FLO at Tele Vue 2024

[FLO]

 

After NEAF, before catching our plane home, we visited Al and David Nagler at their premises in Orange County. 

Together, they gave us a tour of their facility. We left with a renewed respect for what they do. 

Some thoughts, observations and learnings from our visit, in no particular order: 

• Tele Vue is a family-run company headed by David Nagler and his wife Sandy. The company was founded in 1977 by David’s father, Al Nagler (centre of photo), an optical engineer who designed simulators used in the Apollo space program. Al still takes an active interest in the company and often attends events. 
• Al Nagler’s enthusiasm, curiosity and drive are palpable and inspiring. He is not simply a figurehead. 
• I have been pronouncing Nagler wrong. It is pronounced N’ay’gler (like Nay or Nay-sayer). Although, they pronounce coffee c’oi’ffee. So, hey, what do they know 😄
• They are obsessed (in a good way) with QC! They will reject an eyepiece or telescope with the tiniest mark or imperfection. I noticed a rejected telescope dew-shield on the shelf with a barely visible, insignificant 2mm blemish in its anodising. I haven’t seen QC done to this level anywhere else. 
• Tele Vue eyepieces must surely be the most copied—especially their Ethos series. There are now multiple copies of the Ethos. So many that, ironically, the copies are competing against each other! 
• The Chinese copies are copies. They are NOT the same. They are made using Chinese equivalent glass types and optical coatings. (I wondered if one of Tele Vue’s manufacturers had been naughty, but no. The copies are not related in any way to Tele Vue or their manufacturers). 
• People say copying is a form of flattery. I sense the Naglers disagree (and I don’t blame them). 
• The Ethos was David's project, not Al's. David wanted to take the Tele Vue 'Spacewalk' philosophy ('ethos') to the next level with an even wider field. When David showed Al his initial drawings for the new eyepiece, Al said he thought the design might be too ambitious. But later, when progress was made and demonstrated to Al, he was impressed, and, together with the late Paul Dellechiaie (their optical wizard at the time), they finished the design and brought it to market. 
• The building was explicitly designed for Tele Vue. I.e. entrances/exits are lined up so that when all the doors are open, they provide a very long path for optical testing. 
• Their optical testing and assembly rigs are all made in-house! I didn’t take photos because I felt that wasn’t appropriate. But they were fascinating. I could easily lose a whole day playing!
• They have multiple ways of testing an eyepiece, including the usual optical resolution charts. But Al's favourite methods are less techie and more DIY. I.e., a row of ball bearings that, when illuminated with a high contrast light, provide pinpoint highlights across the field, enabling multiple airy discs to be observed. And shiny aluminium filings sprinkled and glued onto a black surface to simulate stars. 
• Tele Vue's staff don’t wear nuclear fallout suits or masks (neither do we when we test optics), but they are very strict about separating clean and dirty processes. 
• Interestingly, though their eyepiece and telescope designs are modern, their admin and procedures are old-school—mostly pen, paper, and lots of cross-checking. I sense Al’s influence here. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. 
• Whilst Tele Vue is known primarily for premium eyepieces, their telescopes are also designed, assembled and QCd in-house. 
• The telescopes have benefited over the years from numerous incremental improvements in design, materials and glass. 
• The NP101is astrograph has matured into an especially impressive telescope! We will add one to our demo stock, lend it to Gary Palmer for testing and then send it to our remote observatory in Spain. 
• Tele Vue's focusers are also designed, assembled and QCd in-house. (For years, I suspected Starlight Instruments made Tele Vue's tubes, focusers, and hardware. But I was wrong. They are designed and assembled by Tele Vue). 
• Tom (on the left of the group photo, behind David Nagler) does most of the telescope assembly. His enthusiasm for his role and the telescopes is palpable. 
• Tele Vue will happily repair and restore a TV eyepiece or telescope, regardless of age. So if you accidentally damage yours, please get in touch with them or your supplier. 
• Most members of the Tele Vue team have been with the company for many years (i.e., Tom has been with them for over twenty years). 
• Rick (fourth from the left, behind Sandy and Al Nagler) has a wicked sense of humour and makes excellent ‘New York Black & White’ cookies! 
• Tele Vue’s newest optical designer (not in the photo) mentioned that new products are in development. We are guessing that at least one will likely be released this summer. 

We sincerely thank Al, David, Sandy, Rick, Tom, and their colleagues for the tour and hospitality. We look forward to seeing you again next year 🤗
 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Thank you @FLO for letting us at SGL know what goes in or on behind the scenes at TeleVue HQ! 🔭

[LukeTheNuke]

What a lovely report, very heart-warming, and a nice photo. I think Sarah and I have bought about 25 items made by Tele Vue, and they've all been flawless, as far as I can recall.

My favourite Tele Vue item is tough. It's between the Tele Vue-60 telescope, which I've used for quite a few solar sessions in particular, and is so tiny and portable and made me no longer hate helical focusers, and the Ethos 21 mm eyepiece, which is admittedly not that tiny and portable! I'll go with the Ethos 21 mm. It's the eyepiece I use the most in my 10 inch dob, and sometimes it's the only eyepiece I use for the session, if I'm feeling lazy.

A solar h-alpha image captured with my beloved Tele Vue-60 and a less beloved Quark filter. This was taken on a manual mount, just letting the sun drift across the chip.

And my biggest Tele Vue regret is selling the 13 mm T6 Nagler, which was a cracking, small and light eyepiece. Sarah didn't take to it, alas, I think because she prefers longer eye relief, and is these days very happy with the Delos eyepieces, with their 20 mm eye relief, I think?

Orange County, Jaffa Cakes... Surely not a coincidence?

Edited Tuesday at 19:30 by LukeTheNuke

[DirkSteele]

Awesome report. Would love to take a tour like that.

My proudest moment of reviewing scopes and other Astro equipment over the last 10+ years was receiving an email from Al Nagler asking if he could cite several passages from the review of the 21mm Ethos and the Delos eyepiece reviews on my site and include a link to the full review. I had a astro club meeting that evening and I couldn't stop smiling the whole meeting. Which was noticed more than once.

[Space Hopper]

I've had the pleasure of meeting both Al and David Nagler at the various Astrofest trade shows i've attended.

We are very lucky to have Televue in this hobby. 

[RobertI]

Lovely report of your visit. 

9 hours ago, FLO said:

Tele Vue will happily repair and restore a TV eyepiece or telescope, regardless of age. So if you accidentally damage yours, please get in touch with them or your supplier. 

This demonstrates their dedication to their products, and reinforces that Televue products are for life. Good enough reasons to buy from them. 🙂

[Sunshine]

This makes me want more TV items, my wallet will never forgive me!

Thank you FLO for posting this, in this image I see a group of great people beaming with passion for what they do, fantastic!.

Edited April 24 by Sunshine

[Richard_]

It's nice to hear good things about such a great company, and I'm glad that they have stuck with their values all this time. Long may it continue. Thanks for sharing!

[John]

I've highly rated Tele Vue products for many, many years (and bored many on this forum with that no doubt 🙄).

I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting any of the TV team but it is good to see that they are such a motivated group of people maintaining high standards and setting the standards that others try to emulate.

Thanks for posting FLO's impressions after visiting the company and meeting the Tele Vue staff. Very encouraging 🙂 

[FLO]

20 hours ago, Sunshine said:

This makes me want more TV items ...

Ditto.

The Tele Vue 85 APO is winking at me, particularly after seeing Al use one to demonstrate the edge-to-edge sharpness of an eyepiece.

They have multiple ways of testing an eyepiece, including the usual optical resolution charts. But Al's favourite methods are less techie and more DIY. I.e., a row of ball bearings that, when illuminated with a high contrast light, provide pinpoint highlights across the field, enabling multiple airy discs to be observed. And shiny aluminium filings sprinkled and glued onto a black surface to simulate stars. 

I remember something else I should have included in my post: the Ethos was David's project, not Al's. David wanted to take the Tele Vue 'Spacewalk' philosophy ('ethos') to the next level with an even wider field. When David showed Al his initial drawings for a new Ethos eyepiece, Al said he thought the design might be too ambitious. But later, when progress was made and demonstrated to Al, he was impressed, and, together with one of their optical wizards, they finished the design and brought it to market. 

I'll add both of the above to my post. 

Steve 

[AstroKeith]

I've had the pleasure of meeting with Al and David Nagler a few times and they stand out as equipment designers who know their trade.

You dont see many other designers or manufacturers attending star parties and actually 'standing by' their products.

[John]

5 minutes ago, FLO said:

....together with one of their optical wizards, they finished the design and brought it to market. 

 

I believe that would have been the late Paul Dellechiaie, who sadly passed away in June 2022. Paul worked with Tele Vue from 1985 until the time of his passing.

[FLO]

On 25/04/2024 at 15:49, John said:

I believe that would have been the late Paul Dellechiaie, who sadly passed away in June 2022. Paul worked with Tele Vue from 1985 until the time of his passing.

Yes, Paul. I remember now. I will add his name to my post. Thank you 🙂 

I am over most of my jet lag, so have remembered something else from the visit. I won't add this to the post because it is sad. Al took me aside and showed me a wall displaying his optical patent certificates. He was understandably proud but concluded the conversation by saying we don't file patents anymore because people copy the designs anyway, and the info in a patent only makes it easier for them to do so. 

Steve

[FLO]

1 hour ago, John said:

I've highly rated Tele Vue products for many, many years (and bored many on this forum with that no doubt 🙄).

You are well known for your fondness for Tele Vue eyepieces. I'll share this with you without mentioning a name (if you guess who, please don't say it). Some time ago, someone asked if I knew somebody at SGL who would review a new eyepiece series. Before I could answer, he added, "But not John. He compares everything with his Tele Vues, and that is a very high bar".  

Steve

[JeremyS]

Super visit and report 

I am a late adopter of Tele Vue eyepieces, but have developed a particular liking of the Ethos series as well as the Nayglers 

[mikeDnight]

19 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Super visit and report 

I am a late adopter of Tele Vue eyepieces, but have developed a particular liking of the Ethos series as well as the Nayglers 

"Nayglers"? 😂

 

[Alan White]

3 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

"Nayglers"? 😂

 

Mike see the first post and you will see why it’s been written this way, might make you feel a bit of an ass…. I did say ass 😉
 

[mikeDnight]

2 hours ago, Alan White said:

Mike see the first post and you will see why it’s been written this way, might make you feel a bit of an ass…. I did say ass 😉
 

Well that's nothing fresh! 🐎

[ollypenrice]

A long time ago I bought a damaged TV Genesis, taking a risk. After checking the time zones, I rang them for advice. Within 30 seconds I was talking to a friendly optical engineer who told me what to do to fix the scope. The instructions were clear and the result was perfect.

Don't expect to hear a bad word about TeleVue from me....

Olly