Reticlue eyepiece

[blinky]

I am looking to turn one of my EP's into a reticule EP to enable me to increase the GoTo accuracy of EQMod. I am sure I saw somewhere a screw in adapter that would turn a bog standard EP into a reticle one. Anybody know where I can get this from? I dont want to buy a 'real' illuminated one as they cost quite a bit of money and this is only going to be used at the start of a session.

[peeceeTal2M]

I'm pretty sure SCS astro have the screw in one's, its not shown on their website but a phone call should confirm they stock them.

Phill

ps think they are about a tenner + postage

[Roy]

Hi ya Craig,

If you mean the type that screw onto the front of an ep in the same way as a filter would then yes you can get them.

A mate of mine had one which I think he bought from pulsar optical but to be honest, it was pants.

The cross hairs were not easy to see against the dark back ground of the sky, I use an illuminated reticle and think they are the better option but that's just my opinion of course.

If you are on a budget then maybe a standard reticle ep would be better than just the screw in reticle and a lot less expensive than an illuminated one.

[blinky]

It wont be used for guiding only to centre the star in the FoV. I will have a look at the websites you folks have suggested

[beamish]

Craig- I don't own one, though did try finding one ages ago. I know get it as close as I can to centre-standing away from the EP, so as to see pretty much just the centre of the EP then switch to a w/cam and use the X-hairs available thru K3 to centre up . If that's any help.

Karlo

[blinky]

Thats a neat idea, I do have my DSI permanently on my ZS66 for guiding so I could use that.....I have also attempted to make my own cross hairs. I got an old 25mm EP and superglued 2 of my wives hairs (From her hairbrush, would not dare pull 'em out!) over the the lens. It appears to be OK but as it is pouring rain I wont be able to try it out for a while.

[PhillyDee]

If you find them let me know, as I have trouble aligning my GOTO too and I think this is the problem. Please send me a linky, ive searched the web, but really cant find any cheap ones!

[blinky]

I could not find them on any of the websites. I will see how the homemade one works out.

[SteveL]

Sorry Craig, just noticed that the subject of this thread has a great typo: Reticlue

[George]

I messed about with making a crosshair sight out of an old filter ring and was disappointed with the result. In the end I bought the Skywatcher 12mm illuminated for 40 odd quid which is brilliant for not a lot of dosh.

Like you I just use for tweaking the goto's, I'm pleased with what i bought

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Sky_Watcher_12_5mm_Illuminated_Reticule_Eyepiece.html

[blinky]

Sorry Craig, just noticed that the subject of this thread has a great typo: Reticlue

and it cannot be changed now, still it's not too far from the truth

[A McEwan]

That's a pretty good reticule eyepiece, that Skywatcher. I got one recently, and you can vary the illumination, and adjust the focus of the cross-hairs too, which is quite important so you can have the stars AND the cross-hairs in focus at the same time. I got mine for £40 inc postage from Pulsar.

[blinky]

Well if the homemade one does not work out the skywatcher one will be getting added to the shopping list, thanks for the info

[FLO]

Skywatcher offer one, I don't know what its like.

http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/astronomical_accessories/general_accessories/miscellaneous_items

That's a pretty good reticule eyepiece, that Skywatcher. I got one recently, and you can vary the illumination, and adjust the focus of the cross-hairs too...

Interesting, I'll order some for stock

[barkis]

Craig, I made a crosshair for guiding when I couldn't afford to buy one years ago from a disc of clear plastic that would slip inside a 9mm EP. I carefully scribed parallel lines across the centre with a safety razor blade. No pressure was needed, just sufficient to gently score the plastic.

The lines were etched at right angles resulting in a small box in the centre in which to place the guide star. I would de-focus the star to fit inside the box with a little clearance all around the disc.

I was using a refractor as a guidescope, so I placed a 5 watt side light bulb painted red and wired through a potentiometer to vary the brightness. The supply was a 12 volt M/C Battery.

The bulb was positioned at the front of the refractor, taped to the dew shield, and the intensity adjusted so that the cross was clearly seen against the red glow. This did not affect the visibility of the guide star, even a fairly faint one. Of course the disc has to be adjusted inside the EP to get a sharp image.

If you want a reticule simply for aligning the mount, then it is worth the effort to try this yourself.

Ron.

[blinky]

Ron,

Thats a good idea, if my homemade one with hair does not work I will give this a try.