Halloween plossls in need of some love

[badhex]

Hello all, 

Picked up a couple of halloween plossls for not very much money on the auction site, and they need a little bit of refurbishing. I suspect the seller is not an astro person as there was no info on condition etc apart from the photos. 

What wasn't clear (ironically) from the pictures is that the lenses are very grubby and dusty, and the top o-rings that these EPs have are perished and partly missing.

I'm happy cleaning the lenses up and hopefully they should be right as rain, but the o-rings are beyond repair.

I'm not actually sure what - if anything - these o-rings are even doing, apart from maybe stopping the outer sleeve from moving around. The lens assembly is completely contained within the inner barrel. The whole thing can be tightened up without the o-ring, so it seems superfluous. 

Interested to know if anyone knows any more about this slightly odd construction, and how critical this o-ring actually is!

 

[Don Pensack]

O-rings are easy to replace.  Lenses are easy to clean.

Store in a case to prevent the aluminum from wearing more.

[Franklin]

On my Vixen 26mm and 17mm silvertop plossls, which look uncannily like your Celestron Halloweens, the nosepiece unscrews which allows the outer "cloaking" sleeve with the name on etc, to be removed from the actual eyepiece that contains the lens assembly. There is no o-ring on the Vixens.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Franklin

[badhex]

1 hour ago, Franklin said:

On my Vixen 26mm and 17mm silvertop plossls, which look uncannily like your Celestron Halloweens, the nosepiece unscrews which allows the outer "cloaking" sleeve with the name on etc, to be removed from the actual eyepiece that contains the lens assembly. There is no o-ring on the Vixens.

Yes, I believe these were made under a number of brands although I couldn't say which off the top of my head. I'm sure I read that the Celestron version differs by having this o-ring where others do not. Having now had the things apart for a clean and thorough inspection, it does seem that the only reason for the o-ring to exist is to hold that outer sleeve in place. Seems a tad elaborate given that you can just give it half a turn or so more and it screws together snugly without the o-ring - as your Vixens would seem to prove!

[badhex]

3 hours ago, Don Pensack said:

O-rings are easy to replace.  Lenses are easy to clean.

Store in a case to prevent the aluminum from wearing more.

Yep, thanks Don, I guess my question was more "why is it there" than anything else.

Anyway I've given the lenses a gentle clean with airbulb and Baader fluid which has got the gunk off, but it seems like the 26mm was a bit too vigorously cleaned in its past life, as the coatings have worn away in places. Lots of dust between the lenses too, which necessitated unscrewing the lens assembly itself, along with more careful use of the air bulb and a soft bristled lens brush

Interesting that you mentioned aluminium, it looks to me like the main body of the EP lens assembly has some brassy colour to it, as does the eye lens retaining ring/EP top. The interior barrel paint has also been worn away in places, again I suspect overenthusiastic cleaning. 

[Franklin]

13 minutes ago, badhex said:

it screws together snugly without the o-ring - as your Vixens would seem to prove!

You could just screw on the nosepiece and use them "naked" if you like. The sleeve and in your case the o-ring are just cosmetics. If you're opening them up to clean the inside lenses you can also blacken the lens edges carefully with a Sharpie marker, it all goes to help performance.

[Mr Spock]

I used to have a 40mm. I never really noticed the state of the O-ring until this thread!

[John]

I used to have some of those Celestron plossls. I thought that the rubber O ring might provide something to grip on an otherwise smooth body but it didn't seem to project much, if at all. I can't think what other function it performs. 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by John

[badhex]

22 minutes ago, Franklin said:

You could just screw on the nosepiece and use them "naked" if you like. The sleeve and in your case the o-ring are just cosmetics. If you're opening them up to clean the inside lenses you can also blacken the lens edges carefully with a Sharpie marker, it all goes to help performance.

The edges of the lenses in mine are actually blackened already, which is good news. I wonder if they came like that, or whether a previous owner has done that (and possibly why there was loads of dust and fluff between the lenses!). 

[badhex]

9 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

I used to have a 40mm. I never really noticed the state of the O-ring until this thread!

Yes both of mine are like that, although actually worse in the case of the 26mm as it is missing about 15mm!

[badhex]

4 minutes ago, John said:

I used to have some of those Celestron plossls. I thought that the rubber O ring might provide something to grip on an otherwise smooth body but it didn't seem to project much, if at all. I can't think what other function it performs. 

 

No, indeed a mystery. I wondered at first if it was sealing the lens assembly away from dust, but it really does just seem completely without critical function. 

[Franklin]

41 minutes ago, badhex said:

I wonder if they came like that, or whether a previous owner has done that (and possibly why there was loads of dust and fluff between the lenses!). 

Dust and fluff between the lenses indicates that they've been opened up before in an attempted cleaning operation by someone wearing a fluffy jumper in a dusty room😊

[badhex]

4 hours ago, Franklin said:

Dust and fluff between the lenses indicates that they've been opened up before in an attempted cleaning operation by someone wearing a fluffy jumper in a dusty room😊

I guess that's better than someone wearing a dusty jumper in a fluffy room! 

[F15Rules]

I think all the above comments have answered your questions..

I've owned a good few Halloween plossls over the years (odd name!) and found them actually pretty good optically..a longer focal length pair would make for  excellent binoviewing😊👍.

Dave

[badhex]

8 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

I think all the above comments have answered your questions..

I've owned a good few Halloween plossls over the years (odd name!) and found them actually pretty good optically..a longer focal length pair would make for  excellent binoviewing😊👍.

Dave

Hi Dave, hope you're well! I had wondered/hoped you might stumble in here as I recall some threads on vintage EPs we've participated on. I've always quite like the look of the Halloweens but in total honesty I bought them mainly because they came up, not because I was searching them out specifically. Still, looking forward to trying them out at some point.

I haven't really had any opportunity to do observing in the last six months what with moving countries, but hopefully things are starting to settle down a bit so these will definitely be on the list of things to play with. 

It's probably time I made another post on your vintage EP threads from some years back, I've picked up a few since then! Also probably time I got some sort of small case for these vintage bits and bobs. 

[jock1958]

2 hours ago, F15Rules said:

I think all the above comments have answered your questions..

I've owned a good few Halloween plossls over the years (odd name!) and found them actually pretty good optically..a longer focal length pair would make for  excellent binoviewing😊👍.

Dave

Hi Dave very pleased with the two 26mm plossls I bought off you.

One of my seals started to crack so ordered a replacement pack off fleabay.  

Like others have said I wasn't sure what those seals do, maybe anti vibration or prevent the halloween sleeve rotating??

However as I was having eye placement problems I bought some cheapo rubber cups off the bay but no way to secure them so added some of the spare seals I had, these overlap the existing seal and gap this holds the cups in place very nicely, see pics below.

[F15Rules]

That's a cracking solution Iain!👍 They look great too😊.

For my low power set I'm using a humble pair of Meade 4000 made in China

32mm plossls..for reasons that are often discussed and debated, but perhaps hard to pin down, these cheaper long focal length plossls often seem to work better in pairs than as singles..

I've given up trying to analyse it all, and now just enjoy the views!😁

Dave

[F15Rules]

8 hours ago, badhex said:

I haven't really had any opportunity to do observing in the last six months what with moving countries, but hopefully things are starting to settle down a bit so these will definitely be on the list of things to play with. 

I know what you mean.. January had a few good nights, but the next 3 months or so in the East of England were dire.

And the past couple of months have been full of family related stuff, visits, being visited, and clear sunny days with cloudy nights, combined with little real darkness..

The good news is that astro darkness begins to come back noticeably from August..👍😊

Dave

[Louis D]

23 hours ago, badhex said:

Dang, I hope you got a really good price on them.

I've got a single coated 26mm Sirius Plossl from the 1990s that has some sort of coating hazing going on, but no scratches.  It doesn't seem to affect the view through it all that much, but it's still annoying the seller didn't disclose it.

[jock1958]

1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

That's a cracking solution Iain!👍 They look great too😊.

For my low power set I'm using a humble pair of Meade 4000 made in China

32mm plossls..for reasons that are often discussed and debated, but perhaps hard to pin down, these cheaper long focal length plossls often seem to work better in pairs than as singles..

I've given up trying to analyse it all, and now just enjoy the views!😁

Dave

As you say Dave those 26mm plossls are a really good BV pair but on the absolute limit as far as focal length goes for my WO BV’s, I think my next big astro purchase will be the legendary MB II’s….I better get saving 🤣🤣

[F15Rules]

Hi Iain

The MBIIs and their T2 system allow me to use up to c35mm eyepieces with little or no vignetting with my MBIIs and Baader Zeiss BBHS prism which has a 34mm clear aperture..

..but even the standard T2 prism has 32mm clear aperture, and, with the MBIIs it's often possible to use binoviewing eyepieces natively, ie without the need for an OCS or Barlow lens.

I definitely consider the new Maxbrights to be one of my best ever astro investments👍😊.

Dave

[Mr Spock]

I see ENS has a 10mm and 6.3mm. A bit pricey though as always.

[badhex]

22 hours ago, jock1958 said:

Hi Dave very pleased with the two 26mm plossls I bought off you.

One of my seals started to crack so ordered a replacement pack off fleabay.  

Like others have said I wasn't sure what those seals do, maybe anti vibration or prevent the halloween sleeve rotating??

However as I was having eye placement problems I bought some cheapo rubber cups off the bay but no way to secure them so added some of the spare seals I had, these overlap the existing seal and gap this holds the cups in place very nicely, see pics below.

Look like it works very well! Plus it solves the issue of no dust cap on the eye lens end! Got some O-rings on order now, need to look for some dust caps that are the right size.

Edited July 15, 2023 by badhex

[badhex]

16 hours ago, F15Rules said:

I know what you mean.. January had a few good nights, but the next 3 months or so in the East of England were dire.

And the past couple of months have been full of family related stuff, visits, being visited, and clear sunny days with cloudy nights, combined with little real darkness..

The good news is that astro darkness begins to come back noticeably from August..👍😊

Dave

Roll on astro darkness! Unfortunately I've also discovered that one of the neighbours in my block not only a creator of noise pollution, but also generates significant LP as well - room lights so bright they fully illuminate the building next door and no blinds 😭

I'm sure I'll find somewhere on the grounds that has some darkness eventually, I've just not had chance to look around too much. 

[jock1958]

2 hours ago, badhex said:

Look like it works very well! Plus it solves the issue of no dust cap on the eye lens end! Got some O-rings on order now, need to look for some dust caps that are the right size.

Yeh those plastic yellow dust caps are electrical plug blanking caps which are snug fit in the eyepiece cups, if it’s just eyepiece dust caps you are after I bought some cheap rubber ones off the Bay for my 20mm WO and other eyepieces, I found you will need to measure the eyepiece end, subtract a mm or so and hope for a snug fit 🤞