6mm Sterling

[toml42]

I've heard good things about the 20 and 25mm EPs in this range, but not so much on the 6mm, other than it doesn't have the best eye-relief in the world. Anyone have any experience with it? I'm wanting to use it for planetary work in the f5 8" skywatcher explorer

[NGC 1502]

Hi, I think these are plossls, so yes, a 6mm will have tight eye relief & this bothers some people more than others. It certainly bothers me so I would prefer to barlow a

12 or 12.5mm to get the same mag. but with usable eye relief.

But if you don't already have a barlow, by the time you shell out for a good one ( cheap barlows are usually iffy ) you perhaps could simply get a 6mm with better E.R.

Also, your F5 scope will be quite hard on eyepieces (fuzzy edges with less expensive ones) a good barlow can actually improve edge performance, so another factor to consider.

Hope this helps ! Ed.

[RME1]

Hi, I haven't used one myself, but check out the review section on www.cloudynights.com . They've got a 6mm Lunar/planetary eyepiece comparison which includes the 6mm Sterling.

Richard.

[toml42]

Hi, I think these are plossls, so yes, a 6mm will have tight eye relief & this bothers some people more than others. It certainly bothers me so I would prefer to barlow a

12 or 12.5mm to get the same mag. but with usable eye relief.

But if you don't already have a barlow, by the time you shell out for a good one ( cheap barlows are usually iffy ) you perhaps could simply get a 6mm with better E.R.

Also, your F5 scope will be quite hard on eyepieces (fuzzy edges with less expensive ones) a good barlow can actually improve edge performance, so another factor to consider.

Hope this helps ! Ed.

thanks for the advice. I notice you list a skywatcher 200 with a homemade mount, could you give me any tips? i'm about to do the same thing!

[NGC 1502]

Hi, Post #4, I was thinking about a post on SGL DIY section about my homemade mount, so will do that when I have time, which I never seem to have enough of !!

But for starters, it's a fairly standard design, but I used 12mm plywood with stiffeners, for lightness with strength. For the azimuth bearing, I used 3 homemade

roller bearings with steel pins, 6mm dia, that sit in teflon cutouts. There is absolutely

no "stiction" a problem that I had with previous DIY mounts.

For the altitude bearings, I made new 200mm dia plywood ones, with edging cut from

plastic pipe, & bolted directly to the original plastic side bearings, & did away with the "tensioner" handles. If yours is the F5 version, then I assume it will have tube rings & dovetail ? You could remove them & fit the side bearings to a short box

around the tube, in conventional Dob fashion.

I do realise this is rather off topic for an eyepiece thread !! But thought I would answer it here, where you would find it more easily.

Best regards, make lots of sawdust !! Ed.

[great_bear]

I've heard good things about the 20 and 25mm EPs in this range

Yes - and Rob is selling one on SGL here <click> for a bargain £16

- I would have thought that would have gone in a flash!!

[buddyarrows]

Hi, I have a 6mm sterling plossl but would strongly recommend SAs 6mm long eye relief at around £40 presentally. They have better colour correction, definition and good FOV and of course good eye relief, a bargin and IMHO is better than my TMB planetary.

[toml42]

Hi, Post #4, I was thinking about a post on SGL DIY section about my homemade mount, so will do that when I have time, which I never seem to have enough of !!

But for starters, it's a fairly standard design, but I used 12mm plywood with stiffeners, for lightness with strength. For the azimuth bearing, I used 3 homemade

roller bearings with steel pins, 6mm dia, that sit in teflon cutouts. There is absolutely

no "stiction" a problem that I had with previous DIY mounts.

For the altitude bearings, I made new 200mm dia plywood ones, with edging cut from

plastic pipe, & bolted directly to the original plastic side bearings, & did away with the "tensioner" handles. If yours is the F5 version, then I assume it will have tube rings & dovetail ? You could remove them & fit the side bearings to a short box

around the tube, in conventional Dob fashion.

I do realise this is rather off topic for an eyepiece thread !! But thought I would answer it here, where you would find it more easily.

Best regards, make lots of sawdust !! Ed.

Thanks for the advice, it arrived today, rings/dovetail included, and i've already made plenty of sawdust! My dad is an engineer and has a few odds and ends lying around in the garage, so i may be able to fit additional gadgets... we shall see...

Cheers!

[toml42]

Hi, I have a 6mm sterling plossl but would strongly recommend SAs 6mm long eye relief at around £40 presentally. They have better colour correction, definition and good FOV and of course good eye relief, a bargin and IMHO is better than my TMB planetary.

thanks for the advice, what's the FOV on them?

[great_bear]

I think you'll find they're 55 degrees.

That's if I'm correct in assuming that these are the same as:

• William Optics SPLs, and
  
• Zhumell Z Series Planetaries
  

- in other words, they're (in my opinion) Long Eye Relief Eyepieces from Long Perng of Taiwan.

Does any retailer sell them direct in the UK?

[toml42]

I think you'll find they're 55 degrees.

That's if I'm correct in assuming that these are the same as:

• William Optics SPLs, and
  
• Zhumell Z Series Planetaries
  

- in other words, they're (in my opinion) Long Eye Relief Eyepieces from Long Perng of Taiwan.

Does any retailer sell them direct in the UK?

I saw them on the SmartAstronomy ebay shop, which i think is international.

[great_bear]

Surely our friends in HMRC will clobber you with "import duty" if they see a commercial package from overseas heading your way?

[Rob]

Hi, These are US imports from Smart Astronomy. The performance is equal to a TV plossl (trust me I'm not playing this up). They are great EP's. I'm only selling mine to cover costs on a 20mm 5000 swa EP.

Great ep's..

[great_bear]

Okay, I've just had a lovely and polite email from Mr. Steven Huang of the Long Perng optical manufacturing company of Taiwan, informing me that - in Europe - we can get their Planetary Eyepieces (aka (IMO) Zhummel Zs / SA Solar System ) from two German importers of astronomy products:

• Omegon Okulare < Teleskop-Zubehör - Serie Teleskop-Zubehör: LE
  
• Teleskopokulare Astroprofessional
  

79€ from either - take your preferred pick of styling!

Currently, neither of the two UK importers of Long Perng products are importing the Long Eye Relief Planetaries.

As I may have said before, I think these are effectively the same eyepiece as William Optics Planetaries (someone correct me if I'm wrong?), so if you want a 3mm, 6mm, or 12mm one, you may as well order a WO unit from Steve @ FLO, or any other WO dealer for a faster result - unless you prefer the native-style of the Long Perng rubber eyecup.

[great_bear]

I think these are effectively the same eyepiece as William Optics Planetaries (someone correct me if I'm wrong?), so if you want a 3mm, 6mm, or 12mm one, you may as well order a WO unit from Steve @ FLO

I can now confirm that the William Optics SPL units from FLO are definitely the same as Zhummel Z-Series Planetary EPs / SA Solar System EPs.