nPAE 6061 Medium Eyepiece Turret Review

[DirkSteele]

Those of you who attend Astrofest back in February possibly came across Nick and Dave demonstrating the first product to emerge from a new British company called nPAE, short for Nottingham Precision Astro Engineering on the top floor of the exhibition.  That product is the 6061 Medium Eyepiece Turret.  Offering capacity for three 2” eyepieces and three 1.25” eyepieces, it is an impressive looking piece of kit.

 

At the end of Astrofest, nPAE were kind enough to lend me a turret to try out for a few months.  Having put it through its paces through late winter and into spring, I have put all my thoughts into a review which you can find on the link below.  Hope you find it useful and appreciate any feedback as always.

http://alpha-lyrae.co.uk/2017/06/26/npae-6061-medium-turret-review/

And yes that is a 21mm Ethos hanging upside down.

Clear Skies,

[DirkSteele]

Just picked up the August issue of Astronomy Now. Second review of the turret now published. Two units were leant out at the end of Astrofest, one to AN and the other to me.

 

Always nice to beat the big boys to market 

Now I am going to have a read and see if we agree.

[Paul73]

Blimey. You write a cracking review!

I can't help thinking that this is one for the well heeled stargazer who has everything. I liked the built in filter slot though.

As always, a well thought out and engineered bit of kit comes at a price.

Paul

[DirkSteele]

56 minutes ago, Paul73 said:

Blimey. You write a cracking review!

I liked the built in filter slot though.

 

Thank you. I love astronomy and really like writing so being able to combine the two is great.

 

It is an expensive piece of kit. However they are designing new items all the time and I believe a dedicated filter holder and a 2" diagonal with filter slot is in the works. That filter holder is really useful so I will probably buy a diagonal when it launches as it will be good for travelling.

[jabeoo1]

12 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

.......... 2" diagonal with filter slot is in the works. 

That would be really great.  Get the price point right and nPAE could have a big seller there. 

[triton1]

To be honest for the time it takes me to swap out an eyepiece(I only use 2 inch) paying that sort of price for an accessory that is not really necessary is bonkers.I could buy 2 pretty decent scopes for that or even 2 neq6s.The engineering might be to a very high standard with tight tolerances which I can understand having worked as a toolmaker but I would be surprised if they actually sold any,it reminds me of the 3 inch Es eyepiece when I asked at tele house how many have sold the answer was none.

[DirkSteele]

9 hours ago, triton1 said:

To be honest for the time it takes me to swap out an eyepiece(I only use 2 inch) paying that sort of price for an accessory that is not really necessary is bonkers.I could buy 2 pretty decent scopes for that or even 2 neq6s.The engineering might be to a very high standard with tight tolerances which I can understand having worked as a toolmaker but I would be surprised if they actually sold any,it reminds me of the 3 inch Es eyepiece when I asked at tele house how many have sold the answer was none.

I think the price is of course the biggest impediment to the 6061 turret being a big seller.  As you point out, and as I did in the review, it costs more than many amateur astronomers would spend on a telescope.  However, I do not think the target market is necessarily astronomers with £1,000 OTAs or NEQ6 mounts.  It is more towards people like me who own £20,000+ OTAs (suspect it is one of the reasons why they asked me to review it) and public observatories which perform a lot of outreach. 

 

That’s not to say someone with a cheaper setup would not see great utility in using the 6061.  For me, one of the big advantages was the ability to switch in mere seconds to an extremely high power when one of those very tranquil moments in the atmosphere occurred, giving me the opportunity to actually benefit from it.  The scopes would most likely be 9” and larger Cassegrains and 7” and larger refractors, though I have seen it hanging off the back of a 7” Maksutov.

 

I am not sure if the 3” ES eyepiece is the best corollary as that also requires a 3” diagonal whereas here the turret is standard sized equipment.  Must admit I was tempted by one of those 3” beasts but really I would want it closer to 40mm focal length to give a bit more true field as the step up there is difficult to justify over some of the wide field 2” models.  I wonder if we will see any different focal lengths though if the sales numbers have been really low.  Has anyone seen one in the wild?

 

I know they have a smaller turret model in the works with six 1.25” eyepiece locks which will be more competitively priced.

[triton1]

Yes I agree if your using very high end equipment why wouldn't you spend more on a accessory to maximise your time at the eyepiece I guess if you had a super car why wouldn't you spend £10,000 more for magnesium alloys.

As for the Es ep I have not seen or heard of anyone using one "in the wild" nor have I regarding the "uber wide" 120* 9mm maybe a new thread is needed to satisfy ones curiosity??

[alan potts]

As always from you a beautifully put together review, though interesting I don't think I will be running out to get one, it is a little too rich for me. I however fully understand that something like this needs to properly engineered and that comes at a price.

Alan

 

 

[Stu]

Fabulous review Matthew, a great read again.

Both from a cost and weight perspective it makes no sense on a lot of OTAs, but could well be a boon on larger scopes with a big lump of glass up at the front!

It would actually be nice to see something smaller and lighter as a 1.25" version. It could still be aimed at the higher end cost wise but more useable on smaller scopes. A set of lightweight planetary eyepieces racked up ready to switch in as the seeing changes would be an interesting alternative to a zoom.

I think I would expect a nice, definite 'click' as each position engages and for the collimation to be bang on, the same as using a standard diagonal.