44 replies to this topic

[Glassthrower]

Oberwerk BT100-45's

Quite a list of objects..M22, M25, M26, Andromeda, Pleaides, M13, Lagoon, Swan, Trifid Nebulas, the Double Cluster (best view thru the bino's of the evening). Fork mount smooth as silk. Waited up till 2:30 AM for lunar observing (which is predominately why I bought these)....and the view was vastly disappointing. The left assembly would not come into perfect focus (which was not noticable on the previous objects). Thought maybe an eyepeice might have been bad, so swapped sides with the EP's and the left tube would still not come into focus. I find it hard to believe that bino's in this price range could perform so sub-par, my assumption being I just happened to be one of the lucky ones that got a sup-par unit. Really took the wind out of my sails for the end of the night. Now, pack em up Monday and exchange them for a new pair, or perhaps some Miyauchi APO's...(depending on Dealers take on this whole thing). I am a real fussy consumer...i don't mind spending the money, but i do expect perfection upon that wish I spend it on, so now I am very much "Obie" shy....sighs.

I'm sorry to hear about your focus problem. I can feel your frustration, since I have had a similar issue with my Celestron 25x100 Skymasters. No matter what I do, one eyepiece will not focusly tightly. When my diopter shroud fell off, that was the last straw and I am shipping them back to Celestron. At least Celestron is kind enough to have a lifetime "no fault" warranty. I assume you purchased your pair from a local dealer? So you may be spared the hassle of re-boxing them up and shipping them back - and the long turn-around time that entails.

Other than feeling your frustration, I have little else to offer. Perhaps some of the others in the group who own the same Obies can help you out. Good luck.

MikeG

[milt]

The left assembly would not come into perfect focus

Hi Gary,

I was very sorry to read this. FWIW, I had a similar experience with my former Astromeccanica/Borg binoscope when I first got it. One of the objectives had been jolted out of collimation in shipment with the result that it would not focus a star as tight as the other. Fortunately, the Borg objectives were user adjustable and I eventually got two tight images.

Before returning your BT you might want to put in high power eyepieces (higher than you would ever use for bino use) and star test the sides as two separate telescopes. A quick comparison will tell you what is wrong, i.e. misalignment, pinched lens, etc. Hopefully other BT owners will chime in here, too.

Best of luck,
Milt

[ngc6475]

That's too bad, Gary. Maybe a call to your dealer with solve the problem, either with repair advice or instruction to send it back for replacement. I'm with you about being fussy with your new stuff: optical equipment is never truly cheap and the standards of excellence are high. Don't give up!

[EdZ]

Personally, I would think you would be giving these many hours of use over a period of several weeks before reaching this conclusion.

the foucus was not off when you viewed extended objects AND point sources. But you were not able to reach focus on an extremely bright object. Why so quick to blame it on the instrument? This could be a couple of things, but might be your eyes more than anything else. Maybe your left eye was tired.

When you attempt focus on the moon are you picking out one small very contrasty crater and focusing on it or are you attempting to focus on the edge of the moon? Focusing on the edge may mean you are attempting to focus on the region that will produce the most CA where it would be very difficult to find any precise focus.

FWIW, I find the moon one of the most difficulat objects to focus on.

Whatever the case, I think you should spend a LOT more time assessing an instrument before you declare it subpar based on one night out. maybe it is, but at least allow yourself several opportunities to confirm it's not you.

FWIW, I just spent an afternoon testing binoculars. In every instance of a dozen different binoculars, I found it more difficult to bring my right eye to focus.

edz

[AJTony]

I really believe what you are reporting, but I'm just curious. Can you see this lack of focus in daylight viewing?

You have me concerned. I will give my binos a careful test for the same problem, but it would be easier to do in daylight.


AJ

[EdZ]

gary,

do you have a cheshire eyepiece? if so, cap the objective and use it to check both barrels. if you've ever used a cheshire to check refractor collimation, you'll know what you are looking for. If not, compare the good side to the suspect side. you should see concentric reflections off of the objective.

edz

[Alby]

Savant;

I feel for your woes.....I'm sure Kevin B will make things right!

Don't give up on the mighty BT:)

Alby

[AJTony]

Gary,

Thanks for the reply. I guess I was just trying to get some help checking mine out. The night sky here is miserable for any type of serious test, and the Moon up too late. Therefore, I was going to try daytime testing.

Again, good luck with your problem. As you see, we are all sure that Kevin will fix your problem.

AJ

[btschumy]

When we all turned to the Double Cluster, the "hit" of the party were the little binos, just due to how elegantly they were presented with the wide-field view. THat and the Pleiades were my 2 fav targets of the night.

I just don't see how the binos could perform so well on bright clusters but poorly on the Moon. I would certainly have noticed it if one eye couldn't focus the Pleiades sharply. 'Tis a mystery.

[Pinewood]

Savant,
Did you observe the DSO's at the same 63x magnification?

Clear skies,
Arthur

[Pinewood]

Gary,

If I understand you, all was well at 25x and you first noticed the fuzziness at 62x. I am certainly curious about why and I hope that you may get a satisfactory resolution of your problems.

Clear skies,
Arthur

[blandp11]

Bummer! I wonder if they were banged up in shipping? In any case, I feel that when making an expensive Astro equipment purchase that if the stuff isn't spot on, back to the dealer it goes.

Philip

Oberwerk BT100-45's
The left assembly would not come into perfect focus (which was not noticable on the previous objects). Gary

[blandp11]

You are correct, of course. This is why a good dealer is essential - when one gets optics that don't meet ones expectations. Sounds like your dealer is just that - good.

I agree that no amount of knocking about could make the eyepiece tolerances so tight.

THats certainly a possiblity, although that does not account for the exceedingly over-tight eyepeice problem. Just like there are such wild swings within the Meade and Celestron line-up (ranging from very mediocre to very very goodGary