Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.

[Damo636]

That's a much sturdier looking job.

[spaceboy]

here my new case (old one broke the other day). went with the larger rugged case from maplins and im very happy with it at least the bottom wont fall out of this one

have sold a couple of my naglers recently to fund imaging equipment hence why it looks a little bare

It wasn't a Maplin case the bottom fell out of was it ?

[jnc71106]

It wasn't a Maplin case the bottom fell out of was it ?

It was yes luckily the foam stayed in place. And after seeing the inside of the casing I didn't feel happy getting the same case again

Jake

[spaceboy]

Well that's worrying given most the members including myself have Maplin cases with delicate optics in.

[jnc71106]

Well that's worrying given most the members including myself have Maplin cases with delicate optics in.

Yes took a while for my heart rate to settle after seeing the bottom of case falling down the stairs

I don't think it's a common issue as I think we would have heard about it more times

Jake

[philj]

Top one is my case for my modern stuff. Crammed with a mishmash of eps from TMBs to Vixens. not as tidy and neat as some others on here but it keeps em together.

Bottom is my 100+ year old ep case and other bits.

The box houses the draw tube and 5 eps with filter caps to give a range of 6x to 120x in my 3" Broadhurst Clarkson refractor. There is an original diagonal and terrestrial 20x ep in the lid then the long tube at the bottom is the straight through terrestrial ep again giving 20x.

Philj

PS Which would I prefer to look through? the modern ones:)

Which would I prefer to look at? the old ones:)

Edited June 27, 2011 by philj

[spaceboy]

Very nice Philj

[Damo636]

Very nice indeed

[Moonshane]

hi all

my collection has not changed much since January. I have sold my 35mm and 22mm Panoptics as they funded the purchase of a 26mm Nagler which fits better in terms of exit pupil with my project f4 dob. I have also purchased a used Paracorr for the same scope.

The only other changes were replacing the 9mm University Optics ortho with a used 9mm BGO and buying a used 7mm BGO to 'complete' my set of these excellent eyepieces.

I have also added my finders and filters case for completeness.

I really don't think I'll need another eyepiece again. The only consideration going forward is the 13mm Ethos. As the Paracorr will extend the effective focal length of my dob from 1600 to 1840mm, this has the effect of changing the 13mm Ethos from a 123x mag eyepiece with a field of 0.80 degrees to a 141x eyepiece with a field of 0.69 degrees. Maybe I am worrying over nothing but I wonder if a 17mm eyepieces (possibly 17mm Nagler giving 108x mag and 0.76 degree field) would be more usable more often in the big dob. Unless someone wanted pretty much a straight swap for a 17mm Ethos I won't have funds for a while (if ever) for the 17E although with 108x mag and a 0.92 degree field that would be sweet. I can see me just using the 26mm Nagler and the 13E / 17N / 17E in the big dob almost exclusively. I suppose it's a nice problem to have

[spaceboy]

Looking good Shane. Is that a castell UHC I see there ? I have been trying to get one for a while but the usual supplier is having stock problems. Have you been able to compare to another UHC filter by any chance?

[Moonshane]

hi Nick

cheers! yes, it's the Castell one - I'm a fan. to be honest though I rarely use this as the Oiii is so good. always good to have both though and it's very good on M42. Never compared to another UHC but hope to do so at PSP (another thing on a long list of things I'd like to do at PSP!!).

[spaceboy]

I found the Castell filters and in particular the OIII to be the best choice also. I have the 2" SW UHC but because of there stupid design I managed to put a perfect 1.25" circle in the coatings so it can now only be used with my short FL ep's. £69 for such a ridiculous design sure won't get my vote if anyone asks how good they are. I wouldn't mind there is a focusing issue with them that means you can't even use them in a diagonal either.

[Moonshane]

I know the focus point shifts quite a lot when I put in my filters (even the Baader Neodymium). it can be a right pain in the rump. what's weird about the SW UHC? never seen one.

[jnc71106]

I was looking on 365astronomy at the OIII castell filters based on what you guys have said

Is stock an issue with them as I was going to buy one today ?

Jake

[MjrTom]

I know the focus point shifts quite a lot when I put in my filters (even the Baader Neodymium). it can be a right pain in the rump. what's weird about the SW UHC? never seen one.

Yeah I noticed this as well, on my ED80 the focus can shift by as much as 20mm with the Neodymium filter

[Moonshane]

I was looking on 365astronomy at the OIII castell filters based on what you guys have said

Is stock an issue with them as I was going to buy one today ?

Jake

I have never had an issue with stock. best bet is to ring Zoltan. he's a really nice guy and in my experience, will be straight about whether or not they have stock in.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Moonshane

[spaceboy]

I contacted him a month ago and he mentioned there is a problem with the supplier or something. I think the supplier is trying to up the cost or something??

[Moonshane]

typical!!

[jnc71106]

I have never had an issue with stock. best bet is to ring Zoltan. he's a really nice guy and in my experience, will be straight about whether or not they have stock in.

Thanks will give them a call later

Jake

[jnc71106]

Has the price gone up on them recently

I looked at them a couple of weeks ago and I thought they were cheaper than they are now

Jake

[spaceboy]

QUOTE : there was / is a production problem, so it might take a while the patent owner finds a different manufacturer that would be able to provide the necessary quality at affordable price and still not stealing the product...

[spaceboy]

Has the price gone up on them recently

I looked at them a couple of weeks ago and I thought they were cheaper than they are now

Jake

The prices went up with the VAT increase but he said no additional increase to prices but I know the 2" filters were £38.99 to the door now they are over £50 with postage. Still worth it IMO as the castell filter is much better than those rubbish SW filters.

[Moonshane]

I know in July 2010 when I got my Oiii the price for the 2" was £48 delivered so they have not gone up too much in the time between (probably just the difference in VAT).

[spaceboy]

I know in July 2010 when I got my Oiii the price for the 2" was £48 delivered so they have not gone up too much in the time between (probably just the difference in VAT).

That's strange I got my OIII December 2010 for £38.99. I guess there must have been a sale on ??? Either way I still feel they are worth it, if only they would come back in stock.

[Moonshane]

weird! as you say, still excellent value.

for me, having both and using them both in 6" and 12" scopes, the best one to buy is the Oiii. it's certainly the one I get most use from.