3715 replies to this topic

[jrazz]

Ok, got them

 

Here's the EOPs:

 

And here's the whole happy family with TPL, TOE, EOP, ES and Oberwerk eps*:

 

 

* this is a green free household 

[CrazyPanda]

Some recent acquisitions:

 

 

• 9mm Morpheus - Purposeful buy. Am shaking up my eyepiece kits and wanted a 9mm wide angle wider than my 9mm DeLite to fill some gaps in my deep sky kit. Always wanted to try a Morpheus and this is the first one. Absolutely love this eyepiece. Super comfortable, contrast seems uncommonly good. Very sharp. Almost feels like a 9mm Docter. Not quite, but almost.
   
• 7mm Astro-Tech XWA - Purposeful buy. Replaces the 7mm Pentax XW in my deep sky kit, slots right in with the 8 and 6 Ethos. Awesome eyepiece. Despite less eye relief, it's somehow more comfortable than the Ethoi. I think it's because the AFOV is narrower than 100 degrees, but tests disagree. Either way, super happy with this purchase.
   
• 7mm Nikon NAV-SW - Curiosity buy. 7mm has proven over and over to be the ideal planetary mono focal length for my scope and skies, which has prompted me to look for the best darn 7mm money can buy. Wanted to see how this compared against the 7 Pentax XW and 7 DeLite. Still evaluating. Very good eyepiece overall, but I have no need four (4!!) 7mm wide angles so it will likely be sold at some point unless I find it bests the 7 XW or 7 DeLite for planetary work. Tough competition.
   
• 25mm and 18mm Orion Epic ED-II - Curiosity buy. I found brand new, unsold stock of these two eyepieces from some random science hobby store for $50 each and decided to buy them. They're....ok. SAEP in both. 18mm is better than the 25mm for overall performance. Very comfortable though. Still testing. Will eventually sell to someone looking to complete the set.
   
• 15mm Celestron Omni - Curiosity buy. Bought it with the 15mm Celestron spotting scope eyepiece on AliExpress. Got if for $4. Figured I'd add it to my 15mm comparison. Quickly found it has the effective focal length of a 17mm eyepiece, not a 15mm eyepiece. Otherwise it's quite nice.
   
• 15mm Celestron spotting scope eyepiece - Curiosity buy. Was $12 on AliExpress. Couldn't resist. This was originally a $99-$119 eyepiece. It performs very well. Identical AFOV and focal length to 15 DeLite. Edges not quite as good, but still very good contrast and comfort. If these ever go on sale again and you're looking for this focal length, buy it! You won't beat this value, not even with a $65 AT Paradigm. This eyepiece would have been a 15mm Celestron X-Cel LX in another life.

Edited by CrazyPanda, 20 March 2024 - 01:45 PM.

[Battlestamps]

I don't think I've posted since adding additional Apache cases and rearrangements. Part I

 

 

 

 

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[Battlestamps]

Part II

 

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[Battlestamps]

Part III

Not pictured as I don't have another case for them yet: Two sets of SvBony Redlines, SvBony 26mm & 34mm 72 Degrees, SvBony 18mm UFF (pair), and three SvBony Zooms - 7mm-21mm, 8mm-24mm & 10mm-30mm.

 

Oddly enough I've only bought one eyepiece this year that's on its way - SvBony 3mm-8mm zoom.

 

 

 

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[Piero DP]

 

• 9mm Morpheus - .... Super comfortable, contrast seems uncommonly good. Very sharp. Almost feels like a 9mm Docter. Not quite, but almost.

I had one. It reminded me of a Docter ergonomically. Optically it reminded me of a Nagler 9mm T6.

Edited by Piero DP, 21 March 2024 - 07:13 AM.

[25585]

The 12.5mm Morpheus is great too. Not quite a Docter/Noblex, but close. Ditto the 12mm ES92. I have all three.

[N3p]

Part II

Christ I counted about 40 eyepieces total!! It's an impressive collection and it's the first time I see the ES 30mm close to the ES 34mm, to compare sizes.

 

Amazing.

[rdjamieson]

Spent a recent weekend organizing EPs.  Armada incoming—

Part I: Celestron Plossls, Astro-Tech 100 degree, Fujiyama OR-HD

 

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Edited by rdjamieson, 21 March 2024 - 11:10 PM.

[rdjamieson]

Part II:

Pentax XW, Nikon NAV, Stellarvue, SVbony, and Explore Scientific 100 degree.

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[rdjamieson]

Part 3:

Panoptics, Nagler 4, Nagler 5, Nagler 6, Ethos, etc.  

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[CrazyPanda]

Those cases look like they have nice proportions for eyepieces. Which ones are they?

[rdjamieson]

Those cases look like they have nice proportions for eyepieces. Which ones are they?

They are a little larger than my old ones—I can’t believe you picked up that detail, but it was the reason I did the reorganization.  I was determined to fit the TeleVues into just two cases, so I went with the Pelican 1605, one orange and one yellow.  I could not fit the Nikons and Pentaxes into a 1605, so I got a blue and black Pelican 1615.  The Astro-Tech case and the Outreach case (ES and SVbony) are Apaches, and I started a new case (Condition 1 25”) for present and future Japanese planetary EPs.  I cringed a little at the cost of the Pelicans ($325 for the 1605, and $425 for the 1615), but I got over it pretty quick knowing that just one EP costs as much as the case.  The Apaches are very reasonable (<$100), and the Condition 1 was $180.  The Celestrons are in the original little silver case.  And yes, I admit I’m probably being scouted out for an all-new episode of Hoarders.

Edited by rdjamieson, 22 March 2024 - 12:46 PM.

[rdjamieson]

One pet peeve is that most (but not all) of the cases allow the foam-in-the-lid to drop out when you open the case.  I tried two-sided tape on the back of the foam to try to make it stay stuck to the lid, but nope.  

[CrazyPanda]

One pet peeve is that most (but not all) of the cases allow the foam-in-the-lid to drop out when you open the case.  I tried two-sided tape on the back of the foam to try to make it stay stuck to the lid, but nope.  

Yes, I noticed that with my Storm IM2700.

 

I didn't have that problem with the Vault V700 - the foam did a nice job of fitting snuggly into the lid.

 

The trick is to just make the inner dimensions of the lid a bit smaller so that it compresses the foam a bit. The best way to do that is to get some self adhesive foam or felt weather stripping and run a line of it down one or two sides of the lid. Doesn't need to be too thick - maybe 3/16". That will wedge the foam into place. The foam weatherstripping also grips the foam in the lid as well, so it has a nice friction hold on the foam.

 

I was able to achieve the same thing by installing the light bar on my IM2700 - it takes up an extra 1/2" of space in the lid and wedges the foam so that it stays in place:


 

You can see the light bar at the top.

Edited by CrazyPanda, 22 March 2024 - 01:47 PM.

[f18dad]

One pet peeve is that most (but not all) of the cases allow the foam-in-the-lid to drop out when you open the case.  I tried two-sided tape on the back of the foam to try to make it stay stuck to the lid, but nope.  

Two-sided velcro works for me. The heavier duty (stronger adhesive) and wider type. Just place it next to the edge so you can use your fingers to pry it apart without tearing the foam, if you wish. I like to stow certain papers behind it.

Edited by f18dad, 22 March 2024 - 04:07 PM.

[rdjamieson]

I like both ideas.  Thanks! 

[rdjamieson]

Yes, I noticed that with my Storm IM2700.

 

I didn't have that problem with the Vault V700 - the foam did a nice job of fitting snuggly into the lid.

 

The trick is to just make the inner dimensions of the lid a bit smaller so that it compresses the foam a bit. The best way to do that is to get some self adhesive foam or felt weather stripping and run a line of it down one or two sides of the lid. Doesn't need to be too thick - maybe 3/16". That will wedge the foam into place. The foam weatherstripping also grips the foam in the lid as well, so it has a nice friction hold on the foam.

 

I was able to achieve the same thing by installing the light bar on my IM2700 - it takes up an extra 1/2" of space in the lid and wedges the foam so that it stays in place:


 

You can see the light bar at the top.

Two questions: (1) where did you get a red light bar? (2) How do you power it in the field?  Thx

[radiofm74]

Well, er, collection might not be the right term. But here goes…

 

Here is a budding collection of old glories I obtained in these last days on the cheap for my lunar/planetary/doubles city observing. They're being used in my ED102S f/9 and C8, and the pairing is excellent. They're comfortable, clean, well-corrected to the edges, and very nice to handle (… and look at ;D).

 

 

I'll keep an eye out for more LVs, especially for the 40, 12, 7, 6, 4, and 2.5. Besides, a weekend project of mine is fitting that old Vixen "accessories box" with foam + 1.25" cutouts so it becomes my Vixen LV eyepiece case. 

 

Then there's the Baader box. I have two of these, and am likely to keep at least one: I am fond of them (all of my observation so far was done through these), and I quite like them optically despite tiny eye lenses and tight eye relief in the shorter focal lengths. They'll make for excellent "comparison EPs", not to mention a good "outreach/sacrifical eyepiece" ;D

 

 

On the right you can also see two orange Celestron Plössls (40mm and 25mm). I have them for sale but actually they might complement well the LVs while I try to acquire those focal lengths.

 

Last but not least, I await delivery of my 50th birthday gift, a small collection of Naglers with a Pan 24. When it arrives, I'll report dutifully… 

[CrazyPanda]

Two questions: (1) where did you get a red light bar? (2) How do you power it in the field?  Thx

The bar itself is 2x2x1/16" aluminum angle iron I got from Home Depot. I ripped down one edge on the table saw to create a lip. This isn't strictly necessary but it helps avoid glare from the light strip being visible. A flat 1/8" thick aluminum bar would also work.

 

The light is a self adhesive, cuttable weatherproof red LED light strip I got from LEDSupply. Comes in 36" lengths and I can cut it down to size as needed.

 

For power I used an 8AA pack of batteries and then a cheap PWM controller I stuck into a small project box. I keep the PWM on the lowest setting (1.3 volts or so) and it provides the perfect amount of power to the LED strip to see the case at night in dark adapted vision. It's dimmer than a red LED headlamp so it actually does an even better job of preserving night vision.

 

The real magic in this case though is the normally closed reed switch. When the lid is closed, the reed switch turns off the lights. When the lid is open, the lights turn on. So between the voltage being set to 1.3 volts and the lights only being on when they're needed, the batteries last years.

 

Here are the build posts:

 

• Storm IM2700: https://www.cloudyni...day/?p=13328163
• Vault V700: https://www.cloudyni...-eyepiece-case/

Components I used:

• Angle stock for the aluminum bar
• Light strip (standard density, red, 3 foot)
• Battery holder
• Low voltage PWM controller
• Project box to hold the PWM controller (just drilled a hole to mount the PWM with the included mounting nut)
• Normally closed reed switch (very important it's normally closed. If it's normally open, it will do the opposite of what you want)
• Strong double sided tape to mount the lightbar to the lid (though in the IM2700 I opted to bolt it due to weird lid geometry)
• Extra strong velcro strips to hold the electronics to the lid (really need the strong adhesive more than the strong velcro part)

I'm sure there are better, cheaper places to get many of those components and parts from.

 

For connecting the wires, it's up to you how fancy you'd want to get. Twist and electrical tape, wire nuts, soldering, splice connectors etc. For the project enclosure with the PWM controller, I opted for 5.5x2.1mm panel connectors. You can buy those, and the matching male connectors, on Amazon, Ebay, or AliExpress for relatively cheap.

Edited by CrazyPanda, 23 March 2024 - 07:42 AM.

[macdonjh]

 

•  
• 25mm and 18mm Orion Epic ED-II - Curiosity buy. I found brand new, unsold stock of these two eyepieces from some random science hobby store for $50 each and decided to buy them. They're....ok. SAEP in both. 18mm is better than the 25mm for overall performance. Very comfortable though. Still testing. Will eventually sell to someone looking to complete the set.

I have a full set of the ED-II.  The 12.3mm and 7.5mm were the first upgrade eye pieces I bought when I first started.  My kids liked using them, too- especially the 7.5mm since it was so much bigger then the other eye pieces I had at the time.  You can remember being three or six years old, right?  So for sentimental reasons, I collected the whole set.  I agree, it's an uneven line.  I like the 25mm, the 12.3 is likely my favorite.  The 22mm and 14mm my least.  

 

Spent a recent weekend organizing EPs.  Armada incoming—

Part I: Celestron Plossls, Astro-Tech 100 degree, Fujiyama OR-HD

I miss my University Optics orthoscopics, which I sold to fund upgrades.  Be careful when selling...

[rdjamieson]

I have a full set of the ED-II.  The 12.3mm and 7.5mm were the first upgrade eye pieces I bought when I first started.  My kids liked using them, too- especially the 7.5mm since it was so much bigger then the other eye pieces I had at the time.  You can remember being three or six years old, right?  So for sentimental reasons, I collected the whole set.  I agree, it's an uneven line.  I like the 25mm, the 12.3 is likely my favorite.  The 22mm and 14mm my least.  

 

I miss my University Optics orthoscopics, which I sold to fund upgrades.  Be careful when selling…

I have an awesome method for avoiding seller’s regret—I don’t sell.  I’m pretty merciless about decluttering and purging stuff, EXCEPT when it comes to hobbies: guitars, amps, power tools, eyepieces, telescopes, etc.  Unless they’re broken, they’re staying in daddy’s circle of love.  And I don’t have to worry about taking it with me, because my kids are into the hobby.  I’ve told them that when I finally sever this mortal coil, they should have the astronomy equivalent of the NFL draft.  Now, why do I get the feeling that my RCX400 will go undrafted, and will only get playing time if it gets picked up by an expansion team?

[25585]

+1. An irresistible addition. A second 8mm Vixen LVW "but dear, I need two of the same eyepieces to binoview".  
 

8mm LVWs are great eyepiece, unlike the dreadful Radians that are long gone. Better also than a Pentax XW 7mm (ditto for XW 5 & 3.5).

[niki3]

What's wrong with Radians?

Edited by niki3, 12 April 2024 - 02:08 AM.

[Pat Rochford]

What's wrong with Radians?

 

Absolutely nothing.  They were excellent eyepieces when they came out and still are today.