mount being fixed to a pier in my obs I should get away with any dew problems ??? but as you will see from the posted image there was a mist forming on the focuser from my breath so I may have to consider using the eyepieces regularly to keep them warm or consider dew straps as power isn't an issue??