11 replies to this topic

[juliussd]

Good day! I bought this telescope a couple of months ago, and after years of owning a small Saturn 60/700 this feels like a huge upgrade.

But the 0.965 eyepieces it uses (same as the Saturn) feel quite cheap, especially after using the 1.25 in Modified Achromat from another telescope I bought weeks ago.





I would like to be able to use higher quality 1.25 in eyepieces on my Polaris too.

What is my best option?

1) Replace the current T-mount with another one that can hold 1.25 in eyepieces
2) Replace the whole focuser
3) Get one of those adapters from 0.965 to 1.25
4) ???

I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks in advance for your attention!

[SeattleScott]

Honestly, the best solution is probably to just get another scope that takes 1.25” eyepieces. There are .965-1.25 adapters, but they eat a lot of focus travel, and reflectors don’t usually have much focus travel to spare. So yeah, you could drop $30 on an adapter, but it probably wouldn’t work anyway.

[vtornado]

You could measure how much focus travel you have, and see how much the adapter eats up.  Realize that the 1.25 inch barrel can go into the .965 draw tube so the entire length of the barrel will rest on top of your focuser.   Longer focal length eyepieces will vignette in the .965 focuser.  I'm not an expert, but the .965 secondary will not fully illuminate a longer focal length 1.25 inch eyepiece

 

I do see quality metal 1.25 inch focusers come up for sale on this site.

You may have to do some sheet metal work on the tube, would would be comfortable with this?   If you can't match the focuser height you may have to use an extension if too short, or have to move the diagonal and hole backward if too long.

There are quality .965 vintage eyepieces.  There are many bad ones.  you would have to research the good vs. bad.

Edited by vtornado, 08 June 2025 - 05:52 PM.

[juliussd]

Is it that difficult to find another T-mount that accepts 1.25 eyepieces? I'm not sure whether it's an M36.4 or M42.

[bignerdguy]

Try something like this:

 

https://www.scopestuff.com/ss_utea.htm

 

It replaces the .965" eyepiece tube with a 1.25" one.  Lets you use standard eyepieces with your scope.

[SeattleScott]

Try something like this:

https://www.scopestuff.com/ss_utea.htm

It replaces the .965" eyepiece tube with a 1.25" one. Lets you use standard eyepieces with your scope.

Of course, this assumes that the focuser will fit a 1.25” tube in place of the .965” one. With a reflector, there is a hole cut in the side of the tube that is usually sized with the drawtube. So yeah you can maybe get out the tin snips and try to do surgery on the scope. But ultimately none of the available solutions are likely to work with a reflector, without spending more time and money than the scope is worth (which is very little). These scopes will typically show up on Craigslist for maybe $40. Does one want to buy a 1.25” focuser for $30, cut the tube, drill new holes in order to enhance their experience with a $40 scope? If they don’t damage the tube in the process? Or throw $20 here and $20 there at adapters that probably won’t work?

[zleonis]

I had a similar telescope at one point (also a 114mm Meade Newtonian that took .965 eyepieces), and this part, a new focuser top for $13 shipped, allowed me to use 1.25" eyepieces with the telescope. From your pictures, I think the linked part would work with your scope, but Telescope Warehouse sells lots of Meade odds and ends, and if you were to ask them, they'd probably be able to let you know whether this part would work in your scope. 

[vtornado]

In the picture taken in post #1, I can see the knurled top reduces the diameter of the draw tube.  It "looks" like what was suggested in post #5 will work.  But call  or email ScopeStuff.   There is a "real" person on the the other side who will know for sure.

[bignerdguy]

Of course, this assumes that the focuser will fit a 1.25” tube in place of the .965” one. With a reflector, there is a hole cut in the side of the tube that is usually sized with the drawtube. So yeah you can maybe get out the tin snips and try to do surgery on the scope. But ultimately none of the available solutions are likely to work with a reflector, without spending more time and money than the scope is worth (which is very little). These scopes will typically show up on Craigslist for maybe $40. Does one want to buy a 1.25” focuser for $30, cut the tube, drill new holes in order to enhance their experience with a $40 scope? If they don’t damage the tube in the process? Or throw $20 here and $20 there at adapters that probably won’t work?

The link is for a replacement for the .965" eyepiece holder, not the focuser.  His focuser is a 1.25" one that has a step down eyepiece holder in it per his screenshot.  I have owned one of these before and yes the focuser is 1.25" but the eyepiece holder is a .965 and can be replaced directly since the holder can be unscrewed from the focuser and removed as shown in his images. I never needed to replace the focuser for this reason even though it is cheap and not very high quality. It still sufficed well enough to do solar photos from it once the mirrors were properly collimated.

[juliussd]

I had a similar telescope at one point (also a 114mm Meade Newtonian that took .965 eyepieces), and this part, a new focuser top for $13 shipped, allowed me to use 1.25" eyepieces with the telescope. From your pictures, I think the linked part would work with your scope, but Telescope Warehouse sells lots of Meade odds and ends, and if you were to ask them, they'd probably be able to let you know whether this part would work in your scope.

According to the description, this part will fit my focuser, it arrives this week on Thursday!

Edited by juliussd, 23 June 2025 - 01:28 PM.

[bignerdguy]

According to the description, this part will fit my focuser, it arrives this week on Thursday!

Yeah that's like the one i suggested.  It should work fine.  As i mentioned i had one of these scopes and it worked great once i replaced that part.  Works especially well for Astrophotos of the sun and planets.  Just need to be sure the scope mirrors are properly collimated.

[juliussd]

Finally it arrived! It arrived last Wednesday but my friend only crossed the border last night (I live in Mexico and haven't renewed my visa for some time)

 

 

A thank you letter from the seller

 

 

Comparing the old and new eyepiece holders, both with 25 mm eyepieces. Look at the difference in size between those exit pupils!

 

 

A little bit of testing. The eye relief and field of vision are awesome! I enjoyed beautiful sharp views of the Moon and some double stars, didn't do much more since the light pollution in that street was awful.

 

I couldn't screw the new holder in place because I was a little too excited and my friend had to do it for me

 

I absolutely recommend this product if you have similar scopes and want to upgrade.