Well, now that I've tiptoed into BV'ing again, and I've established that I am dedicated to it...now that I finally have a light weight, high quality setup that works with all of my scopes...I have decided to take another plunge. I have been loving the Pentax XF 12's so much for mid power work that I have decided to add the XF 8.5's siblings to the pack for high power duty. I've actually been eyeballing them for quite some time now, so the addition is not an impulse purchase by any stretch. The harder choice has been what to do for low power duty. I am fairly determined to build a simple low/med/high three pair set, under the guise that keeping it simple will ensure the use of all pieces. Collecting single pieces for mono viewing is not at all difficult, and thus "collecting" becomes a risk. From a position of creativity I love collections, but pragmatically speaking I loathe wasted purchases.

Back to the point, I still have not yet settled on a perfect low power pair. I will eventually want something "premium" in that role. For now I have decided to add a second used Meade 26mm 4000 plössl to match the one I already have. OPT had one in the used dept that was of identical vintage to my current 26, and for $25 I figure I should have a good low power pair to get me by. I really wish Pentax made a longer focal length XF in the 17-21mm range. Then it would be easy.

Aside from new BV eyepieces I also ordered a new Baader T-2 prism diagonal with a wicked short 38mm light path, and along with it a 2" nose piece which will replace the back focus robbing 10mm deep 1¼" focuser adapter of my AT72-ED. The new nose piece will still steal 2mm, but that is a gain of 8mm. If my calculations are correct there is a moderate probability that I will be able to achieve focus without the optical corrector, giving me "big bino" like views with the 26mm plössls (17x and 3.1º TFOV). If I can't reach focus I know I'll at least be really close. Then I will pick up a Baader 1.25x Glasspath Compensator which will still keep me in the wide field zone I am aiming for.

I'll definitely post pics once the new gear gets here. In the mean time, I need ideas for a superb pair of low power EP's.

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

Here's the "schtuff".


From left to right: Baader T2-01C prism diagonal, Baader 2" T2 nose piece, Meade 26mm 4000 plössl, (2x) Pentax SMC 8.5mm XF







The light path is extremely short on this thing. Consider the average 2" mirror diagonal to be 120mm long, and the average 1¼" mirror diagonal 80mm. 1¼" prisms are inherently shorter at around 65mm, but still use a 20-25mm collet. Obviously the advantage here is having the ability to thread the Maxbright BV directly to the prism housing. Additionally, the 2" nose piece eliminates the need for a 2" to 1¼" focuser adapter, giving even more back focus. If you calculate for an average 1¼" mirror diagonal plus 2' to 1¼" focuser step down adapter you end up with 90mm. The T2-01C with nose piece is 40mm! The best part...drum roll, please........I removed the 1.7x Glasspath compensator and I can achieve focus with all three pairs of eyepieces! AWESOME! What's ironic is that I almost pulled the trigger on a William Optics BV instead of the Baader Maxbright. Had I done that I would have never realized the beauty of Baader's well known T2 system. I am now most certainly feeling the extra $100 for the Baader was justified.


And some eyepiece porn...

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

Cool.

Can't wait to read how well it works.

Thanks, Joe. I just finished a one hour session, only ending because the 16°F temps were seizing the fluid in my Bogen video head.

Seriously, the temps were barely an issue. Maybe in part because of the long string of Siberian like conditions we've had here for nearly two and a half months...sheesh. Also because there was absolutely no ground wind. It was a great all around night to test the gear. And frankly, it was just a great night to observe during a season of limited worthy evenings.

So, in a word, the gear all works splendidly. Quick commentary on the XF 8.5's, they seem to possess the same snap to focus that the 12's do. Really awesome eyepieces. Switching between three pairs of eyepieces to observe countless objects is not exactly convenient, especially with gloves on. That said, thanks to the quality of the XF's, it's well worth the inconvenience.

The real positive impression that I've come away with tonight is how amazing the prism is. Mind you I'm only pushing my system to 51x right now...8.5mm eyepieces and no optical corrector. But I see no additional false color of any kind. I'm so used to cheap 45° prism diagonals which tend to add CA to bright objects. If you told me I was looking through a mirror diagonal I would believe you. Very cool. Again, best part is that I can get really low mag, wide fields. The moon was stunning. Jupiter and Mars were also a blast. There was a very thin layer of clouds over the western horizon, so M42 was washed out. The Trapezium was still visible and made a terrific subject. I couldn't pull out SN2014J, although I swear I might have caught it during fleeting moments with averted vision, but I can't verify with certainty. For all I know it's not bright enough anymore.

Anyhow, great night. The setup was awesome to use, and perhaps the best grab n go system I've had to date.

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

Awesome looking gear, Jason!

But I can't afford to buy 2 of every eyepiece I own so you're a bad influence!

_________________
-Erik Wilcox
Homebuilt 16" Truss Dob
8" Antares f/5 Newt
SV 80mm ED Nighthawk NG on M1 ALT/AZ
Nikon Prostaff 65mm spotter on Trekpod
Konusvue 20x80 binos/Peterson PipeMount


"Newt Gingrich is what stupid people think smart people sound like."
-The Great Paul Krugman

Evolution is both fact and theory. Creationism is neither. -Anonymous

I know, I know. I was initially thinking of selling off my single Naglers as a compromise, but I just can't do it yet so I'm sitting on that idea.

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

Compromises, compromises. Oh the pain.

Can't you just sell one of your kidneys to fund the project? Come on, where are your priorities!

_________________
-Erik Wilcox
Homebuilt 16" Truss Dob
8" Antares f/5 Newt
SV 80mm ED Nighthawk NG on M1 ALT/AZ
Nikon Prostaff 65mm spotter on Trekpod
Konusvue 20x80 binos/Peterson PipeMount


"Newt Gingrich is what stupid people think smart people sound like."
-The Great Paul Krugman

Evolution is both fact and theory. Creationism is neither. -Anonymous

Awesome Jason!

Now you'll be in planetary heaven! Binoviewers on planets are the schizz. LOL

_________________
https://www.youtube.com/user/DoktorDamage

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpectralReview

Thanks, Mark! Indeed, two eyes really are better than one. I'm actually finding BV to be better for Messiers, too. I just need to keep the powers a little lower to compensate for the beam split. But yeah, Jupiter and Mars have been a real blast!

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

Damn! Another get-rich quick scheme down the tubes!

_________________
-Erik Wilcox
Homebuilt 16" Truss Dob
8" Antares f/5 Newt
SV 80mm ED Nighthawk NG on M1 ALT/AZ
Nikon Prostaff 65mm spotter on Trekpod
Konusvue 20x80 binos/Peterson PipeMount


"Newt Gingrich is what stupid people think smart people sound like."
-The Great Paul Krugman

Evolution is both fact and theory. Creationism is neither. -Anonymous

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

Indeed Jason!

Just last week a bunch of us were viewing Jupiter in my friend's TEC 140, with a pair of 17mm TV Smoothie Plossls in his Earthwin binoviewer.....the view was awesome! We also tried binos on a friends 11" SCT on M-3 and that was like a 3D picture!

_________________
https://www.youtube.com/user/DoktorDamage

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpectralReview

Hey Jason,

I know it's been 5 years since you posted this, but I have a question to ask you. How is the eye relief on those 26mm Meade Super Plossls? I can see that the top lenses are recessed.

Thanks bro!

https://photobucket.com/gallery/user/fo ... anBn/?ref=

_________________
https://www.youtube.com/user/DoktorDamage

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpectralReview

Way to dig up a thread, Markus!

_________________
-Erik Wilcox
Homebuilt 16" Truss Dob
8" Antares f/5 Newt
SV 80mm ED Nighthawk NG on M1 ALT/AZ
Nikon Prostaff 65mm spotter on Trekpod
Konusvue 20x80 binos/Peterson PipeMount


"Newt Gingrich is what stupid people think smart people sound like."
-The Great Paul Krugman

Evolution is both fact and theory. Creationism is neither. -Anonymous

Haha. Blast from the past. But always happy to extend the conversations. Eye relief is good, but definitely not like other 25mm plössls that I’ve used because it is recessed. If you need glasses to use them, skip these. I will say, they actually do an amazing job if you don’t need glasses. The recession blocks light out very nicely.

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

I’ve got a 32mm Baader eyepiece with an odd plastic adapter that snaps on to the top for added eye relief. I think it’s for use when employing a Barlow but I’ve never gotten much use out of it. Nothing to do with this thread really but I was just reminded of it so I had to chime in. Now back to normal programming.

_________________
-Erik Wilcox
Homebuilt 16" Truss Dob
8" Antares f/5 Newt
SV 80mm ED Nighthawk NG on M1 ALT/AZ
Nikon Prostaff 65mm spotter on Trekpod
Konusvue 20x80 binos/Peterson PipeMount


"Newt Gingrich is what stupid people think smart people sound like."
-The Great Paul Krugman

Evolution is both fact and theory. Creationism is neither. -Anonymous

Thanks for that completely unrelated post...hahaha! Actually, that is pretty interesting. I’ve always found Baader to be very creative with their user interfaces.

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein

I’m here to help.

_________________
-Erik Wilcox
Homebuilt 16" Truss Dob
8" Antares f/5 Newt
SV 80mm ED Nighthawk NG on M1 ALT/AZ
Nikon Prostaff 65mm spotter on Trekpod
Konusvue 20x80 binos/Peterson PipeMount


"Newt Gingrich is what stupid people think smart people sound like."
-The Great Paul Krugman

Evolution is both fact and theory. Creationism is neither. -Anonymous

Awesome gear there bro! Love that. Getting ready to look into some short f/ls for the BV. Probably going with DeLites 2-5mm. May need those Pentax for the mid-range too. Those are really nice. Glad you got them!

In the market, finally, for a 130-140mm APO. Was at a friends in Prescott Valley last month and had the Denk in his TMB 130SS on Jupiter. One of the finest views of the planet I have ever had. That was the straw. Bigger frac in near future. Bought his G-11 as a start! Front runners are Agema 130 fluorite doublet, or the TEC140 FL. Agema is owned by the guy who used to be Yuri’s (TEC) partner.

Oh yeah, night vision too!

I’ll probably be selling the Mewlon soon to make room.

_________________
Kerry




Oh, yeah. The Stifmeister's coming back to Grand Harbor. Deck the halls. Bye-bye, Great Falls. Wipe my a$$ and lick my ba!!s It's Stifler time, baby. Whoo-hoo-hoo. Whoo-hoo-hoo. ~Steve Stifler-American Pie 2

Sweet, Kerry! Night vision and BV would be the ultimate. Imagine those DSOs in a big frac with that setup!

_________________
Jason® (Admin...and spoke-folk)





Single ride personal records: Distance-76.7miles, Max Speed-50.4mph, Max sustained speed (20miles) 19.5mph
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” ― Albert Einstein