Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.

[nicoscy]

17 hours ago, SloMoe said:

 

I put all my filters in these type boxes because it's extremely easy to open them and then screw the eyepiece a thread or two on with out even having to handle the filter instead of the original mouse trap containers they are shipped and sold in. I developed this technique when I was observing years ago atop a very tall chair and getting in and out of the chair to get another filter was a hassle.  

 

 

 

 

Nice!

 

And where would one find such lovely repurposed filter cases?

[Timebandit]

Pentax dedicated case eventually complete 

 

 

 

 

Has gone from this ,with a lonely place missing an eyepiece 

 

 

Luckily managed to get the missing element in the case

 

 

And now completed?

 

It has taken around 2 years to get this dedicated case to Pentax XW completed. But after a long attempt to get the last remaining niggle in the case a 5XW . I bit the bullet and got the 5XW new while they are still available(with all the rumours of their impending disappearance ?)

The case now finally consists of the 3.5XW , 5XW , 7XW , 10XW and IMO some of the best eyepieces available. Find these work equally well in both the refractor and the Dobson reflector. 

Job done☺ 

 

 

 

 

 

[Floater]

17 minutes ago, Timebandit said:

Job done☺ 

... for now! 

Nevertheless, a lovely case.

[Moonshane]

Here's my current case with space for a few more yet (pair of 11mm TV plossls,  maybe a pair of 8mm,  another 32mm bcp,  a 9mm and 13mm Delite and maybe eventually a 35mm Panoptic). Bit of a rubbish pic.

Plus my solar box and a finders box (not shown)

[John]

Nice as ever Shane

Hard to take these photos - all the shiny bits confuse the auto focus and exposure sytems !

Need a camera with an "Eyepiece Case" mode on it

[SloMoe]

On 2/20/2017 at 01:02, nicoscy said:

Nice!

 

And where would one find such lovely repurposed filter cases?

The filter cases I found in the Fishing departments of the local outdoor stores, Plano makes them, then I put a small piece of foam in each compartment to keep the filter in place, I'll get a photo tonight and post it here for you.

[John]

On 20/02/2017 at 09:49, Timebandit said:

.....the 3.5XW , 5XW , 7XW , 10XW and IMO some of the best eyepieces available....

 

I heartily agree with this. I bit the bullet and bought the 10mm and 7mm from FLO last year to complete my XW quartet. Eyepieces to last a lifetime

[SloMoe]

Here go John, Plano model #3448-60 Proolatch Stowaway 6 compartment 

WWW.PLANOMOLDING.COM

Sorry the pic isn't very good, 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2017 by SloMoe

[nicoscy]

Thanks Slomoe,

Looks like I will soon pay a visit to a shop that sells fishing gear!

[SloMoe]

I put enough foam in each section to lift the filter up to the top so it won't shift around when the lid is closed and the foam has just enough traction on the filter to let you set an eyepiece on top and screw down a thread or two, then lift the eyepiece and spin the filter the rest of the way on.

And to remove the filter it's as easy, most of the time I'll just unscrew the filter and set it back in the box, the box itself is so much easier to open than the original filter containers I'm surprised no one has done this before.

Have fun!

[Moonshane]

My latest iteration with spaces for (maybe) a 9mm delite plus a second 9mm and 12mm X cel lx.

[John]

That pluck foam preserves the memories of former occupants of the case

[DRT]

5 hours ago, Moonshane said:

My latest iteration with spaces for (maybe) a 9mm delite plus a second 9mm and 12mm X cel lx.

All of those green and blacks on the right hand side look familiar to me    

[Floater]

Oh my, Shane! John writes of ghosts in your case and Derek sighs at the sight of 'familiar' green and black things.

A case to be cared for, then. ?

[JOC]

Floater def.  me I wince at the sheer investment!  I'd be shot before my family let me spend that sort of cash.  Thanks to the classifieds I've got one little bit of black and green a baby 11mm plossl, but I look some of these big Ethos EP's that come up, even in the classifieds where they are undoubtedly a better deal than new, and wince hard when I realise that they are nearly the cost of my telescope!  Some of those cases would buy a small car!  I wonder if some folks won the lottery before they invested.  I read about these big EP's and a 100 degree view is certainly impressive technology, but I've already decided that I'll never be able to afford anything like them.  I wonder how many folks just make do with slightly more mundane EP's like I'm going to.

[timwetherell]

15 minutes ago, JOC said:

wince hard when I realise that they are nearly the cost of my telescope!  

I've heard it suggested that in the modern age we should just own one eyepiece and change telescopes to achieve different magnifications! Ironically, it does make economic sense

[JOC]

timwetherall, def. ROTLF, but, put like that I can't fault the logic!! 

[Moonshane]

14 hours ago, DRT said:

All of those green and blacks on the right hand side look familiar to me    

Lol.  I was thinking just that when I took the photo.

[Louis D]

6 hours ago, JOC said:

Floater def.  me I wince at the sheer investment!  I'd be shot before my family let me spend that sort of cash.  Thanks to the classifieds I've got one little bit of black and green a baby 11mm plossl, but I look some of these big Ethos EP's that come up, even in the classifieds where they are undoubtedly a better deal than new, and wince hard when I realize that they are nearly the cost of my telescope!  Some of those cases would buy a small car!  I wonder if some folks won the lottery before they invested.  I read about these big EP's and a 100 degree view is certainly impressive technology, but I've already decided that I'll never be able to afford anything like them.  I wonder how many folks just make do with slightly more mundane EP's like I'm going to.

Some folks just have more discretionary spending money than others.  I finally met one big spender who participates on CN.  He's a retired executive VP of a well known computer company.  Others I've met are full university professors at top schools or own their own businesses.  Astronomy is just another hobby to them.  Many also have very well equipped wood working shops, boats, vacation homes, motorcycles, etc.

[JOC]

Louis D - I guess you are right and all things being equal I guess we are all lucky to have what we do regardless of the level that is at.  I am sure there are many more worse off in the world than any one that posts on SGL.

[Moonshane]

I have said this before that I don't have much free income (I get about £50 per month 'guilt free spends' plus a bit of a Christmas and birthday/anniversary budget) but having done this for many years I always have something I can sell to raise additional funds if necessary. I buy good quality and therefore if I finish one hobby (I previously had about £2000 worth of books and moth recording equipment) I sell and then buy for my new hobby. Spending wisely is important to me but the above allows me to relax and have the confidence to buy things.

[JOC]

I think what has surprised me about astronomy is the importance of the eyepiece.  What follows is a comment typical of someone that launched without a huge amount of research:  Before I logged on to SGL I had no idea that a telescope required removable EP's, I just assumed that a telescope came as an object with an aperture that you looked through like a Captain Cook style device.  I did know this could be at either end depending on telescope type, but nothing you learn at school or otherwise suggests that telescopes come with this removable and changeable  object that directly affects what you see.  You don't need to be on SGL (other websites exist! LOL) long before you find out about EP's, but I think what is astonishing is that they are so important that they can, in some instances, exceed the cost of the telescope that they are being used in.  Something that seems totally counterintuitive.  If you are not into astronomy you seem to grow up with this notion that aperture is everything in astronomy - the media goes on about the size of Hubble's mirror and you seem to encounter other references that indicate aperture is King, but no-one ever mentions the importance of EP's!

Edited March 6, 2017 by JOC
missing words and typos- must read what I type before posting!

[Moonshane]

Every bold statement to do with astronomy should always be followed by a 'however'. There's always a compromise somewhere.

The suggestion of one eyepiece covering several scopes to obtain desired magnifications and fields of view is not as mad as as it sounds. However, a couple of scopes and a box of eyepieces is more compact..

In terms terms of scope vs eyepiece cost., what costs more?  The time of someone to make a metal cell focuser and tube or the time of an optician to create and coat accurate optical surfaces?  There are a lot more of the latter in an eyepiece.

 

 

[Highburymark]

As if to illustrate the discussion above, I have completed my new lightweight EP case - Pan24, Pan15, Nagler 11, 5 and 3.5, Delite 7 and Nagler zoom 3-6 for my Tak but also useful for Equinox 80ED and Lunt solar scope.

Heavier case for C8 Edge. Leica zoom for everything. Pentax XF zoom and TV plossls for solar. No doubt I have far too many eyepieces, and lots of 'double-ups', but before I decide which ones to sell I'm going to enjoy having them all for at least the next six months.

[John]

Nice cases Mark

I've taken a very similar route with 2 cases (I've just managed to consolidate 2 small cases and a larger one into 2 large ones). I have quite a bit of focal length duplication but somehow can't get around to pruning the sets to reduce / remove this

Nice to see the T6 Naglers. I've recently picked up a 13mm T6 again. It was one of my early UWA premium eyepieces and I love it's compact form. Amazing how Al Nagler managed to shrink the T2 13mm down such a lot as well as delivering even better performance 

I must try a Delite someday soon !