Zeiss Microscopy eyepieces - 1.25" Conversion

[Stratis]

I was very chuffed today to find a matched pair of the near-legendary Zeiss T* 10x / 22 B microscope eyepieces for sale for a mere £60 each... the only other ones I can find are on Astro Buy & Sell for £200 each! 

The downside with this pair is that they don't yet have a compatible barrel: 

I'd really appreciate some help from this grand community, how these Zeiss threads can be converted to a 1.25" barrel, the idea is to eventually use them in a binoviewer setup. The reviews over on 'the other forum' seem to suggest these EPs are sharper than commercial orthoscopics and basically makes the telescope 'disappear'... very keen to see them in operation 

[John]

Very nice !

Do you want this moved to "eyepieces" ?

[Roy Challen]

Nice! I love​​​ my CZJs and most things Zeiss. Hope you get them working soon - report please!

How do they attach to a telescope? I see there is no 'barrel' and you mention threads, so would it not just be a case of getting some barrels machined up and hey presto? I use quite a lot of Zeiss stuff at work and haven't seen this arrangement before.

[Stratis]

John: no I'd rather not move it to eyepieces simply because nobody posts or reads there really

As it's a plea for help I'd prefer max visibility

We can shift it there once the thread has run its course, if that's alright with you.

[bambuko]

I take it you are familiar with this post (#29) ?

[John]

John: no I'd rather not move it to eyepieces simply because nobody posts or reads there really

Really ...... ?????

I'll let it run here for a little while but then I'll move it to eyepieces with a link still in this section. You get the best of both worlds then

[ChrisLX200]

Yeah I have a couple of those, one I added a reticle near the field lens, can't remember what I did with the other... didn't know they cost that much.

ChrisH

[jetstream]

Me and my wallet  thought that the eyepiece section was one of the busiest, most purchase inspiring sections here!

The only reservation I have in buying the Zeiss microscope eyepieces ( just me) is in having the knowledge to get real ones, not fakes. Some of these Zeiss micro eyepieces perform extremely well rumor has it...

[Pig]

I too am shocked, more so than the price of the eyepieces, I thought the eyepiece forum was the busiest  Almost worth a ban 

[mcolbert]

Me and my wallet  thought that the eyepiece section was one of the busiest, most purchase inspiring sections here!

The only reservation I have in buying the Zeiss microscope eyepieces ( just me) is in having the knowledge to get real ones, not fakes. Some of these Zeiss micro eyepieces perform extremely well rumor has it...

Gerry I have purchased quite a few eyepieces for the zeiss microscopes we have and have always found sellers on eBay.de to be trustworthy.  (obviously there are some problems on any site)  otherwise , if you're looking, I would start there.

I too will keep an eye on this thread both here and in the EP sub forum.  The imagination is getting started...:

michael

[Stratis]

Well damn, I didn't think I was kicking a beehive by insinuating that the eyepiece forum was in some way deficient... 

I basically looked at the number of topics/posts and noticed it was many times higher in this forum than anywhere else

I take it you are familiar with this post (#29) ?

Yeah, but he doesn't say where he got those barrels from unless I've missed a post. He just.... has them. They're a perfect thread match so I have to assume they're a Zeiss product or something he had machined, I suspect the former really. 

As mine don't have that piece, I guess I'll be looking for someone with the ability to machine a threaded 1.25" barrel out of some sort of metal... anyone have any ideas on this side of the ocean? Precise Parts might do it but that gets expensive 

There's a somewhat awkward post here that mentions using 35mm film cans, but I think he's talking about a different type of eyepiece and tbh I can barely parse what he's saying. Might be worth a shot.

[John]

Well damn, I didn't think I was kicking a beehive by insinuating that the eyepiece forum was in some way deficient... 

I basically looked at the number of topics/posts and noticed it was many times higher in this forum than anywhere else

Not a good basis for deciding where to post though - otherwise the forum would become a complete mess !

The "Astro Lounge" section has more posts than any other - why not stick it in there ?

I've moved it to the eyepieces section and left a link here as promised

[ChrisLX200]

Well damn, I didn't think I was kicking a beehive by insinuating that the eyepiece forum was in some way deficient... 

I basically looked at the number of topics/posts and noticed it was many times higher in this forum than anywhere else

Yeah, but he doesn't say where he got those barrels from unless I've missed a post. He just.... has them. They're a perfect thread match so I have to assume they're a Zeiss product or something he had machined, I suspect the former really. 

As mine don't have that piece, I guess I'll be looking for someone with the ability to machine a threaded 1.25" barrel out of some sort of metal... anyone have any ideas on this side of the ocean? Precise Parts might do it but that gets expensive 

There's a somewhat awkward post here that mentions using 35mm film cans, but I think he's talking about a different type of eyepiece and tbh I can barely parse what he's saying. Might be worth a shot.

These eyepieces fit the Zeiss stereoscopic dissection microscope - a large thing on a floor stand. I know because I used one in the past. As far as I know there is no barrel available from Zeiss (when I ordered the microscope on behalf of my company I had access to the catalog of accessories). The microscope cost £22k IIRC.

ChrisH

[AndyH]

I was very chuffed today to find a matched pair of the near-legendary Zeiss T* 10x / 22 B microscope eyepieces for sale for a mere £60 each... the only other ones I can find are on Astro Buy & Sell for £200 each! 

The downside with this pair is that they don't yet have a compatible barrel: 

EP2.JPG

I'd really appreciate some help from this grand community, how these Zeiss threads can be converted to a 1.25" barrel, the idea is to eventually use them in a binoviewer setup. The reviews over on 'the other forum' seem to suggest these EPs are sharper than commercial orthoscopics and basically makes the telescope 'disappear'... very keen to see them in operation 

 Nice !!

 I have a page saved to my favourites regarding these ep's(look & read as very similar, if not the same as yours).

http://www.bw-optik.de/astro/anschlusselemte-1-8/113/zeiss-oberkochen-okular-f-27-/-1-1/4?c=122

Perhaps try contacting the above company and see if they have barrels to fit and to sell ? If not, find a machinist with a lathe and if said bloke is good, a couple of threaded barrels to suit could be turned for the ep's.

Andy.

[ChrisLX200]

I just noticed mine are different - 12.5x not 10x.  But the barrels I have I made myself

ChrisH

[AndyH]

Lovely, Chris

For future reference, do you have a note of the thread O/D and pitch machined onto the barrel ?

12.5x versions. So that's what, a 20mm FL ep?

Cheers,

Andy.

[ChrisLX200]

Lovely, Chris

For future reference, do you have a note of the thread O/D and pitch machined onto the barrel ?

12.5x versions. So that's what, a 20mm FL ep?

Cheers,

Andy.

No I didn't make a note but I can check later. Most likely I just measured the pitch and then cut the thread depth to fit without any further measuring (just relying on the lathe dial readings after that).

ChrisH

[Stratis]

The microscope cost £22k IIRC.

...surely the eyepieces aren't in that price category though

http://www.bw-optik.de/astro/anschlusselemte-1-8/113/zeiss-oberkochen-okular-f-27-/-1-1/4?c=122

Perhaps try contacting the above company and see if they have barrels to fit and to sell ? If not, find a machinist with a lathe and if said bloke is good, a couple of threaded barrels to suit could be turned for the ep's.

Well spotted that man! Thank you.... I may give that a go, seems it may take longer for me to track down a pair of barrels than it did the eyepieces (which were just a blind shot in the dark after seeing them go up on AB&S....)

No I didn't make a note but I can check later. Most likely I just measured the pitch and then cut the thread depth to fit without any further measuring (just relying on the lathe dial readings after that).

ChrisH

...do you think I can perhaps engage you to make a pair for me too? I am afraid my skills are in network security engineering, I am only dimly aware of what a lathe dial is   

[ChrisLX200]

...surely the eyepieces aren't in that price category though

Well spotted that man! Thank you.... I may give that a go, seems it may take longer for me to track down a pair of barrels than it did the eyepieces (which were just a blind shot in the dark after seeing them go up on AB&S....)

...do you think I can perhaps engage you to make a pair for me too? I am afraid my skills are in network security engineering, I am only dimly aware of what a lathe dial is   

Might be able to sort something out if you're in no rush! I'm afraid I have no anodising tanks at the moment so you would have to use matt black paint or something on the inside. PM me...

ChrisH

[Stratis]

PM very much sent... 

[Stratis]

They're here..

[YKSE]

Nice looking pair, congratulations

[ChrisLX200]

Interesting :-) You want to see what they came off? Look at the [old] photo below and you can see the floor-standing dissection microscope, that has two of them.

ChrisH

[Stratis]

Review posted:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/255829-review-zeiss-t-2210x-and-sharp-eyepiece-shootout/

[mcolbert]

review appreciated.