Replacement eyepiece holder for Skywatcher Explorer 150p.

[breakstuff]

I'm getting sick of the rubbish thumb screws on the shonky eyepiece holder on my Explorer 150p, so I'm looking for an upgrade. Can anyone please recommend a suitable replacement that is a step up on the standard holder but doesn't cost a fortune. I've had a good look on FLO, but can't be sure of the required fitting, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. 

 

[Matt61]

This probably. 

[Matt61]

Or 

[fozzybear]

Hi,

Are you referring to the adapter on the drawtube 2" with the thumb screw if so fire off an email to Aunty FLO to see if this is compatible with your scope as on my 150pds I changed mine as the original kept on pinching my accessories

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-2-inch-compression-ring-adapter-for-sky-watcher-newtonians-and-72ed-refractor-m54.html £29.00

if it is a 2" to 1.25" adapter then have a look at this below it even has a t2 connector built in to attach a camera with the relevant adaptor

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-2-to-125-reducer-adapter.html £27.00

 

[MrFreeze]

Not all Skywatcher Explorer 150P scopes use a 2" eyepiece holder. Mine certainly will only take 1.25" eyepieces, but it has a 42mm thread if you remove the actual eyepiece holder bit, and I ended up fitting it with one of these :

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32800166770.html?spm=2114.12010612.8148356.65.32801862bvdIaC

Absolutely brilliant piece of kit - stops the eyepieces being marked, and ensures collimators etc are held centrally. It can make it a bit more difficult to extract eyepieces with safety undercuts though.

David

Edited October 24, 2020 by MrFreeze
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[banjaxed]

I bought some M3 and M4 plastic knurled head screws 2 and 3 cm long and it makes the world of difference from those tiny ones supplied.

[breakstuff]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll have a good look at them all properly this afternoon when I've a bit more free time. And just to clarify, it's the 1.25" holder I'm looking to replace, not the 2" to 1.25" converter. Thanks again. 

 

[breakstuff]

3 minutes ago, banjaxed said:

I bought some M3 and M4 plastic knurled head screws 2 and 3 cm long and it makes the world of difference from those tiny ones supplied.

 

Out of interest, could I ask where you got them from @banjaxed

 

[banjaxed]

38 minutes ago, breakstuff said:

 

Out of interest, could I ask where you got them from @banjaxed

 

Yes, just search for M3 / M4 plastic head knurled screws on eBay.

[Shimrod]

On 24/10/2020 at 10:12, banjaxed said:

I bought some M3 and M4 plastic knurled head screws 2 and 3 cm long and it makes the world of difference from those tiny ones supplied.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best and I don't know why I didn't think to look for any before I read this post! I bought some from amazon, but bought larger metal knurled knobs rather than plastic. I've been busy replacing all the thumb screws on my kit while waiting for some non-wet, non-cloudy weather. For Celestron owners, you can even get some anodised very similar to Celestron orange:   thumb screws

[banjaxed]

24 minutes ago, Shimrod said:

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best and I don't know why I didn't think to look for any before I read this post! I bought some from amazon, but bought larger metal knurled knobs rather than plastic. I've been busy replacing all the thumb screws on my kit while waiting for some non-wet, non-cloudy weather. For Celestron owners, you can even get some anodised very similar to Celestron orange:   thumb screws

Exactly, sometimes we overthink a problem. My problem was trying to get my binoviewers to fit tightly as sometimes there was very little room to get a grip. Now I have a good selection of thumb screws for most applications and life is so much easier.