Advice on Baader Maxbright Mark II Binoviewers

[David Blacklock]

Hi

 Can someone on the forum give me some practical advice please?

I am thinking of buying the new Baader Maaxbright Mark ii binoviewers.  I intend to use them with both my existing telescopes.  One is a TAK Mewlon 210, and the other is a TAK TSA 120.   I have the following questions which I a most hoping someone who already has the same set up can answer.

 

1) Apart from the Binoviewer what connectors and star diagonal would I need  for each scope? Can you advise exactly which connectors and what purpose they serve so that I can understand item by item what is needed?

2) For the Mewlon will I need a glass path corrector to bring the telescope to focus, if so which one would you recommend?

3) For the TSA 120 I assume I will need a glass path corrector.  If this is the case  which would be recommended?

4) The binoviewer comes with a T2 connector thread and with a mini bayonet.  What is the difference, and what are the advantages of each?

5) I would prefer if during an observing session I could revert occasionally back to a single eyepiece.  Will this be easy to do, and do I need any further parts for this without disassembling things.  I would like to be able to do this easily.

The plan is to use with TV panoptic eyepieces, 19 or 24 mm as I already have one of each. But advice on eyepieces would also be welcome.

I am sorry if the advice sought is very specific, but having bought the Williams optics binoviewers some time ago, I found that there were difficulties especially with the Mewlon in getting a satisfactory magnification, and that it was difficult to obtain a good, sharp merged image and comfortable viewing position. I came to the conclusion that converting to a T2 system would be a good solution, and so I sold the Williams, but didn’t really want to spend the money on the Baader Mark Vs.  It looks as if the BM 11 have superior eyepiece holding, and that the T2 system will shorten the lighttrain, but I want to be sure of what I need before I buy, if possible.

I would really appreciate specific guidance  from an experienced astronomer who has the same equipment.  

Thanks

David

 

 

 

 

 

[omo]

I have very recently bought one of these, i already had a Baader T2 Zeiss prism with a T2 / 2" inch nosepiece so thats on the bino now via the T2 connection.

From what i can tell the bayonet connection saves unscrewing the T2 connection, so its quicker, you do have to buy the corresponding connector though. If you use the T2 it screws straight onto the diagonal as is.

I dont meet your criteria for experienced but there is a lot of info on the forum and plenty of bino users

Which may be why i am thinking about using GPC's in the nosepiece in front of the diagonal sometimes with a barlow fitted to vary magnification and swapping those in and out. Undoing the T2 screw to change a GPC in the diagonal sounds like to much trouble when its dark.

 

[Stu]

I don’t think you will necessarily need a GPC for the Mewlon as they have plenty of back focus available. That said, a x1.25 would correct for the inherent CA in the binoviewers and keep you closer to normal focus position without increasing the mag too much. I normally use a x1.7 in my Baader Mark IVs but then again am normally using high powers so it helps attain that.

I can’t comment on the TSA 120, but @JeremyS or @jetstream may be able to.

In terms of switching quickly from binoviewing to eyepieces, have a look at T2 quickchangers. These allow you to quickly change components with T2 threads over without having to unscrew them. You could put one between the binoviewer and the diagonal (A Baader BBHS T2 diagonal might be a good choice, or the Baader Zeiss T2 prism). You could then have a Baader 1.25” or 2” Clicklock adaptor also with a quickchanger in it to switch with the binoviewer when wanting to go back to single eyepieces. This is what I do and it works well. I can post some pictures tomorrow if that would help?

[David Blacklock]

Stu

Thanks for your comments and recommendations on star diagonals. Pictures of the quick change set up would help as I would like to go down that route.  Presumably I could then use the baader T2 instead of my existing 1.25 star diagonal as part of my routine set up.  Does the quick change add significantly to the overall length of the prime focus?

 

[jetstream]

19 hours ago, David Blacklock said:

3) For the TSA 120 I assume I will need a glass path corrector.  If this is the case  which would be recommended?

Hi David, you have some fine optics! I want a Mewlon myself.

I use the Denk Binotron 27 binos that Russ figured it all out first- all I do is screw my "OCS" onto the 2" diag nose and then insert into the scope. The binos then insert into the diag.

I can use these binos on everything from my 24" down to the 90mm APO frac. He made the extra extension for free.

 

Edited June 24, 2020 by jetstream

[Stu]

@David Blacklock here are a few shots of my diagonal. It’s a Baader T2 BBHS diagonal, but the Prism would work in the same way. The prism has a shorter light path but things can get a little tight space wise.

[David Blacklock]

Thank you all for your help. It’s much clearer when you can see the parts fitted together.  I have now obtained a couple of product pdfs from Baader which have a lot of information in them to read.  I am thinking of first getting set up with the Baader T2 system for use with existing eyepieces as it seems a more secure system, and then adding the binoviewer when funds permit.

[Telescope40]

Hello. Quick question if I may. No thread hijacking. 
Would a 2in T2 nosepiece be the way to go to make full use of these BV’s rather than 1.25 ?? 
 

Thanks.  John