New Celestron Omni 32mm rattles?

[Adrian]

I got a 32mm celestron omni eyepiece from FLO which arrived yesterday. I've already had some great views through it, but the lenses in the eyepiece are loose

The eyepiece rattles as I move it and I can move the lenses by touch (with a microfibre cloth over my finger). Is this normal?

[LukeSkywatcher]

Hi Adrian. The glass in the EP is a bit loose. If you unscrew the EP (glass end) from the silver barrel and look inside you will see a small black ring surrounding the glass. This ring is called a retaining ring. It has 2 small "indents" on opposite sides from each other. You can use a small object such as a tooth pick etc inserted into the "indents" to gently turn the ring until it is tight.

[Nexus 6]

Hi Adrian.

if you contact FLO i'm sure they'll sort you out a replacement, as Luke says you can probably sort it yourself but it would be a shame to damage it.

Alan

[nightfisher]

its very easy to "nip" the retainer ring up, you might not even have to take the 1.25 tube of the eye piece

[Adrian]

Sorted, thanks guys. I had tried turning the retaining ring by hand last night with no success. It was just a case of getting the right tool for the job as I didn't want to remove the blackened surface inside the eyepiece.

I hope the lenses are properly aligned now - at one point last night I managed to resolve the 4 main stars of the trapezium with this (28.125x) so I am very pleased with this purchase. An absolute bargain from FLO at under £24 after the 25% discount

[Nexus 6]

glad you have sorted it out!

Clear skies and less cold wind!

Alan

[John]

I'm glad you sorted it out. I tried a few Omni's out last year and thought they were pretty for examples of the plossl eyepiece design, especially considering their cost.

A 32mm plossl is such a useful tool - it shows as much sky as you can see with a 1.25" format eyepiece.