EP Upgrade for 200p?

[joncrawf]

2 minutes ago, Rob said:

I was about to add to this.. The Barlow is your next piece of equipment you need to acquire. Now don't scrape on this area, thats the first important thing to say!. I have a 2x APO Orion Shorty plus Barlow. Its around £65, but I've had that for near 10 years now, and used it with many EP's of different types & quality. Views are sharp, crisp and flat. So no matter what 1.25" EP you use, your certain to bring the best out it. Dont be tempted by cheap ebay ones.. just a waste of money. 

Best wishes

Rob

Thanks Rob, I appreciate your input. 

I wonder what the pro's and cons of expanding your EP range by buying more EP's or 'cheating' and buying a Barlow which effectively expands my modest range of 2 EP's to a slightly less modest 4. Is there any compromise with quality when barlowing a descent EP?

[Rob]

Only pro's if you get the right barlow to be honest. I have a modest range of EP's, to which I feel are mid way in quality & price. They Barlow beautifully, and even some of the sub £50 plossls I've owned (and still have) Barlow just great. 

 

I would say also I have 6mm TMB Planetary EP, which on its own I use for Jupiter. Its a stunning little thing in the 200P. Hts a sweet spot with good detail and eye relief too. May be worth keep that in mind for planet work. 

[Louis D]

10 minutes ago, joncrawf said:

Is there any compromise with quality when barlowing a descent EP?

Getting an excellent barlow is more important than the eyepiece as a good barlow can make a mediocre eyepiece perform much better by slowing down the light cone.  For dob owners, I always recommend a long focus barlow over a shorty type.  As Rob states, a good shorty costs much more than a good long barlow, although they're getting harder to find.  Avoid the low cost shorty barlows.  I have one, and consider it a throw-away.  I loan it out to folks to try barlowing and am always hoping it doesn't come back, but inevitably it does.

[Rob]

As reference

Orion Shorty APO Barlow 2x 1.25" - Currently OUT OF STOCK 

http://www.telescopehouse.com/orion-shorty-plus-barlow-2x-1-25.html

TMB Planetary EP 6mm (original, not Ebay copies)

http://www.burgessoptical.com/planetary-eyepieces.html

 

May be worth pinging a message to the boys at FLO to see if they can source them for you?... 

 

[Charic]

Not sure about the rain, but when the Milky Way casts a shadow, I know it's good here (especially away from the home and street lights).

A 5mm should be just fine for an f/5 scope, then multiply that focal ratio by the size of your pupils to get a ball park figure for your  low powered eyepiece. It was recommended to me to buy a Skywatcher Panaview, choosing the 32mm version, second hand, it's all I need!

The supplied 25mm skywatcher EP works  ok but the BST's offer a slightly wider fov. That said, still not wide enough for M31 Andromeda, the reason for my Panaview?

Buying a Barlow will be adding more glass into the focal train, some folk prefer just using eyepieces. I use a Skywatcher deluxe, but without the sleeve/tube, screwed directly to an eyepiece providing roughly 1.6x factor. I have an untried Meade Telenegative amplifier ( a Barlow ) that does the same. I favour the Barlow when laser checking the scope after arriving at a dark site, and having so many EPs, I just frame my targets to suit, hoping for a few fleeting seconds of atmospheric perfection, you'll know when it's just right, I have had the best night of perfection only once!