TMB 5mm Eyepiece does a great job...

[magic77]

Would just like to say how impressed i am with this Eyepiece...Not only was Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus the most memorable of views, but the price of this eyepiece is Fantastic too £36..Highly recommended...

[russ]

They are fantastic value and a proper step up from the cheap rubbish. I was highly impressed with the 6 and 8mm.

[oldfruit]

Sounds like a worthy addition for anyone wanting to upgrade their eyepieces. Great result.

[Astro_Baby]

I'm glad about that as I have 6mm which I havent had a chance to test yet

[russ]

I'm glad about that as I have 6mm which I havent had a chance to test yet

You'll love it Mel. The 6mm in our 90mm F11 was just about perfect for planetary observing. So should be wonderful in your Tal.

[Astro_Baby]

If only the blumming weather would improve. Its my own fault really. I never should have pulled the 180 Mak out from under the bed. Every time that wretched scope is unboxed for use the weather Gods frown.

The 180 seems to be tied to bad karma. Its had three owners so far and only one of them got to use it. I bought it for my sister who hated it so sold it back to me and I have owned it almost 18 months and never gotten to use it.

[russ]

Oh dear, that scope does appear to be cursed. The thing with the big Maks is they need so much cooling that you can't just grab n go if you see a clear spell. Everything has to be planned in advance to allow a few hours cooling and how often in this country do we get to plan in advance? I used to find this with the SCT's as well. They would either never cool in time before the clouds returned or the dew heater would pack up and just when they had cooled, the corrector had completely dew up. grrr

But at least you have your beloved 100RS for quick sessions.

[Adrian]

If it's that badly cursed then I'd better come and take it off your hands...

[russ]

If it's that badly cursed then I'd better come and take it off your hands...

darn it, that's what i was building up too

[magic77]

Or you could just put the 180 Mak back in i mean under your bed Mel !!...Was sooo clear here last night, could see the Milky Way easily from the garden, didnt have to go to my very very dark site!!...Got to see Jupiter and Uranus, also found another 6 Messiers....Got up this morning and its snowing, cant even see the mountains...

[Astro_Baby]

I almost forgot...I also have one of these in 9mm which my sister gave me for Christmas. I asked for 9mm for the Mak.

I would sell the mak 180 but I really want a chance to at least get one decent nights viewing with it first but I am beginning to believe its cursed. My sis never had any luck with it either. She prefers her ancient newt and her SW 150P on an HEQ5.

[magic77]

Will be interested how good the 9mm TMB will be if you ever get to use it!!..You must have alot of kit if you forget what eyepieces you have!!..Im unsure what eyepieces i should be looking at getting next...Ive purchased the TMB 5mm and BST Explorer 18mm..I was thinking the 12mm and 25mm BST...Been very impressed with the 18mm...Any ideas?..

[russ]

The 12mm BST is as good as the 18mm, so can recommend that one. The 25mm however is inferior to the other models in the range. May not be too bad in your Skyliner 200P though.

[magic77]

What would be a good DSO Eyepiece in my 200P Dobsonian?..Should i be looking at 25mm or Bigger as it were?

[russ]

As you have the 18mm BST, which makes a good workhorse DSO eyepiece at medium power, i would go for a low power 2" widefield. If you go for one of the Adler Superwides, it needn't cost (£48 delivered) much more than the BST 25mm. I can testify that the Adler 32mm works like a charm in the Skyliner 200P. Will give a true field of view of 1.87deg and with your scope being F6, the eyepiece will perform quite well.

[magic77]

I found the Adler superwide from Scopes and Skies..It says 70 degree FOV, so what do you mean by 1.87 FOV...Sorry to ask sooo many questions Russ!..Also is it a Twist up eyecup..Thanks.

[russ]

70deg is the apparent field of view of the eyepiece. Where as true field of view is the area of sky that the eyepiece, in combination with your scope, will show.

I've copied this explanation:

Apparent Field vs. True Field

An eyepiece's apparent field of view is the angular diameter, expressed in degrees (°), of the circle of light that the eye sees. It is analogous to the screen of a television (not the picture seen through it). Eyepiece apparent fields range from narrow (25° - 30°) to extra-wide angle (80° or more). The true field (or real field) of view is the angle of sky seen through the eyepiece when it's attached to the telescope. The true field can be approximated using the formula:

True Field = Apparent Field ÷ Magnification

For example, suppose you have an 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a 2000mm focal length, and a 20mm eyepiece with a 50° apparent field. The magnification would be 100 x (2000mm ÷ 20mm). The true field would be 50 ÷ 100, or 0.5° - about the same apparent diameter as the full Moon.

[Astro_Baby]

For a 200P you can run up to 32mm comfortably. I have a skywatcher Panaview in 38mm which I like for wideviews. Technically it produces too big an exit pupil but it never bothers me.

The Panaviews are good budget widefields, some people say they generate too much coma at the edges but I never tend to notice it.

I was going to buy a TMB wideangle in 30mm recently but forgot where I saw it for sale .....doh !!

I do have a lot of kit which has never been used yet thanks to the weather and me being ill for two months, thats why the 9mm got forgotten.

Kit I have yet to use;

TMB eyepieces

Polarex 60 mm scope

180 Mak

Selection of budget wide angle EPs which I will give a report on if I ever get to use them.

8" Rumak Scope

Rebuilt HEQ5 pending testing

Theres so much to test and to use and the weather wont play ball. Sighs

[mrwhippy14]

Ive got a 6mm as recommend from here. Great wide views for the moon etc.

[magic77]

Well if you ever think you have too much gear Astro Baby i can always take some off your hands.....For my wideviews i have narrowed it down to 32mm Skywatcher Panaview,32mm Adler Superwides,30mm Revelation and 30mm Moonfish..Did i say narrowed down!!!...I should start a new thread maybe asking? But i dont want to put yet another which eyepiece thread up!!.....

[russ]

I could narrow it down for you. Owned all four and can easily doscount two of those:

Revelation 30mm Superview - really, really didn't like this eyepiece. I sold my Adler 32mm and regretted it but couldn't afford another. So noticed that Telescope House had a sale on the 30mm Superview. Used it once and sold it on. Abberations were noticebly worse than the Adler or Panaview. It really is only corrected for slow scopes.

Moonfish 30mm - awesome eyepiece in the right scope.....something like an SCT. But flippin awful in a fast newt. Really strong astigmatism, much worse than the Panaview or Adler. I can tolerate it to an extent but that was too much.

The 32mm Adler and Panaview that i have owned performed pretty much the same. They do suffer with astigmatism as well but i think it's acceptable at F6. The Panaview is finished to a higher standard as you would expect given the price difference.

[Moonshane]

Another to consider is the 33mm William Optics SWAN. These can be got at maybe £40 used and are a really nice eyepiece in slower scopes. It was fabulous in my f8 refractor and OK in my f5.3 dob but definitely better in the f8. I suspect it would be good in an f6 too but worth checking this out.

[Astro_Baby]

Any views on the TMB Paragon or its clones ?

I avoided the Moonfish because I was advised it can look shabby in an F5 scope. I have to say the Panaview at 38mm in the TAL is pretty amazing. If I ever get the mak in use I would expect it to be very good in that as well.

[russ]

Any views on the TMB Paragon or its clones ?

They are really nice Mel and a step up from the Panaview (which is nice itself).

[russ]

Another to consider is the 33mm William Optics SWAN. These can be got at maybe £40 used and are a really nice eyepiece in slower scopes. It was fabulous in my f8 refractor and OK in my f5.3 dob but definitely better in the f8. I suspect it would be good in an f6 too but worth checking this out.

From what i've read the 33mm Swan should perform on a par with the Panaview. So not too bad at f6. Obviously it's better to never look through a Panaoptic or Pentax XW as the SWAN will seem pretty bad. But in isolation its fine