ED80 Binoscope first light

[philj]

I finished the Binoscope project just before Christmas and was expecting at least a months worth of cloud penance but surprisingly there was a clear bit last night, enough to have a play with the completed scope.

I've had a couple of  test runs with the bins under moon and stars whilst I developed  the mounting/collimation bracket and ironed out any snags so this was the first real outing.

Set Up

 

ED80 Binocular Telescope fitted with Vixen LV 8-24mm Zoom eyepieces. 9x50 RA finder

Alignment and collimation is much quicker now I have made one touch tube alignment and mastered the Inter Pupillary Distance (IPD) setting. IPD is as per Peter Drews design using prisms in rhomboid configuration provides a wealth of adjustment and in the early days of testing I found it slightly fiddly to get the correct IPD and good alignment for me. However Ive made an IPD gauge which is set to my measurements and when the gauge drops into the eyepiece holders on the diagonals I know everything is straight and true and set up for me.

First Light

 

Skies were clear but there was quite a bit of moisture in the air thus contrast was reduced due to the increased light pollution. But it was still reasonable and M42 was nicely visible naked eye, M31 was not however despite its altitude.

I set up on the rear garden patio which gives me some protection from neighbours lights but provides a nice view south, south east and south south west, the house obscures the rest.

 

My first target was M42 at 24x.

Nice but slightly washed out due to LP. I fine tuned tube collimation and the 3d view was very nice, with the stars appearing to set out from the nebula. I zoomed in to 75x (8mm) and the contrast improved considerably and the fan of the nebula was very evident. The dual speed adjustment on each focuser enabled fine focus on the trapezium nicely. This was looking promising, plus I didnt have to adjust alignment / collimation after zooming so I was quite pleased that that snag is now resolved. A very nice view which I revisited several times as Orion climbed higher out of the LP.

 

Auriga Clusters. M36, 37 & 38

Easy to locate each cluster and at 24x each cluster was there but again LP was affecting contrast. So I zoomed in again on each to 75x and much better. My favourite of these is 37 and it didn't disappoint, the dark lanes through the cluster together with the 3d effect was a interesting.

M35

At 24x it was nice and the adjacent cluster 2158 was just visible but took some work. Zooming in to 75x brought the cluster out nicely and 2158 was easy to spot as a fuzzy patch. I lingered on M35 for awhile.

M31, 32, 110

Took a few contortions to get this because it was so high but I was rewarded with a good galaxy shaped blob with brighter core and darker patch on one side. The core fits nicely in the FOV  with the fuzzy stuff stretching off to the edge of the FOV so a little panning is required to see the complete galaxy. M 110 and 32 were easy to spot. I reckon my next upgrade for these bins is a nice pair of 30mm FL eyepieces for views like this.

 

M45

A very impressive sight at 24x. The cluster just fits in the FOV and had a very 3d effect with the brighter components standing forward of the dimmer stars.

 

Almaak

Easy spit at 24x and really nice at 75x. My intention for this binoscope was for it to be used on double/multiple stars so I had to check at least one out on first light. Again the 3d effect ws there with the red primary standing forward of the dimmer blue/white companion.

 

Double Cluster

Yep a lovely sight at 24x. Both cluster fitting easily in the FOV. The brighter stars standing forward. Couldnt get any colour tonight, no doubt due to the sky quality.

 

I tried for M82 and 82 but just couldnt get them due to awkward positioning of houses, trees etc. Oh and would you believe I completely forgot to have a go at 46P doh ?

So altogether I stayed out for about 2 hours and just revisited the objects getting used to the scope.

 

Conclusion

I am happy with this binoscope, it performs well and gives nice views. Under better skies it is going to be a belter I reckon.

 

The effect of having an ED80 on each eye is:-  its not a gob smacking in your face "wow look at that" moment when you look through them, I never expected that. They are 80mm scopes after all and not 24" dobs so one has to be realistic.

The effect is subtle, there is obviously more of the object to see because there is an 80mm lens gathering photons for each eye but the main thing for me is it is a relaxed view where I can observe with both eyes and get a 3d effect which is for me the main attraction which is great for splitting doubles.

Because setting up the IPD is important for each observer this makes the binoscopes in this configuration a very personal piece of kit. You cant just say to someone "quick have a glegg at this". But I am working on a few ideas of how to make the IPD adjustment a bit slicker but for the moment it works well and I'm well pleased with its performance so far and its potential.

 

Oh one other great feature I found last night is that it is really nice on clusters, especially with a trick I learnt. Focus at 24x on the cluster then twist both zooms equally to zoom in to 75x. Its just like going into warp drive

Heres a few snaps from today of the completed rig, forgot to fit the finder so just imagine a finder of your choice ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter Drew]

Very tidy setup. Congratulations.     ?

[philj]

Thanks Peter, Im pleased with it. It's working well now I've sorted the easy alignment adjusters. Now to collect some eyepiece pairs ?

Thanks for the pointers and advice.

[F15Rules]

Hi Phil,

Happy New Year!

Thanks for a great read, really  interesting.

The Moon should be stunning in that setup!

Dave

[tooth_dr]

What a very nice setup.

[philj]

8 hours ago, F15Rules said:

Hi Phil,

Happy New Year!

Thanks for a great read, really  interesting.

The Moon should be stunning in that setup!

Dave

Thanks Dave, yes, Ive already had a sneak preview during developement but I am really looking forward to the next moon now its finished