plossl catastrophe! HELP!

[samir_ansari]

Hi everyone, like a plonker I managed to drop my "super wide" 20mm plossl and all the glass lenses fell out (but none are scratched or damaged).

After putting all the lenses back in I am now left with a "super narrow" 20mm plossl. I was just wondering if anyone had any information I could digest to try and get my plossl back to how it should be as this was my favourite eyepiece and it would be a real shame to have to replace it.

Thanks!

Samir

[nicnac]

what brand?

some brands may repair their own but it will cost, is the EP worth it?

[ronin]

Both lens are the same in a plossl.

Put the first lens in such that the flatter surface faces outward.

Put the spacer in.

Put the second lens in such that the flatter surface faces outward.

Screw the retaing ring back in to grip.

In effect the 2 most curved faces are inside and facing each other.

[samir_ansari]

thanks ronin! although this particular plossl has about 5 lenses in it, and one lens which is noticeably flatter than the rest, does this one go right in the middle? Here is an attempt at a crude diagram, is this correct?

< ( ( | ) )

< = eye

(, | and ) = lenses

[nicnac]

what brand is it?

[samir_ansari]

unfortunately it is unbranded, it just says 20mm super wide in yellow writing. It came with a second hand scope I bought and looks like it could possibly be a Meade

[Capricorn]

It is not a plossl if more then 2 components.

Plossl's are made up of 2 identical doublets.

Will see if there are any diagrams of WA eyepieces.

I presume that it is 3 lumps of glass, one single lens and 2 doublet lens??

[nicnac]

these?

Meade Instruments Corporation - Series 4000 QX Wide Angle Eyepieces

[samir_ansari]

It isn't from that range, mine looks more like:

[nicnac]

http://www.howardastro.org/documents/evolution_of_eyepieces.pdf

see if this can help, its a PDF, configurations a few pages down.

[nicnac]

try page 33 configuration

[Capricorn]

Sorry but I cannot really help.

The one I have, well one of them, has a construction that is damn impossible to describe accurately.

Starting from the bottom of the eyepiece the construction is:

(7)Single lens, plano convex, least domed to the top.

(6)Small separator ring.

(5)Single lens, seems similar to the first, same orientation.

(4)Large separator ring.

(3)Double lens, least domed to the top.

(2)Small separator.

(1)Single lens, again least domed to the top.

The numbering is which would have to go in first, the disassembly being from the bottom.

Problem is that each single lens is similar but I suspect not the same, the separators will affect the operation, so have to be the correct one in the right place.