Planetary eyepiece for heritage 130p

[johnnyp]

Hi all. Have been out of the hobby for a while now but recently been bitten by the bug again. I picked up a second hand heritage 130p today (the second one I've had) and wanted some recommendations on a budget planetary eyepiece for Jupiter in particular.. I have owned the starguiders in the past which are nice. But would rather not spend money on an eyepiece that cost as much as the scope itself. I'm a very casual observer , but the supplied 10mm is not very good at all. 

Any suggestions appreciated.

Kind regards 

John 

[Dave In Vermont]

Perhaps a tried & true design such as an orthoscopic? I don't know about your marketplace for used astro-goods, but we often can find such for reasonable prices. But I'm not certain if an orthoscopic would work well in a F/5 system as the 130P has. But orthoscopics are the classic EP for up-close views of the planets.

Hope this helps -

Dave

[jetstream]

These scopes seem to take mag really well, seeing considered. Light eyepieces benefit this telescope and 150x is a nice usable mag on Jupiter under many conditions. A 4mm or 5mm ortho maybe? The Nagler 3-6 zoom is superb in this telescope but at a price...

If you can find the Long Perng produced Zhumell, they work well in this scope, about 60 bucks USD.

[Dave In Vermont]

I'd agree, Gerry. One small glitch - you can't get these for the advertised $59 price in the US from Telescopes Plus. Orion-USA has the same EP's - but calls them Planetary and wants about $100 each.

I've been on the 'WAIT LIST' at Telescopes Plus for several months now. I have the 14.5mm & 18mm. Never tried them in a fast Newt. But they are great in my F/12 Maksutov.

Meanwhile, back in the land of the Orthoscopics.....

Dave

[ronin]

Would say the easy option is go get another 8mm Starguider, would deliver around the 80x mark which is OK for Jupiter, you could go for more but to an extent unnecessary.

6mm eyepieces are less common and the ones I know generally cost more.

There are the Vixen NPL plossl's which have a good reputation and they do both 6mm and 8mm in those for £34 so they are a good possibility - I would start with the 8mm again. But very little eye relief on them, the 6mm is specified as 3mm eye relief = contact lens.

If ortho then check out the oferings from 365Astro, least costly is £40.

Most seem to be around the £40 to £50 marks by the time you include postage. To an extent little in it and with that kind of minimal difference I would go for something known.

Rother Valley advertise the Antares Plossl's, Antares produced some good items so may be an option. They start at £22. Again eye relief is the question.

[johnnyp]

Thank you for the replies gents. Plenty to think about. I've seen a skywatcher 6mm planetary wide angle on eBay for £33 delivered. Would this give adequate results? Bear in mind i was using the supplied 10mm eyepiece with my 70mm travelscope the other night and enjoying it. Yes I'm easily pleased:)

[JOC]

First light optics is doing the BST starguiders  for £49 at the moment.  They seem to get excellent write ups on SGL and you also have experience with them, I wonder if these fall into category of spending as much on the telescope as on an EP, if so you sound like you got a good deal on the telescope!

[Moonshane]

I'd get a used 10mm Baader Classic Ortho (about £30) plus a cheap 2x Barlow.

[johnnyp]

45 minutes ago, JOC said:

First light optics is doing the BST starguiders  for £49 at the moment.  They seem to get excellent write ups on SGL and you also have experience with them, I wonder if these fall into category of spending as much on the telescope as on an EP, if so you sound like you got a good deal on the telescope!

yeah they do yeah got a nice deal. Telescope is like new as well. The lady said her son used it once then put it back in the box. 

[johnnyp]

17 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

I'd get a used 10mm Baader Classic Ortho (about £30) plus a cheap 2x Barlow.

Ideally I'd like a big eyeglass similar to the starguiders. Much easier to use I find. I have used the baader orthos and like them though. Will keep my eye out for a bargain.

[johnnyp]

27 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

I'd get a used 10mm Baader Classic Ortho (about £30) plus a cheap 2x Barlow.

I didn't think of a Barlow. Will have a look for one. Cheers. 

[Mark at Beaufort]

Hello John I have a Heritage 130P  which I use for the occasional grab and go. Looking at your EPs I would suggest you get a 2X barlow lens which with your BST 18mm will give a handy 9mm EP with a mag of 72X. Something like this - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-2x-short-barlow-lens.html

How do you find the TMB 5mm because it gives 130X on your Heritage which is fine for Jupiter.

[johnnyp]

52 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Hello John I have a Heritage 130P  which I use for the occasional grab and go. Looking at your EPs I would suggest you get a 2X barlow lens which with your BST 18mm will give a handy 9mm EP with a mag of 72X. Something like this - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-2x-short-barlow-lens.html

How do you find the TMB 5mm because it gives 130X on your Heritage which is fine for Jupiter.

Hi mark. I no longer have any EPs apart from the ones provided with the scope. I sold all my astronomy gear a few years ago so I'm starting from scratch. Well actually I have a skywatcher 25mm plossl but that's its. I remember really liking the bsts. Not so much the tmb as I sent it back for a refund. Cheers 

[Mark at Beaufort]

2 hours ago, johnnyp said:

Hi mark. I no longer have any EPs apart from the ones provided with the scope. I sold all my astronomy gear a few years ago so I'm starting from scratch. Well actually I have a skywatcher 25mm plossl but that's its. I remember really liking the bsts. Not so much the tmb as I sent it back for a refund. Cheers 

John in that case I would go with the 8mm - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-8mm-ed-eyepiece.html

I have never used the BST Starguider range personally but I know many SGL members rate them. When I use my Heritage 130P I mainly use a 24mm ES68, a 11mm ES82 and my TeleVue 8-24mm zoom although clearly these are more costly than the BST range.

The Heritage is a great little scope which I know will give you many hours of pleasure. I have certainly had great views of many of the brighter DSOs.

[Louis D]

If you're trying to stay cheap but want something that is still decent performing, you might try the 6mm and 9mm 66 degree eyepiece pair from Chinese ebay sellers for £33.99.  There can be some kidney-beaning issues in daylight, but many report them to be quite acceptable at night.  For £17 apiece, it might be worth a try.  They are the same as the Orion Expanse eyepieces that sell for $50 each.

[johnnyp]

5 hours ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

John in that case I would go with the 8mm - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-8mm-ed-eyepiece.html

I have never used the BST Starguider range personally but I know many SGL members rate them. When I use my Heritage 130P I mainly use a 24mm ES68, a 11mm ES82 and my TeleVue 8-24mm zoom although clearly these are more costly than the BST range.

The Heritage is a great little scope which I know will give you many hours of pleasure. I have certainly had great views of many of the brighter DSO

thanks for that mark. Do you find with the 8mm you are able to pick out some nice details on planets?  The 5mm bst would give 130 mag. Do you think this would be too much for the heritage? 

[johnnyp]

5 hours ago, Louis D said:

If you're trying to stay cheap but want something that is still decent performing, you might try the 6mm and 9mm 66 degree eyepiece pair from Chinese ebay sellers for £33.99.  There can be some kidney-beaning issues in daylight, but many report them to be quite acceptable at night.  For £17 apiece, it might be worth a try.  They are the same as the Orion Expanse eyepieces that sell for $50 each.

My kind of price's.  Cheers mate 

[Mark at Beaufort]

40 minutes ago, johnnyp said:

thanks for that mark. Do you find with the 8mm you are able to pick out some nice details on planets?  The 5mm bst would give 130 mag. Do you think this would be too much for the heritage? 

John I have just set up the Heritage to view the Moon and Jupiter. Currently the scope has the 6.7mm ES82 in place and gives some sharp views of the Lunar surface. I will let you know the views that I get with Jupiter - I will try 11mm, 8mm, 6.7mm and 4.7mm.

[johnnyp]

4 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

John I have just set up the Heritage to view the Moon and Jupiter. Currently the scope has the 6.7mm ES82 in place and gives some sharp views of the Lunar surface. I will let you know the views that I get with Jupiter - I will try 11mm, 8mm, 6.7mm and 4.7mm

thats brilliant. Cheers mark. Wish I had some clear skies here in sunny Bolton! 

[johnnyp]

I've just been collimating the scope and taking some play from the azimuth bearing with PTFE tape. all ready for first light. 

[Mark at Beaufort]

John this is a quick test using the 6.7mm, 4.7mm and TeleVue zoom set at 8mm and using a 2.25x Baader Barlow giving a setup of 3.5mm.

The best defined view of Jupiter was with the zoom + barlow which gave a mag of 182X. I could see more bands on Jupiter's surface with this arrangement.

To be honest I don't think this scope could take much more magnification unless viewing double stars. For clusters and bright DSOs something around the 11mm - 14mm might be best. As regards Planets then perhaps something around 4mm to 5mm might be best but that would be a maximum.

I suppose this is when you might need several EPs which is why I found the TeleVue zoom so helpful especially as this scope is just used as a quick grab and go.

 

 

[johnnyp]

59 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

John this is a quick test using the 6.7mm, 4.7mm and TeleVue zoom set at 8mm and using a 2.25x Baader Barlow giving a setup of 3.5mm.

The best defined view of Jupiter was with the zoom + barlow which gave a mag of 182X. I could see more bands on Jupiter's surface with this arrangement.

To be honest I don't think this scope could take much more magnification unless viewing double stars. For clusters and bright DSOs something around the 11mm - 14mm might be best. As regards Planets then perhaps something around 4mm to 5mm might be best but that would be a maximum.

I suppose this is when you might need several EPs which is why I found the TeleVue zoom so helpful especially as this scope is just used as a quick grab and go.

 

Hi mark. Thank you that is very helpful information. I think after reading about your observations and thoughts I'm going to treat myself and go for the 5mm starguider.  I'm thinking this will give me the best compromise of magnification and easy tracking. Thanks again and clear skies. 

 

[BeerMe]

13 hours ago, johnnyp said:

My kind of price's.  Cheers mate 

AstroBoot sell these "gold-line" eyepieces too sometimes, and for cheaper than £33 delivered.  The 9mm and 15mm are supposed to be the best of the bunch, and I can personally testify that the 15mm is particularly good.  I've used it with a cheap Revelation Barlow (again from Astroboot) to get 180x in my scope on Jupiter, and the results were very pleasing. 

So, +1 for the gold-lines :-)

[John]

I've seen the "gold lines" on e.bay for around £25 each delivered, less if you buy more than one. The 9mm is the "gem" in the range. All work pretty well at F/10 but the outer field falls apart a bit (as you would expect) at F/7 and faster. They are quite comfy to use having longer eye relief than plossls and orthos and larger eye lenses. Some "ghosting" on brighter objects such as Jupiter and Saturn but nothing too bad.

 

[BeerMe]

As an aside OP, I've been testing the 15mm gold-line vs a 15mm GSO plossl, and the wide angle views of the gold-line have been pleasing to this fairly newbie observer..