Star Diagonals Archives

Stellarvue 1.25" 90 Degree Dielectric Mirror Star Diagonal

I purchased the Stellarvue 1.25" Dielectric Diagonal to replace the stock prism diagonal that came with my 102mm Orion Apex Maksutov and for use in my

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Stellarvue Enhanced 2" Dielectric Diagonal - D1029ED

As with most telescope "connoisseurs", I have fallen prey to purchasing another telescope, even though the one I have more than adequately serves my purposes. During a

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Astro-Physics Maxbright 2" Diagonal

The first impression one gets of this diagonal is of its very high quality. The body is machined from a single piece of aluminum so neither of the tube portions of the diagonal can

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Asronomy Technologies 1.25 " Dielectric Diagonal model #AT1D

This Astro-Tech diagonal performs exceptionally well. It is a much better quality than the two Orion diagpnals I have owned and the difference is not just marginal. The Astro-Tech is brighter, more

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Improving Refractor Performance with a Prism Diagonal

One of the most important accessories that refractor owners use is a star diagonal. It allows observers to comfortably look through their instruments

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William Optics 45-deg Erecting Prism

Out of focus stars seemed a little odd but I couldn't quite determine what was wrong, in focus the stars were sharp until near the edge, but that I expected with the short focal length telescope

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2" Adapter For Takahashi FS-60C And FC-60 Refractors

After reading my review of the FS-60C the dealer that sold me the scope, Mike Bieler of Astronomics, tried several approaches to getting the baby Tak to work with 2" eyepieces. He managed to get a 2" back designed to work with an FS-78 to mate up to the FS-60. While everything looked great at first, we eventually ran into a snag.

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TAKAHASHI QUINTUPLET TURRET HOLDER

One item of convenience that I stumbled on lately cruising through the latest Takahashi price list is their Quintuplet Turret Holder. It is pictured below, basically five 1.25" (or they will set it up for a mixture of 1.25 and .965 if you want - most are special orders) compression ring eyepiece holders that rotate around the Takahahsi "Large Prism Diagonal" and designed to screw into the 2" back of a Takahashi refractor. It comes with (if you ask) a universal adapter which, as you can see in the photos, will work in the 2" adapter of the AP scopes (the one pictured in my 130f6) and also works in my TMB and Televues. The cost is between $600 and $640 or up, depending on the dealer.

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Adapter for Takahashi Diagonal and Extender Q

In doing the review of the Takahashi Extender Q, I noted that in focus was still quite sensitive when using the Extender Q and Adapter Q with the Tak/Lumicon Diagonal (also reviewed by me elsewhere at this site, as used in conjunction with the notorious "Novoselsky Adapter" to allow the FS-60C and FC-60 to work with 2" eyepieces.

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Takahashi 2" Star Diagonal

In my recent efforts to adapt the FS-60C Takahashi APO to work with my favorite 2" eyepieces, as detailed in the review of the so-called "Novoselsky adapter" elsewhere in this section of this site, I acquired a Takahahsi 2" Star Diagonal.

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TAKAHASHI QUINTUPLET TURRET HOLDER

One item of convenience that I stumbled on lately cruising through the latest Takahashi price list is their Quintuplet Turret Holder. It is pictured below, basically five 1.25" (or they will set it up for a mixture of 1.25 and .965 if you want - most are special orders) compression ring eyepiece holders that rotate around the Takahahsi "Large Prism Diagonal" and designed to screw into the 2" back of a Takahashi refractor. It comes with (if you ask) a universal adapter which, as you can see in the photos, will work in the 2" adapter of the AP scopes (the one pictured in my 130f6) and also works in my TMB and Televues.

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Borg Quadruple Eyepiece Turret

Borg is (incorrectly) tarred with the image of producing scopes with plastic tubes, etc. Well, as I pointed out in my review of their 125 ED, Borg builds a light, but high quality product. One item that is, however, produced in plastic, but for light weight and to cut down on expense, is the quadruple eyepiece turret they sell that works on their telescopes and, with adapters they sell, on most others as well. Cost? About $100 with the appropriate adapter.

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Tele Vue Diagonals: Old and New

The new Tele Vue diagonal is one of those things that you "must" have. Why? Because it's got a "dielectric" coating covering the aluminum on the pyrex mirror. The coating, which Tele Vue calls, "Everbright" is the latest incarnation of a coating applied to other diagonals such as Astro-Physic's "Maxbright" unit.

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