Meade Infinity 102

[Mak the Night]

30 minutes ago, Ray1103 said:

I guess with no scale it is hard to find neutral but I have to get used to it. Very pretty piece of gear. Talk in little while ✨

You don't have to be exact with neutral. You will only really use it to make fine adjustments. It's just that I often found I had it too far one direction when I started sometimes and suddenly found the helical had reached its limit. Mind you, I am a bit of a plonker at times lol.

Pants weather here as well.

Back to trying to find Apollo 11 with QuickMap I suppose ...

[Ray of LIght]

Lol, more Sod! Would it make sense to just bottom it out and adjust from there? Pulmonologist has me taking two water pills because of excessive fluid in my lungs again so now I spend the night in the bathroom. OMG ?. Some day this will hopefully end for me. Well  the scope looks great, can't wait to use it!

 

[Mak the Night]

Not sure what you mean, you'll figure it out by using the WO anyway. I probably haven't explained what I meant well and just confused you. My excuse is the brain damage lol. Hang in there Ray, I'm sure it will get better with your health. When I had food poisoning recently I spent an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom as well. If it wasn't the projectile vomiting it was the explosive decompression from the other end lol. I ordered a bag for the Big Cat's tripod and when it was delivered I discovered it was too small. It was 120cm long! I ordered a small portable garden table to use for when I take the MightyMak outside and it exploded as I was assembling it. It's basically just firewood now. I've ordered an aluminium one. I hope that doesn't explode as well.

On the plus side, I've added a 12.5mm Hutech ortho' to my grab'n'go kit. You can see it here on the extreme left of the bottom row next to the TV 11mm Plossl. It replaces the 13mm Celestron/GSO Plossl. It will give me 80x with the 90mm Mak and fills the gap between the 66.6x of the Antares and the 91x of the 11mm TV. All I need now is for Sod to take the clouds on holiday with him. The Moon's Full at 22:15 here. Not that I'll probably be able to see it through the cloud.

 

[Dave In Vermont]

I've got the 150mm Mak out acclimating merrily. Already bagged Jupiter - sharp & loaded with easy details in the equatorial-bands with my new 16mm 80° from University Optics in Michigan:

http://www.universityoptics.com/125inch.html#UAW82

It's one of the $59.95 one's and these are really nice! At 16mm it's bringing 112.5X with an 80° F.O.V. from this new offering from UO. Very well worth 2X the price and more! I do believe I'll be ordering the 11mm in the near future. It seems this Maksutov-Cassegrain is very easy to feed! My current study is seeing how it responds to my experiment of giving it low-power and wide-field eyepieces to see how it responds. As these scopes have an intrinsically narrow F.O.V. - I was wondering if it had any complaints with my attempts to get as wide a field as possible. So far: No optical distortions whatsoever has become manifest. I am growing more & more impressed with this powerful little beast and it's happy cooperation with being pushed to the limits of everything I've thrown at it. What a cool little telescope!

Mars is too low so far tonight to be bagged from my location - unless I cart my gear down and around the property - which I may well do in the next few nights. But my eyeball-telescopes are working fine & well - and Mars is dazzling! It truly is resembling a "God Of War!" all by itself! Sort of like a morphing Sirius in magnitude - but flashing in shades of deep reds and vibrantly alive oranges. It's light coming through the thickest of our atmosphere and responding by obliging us with this dazzling light-show! Stop reading this post and get outside and look!!

Got my filters - OUT!

Dave

 

 

[Mak the Night]

That 80 Degree Ocular's nice Dave.

These are virtually identical to the Astro Hutechs I've got (I have the 25mm, 18mm, 12.5mm and 6mm AH's) and I suspect they come from the same factory.

This is around midday ... definitely not boding well for the Opposition.

[Ray of LIght]

Looks like a nice kit for the Mak. Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it. Once I start to feel even a little better what I have to do is, if the weather looks like it may be un-Soddy, I will take the night off from the water pills. Couple of nights a week aren't going to hurt anything. The seeing was crappy last night; the moon was in a haze as was Jupiter, couldn't see much else and between that and running to the bathroom every five minutes, it would have been a bust anyway. Like your garden table! So thats the plan, right  now Wednesday and Thursday nights look good. Anyway, now that I have the WO diagonal I need to work on getting the TV 3x Barlow and maybe the 20 mm and 15 mm TV Plossls  (and maybe another Meade 5000 HD in 4.5 mm). Have enough stuff to test and enjoy for right now though I think. Father's Day right around the corner! Check in later ✨

[Ray of LIght]

I looked at those UO eyepieces Dave and they seem very nice for the price. I saw a 15mm but not a 16, and I'm not sure the eye relief would be sufficient for me with my glasses and all. What's your take Dave and Mak? And I wonder what FL would be best for my 102?

[Ray of LIght]

I was wrong, I was looking at the 70 degree 15mm; I guess I would want the 80 degree 16mm. Sorry about that. 

[Mak the Night]

42 minutes ago, Ray1103 said:

Looks like a nice kit for the Mak. Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it. Once I start to feel even a little better what I have to do is, if the weather looks like it may be un-Soddy, I will take the night off from the water pills. Couple of nights a week aren't going to hurt anything. The seeing was crappy last night; the moon was in a haze as was Jupiter, couldn't see much else and between that and running to the bathroom every five minutes, it would have been a bust anyway. Like your garden table! So thats the plan, right  now Wednesday and Thursday nights look good. Anyway, now that I have the WO diagonal I need to work on getting the TV 3x Barlow and maybe the 20 mm and 15 mm TV Plossls  (and maybe another Meade 5000 HD in 4.5 mm). Have enough stuff to test and enjoy for right now though I think. Father's Day right around the corner! Check in later ✨

Cheers, I've got 10 magnification stages now without the need for shagging about with a Barlow. Incrementally I can go: 33.3x, 40x, 52.6x, 55.5x, 66.6x, 80x, 91x, 100x, 125x and 166.6x. What with overall transparency and depending on what I'm looking at, they can all be used in one session! I stopped taking my anti-cholesterol medication without any ill effects. They automatically prescribe them for stroke victims. I have very low cholesterol naturally and don't need them. They have detrimental side effects. Maybe by Wednesday/Thursday it will stop raining long enough to see Mars! The TV 3x Barlow would be a priority, it was for me. The 20mm TV Plossl is nice but bear in mind the 15mm TV Plossl only has 10mm eye relief. 

[Mak the Night]

27 minutes ago, Ray1103 said:

I looked at those UO eyepieces Dave and they seem very nice for the price. I saw a 15mm but not a 16, and I'm not sure the eye relief would be sufficient for me with my glasses and all. What's your take Dave and Mak? And I wonder what FL would be best for my 102?

The UO 82 Degree Oculars look suspiciously like the WO UWAN series and I suspect they originate from the same Kunming factory.

The 16mm only has an eye relief of 12mm, although it is a comparatively light 200g and has a 28.6mm field stop. I'm guessing it would Barlow well. It would give you 37.5x on your 102mm Meade which could be decent for DSO's. With the TV 3x it will give 112.5x. 

[Ray of LIght]

Then I may be better off with the UO 16mm and the TV 20mm Plossl to fill in some gaps, especially since I want to get rid of the 20mm Meade 4000 I have in that FL range. The TV would make a world of difference. I still haven't used the Meade 8-24mm zoom I have had since I bought my 70 AZ! I know a lot of folks don't like zoom eyepieces but I bought it awhile ago and, what the heck, might as well give it a spin! I also have a Celestron Omni Plossl in 32mm. Would like to dump that one but I don't really use it much since I got the Big 25. More food for thought. I guess you couldn't go wrong with the UO 16mm for 59.95 US, if it's as good as Dave reports. I think the UO eyepieces you sent above are the 139 dollar ones, but I could be wrong. Check in later.

[Mak the Night]

I'm only guessing that the WO and UO EP's are the same, but they do look very similar. Other UO EP's are very much like some of the old Meade EP's. I'm guessing that they all come from the same factory anyway. I'd hang on to the 32mm Omni, it's basically a 32mm GSO with an aluminium skin. I have a 32mm Celestron Plossl.

It's pretty decent. Nice for panning views of the Milky Way/star fields and can pull you back to 18.75x with your scope, ultimately giving a huge 5.5mm exit Pupil. This can be very useful with some OIII and UHC filters.

[Ray of LIght]

Sounds like I'm keeping the Omni 32mm, lol! For the amount it will be used, which may increase over time though, it sounds useful. Does my choice of the TV 20mm and UO 16mm sound ok? Right now I have a 9mm Omni Plossl (lousey ER), a 15mm Omni Plossl, an 8mm Agena Starguider LER 60 degree ED, a 12mm Meade 5000 HD 60 degree LER, a 25mm TV Plossl, a 20mm Meade 4000 Plossl, and the Meade 8-24mm zoom. Would like to get rid of the Meade 4000 20mm and the 15mm Omni. Can I pick your brain? I would like to get an inventory that makes sense with a fast 102 refractor. Check in later, and thanks!

[Ray of LIght]

Oh, the TV 3x Barlow is first on the list to get! After that I'm up in the air!

[Mak the Night]

41 minutes ago, Ray1103 said:

Sounds like I'm keeping the Omni 32mm, lol! For the amount it will be used, which may increase over time though, it sounds useful. Does my choice of the TV 20mm and UO 16mm sound ok? Right now I have a 9mm Omni Plossl (lousey ER), a 15mm Omni Plossl, an 8mm Agena Starguider LER 60 degree ED, a 12mm Meade 5000 HD 60 degree LER, a 25mm TV Plossl, a 20mm Meade 4000 Plossl, and the Meade 8-24mm zoom. Would like to get rid of the Meade 4000 20mm and the 15mm Omni. Can I pick your brain? I would like to get an inventory that makes sense with a fast 102 refractor. Check in later, and thanks!

You can never go wrong with a decent 32mm. It's not a TeleVue, but the GSO/rebadged 32mm Plossls aren't rubbish either. My 40mm Celestron/GSO Plossl is actually light enough for my 90mm Mak and will give me a 3.5mm exit pupil. You never know when that will come in handy for some DSO's. It does bring the magnification down to 25x though. Interestingly, you'd be surprised how much detail the Moon shows at 25x.

The 20mm TV can give 30x, 75x and 90x with the Barlows you have/are getting, so that could be a good buy. It's a nice Plossl.

I really don't know about the 16mm UO, although I'm still pretty sure it's the same as the WO 16mm UWAN.

It looks a bit like a budget 16mm Nagler but with better eye relief. The Nagler doesn't have a particularly large eye lens and the relief is only 10mm, but it really is superb. Check the report out from CN in this link.

CN Report: The UWAN Eyepieces

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/william-optics-eyepieces/william-optics-uwan-eyepiece.html

 

[Mak the Night]

14 hours ago, Ray1103 said:

Oh, the TV 3x Barlow is first on the list to get! After that I'm up in the air!

Yeah, you're gonna appreciate that with a focal length of 600mm.

18:30 BST. I think the 'S' in British Summer Time is taking the Micky.

 

[Ray of LIght]

Yes, can't wait! I'm sure it will be my shining star! Of course I still have to decide on my other stuff. I have feeling that my choices may be ok? I am finding that my 600mm may determine my FL's. What do you thknk about my other choices?

[Mak the Night]

Which specific choices?

[Ray of LIght]

Will check in later. I guess I am trying to fill in the gaps in my kit, My list is above. Running to the bathroom. Be back later!

[Mak the Night]

I wouldn't get rid of anything just yet, even the 20mm Meade may come in useful. It looks like it doesn't have a safety undercut but a smooth barrel. Smooth barrels are always useful.

This (above) is one of a pair of 72° SWAN’s that were included with my WO binoviewer. They have 66° written on them as the bino can only get a 66° FOV, but they are actually just regular 72° SWAN’s.

Notice the taper on the draw tube. These tapers were designed to alleviate problems with extracting from an adaptor with a brass compression ring. The only problem is, is that if placed in something with a compression ring for any length of time they can distort the brass compression ring permanently. So I'd be wary of using anything with these kind of tapers in your WO diagonal. TV undercuts are fine as there is only a tapered lower lip on the undercut.

[Ray of LIght]

 

8 hours ago, Mak the Night said:

You can never go wrong with a decent 32mm. It's not a TeleVue, but the GSO/rebadged 32mm Plossls aren't rubbish either. My 40mm Celestron/GSO Plossl is actually light enough for my 90mm Mak and will give me a 3.5mm exit pupil. You never know when that will come in handy for some DSO's. It does bring the magnification down to 25x though. Interestingly, you'd be surprised how much detail the Moon shows at 25x.

The 20mm TV can give 30x, 75x and 90x with the Barlows you have/are getting, so that could be a good buy. It's a nice Plossl.

I really don't know about the 16mm UO, although I'm still pretty sure it's the same as the WO 16mm UWAN.

It looks a bit like a budget 16mm Nagler but with better eye relief. The Nagler doesn't have a particularly large eye lens and the relief is only 10mm, but it really is superb. Check the report out from CN in this link.

CN Report: The UWAN Eyepieces

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/william-optics-eyepieces/william-optics-uwan-eyepiece.html

 

I appreciate the warnings! So far my eyepieces are doing ok in the WO diagonal. Any ideas on my inventory? The WO UWAN eyepiece is very expensive. I was looking at 59 US for the UO wide angle 16mm. I am just a little confused between the two and which one to possibly buy. But then again I'm exhausted from runnng back and forth to the bathroom!

[Mak the Night]

2 hours ago, Ray1103 said:

 

I appreciate the warnings! So far my eyepieces are doing ok in the WO diagonal. Any ideas on my inventory? The WO UWAN eyepiece is very expensive. I was looking at 59 US for the UO wide angle 16mm. I am just a little confused between the two and which one to possibly buy. But then again I'm exhausted from runnng back and forth to the bathroom!

I honestly don't know about the two 16mm wide angle EP's. It might be just an expensive WO mark up price for the same eyepiece, I've seen this before. Like I said before; you can have a wide angle EP, a high quality EP, and a moderately priced EP. You just can't have all three.

[Mak the Night]

The great irony with the William Optics bino's is that they have brass compression rings lol!

[Mak the Night]

I managed a few minutes of Mars between the clouds. The Explorer delivered as it always does. It’s amazing what a metal tube and a couple of mirrors can do, especially considering the primary is the unfashionable parvenu spherical type. The stupid TS Optics reflex sight dewed up though, as usual. Plus it was way too bright for a cloud shrouded Mars. I started at 00:30 and finished about 02:30 BST.

Got some relatively good views of the Moon when the cloud abated slightly at 193x with the 14mm Baader Morpheus and TV 3x. The Moon was quite breathtaking as it sailed past at 193x and I could make out surface features through the cloud.  I also managed 90x (Luminos) and 150x (Hutech 18mm ortho’ and TV 3x) on Mars. I only took three eyepieces out with me (and a couple of Barlows), it’s all I needed. The 76° of the Morpheus was good for keeping Mars in frame for the few minutes over the couple of hours waiting it out that I managed to get. It does tend to kidney bean a trifle with the TV 3x though. Unlike the Hutech, which also never fails to amaze. At one point I thought I could discern some faint colour differences on the Martian surface.

The vague discolourations do seem to match up to this CDC screenshot, but it could have been my imagination and they were quite fleeting.

Couldn’t see any canals though lol. When I started Mars was at azimuth 351.1°, altitude 15.5°, 1.52 au from Sol (Scorpio). I was packing up when Saturn showed through the haze, it didn’t last. Earlier I watched Jupiter set with the naked eye as I’d set the mount up to face south while I was seated and couldn’t justify shagging with it. Polaris was visible as I was setting up so the Explorer was pretty well polar oriented until I moved it further back on the lawn.

[Dave In Vermont]

Ray:

I see the WO UWAN 16mm 82° eyepiece costing $198.00 everywhere it's being offered. And I see the UO 82° - called 82 Degree Oculars - being offered at $139.00 +$8.95 shipping. I don't see why this would be confusing. It's very simple: The difference is about $60.00 + change! Other than that, they are identical.

Like many outfits, William Optics is jacking-up the cost to their customers in order to maximize their profit. All the while hoping that nobody has ever heard of University Optics, And most amateur-astronomers never have! UO is a small outfit that relies on a undefined network of advanced amateurs who tell other people about their existence on a need-to-know basis when questions are asked about "Where can I find....?" UO is simply saavy on sources for the best gear from the manufacturer in China or Japan - depending. Result: The lowest cost to their customers! The eyepieces are identical.

The other 16mm eyepiece - the one I got - is much less $$$ again. From my using it, I think it's very nice indeed! But I've never used a WO UWAN EP to compare them to, so I can't be of any help in deciding if paying 2X+ as much for the UO 82 Degree Oculars 16mm would be justified.

Sometimes you need to 'roll-the-dice' to see what you think.

Eyepiece Lecture <END>

Very Cool Find <START>

Mark S W - a new member - has just enlightened me on the existence of a very cool site that should go "viral" to everyone from the USA around here, like you, and possible globally if it turns out it also does it's magic in the UK (You reading this, MTN?) and elsewhere. It's simply called DSO Browser. And what it does is learns your I.P.# and location in the USA (maybe globally) and gives you great listings of DSO's that are visible to you at the current time. Words don't truly describe how nicely it does this - and many other very nice things for you! Even your current weather. Here's a link:

http://dso-browser.com/

I suggest registering in it (free, of course!) and bookmarking it. I have no doubt a visit to it will become as common to me, at least, as checking for any important emails when you first go online each day or so. I'm going to make it a possible 'sticky' in SGL by bringing it to the attention of the Mod's and Admins. I'm also going to drop by A-C and put it up there. Unless one of you two beat me to it! hint, hint

Later -

Dave