Issue with Skywatcher 12.5mm Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece

[Umar Ahmad]

Dear users,

 

I just took delivery of a Skywatcher '12.5mm Illuminated Reticle Eyepiece' which I ordered to help increase GOTO guiding accuracy. It consists of an LED illuminator stick which screws into a 12.5mm plossl eyepiece. The illuminator lights up a laser etched reticle in the eyepiece. Please see an example of this here: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/specialist/skywatcher-125mm-illuminated-reticle-eyepiece.html

When I first attempted to use the illuminator, it didn't work so I assumed it was faulty. However, on closer inspection I can get the illuminator to work if I slightly unscrew the battery compartment. This has left me rather puzzled. Would anyone happen to know why this is?

I would use it as it is, however, the illuminator will only work if it is unscrewed exactly until it is 'just so'. This means it is rather difficult to operate in the dark as the strength of the illumination is adjusted by rotating a dial on the end of the illuminator stick, which also ends up moving the battery compartment thread out of the zone the LED operates.

Has anyone else had a similar experience and has managed to fix it, or shall I ask for a replacement?

Thanks! 

[Dave In Vermont]

Hi Umar,

I've always had some type of trouble with these illuminated-reticle guiding eyepieces myself. I figured they simply don't like me!

My solution is to simply not use them. I've found that I can see a non-illuminated reticle just fine in the ambient star-light.

Your Mileage May Vary,

Dave

 

[PeterCPC]

I have had similar issues - I bent the contact, just under the top, out a bit.

Peter

[Louis D]

I ended up taking mine apart and resoldering the connections inside.  Worked great for one season, but now it's again a bit of a faff as you Brits say.  I just don't use it enough to try to fix it again.

Try defocusing a bright alignment star to lighten the sky background, and you should be able to clearly see the reticle without an illuminator.  You should still be able to figure out where the center of the star is because it will look like a bulls-eye due to diffraction rings.

[celestron8g8]

I have a meade IR 12.5mm and so far I've not had any trouble for the past 10 years except to replace the batteries once . When I screw the stem into the EP I don't tighten down too much . I just make it snug enough so that when I turn it on and adjust the brightness of the cross hairs that it doesn't come loose from the EP . But as Peter mentioned try bending the contact out just slightly or you might pull the batteries out and rotate positions of each one . When I use my IR  I keep brightness down to eye comfort level , that way I don't have blind spots when I move my eye off the EP .

[Umar Ahmad]

Dear users,

 

Thank you all for your replies.

 

As suggested, I fiddled around with the positive contact and have managed to make the illuminator work with the battery compartment fully closed. This was by pressing the contact inwards rather than outwards. 

 

I will be sure to check if I can also use the reticle un-illuminated as it sounds like the illuminator will fall apart sooner or later!

 

Thanks again!

 

Umar

[sophiecentaur]

eBay advertises a number of these eyepieces at just over £20 from China. That's half the cost of the cheapest obtainable elsewhere. IS it really worth spending out on a good quality EP if you don't want to spend your time looking at stars with a red cross in there too. (I think I partly answered my own question because, with the illumination off, you don't see the cross easily.)

The question remains as to how accurate the placement of the cross hair needs to be - as long as it's consistent.

[Mangleworsle]

I bought one of those cheap Chinese ones, works a treat. It also looks identical to the SW version.