Best performing EP and diagonal for use with quark and ED 80

[Steve Clay]

Reading the technical notes on day star's website shows that they recommend TV plossl EP's of circa 32mm. These cost about £130.

What other brand of EP's are people using with a similar setup to mine that are giving good results.

I see the Baader classic 32mm plossl is only £42 and has all of the same characteristics, baffled, blacked edges etc.

I don't mind spending the £139 but obviously if something is cheaper and performs as good then for me that's the better option.

Also i'm currently using the 2 inch diagonal as supplied with the ED80. If I were to upgrade this what would be good for my HA set-up?

I Would appreciate your learned opinion.

Thanks

Steve

[Louis D]

Here's a pretty similar thread from 5 years ago covering your question:

 

[Steve Clay]

1 hour ago, Louis D said:

Here's a pretty similar thread from 5 years ago covering your question:

 

Thank, I've read through it and it's more about Lunt and PST. I'm specifically asking about the ed80 and quark combo. But thanks for taking the time to point me to the thread.

Steve

[Highburymark]

Steve - my experience with a Quark is no different to other solar set ups - the best eyepieces are TV Plossls. It’s just that with dedicated scopes you need EPs around the 25mm-11mm mark, while the only eyepieces I use with the Quark are 40mm (and quite rarely 32mm - even this is usually too much for my skies) - sometimes with a 0.5x reducer screwed in. 
Compared to an average Plossl, they are noticeable brighter and show more detail - but not 3x brighter and more detailed! Normal Plossls work perfectly well -  9/10. TV Plossls are 10/10. 

Regarding the diagonal, if it’s the standard SW dielectric diagonal, that’s all you need. 

[Highburymark]

PS - I should have said that I use my Quark with a 100mm F7.4 refractor, so a 40mm plossl produces almost 80x - (while the 32mm is 100x - normally too much for my seeing.) The 32mm sounds perfect for your 80ED

 

[Solar B]

I'm one of the few that doesn't recommend TV plossls & I've tried or owned all 

FLs , having said that I have a dear friend who uses a quark on an 100mm ( 7ish I think )

with a TV55 plossl and this combo seems to have tamed the quark somewhat !

I currently use inexpensive Vixen 25 & 30mm NPL s with my 60mm SS and find them 

a lot more user friendly than the similar FL TV pls.

Brian 

[Highburymark]

2 hours ago, Solar B said:

I'm one of the few that doesn't recommend TV plossls & I've tried or owned all 

FLs , having said that I have a dear friend who uses a quark on an 100mm ( 7ish I think )

with a TV55 plossl and this combo seems to have tamed the quark somewhat !

I currently use inexpensive Vixen 25 & 30mm NPL s with my 60mm SS and find them 

a lot more user friendly than the similar FL TV pls.

Brian 

Sacrilege!!  

No - It’s good to hear dissenting voices Brian. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Vixen EPs for solar ha.
I have a 55mm TV plossl too - never used it with the Quark but maybe I should.
I didn’t mention that Pentax XF zoom or Leica ASPH zoom are just as good as TV Plossls.

[Solar B]

8 hours ago, Highburymark said:

Sacrilege!!  

No - It’s good to hear dissenting voices Brian. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Vixen EPs for solar ha.
I have a 55mm TV plossl too - never used it with the Quark but maybe I should.
I didn’t mention that Pentax XF zoom or Leica ASPH zoom are just as good as TV Plossls.

Probably best ignoring me prattling on Mark ... I'm just jealous 👽 😉

But Leica zoom or even the Pentax v TV plossls ! I know which id choose 🤔

Brian 

 

 

[Steve Clay]

I've ordered the 30 and 40 vixens. Will let you know how they perform.

Steve

[John]

I've owned and used a couple of the Vixen NPL's and rather like them.

I read somewhere that the Vixen design uses a similar lens figure to the TV plossls (which is a slight variant on the standard plossl).

 

[AdeKing]

I really like the Vixen NPL30s and pretty much exclusively use a pair in the Maxbright BVs that I use with the Lunt LS60.

They are incredibly comfortable to use and don't feel like you're looking down a drinking straw, which I can't say about the pair of  Celestron Omni 32mms that I also have.

Reasonably priced too.

I do have a TV 32mm Plossl, but certainly don't rate it as the best eyepiece that I own, even though comments to that effect were why I purchased it.

Don't get me wrong, It's a nice eyepiece but I needed the £30 eyecup extender to make it useable which annoyed me somewhat.

Just my 2p worth.

[John]

4 minutes ago, AdeKing said:

....Just my 2p worth.

Tele Vue do a "2p worth" you know ? - top quality of course and the cost is £1.00

[Steve Clay]

7 minutes ago, John said:

Tele Vue do a "2p worth" you know ? - top quality of course and the cost is £1.00

I'm currently using a 33mm plossil un named it's ok but kidney beans. Ive botched an eye guard extender from craft foam. Now works fine just kept pressing down on it until the view was good.

[John]

When I last owned a TV 32mm plossl, I was advised to get a TV eye guard extender to help position the eye correctly. It worked wonders and made the eyepiece a pleasure to use rather than a bit frustrating as it had been previously.

The downside is that an expensive plossl had become a very expensive plossl

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I don't have a Quark, but my Solar Spectrum 0.3 Å combined with a 4x Baader TZ-4 tele-centric gives similar focal length and bandwidth on my APM 80 mm F/6. I have tried a TV 25mm Plössl, and a Vixen 25 mm orthoscopic, and both perform really well. The Vixen SLV 15 mm does a good job as well

[skybadger]

I use a cheap diagonal for the purpose of not staring into the sun. With that I have a 26mm Meade plossl and a X.5 screw in reducer. I prefer the 26mm. The scope is a stellar St80 ed at f/5 or so. I couldn't tell the difference between using the diagonal and not using the diagonal from the image alone.

 

[Solar B]

2 hours ago, skybadger said:

I use a cheap diagonal for the purpose of not staring into the sun. With that I have a 26mm Meade plossl and a X.5 screw in reducer. I prefer the 26mm. The scope is a stellar St80 ed at f/5 or so. I couldn't tell the difference between using the diagonal and not using the diagonal from the image alone.

 

You've lost me there mate as if using a quark or any dedicated HA scope it's BF 

will only transmit 656.28nm to the EP ... if safety is of concern at 80mm.

Brian 

[skybadger]

Should have said I use it with a quark. 

[PaulB]

I know I'm late to the party. With this thread.

I have brought a Quark Chromesphere and SW STAR-TRAVEL 102 and I'm getting a Stellar Mira 1.25 diagonal. 

I've also been looking at a suitable eyepiece to use with the Quark. At the moment I  can't afford a 40mm TV plossl. So having read the reviews. I opted for a SW 40mm SP eyepiece .

It will be very interesting to see how good it is. It's cheap but I hope it's not that cheap that it's unusable.

  I  hope to get a 40mm TV later in the year when funds allow 

 

 

[John]

A good alternative to the TV 40mm plossl might be the Vixen 40mm NPL. I believe the NPL's use a figuring approach to the lenses that are similar to the TV Plossls. The 30mm NPL is certainly very nice for it's price.

 

[Steve Clay]

I bought the NPL 25, 30 40. The 25 is a bit too much but either the 30 or 40 are great. I got them used from here. You might need to stop down the st 102 to achieve the 30 ish FR as recommended by daystar.

Steve

Edited June 27, 2020 by Steve Clay

[PaulB]

Thanks Steve.

I have already done that. If I remove the centre dust cap I can increase the focal length from F5 to F10.

When it arrived, thank you FLO. It said on the box. "May Contain Clouds" and they weren't kidding 😆

[John]

3 hours ago, PaulB said:

Thanks Steve.

I have already done that. If I remove the centre dust cap I can increase the focal length from F5 to F10.

When it arrived, thank you FLO. It said on the box. "May Contain Clouds" and they weren't kidding 😆

Actually the focal length stays the same. The focal ratio changes because of the reduction in aperture. If you reduce the aperture to 16mm you will get to F/30.

Apologies if you already knew that