What did the postman bring?

[bosun21]

My Baader Maxbright II binoviewer arrived a few days earlier than they said. I was going to use my new Baader 2” Clicklock diagonal for them but I have decided to buy a separate Baader 32mm prism diagonal for it instead. It looks as though @josefk has snapped up the last 1.7x GPC so I have to wait 7-10 days for it to arrive. Now for the eyepieces. 

 

[Ratlet]

58 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

I should have bought a variable moon filter the first time around, but didn't.

This one caught my eye on the bay as it was £2.49, presumably a mistake. It's since been changed to £29.99, and I've been feeling smug all morning.

Love me a svbony bargain.  Thinking about getting a UHC filter next month.

[Franklin]

12 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Baader 2” Clicklock diagonal for them

Nice diagonal but it would add too much light path to your system. With binos you need to save every available bit of back focus you can. If the visual back on the scope is a clicklock then you may have to swap it for a low profile unit as well.

[Mr Spock]

1 hour ago, StevieDvd said:

Are these better than a standard barlow or better for certain tasks?

They are better with long focal length eyepieces. Barlows tend to interfere with the exit pupil and increase eye relief; you get vignetting and blackouts. Though Barlows are fine with medium to short focal length eyepieces. 

[bosun21]

43 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Nice diagonal but it would add too much light path to your system. With binos you need to save every available bit of back focus you can. If the visual back on the scope is a clicklock then you may have to swap it for a low profile unit as well.

I was talking about removing the clicklock from the diagonal and directly attaching the binoviewer by the T2 connection. The 102 Starfield already has a low profile twist lock. I have now decided to get a new Baader prism 32mm diagonal and a 2” Baader nosepiece and connecting with the same method. This seems to be the way to save on focus travel. Am I wrong?, as I haven’t placed my order yet.

[Franklin]

The 32mm prism with a 2" snout is the way to go imo.

[Felias]

Just got this form FLO (so fast!),

As usual, very safely packed. The little box on the top right corner is empty, I wonder if it contains something when you get the bundle, or is it there just to prevent the box with the counterweight from sliding? 🤔

Sadly, the camera tripod I've been using with my older Star Adventurer is not sturdy enough for the GTi, so I cannot test it until a new tripod arrives. At least I could connect the mount's wifi to my phone and the SynScan app seems to work properly. Hopefully the new steel tripod will arrive soon...

[josefk]

23 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Maybe Morpheus 17.5's would work? I used a pair successfully 👍.

But if you do decide on orthos, the Baader Classic Ortho 18mm's are also excellent condition 😊

Dave

Thanks @F15Rules. i'm a fan of winged eyecups on day time bino's and i think the baader either come with them or are easy to retrofit fit with them so definitely on the list... Cheers

[josefk]

17 hours ago, bosun21 said:

I was talking about removing the clicklock from the diagonal and directly attaching the binoviewer by the T2 connection. The 102 Starfield already has a low profile twist lock. I have now decided to get a new Baader prism 32mm diagonal and a 2” Baader nosepiece and connecting with the same method. This seems to be the way to save on focus travel. Am I wrong?, as I haven’t placed my order yet.

@bosun21 i found it very helpful to make a small table of the different combos' so you can add all the lightpath requirements up. The baader website and manual downloads are very good because they quote the flightpath for every diagonal and accessory spacer/ring/clamp etc. It looks like all the 2" diagonals are over 100mm so with the bino's and the focuser i think it would be a very unusual scope i think that could accommodate all that.  As @Franklin says the T2 32mm prism and nosepiece is probably the way to go. I'm not a fan of the T2 coupling nut between bino's and prism but once its all together its  very convenient package you can leave assembled in the case. Cheers

baader_star_diagonals_t_2_and_2.pdf

[F15Rules]

17 minutes ago, josefk said:

Thanks @F15Rules. i'm a fan of winged eyecups on day time bino's and i think the baader either come with them or are easy to retrofit fit with them so definitely on the list... Cheers

Yes, they do come with winged eyeguards, and they are great for binoviewing 👍

Dave

[TheycallmeRiver]

Picked this up used this morning for £400!  So excited.  My eyepiece collection should be good to go for a long while now 🥰

 

[F15Rules]

On 27/08/2022 at 16:50, Franklin said:

The 32mm prism with a 2" snout is the way to go imo.

Or, if funds permit, a Baader BBHS Zeiss prism..it has 34mm of clear aperture vs the T2 prisms' 32mm. It's only a 6% difference but the Prism is made to old original Zeiss specifications and, importantly, the extra clear aperture means it won't vignette eyepieces with a field stop up to 34mm.

In my case that means my superb Axiom LX 23mm UWA with 82 degree field can be fully illuminated by the Zeiss prism.

When cyclops viewing I use the Zeiss prism with a 2" to T2 nosepiece on the front end and a T2-2" Click lock on the rear end, to hold the eyepiece firmly (it weighs about a kilo!).

For binoviewing I can thread the prism straight onto the adapter of my Vixen SP102, with a 2" to 1.25" clicklock on the back to hold the binoviewer. In the Tak, I can use a 2" nosepiece to T2 straight into the prism again.

This does work with either prism..

The picture shows the two prisms (T2 and Zeiss BBHS) side by side to illustrate the clear aperture difference..quite striking, I think?.

HTH,

Dave

[Sunshine]

5 hours ago, TheycallmeRiver said:

Picked this up used this morning for £400!  So excited.  My eyepiece collection should be good to go for a long while now 🥰

 

Your eyepiece case should be a lot heavier now, too!

[bosun21]

38 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Or, if funds permit, a Baader BBHS Zeiss prism..it has 34mm of clear aperture vs the T2 prisms' 32mm. It's only a 6% difference but the Prism is made to old original Zeiss specifications and, importantly, the extra clear aperture means it won't vignette eyepieces with a field stop up to 34mm.

In my case that means my superb Axiom LX 23mm UWA with 82 degree field can be fully illuminated by the Zeiss prism.

When cyclops viewing I use the Zeiss prism with a 2" to T2 nosepiece on the front end and a T2-2" Click lock on the rear end, to hold the eyepiece firmly (it weighs about a kilo!).

For binoviewing I can thread the prism straight onto the adapter of my Vixen SP102, with a 2" to 1.25" clicklock on the back to hold the binoviewer. In the Tak, I can use a 2" nosepiece to T2 straight into the prism again.

This does work with either prism..

The picture shows the two prisms (T2 and Zeiss BBHS) side by side to illustrate the clear aperture difference..quite striking, I think?.

HTH,

Dave

I do like the BBHS Zeiss prism but I can’t see myself calling on the services of the extra few mm of clear aperture that the BBHS affords. I also want to keep the light path as short as possible and the BBHS is 3.5mm longer than the 32mm T2. I also bought a Baader 2” clicklock diagonal last week as well but the light path is considerably longer in this, therefore I will be using it for cyclops viewing. I will just go for the T2 32mm and connect it to the binoviewer as a permanent fitting.

PS I will use a 2” nosepiece for the telescope end 

Edited August 28, 2022 by bosun21
Typo

[Ags]

I don't have the Apollo 11 eyepiece, but I do have the Artemis 1 AZ-GTI & polar scope. Hopefully the widget that connects the two together will come before Artemis 2.

Edited August 29, 2022 by Ags

[ED Splitter]

On 28/08/2022 at 15:59, TheycallmeRiver said:

Picked this up used this morning for £400!  So excited.  My eyepiece collection should be good to go for a long while now 🥰

 

I watched this wondering when it would sell. What scope is it going in? Be interested to read a report on first light. Funds permitting I am weighing one of these against a 35mm or 41 pan. 

[TheycallmeRiver]

6 minutes ago, ED Splitter said:

I watched this wondering when it would sell. What scope is it going in? Be interested to read a report on first light. Funds permitting I am weighing one of these against a 35mm or 41 pan. 

I messaged the guy pretty much immediately when he posted it on ABS because I frustratingly missed the last couple that got posted on there.  He still left it marked as For Sale until after we'd met a couple of days later though - I guess that's fair enough.  Seemed a decent guy when we met.

Anyway, I'm going to be using it mainly with my FLT 132, perhaps in my dob as well, but definitely the primary plan is to use it with the refractor.  I'll let you know how it goes (but it might be a short while due to health issues). 👍

[Ags]

7 hours ago, Ags said:

I don't have the Apollo 11 eyepiece, but I do have the Artemis 1 AZ-GTI & polar scope. Hopefully the widget that connects the two together will come before Artemis 2.

They didn't "light the candle". Now I need to order something for delivery on Friday to celebrate the next launch attempt. There's always the hope they deliver my polar scope holder on Friday...

[Ags]

On 28/08/2022 at 16:59, TheycallmeRiver said:

Picked this up used this morning for £400!  So excited.  My eyepiece collection should be good to go for a long while now 🥰

 

 

I think that weights more than my entire eyepiece case with contents 🤣

[ED Splitter]

2 hours ago, TheycallmeRiver said:

I messaged the guy pretty much immediately when he posted it on ABS because I frustratingly missed the last couple that got posted on there.  He still left it marked as For Sale until after we'd met a couple of days later though - I guess that's fair enough.  Seemed a decent guy when we met.

Anyway, I'm going to be using it mainly with my FLT 132, perhaps in my dob as well, but definitely the primary plan is to use it with the refractor.  I'll let you know how it goes (but it might be a short while due to health issues). 👍

Nice. Rest up, hope you feel better soon. 

[Marvin Jenkins]

AZ5 kit arrived today for my five inch Orion US newt. Much better quality than I was expecting. 
Now I have a proper grab and go setup. My wife did say that if anymore scopes appear in our living room then it is me that has to go.😂

Now I need some Baader solar film for white light and my Eq5 150pds can become a dedicated AP setup.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

2 minutes ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

AZ5 kit arrived today for my five inch Orion US newt. Much better quality than I was expecting. 
Now I have a proper grab and go setup. My wife did say that if anymore scopes appear in our living room then it is me that has to go.😂

Now I need some Baader solar film for white light and my Eq5 150pds can become a dedicated AP setup.

That's a nice and simple kit. I started with a similar set up and wish I'd kept my SW 130PS newt.. 🙄 Buying a 1.75" steel tripod did make the whole set up feel more secure and reduced vibes. You can use the EQ5 tripod with a thread adapter.

[Marvin Jenkins]

7 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

That's a nice and simple kit. I started with a similar set up and wish I'd kept my SW 130PS newt.. 🙄 Buying a 1.75" steel tripod did make the whole set up feel more secure and reduced vibes. You can use the EQ5 tripod with a thread adapter.

I have an unused EQ6 tripod that I would like to buy the eq5 adapter for. 
That way the AP kit goes on the 6 tripod and the AZ5 goes on the steel EQ5 tripod.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Courtesy of @Franklin, an excellent condition, very fairly priced and very well wrapped Vixen SLV 5mm. The 4mm I own is a superb planetary eyepiece, so hopefully the 5mm should be as good. 👍

[Greymouser]

For me today, firstly after seeing others with one of these, I thought I would jump on the band wagon and give it whirl, because at this price, it is well worth a punt.

Goodness, look at my disgusting toes! In my defence, I have been in the garden and this is pre shower...

Then this book, which it seems is well recommended, I can see why.

Now all I need is @Ags to hurry up and publish the book, so I will be sorted!