meade eyepiece reducer

[ron.s.g]

Hi Everyone,

just bought a meade series 5000 eyepiece set and now need a decent barlow and adaptor for the 32mm lens, 2" to 1 1/4" to fit scope.

any ideas please,

also why do they make most fittings 1 1/4" but then add a 2" eyepiece as well is it just for the money,

also will i lose much because of reducing the size of opening for the eyepiece.

many thanks in advance.

regards ron.s.g

[FLO]

The 1.25" barrel is fine for focal lengths up to about 25mm, but longer than that and its small diameter restricts the field of view. That is why the 32mm has a 2" barrel, because it needs one

[John]

...... will i lose much because of reducing the size of opening for the eyepiece.

Hi Ron,

You will loose some of the field of view of the eyepiece - the maximum field of view for a 32mm eyepiece in the 1.25 inch fitting is around 52 degrees. The Meade 5000 32mm offers a 60 degree field of view which is why, as Steve says, it has a 2 inch barrel.

Have you considered adapting your scope to take 2 inch eyepieces ? - you could use all the 1.25 inch ones with an adaptor and take advantage of the full field of view of the 32mm then as well.

John

[ron.s.g]

Many thanks for the answer but now need to be able to get the lens to fit the scope hence an adaptor, any ideas please.

have never taken a scope apart so some helpful advice regarding changing the scope eyepiece holder would be appreciated.

thank you ron.s.g

[GazOC]

What scope have you got Ron? Most come with 2" as standard with a reducer to 1.25" that you can just take out.

[ron.s.g]

Hi gaz o'c

10 meade lx200gps

[John]

Hi gaz o'c

10 meade lx200gps

You need to change the 1.25 inch fitting diagonal (the thing that turns the light through 90 degrees) at the back of the scope for a 2 inch fitting one. They fit with a screw fitting. This is a very common modification to scopes. The 2 inch diagonals come with an adaptor for 1.25 inch eyepieces and cost from £50 - £100.

Here's a 2nd hand one for sale:

http://astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=19262

Adapting the 2 inch eyepiece down to a 1.25 inch fitting might seem a less expensive option but the loss in the field of view of the eyepiece makes it slightly pointless IMHO.

John

[ron.s.g]

thank you everyone now know what to look for and will proceed accordingly,

many thanks ron.s.g.

ps does it matter which make i buy or are they all pretty much the same optically

[RichieJarvis]

I have the Williams Optics 2" diagonal, and its lovely - does a great job. The diagonal fits straight into the back of the electronic focuser, I don't know how you do it if you haven't got one of those.

I got the Series 5000 40mm eyepiece for christmas along with that, and its well worth it

[FLO]

The William Optics diagonal is rather sexy and is supplied with fittings for both an SCT like yours and a refractor, which might save you money later. The Revelation that John links to is similar in spec. Both are considerably better than the standard 1.25" diagonal supplied with Meade SCTs!

[RichieJarvis]

Yup - thats the one I have - the eyepiece reducer means fitting 1.25" eyepieces is also a doddle, and it has brass compression rings all-round. Its a very nice piece of kit.

The only downside on mine is the Electric Focuser on the LX doesn't use compression rings. It has 2 screws which screw directly into the diagonal, which has left nice pits all the way round mine

[beamish]

Just out of interest Steve, can the WO 2" diagonal you linked fit onto the ZS66SD ?

Karlo

[FLO]

Yes 8)

[ron.s.g]

Thanks everyone i take it that the flip mirror will still fit

ron.s.g