7 replies to this topic

[prsplyr22]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've recently gone down the binoviewer rabbit hole and I'm having trouble deciding how to organize my eyepiece cases and hoping to get some ideas on how others have divided up their sets.

 

I had a handful of relatively affordable X-cel LX eyepieces, which are mostly redundant compared to some of my nicer/more comfortable eyepieces of similar length, so I got matching seconds to make pairs for those. I was originally thinking of casing those separately along with the binoviewer and a couple focal extenders to make a "Bino Case", and keep the others cased together for monoviewing in a "Long eye relief and ultra-wide case" with a few others in there just due to lack of a bino pair.

 

It would have looked like the following:

 

Mono Case

• TV Plossl 32
• UFF30
• UFF24
• Astronomics70/22
• UFF18
• UFF15
• Morpheus 12.5
• Morpheus 9
• N7T6
• Redline6
• Hyperion5
• UWA4
• X-cel2.3

Bino Case

• 2x X-cel LX 25
• 2x X-cel LX 9
• 2x X-cel LX 7
• room for a few more as time goes on

But while waiting for them to arrive from China, I got impatient to try my new binoviewers when going out to observe at a meetup out in dark skies, and bought myself a second Morpheus 12.5 and a second UFF 15mm to go with a couple eyepieces I already had, plus a pair of svbony zooms off Amazon that would arrive by 5AM the next morning. 

 

Now I don't know how to split up what I have, since some of the pairs are clearly part of my bino kit, but I don't want to take my Morpheus out of the main mono kit, same with my UFF15, which I'm also considering getting a second UFF24 now based on how much I like the 15 for binoviewing.

 

One thought was to just keep the second of the pairs from the main kit in the second kit, but then that's awkward having to keep to cases going at the same time while binoviewing, so I'm currently trying to come up with a way to cram them all into a single case together, along with some of items I like to keep in one of the cases, like my inclinometer, flashlight, bubble level, dessicant tube I 3D printed. It's over stuffed, messy, I had to switch to vertical orientation for my larger eyepieces (which I don't necessarily mind) and I'm struggling to organize them in a meaningful way. Do I just go longest focal length to shortest, put "sets" together, "type" together such as ultra wide, ler and bino, etc? No configuration seems to work nicely since I have different types in the bino set, and the focal lengths for each type have a pretty large range.

 

I should also mention, that I use a laser cutter I have to cut the case foam out in 1" layers so that it fits nicely, so I need to stay somewhat committed to a configuration for at least awhile hopefully, as I'm tired of getting everything perfect, cutting the foam and loading up the case, then along comes something new (like a binoviewer) and the whole thing breaks and I have to start again cutting all the foam from scratch. It's not super pricey, but it's starting to add up, lol. I do have my eyes on a few more Morpheus to fill out the set, so that's also a consideration that's eating at me in doing this.

 

Here's a picture of my laser cutting configuration file at this point, trying to get it all laid out:

 

I like to keep the labels so I can tell what all the different eyecaps are for, but the few at the top that overlap a hole will obviously be going away. See how I can't seem to group the UFFs, 2" eyepieces, bino eyepieces, others and still maintain some sort of logical focal length order to it all? Thus is my conundrum. That pesky Hyperion that I want to keep with the Morpheus so that I can potentially put another Morpheus in it's slot instead really stands out as not fitting the size ordering.

 

Here is how my case is currently configured:

 

I know this is kind of a dumb thing to fret and stress about, but I have a few more cloudy days to get this sorted, and I would like to get this sorted sooner than later as I've been heading out with my existing case, a second older/smaller case with a few of the slots filled, a bunch of eyepieces shoved in there loose to rattle around and then hoodie pockets stuff with eyepieces, dust caps etc. I'm just asking for trouble this way, plus its a struggle to keep things organized so I can just observe and not stress about eyepiece management.

 

Anyway, if anyone out there has a similar, somewhat eclectic mix of eyepieces for both bino and mono viewing, and have come up with a nice organization system for it, I would be very appreciative if you could share what you've done, hopefully with some nice pictures too!?

 

Thanks,

Kris

 

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

I always end up getting just one more eyepiece, and then I get just one more eyepiece, and then I get just one more eyepiece, and so on, so eventually I buy a replacement block of pre-cubed pluckable foam and hack away. This operation can be delayed by saving a few previously plucked chunks of foam and finding a suitable glue (e.g., Duco cement or perhaps Pliobond) for sticking pieces of foam back in useful positions.

 

Clear sky ...

[Jon Isaacs]

I always end up getting just one more eyepiece, and then I get just one more eyepiece, and then I get just one more eyepiece, and so on, so eventually I buy a replacement block of pre-cubed pluckable foam and hack away. This operation can be delayed by saving a few previously plucked chunks of foam and finding a suitable glue (e.g., Duco cement or perhaps Pliobond) for sticking pieces of foam back in useful positions.

 

Clear sky ...

 

I try to organize my eyepieces by sets.  Ideally each set has it's own case.   I use Kaizen foam and cut out slots for each eyepiece.  Pluck foam doesn't work well with heavy eyepieces... 

 

The just one more eyepiece...  For me, it's just one more eyepiece to complete the set.  I do complete sets...  

 

Jon

[CrazyPanda]

I have three main scopes:

 

1. 14.7" Dob

2. 130mm F/7 refractor

3. 90mm F/6 refractor

 

I decided to split my gear up like this:

 

1. Small case for Paracorr and collimation tools. Stays attached to my Dob via a bungee cord since it's only used for that scope.

 

2. Deep Sky case - pretty much all my ultra and hyperwides and a select few specific eyepieces. This also contains my SQM. I can bring it out with any scope though it usually just goes out with the Dob.

(note I've since moved the Paracorr and laser collimator out of this case and into the small one)

 

3. Lunar & Planetary case - contains my bino head, 2x PowerMate with t-adatper, empty 2" nosepiece with T-threads, bino pairs (DeLites with custom 3D printed eye guards to make them bino-friendly), and my mono lunar & planetary eyepieces (Delos, XWs). I generally only use this with my newt, but sometimes I bring it out for with my refractors.

 

4. Refractor minimum glass case - contains my nice prism diagonal, and all my minimum glass eyepieces. I typically only bring this out with my refractors, but there are a couple of eyepieces I want to break out of this kit into my deep sky kit for specialized viewing.

 

It's not perfect. I often do find myself grabbing two cases for any given scope, and sometimes wish I had a single case to bring out, but I would have had to go from a ~36" rifle case to probably more like a 50" rifle case and it would weigh 60 pounds. No thanks!

Edited by CrazyPanda, 11 May 2025 - 10:07 AM.

[prsplyr22]

I try to organize my eyepieces by sets. Ideally each set has it's own case. I use Kaizen foam and cut out slots for each eyepiece. Pluck foam doesn't work well with heavy eyepieces...

The just one more eyepiece... For me, it's just one more eyepiece to complete the set. I do complete sets...

Jon

I don't like the pluck foam either myself, that's why I laser everything. Can control the spacing better and it just supports overall much better and doesn't start peeling out after repeatedly removing/returning eyepieces to the case.

I ended up picking up a secondhand UFF24(Celestron Ultima Edge) last night, so the continuation of adding an eyepiece here or there and never being complete. At least this lines up my arrangement of bino pairs, keeping the UFFs together,Baader together and even allowed my 82 degree eyepieces to all come together nicely. So I can commit to my current layout for a bit longer now I guess.

I'll follow the lead above and move my coma corrector, cheshire and other bits and pieces to the secondary case, then I can at least add a slot or 4 for any other new eyepieces that join the family.

I'm not really wanting to upside to the rifle case yet, they're too long to fit nicely with everything in the back of the van and I don't thing any have the depth to store eyepieces upright, so it'd really just be a much larger case for basically the same amount of gear laying flat instead of upright. Plus, my laser makes out at cutting a 20"x13" area, so I'd struggle to do my nice clean cuts and labeling with a rifle case. I already have some larger cases (Pelican 1600) that I haven't put into service for that reason already. That and the depth is kind of overkill for telescope bits and bobs I think.

[Jon Isaacs]

I just use a sharp knife to cut the Kaizen foam.. 

 

There was a time not all that long ago when my first string eyepieces all fit in one case.  

 

31mm Nagler, 20mm, 16mm, 12mm Type 2 Naglers, 9mm, 7mm, 4.8 mm, 3.5mm Naglers, a couple of 2x Barlows and the Paracorr.

 

 

Now it's that same case but with a few changes plus a case with the XWAs and Ethos, a case for the Morpheus's and a camera bag for the overflow..  The apple cart has been upset and it's not looking like it will ever get straightened out.

 

Jon 

Edited by Jon Isaacs, 14 May 2025 - 02:49 AM.

[prsplyr22]

I think I've settled on a layout now. I'll put the coma corrector, binoviewer, level, adapters, flashlights and all the other bits and bobs in the existing case. Then, now that I've gotten a second UFF 24mm and 18mm, I can lay it out in a logical way to keep all the sets together nicely, as well as binoviewing pairs all together. I also decided that instead of getting stuck making a whole new case configuration every time I get just one more eyepiece, I'll put in slots for the whole morpheus line that I don't have yet, as I think those will be my next purchases anyway. I've gotten most of the other eyepieces I want to try and have settled on those being my A-team set, along with the UFFs that I'm striving towards.
 
See my designed layout that I'll be working on cutting out tonight below:

 

 

I've kind of shoehorned the 32mm plossl in there, but I don't want to get rid of it yet as it's one of my only Televue pieces, and it is rather nicely. If I'm being honest with myself though, I never use it anyway, since the X-cel 25mm and UFF 24mm give basically the exact same TFOV, have darker backgrounds and the UFF especially is way more comfortable to look through.

 

I've made space for the Morpheus 17.5, 14, 6.5 and 4.5 on top of current 12.5s and 9. I guess the $400 question is which one do I acquire next?

 

They all kind of overlap with my existing eyepieces, namely the UFF18, UFF15, ES82-14, N7T6 and X-cel 7, and Hyperion 5. I have to say, I don't really go to the ES82 or Nagler much, as I don't care much for their eyer relief or comfort. The X-cel is now part of a bino pair, and comfort is a factor with that one too.

 

The Hyperion is nice, but it's never seemed as sharp as an eyepiece of that cost should be, but maybe that's just because the seeing never really supports 5mm in my 10" F4.7 dob. It seems to do alright in my 6" Heritage Virtuoso. I figure that I'll use the extensions on it to convert it to a 3.2 or similar to fill that gap once I eventually get the 4.5(4.8)mm Morpheus. That one seems like the last one to get I think though as I often can't go much lower than what the X-cel (6.7mm) or Nagler provide without it just looking like a larger, blurrier version of what I was already seeing.

 

I don't really need anything else at the moment as I have my bases covered pretty nicely for comfortable eyepieces across the whole range of focal lengths for open clusters, the moon, some galaxies, nebulas and planetary. But I'm a bit of a completionist and have the UFF lineup done, so now onto the Morpheus as I really love the ones I have already. BTW, I'm not sure if the 10mm UFF really counts from what I've heard about it, and the X-cel 9mm are actually one of my favourite goto eyepieces already, so I consider that set complete... in bino pairs no less now!

Edited by prsplyr22, 15 May 2025 - 07:53 PM.

[prsplyr22]

Here's the end product. I realize in hindsight that a few of the holes are close together or close to the edge and not offering a ton of protection, but I don't think it's to the extent that it will actually be a problem. The last 18mm UFF is still enroute and I need to gradually fill in the missing Morphs.

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