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Skywatcher Mercury 705/ Meade #140 Barlow

Mr Spacely

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Mr Spacely

Mr Spacely

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Hi folks

Nebie question

Bought my scope around 2 weeks ago and would like to know what 's the best way forward to improve increase the magnification on the Mercury 705

current spec is

Magnifications (with eyepieces supplied): x20 & x50

Highest Practical Power (Potential): x140

Objective Lens Diameter: 70mm

Telescope Focal Length: 500mm (f/7.14)

Eyepieces Supplied (1.25”): 10mm & 25mm

I have been using the supplied 45 deg erecting prism with either a 10mm or a wide angle lens

Can I increase the magnification and if so what do I need

Can you be specific please as I ain't got a clue and would like to see more detail as all the stars are like dots

Managed to see Saturn but even that was tiny

Thanks :rolleyes:

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

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Must have missed this one. To increase your magnification to the maximum of 140x you will need a 3.5mm eyepiece. However the cheapest eyepieces are plossls and at this very short focal length they will be uncomfortable to use due to lack of eye relief. So you are correct in thinking that the best way forward is a 2x barlow. With your existing eyepieces the barlow will give you x40 and x100 which is twice as much as you have availble now. To get to 140x you will need a 7mm eyepiece which will be much more comfortable to use than a 3.5mm.

I think the best barlow on a budget is the TAL 2x for about £30:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/products.php?cat=44

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Ant

Ant

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I would agree that the way forward (at least initially) would be a 2x barlow. This would give you a magnification range of x20, x40, x50 and x100. Generally you're not going to get to use x140 very often.

But Can I make one thing really clear, no matter what magnification you use Stars will never look anything other than point of light!

x100 on the moon and larger planets will blow you away though :rolleyes:

Ant

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Ant

Ant

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The good thing about Steve is that he will listen to what you say, then ask some questions and then advise what he thinks would suit you best.

If he doesn't sell the said item (unlikely) he'll not sell you anything.

I'm a tad embarrassed to admit that I don't know what a Meade #140 is... :shock:

Ant

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John

John

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I'm a tad embarrassed to admit that I don't know what a Meade #140 is... :shock:

I'm going to look like a right "anorak" here but the Meade #140 is a rather nice 3-element barlow lens that many speak highly of. Notice I did not use the word apochromatic - coz I'm not sure any barlow really can be - but the Meade #140 is a nice, well corrected, barlow - and £40 would be a good price if it's in good nick.

John

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Mr Spacely

Mr Spacely

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I will share my wealth of knowledge with you all :shock:

#140 2x Apochromatic Barlow

Exclusive Meade 3-element, air-spaced design; thousands now in use worldwide.

The most advanced Barlow lens yet developed for commercial telescopes, the Meade #140 2x Apochromatic Barlow includes a 3-element, air-spaced telenegative lens unmatched in image resolution, contrast, and color correction. Used with any telescope - refractor, reflector, or Schmidt- Cassegrain - equipped with a focuser accepting standard 1.25" barrel-diameter eyepieces, the #140 Barlow doubles the telescope's effective focal length, thereby doubling the effective eyepiece magnification. With a diagonal mirror or prism placed between the Barlow and an eyepiece (e.g., in applications with refractors or Schmidt-Cassegrains), effective eyepiece magnification is approximately tripled.

The #140 optically complements Meade Series 4000 eyepieces, while enhancing the performance of other eyepieces as well. Mechanical components are of machined aluminum and brass. Lens diameter is 28mm; clear aperture is 26mm. The multi-coated optics of the #140 Barlow provide maximum light transmission and image contrast. Thousands of these Meade Barlow systems are now in use by advanced amateurs worldwide. There is no finer Barlow available.

:rolleyes:

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

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The most advanced Barlow lens yet developed for commercial telescopes, the Meade #140 2x Apochromatic Barlow includes a 3-element, air-spaced telenegative lens unmatched in image resolution, contrast, and color correction.

erm.... am I the only one that disagrees with this statement? Powermate anyone?

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Mr Spacely

Mr Spacely

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Here it is:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=m%23140

I have just price-checked the entire first-page-Google-listing and at £70, FLO is cheapest (one was actually £99 :shock:) If someone is offering them new for £40, let me know where and I will buy some for FLO :rolleyes:

Your not searching hard enough Steve :wink:

Quote from the ad

"Hello, you're bidding on a NEW Meade PREMIUM #140 Aprochromatice 2x Series 4000 Barlow Lens that will double the power of any eyepiece. Meade Lens yield high-resolution imaging. The most advanced Barlow lens yet developed for telescopes, the Meade #140 2x Apochromatic Barlow includes a 3-element, Air-Spaced telenegative lens unmatched in image resolution, contrast, and color correction. The #140 optically complements Meade Series 4000 eyepieces, while enhancing the performance of other eyepieces as well. Mechanical components are of machined aluminum and brass. Lens diameter is 28mm; clear aperture is 26mm. The multi-coated optics of the #140 Barlow Meade 1.25 " Lens provide maximum light transmission and image contrast. There is no finer Barlow available."

However, let me know if it's not the same thing please

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John

John

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The most advanced Barlow lens yet developed for commercial telescopes, the Meade #140 2x Apochromatic Barlow includes a 3-element, air-spaced telenegative lens unmatched in image resolution, contrast, and color correction.

erm.... am I the only one that disagrees with this statement? Powermate anyone?

I guess that's Meade's opinion Gordon - cut through the hype and it's still a decent barlow - not as good as a Powermate of course but I think those cost about 4x as much.

John

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FLO

FLO

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meade #140 now purchased @ £40.99 before you lot get your mits on it :rolleyes:

Ah, was it second-hand?

cut through the hype and it's still a decent barlow - not as good as a Powermate of course but I think those cost about 4x as much.

It is overdue a reassessment; particularly now that Meade themselves have raised the bar:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=MS5000TEXTENDERS

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GordonCopestake

GordonCopestake

Posted
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The most advanced Barlow lens yet developed for commercial telescopes, the Meade #140 2x Apochromatic Barlow includes a 3-element, air-spaced telenegative lens unmatched in image resolution, contrast, and color correction.

erm.... am I the only one that disagrees with this statement? Powermate anyone?

I guess that's Meade's opinion Gordon - cut through the hype and it's still a decent barlow - not as good as a Powermate of course but I think those cost about 4x as much.

John

I agree it's a good barlow, but the statement was that it was "unmatched" which it obviously isn't.

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John

John

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I agree it's a good barlow, but the statement was that it was "unmatched" which it obviously isn't.

You are right of course Gordon but I guess the manufacturers blurb is always a bit OTT - Meade seem to be worse than some others with regard to this.

Mind you William Optics tag line on the Megrez 90 instruction manual modestly reads "Crafting the Earth's Finest Astronomical Instruments" :rolleyes:

John

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John

John

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meade #140 now purchased @ £40.99 before you lot get your mits on it :D

Ah, was it second-hand?

advertised as brand new Steve

if not then Mr Trades description will be in touch :wink:

I think this seller is based in the USA (it's a little hard to tell from the ad). If so, I wonder what the import tax / duty situation is with these ?.

I bought a used eyepiece from the USA once and got stung for import duty - by the time I had added that to the cost of shipping from the US to the UK the cost was around the same as the UK used price would have been :rolleyes:

Also if the seller is based overseas, I'm not sure that our trade description laws would apply :D

Still it might be worth a punt.

John

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