15 replies to this topic

[AstroCub]

Hey there

 

So I spend a lot of my observing time on Saturn & Jupiter. This is with my Stellarvue SVX180 triplet at around 250x magnification. My eyes are happiest at an exit pupil of ~1.

 

The Vernonscope 2" Gold coated diagonal has been recommended to me by a trusted fellow SVX180 owner (Kevin) who has reported seeing detail on Jupiter that he hasn't seen with other equipment. I probably will go ahead and purchase one.

 

I thought I would just ask the wider community for your experience with these diagonals and whether you have a preference for the silver or gold coated version? If you'd also like to share any other tips & tricks that would be great! 

 

 

Thanks & best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

Edited by AstroCub, 21 May 2025 - 12:21 PM.

[5u4]

I tried one over 25 years ago when Rodger Gordon recommending it. Had a 1.25" TV diagonal which I sent in and had it recoated with gold. Never seen anything special about it, but that's just me. Never tried silver.

[Spikey131]

The Vernonscope Silver was ranked high in Bill Paoloni’s diagonal review 11 years ago.  The gold was not reviewed.

 

https://www.cloudyni...omparison-r2877

[GSwaim]

I used to have a 1.25" Vernonscope star diagonal back in the late 1990's. At the time I was using it with a Vixen 80M refractor with the Vixen alt-az mount and TeleVue Plossls. It was very good compared to other mirror diagonals of that era. 

 

I decided to change over to prism diagonals since. Prism diagonals are easier to clean and they're less prone to scratches.

 

The new 2" Vernonscope gold star diagonal sells for around $815.00 USD, while the silver 2" diagonal is $795.00. Supposedly the gold gives somewhat of a warm view on the planets. Are they better than my 2" Baader prism star diagonal? Who knows, but they will no doubt be very good. Additionally, I'm told by Liz at Vernonscope that the reason why the 2"gold & silver diagonals are so expensive is because the mirror is very labor intensive and takes time to provide a quality finished product.

Edited by GSwaim, 21 May 2025 - 12:01 PM.

[AstroCub]

I used to have a 1.25" Vernonscope star diagonal back in the late 1990's. At the time I was using it with a Vixen 80M refractor with the Vixen alt-az mount with TeleVue Plossls. It was very good compared to other mirror diagonals of that era. 

 

I decided to change over to prism diagonals since. Prism diagonals are easier to clean and they're less prone to scratches.

 

The new 2" Vernonscope gold star diagonal sells for around $815.00 USD, while the silver 2" diagonal is $795.00. Supposedly the gold gives somewhat of a warm view on the planets. Are they better than my 2"Baader prism star diagonal? Who knows, but they will no .doubt be very good. Additionally, I'm told by Liz at Vernonscope that the reason why the 2"gold & silver diagonals are so expensive is because the mirror is very labor intensive and takes time to provide a quality finished product.

Hey there

 

Thank you, and for the link from @Spikey131 above. 

 

Yes, a key difference (as far as I know) with the Vernonscope diagonals aside from the coating is the 1/20th wave form which of course on paper should make a noticeable difference comparitively. 

 

I should have said in my main post that I usually observe with eiter a 1997 vintage AP star diagonal or a 2021 Baader Amici Prism clicklock diagonal.

 

Eyepieces - I love using my Celestron 1.25 X-Cel LX series which may sound modest but they really do give great views for the money. I will probably invest in a 6 or 7mm Televue eyepiece down the line to keep my exit pupil at around ~1 with my F7 refractor. 

 

Thanks & best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

Edited by AstroCub, 21 May 2025 - 12:06 PM.

[GSwaim]

Hey there

 

Thank you, and for the link from @Spikey131 above. 

 

Yes, a key difference (as far as I know) with the Vernonscope diagonals aside from the coating is the 1/20th wave form which of course on paper should make a noticeable difference comparitively. 

 

I should have said in my main post that I usually observe with eiter a 1997 vintage AP star diagonal or a 2021 Baader Amici Prism clicklock diagonal.

 

Eyepieces - I am fairly modest with these. I love using the Celestron 1.25 X-Cel LX series which give great views for the money. I will probably invest in a 6 or 7mm Televue eyepiece down the line to keep my exit pupil at around ~1 with my F7 refractor. 

 

Thanks & best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

I only do solar system related observations. My scopes and other components are optimized for this purpose. 

I would suggest that the Vernonscope 2"gold diagonal seems to be optimized for planets, while the silver may be more suitable for both planets and deep sky. 

 

Some things have a specific purpose while other things have a multi-purpose use. 

 

Good luck! 

[slavicek]

I have two silver coated Veronscope diagonals. One is permanently used with a binoviewer, the other as a regular diagonal. I use them with my refractors. I was considering the gold coated diagonal for use with NV. I even contacted TEC to get their opinion. TEC told me (and proved to me with graphs) that basically there's no advantage to gold coating for visual. Actually gold cuts of some visible frequencies (and hence the warmer views). 

My recommendation is to get the silver coated diagonal and invest in some high quality ortho eyepieces. This combo allowed me to see lot more details on planets.

[AstroCub]

I have two silver coated Veronscope diagonals. One is permanently used with a binoviewer, the other as a regular diagonal. I use them with my refractors. I was considering the gold coated diagonal for use with NV. I even contacted TEC to get their opinion. TEC told me (and proved to me with graphs) that basically there's no advantage to gold coating for visual. Actually gold cuts of some visible frequencies (and hence the warmer views). 

My recommendation is to get the silver coated diagonal and invest in some high quality ortho eyepieces. This combo allowed me to see lot more details on planets.

Hey there, fancy meeting you here! (haha, I usually 'see' you on the SVX180 thread ) 

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences and thoughts about this. I will investigate the difference betweeen the the silver and gold a little more. However, the fact that the Vernonscope diagonals are 1/20th wave form makes them very appealing even for that benefit.

 

Best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

[Cpk133]

I know you didn’t ask, but in my experience a binoviewer is better than any filter or diagonal when it comes to viewing jupiter, moon, mars….  everything.  $800 binoviewer setup will leave that diagonal in the dust in terms of capability / versatility. 

Edited by Cpk133, 21 May 2025 - 08:53 PM.

[AstroCub]

I know you didn’t ask, but in my experience a binoviewer is better than any filter or diagonal when it comes to viewing jupiter, moon, mars….  everything.

 Hey there

 

Thanks, that's great to know. A few others have said similar things. 

 

I will definitely try binoviwers later in the planet season.  I have a pair from William Optics that I never really got around to using. I'm quite excited to try them out now!! 

 

Thanks, best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

[Cpk133]

 Hey there

 

Thanks, that's great to know. A few others have said similar things. 

 

I will definitely try binoviwers later in the planet season.  I have a pair from William Optics that I never really got around to using. I'm quite excited to try them out now!! 

 

Thanks, best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

I have the same, if you screw the 1.5x corrector in the nose piece pf the bino (or buy the 2x, you should be able to reach focus no problem (use a prism diagonal if you have one).  Don’t wait, try it on venus / saturn in the am.  Deep space like globular clusters with the sct will make you happy. 

[Bill Barlow]

Hi Siouxsie.   I don’t have any experience with the 2” Vernonscope silver or gold diagonals, but I do own their 1.25” silver dielectric mirror diagonal.  I use it with my A-P 92mm Stowaway and it shows very sharp and high contrast views of Jupiter and Saturn when they were better placed in the evening sky a few months ago.  About every object I view with it is razor sharp.  The test report with mine showed a Lamda/PV of 1/21, so a very smooth mirror for sure.  I have compared it to 1.25” 1/10 wave diagonals from TV and Baader and the Vernonscope has more sharpness and contrast.  They are pricey, but I wanted the best for an optic like the Stowaway.   
 

I think for all-around viewing I would go with the silver coated mirror to enhance deep sky objects better with a cooler tone.  I feel you will see a difference in your excellent SV 180 SVT (Stella).  

 

Bill

Edited by Bill Barlow, 22 May 2025 - 10:28 AM.

[AstroCub]

Hi Siouxsie.   I don’t have any experience with the 2” Vernonscope silver or gold diagonals, but I do own their 1.25” silver dielectric mirror diagonal.  I use it with my A-P 92mm Stowaway and it shows very sharp and high contrast views of Jupiter and Saturn when they were better placed in the evening sky a few months ago.  About every object I view with it is razor sharp.  The test report with mine showed a Lamda/PV of 1/21, so a very smooth mirror for sure.  I have compared it to 1.25” 1/10 wave diagonals from TV and Baader and the Vernonscope has more sharpness and contrast.  They are pricey, but I wanted the best for an optic like the Stowaway.   
 

I think for all-around viewing I would go with the silver coated mirror to enhance deep sky objects better with a cooler tone.  I feel you will see a difference in your excellent SV 180 SVT (Stella).  

 

Bill

 

Hey Bill

 

Thanks, that's very useful to know. 

 

I actually spoke with Liz at Vernonscope today - what a helpful, friendly lady!!

 

I'm probably going to go for the gold as that is designed more toward viewing of Jupiter & Saturn, which is what I will be getting it for. Although as you say the silver is probably the better all rounder. 

 

I also like looking at carbon stars and am excited to wait and see how the gold diagonal will bring out the colours of those! 

 

Best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

[slavicek]

 Hey there

 

Thanks, that's great to know. A few others have said similar things. 

 

I will definitely try binoviwers later in the planet season.  I have a pair from William Optics that I never really got around to using. I'm quite excited to try them out now!! 

 

Thanks, best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

Yes you see me in the other thread because we have the same 180mm f/7 scope (mine is TEC yours is SV). So whatever works on my scope applies to your scope too. So, based on "my views are only as good as the weakest element in my scope" I went bit over board with my TEC set up:

 

Veronscope's guarantee minimum of 1/20 wavelength in their mirror diagonal, mine are closer to 1/30! So definite must. I met Lis on several occasions, she knows her stuff.

Here is reflectance comparison of gold x silver x alum:

 

 

Thanks to several prisms in average binoviewer I got some blueish colors around planets so I ended up getting Denis007 "APO" binoviewer which has only one prism. To my surprise, colors are gone. I modified the focuser so I do not need binoviewer's corrector.

 

And of course ortho eyepieces. Here I got TPLs, Brandons, ABEs, TOEs, Planispheres... and ZAOs! I believe you have TPLs, they are just as good as any of the above so you are good there.

[AstroCub]

Yes you see me in the other thread because we have the same 180mm f/7 scope (mine is TEC yours is SV). So whatever works on my scope applies to your scope too. So, based on "my views are only as good as the weakest element in my scope" I went bit over board with my TEC set up:

 

Veronscope's guarantee minimum of 1/20 wavelength in their mirror diagonal, mine are closer to 1/30! So definite must. I met Lis on several occasions, she knows her stuff.

Here is reflectance comparison of gold x silver x alum:

 

Gold x Silver reflectance.png

 

Thanks to several prisms in average binoviewer I got some blueish colors around planets so I ended up getting Denis007 "APO" binoviewer which has only one prism. To my surprise, colors are gone. I modified the focuser so I do not need binoviewer's corrector.

 

And of course ortho eyepieces. Here I got TPLs, Brandons, ABEs, TOEs, Planispheres... and ZAOs! I believe you have TPLs, they are just as good as any of the above so you are good there.

 

Hey there 

 

Thanks, that's great info and data.  

 

No, I don't have TPl eyepieces but I use Celestron X-Cels. They sound modest but give fantastic views for the money. I'll probably invest in another X-Cel for binioviewer use or really push the boat out and get a pair of Televue's. 

 

See you on the SVX180 thread again soon

 

Best wishes

 

Siouxsie 

[EverlastingSky]

Thanks to several prisms in average binoviewer I got some blueish colors around planets so I ended up getting Denis007 "APO" binoviewer which has only one prism. To my surprise, colors are gone. I modified the focuser so I do not need binoviewer's corrector.

 

And of course ortho eyepieces. Here I got TPLs, Brandons, ABEs, TOEs, Planispheres... and ZAOs! I believe you have TPLs, they are just as good as any of the above so you are good there.

Indeed, an all mirror binoviewer (Leica or Zeiss) with just the cube beam splitter, from Denis007, introduces no color effects / spherochromatism to an APO. Such binoviewers are of very high quality and precision. Highly recommended.