There seems to be a problem with attaching an ST 80 to a standard Synta EQ 2 mount, which is weird when you think about it. More research needed ... lol.

 

Got first light on the 4mm SW UWA and the unborked Fujiyama 7mm. Waning Crescent Moon 43.5% illumination, 28.1° SW, 16° altitude (Libra). Magnifications: 64x, 128.5x, 225x. Eyepieces: 14mm Baader Morpheus, 7mm Fujiyama orthoscopic and 4mm SW UWA. Baader Neodymium filter.Transparency was below average with wispy clouds, plus twilight/dusk isn’t the easiest time to observe. Terminator detail was good in the southern highlands, Albategnius and Posidonius were very defined and in earlier daylight Dionysius appeared very bright for some reason.



The 7mm Kokusai Kohki Fujiyama performed beautifully at 128.5x, unfortunately the conditions didn’t warrant using a 2x Barlow. The 4mm Sky-Watcher UWA also performed admirably and I couldn’t see any difference with the others in the series I have. The stray light odd reflections near the field stop were there again but disappeared somewhat as it got darker. Some have been known to flock these eyepieces themselves to improve this. It will be interesting to compare this with the slightly more expensive TS Optics 8mm when it arrives. Maybe the flocking’s better for an extra tenner lol? I had a slight focusing issue until I realised the eyepiece wasn’t seated properly in the Baader helical focuser. After that it was fine. Very nice, virtually orthoscopic images at 225x. I really can’t grumble at the little faults when these less than 40 quid apiece eyepieces produce such sharp, contrasted views.

 

The TSO 8mm 'Planetary' has arrived:



It seems slightly better made and finished compared to the Sky-Watcher UWA's. A preliminary daylight test looked promising though.



The Smyth/Barlow lens element appears to be slightly different from the Sky-Watcher's, but the eyepieces are very similar and I'm pretty sure they're both Barsta. The TSO Smyth lens appears more convex compared to the 9mm SW UWA (above). The TSO also probably has six lens elements as opposed to the five of the SW.



The overall build quality and finish seems better although exactly the same dust cap type is used on both eyepieces. The housings are also different. Looks like a keeper.

 

Yeah, I just can't fault the Sky-Watcher/Olivon Barsta EP's for the money. I think that they aren't probably flocked as well as some similar types (BST?) but occasional odd reflections aside, I was seeing orthoscopic-like images that would be difficult to distinguish from a genuine Abbe. I daylight compared the 9mm SW UWA with the 9mm X-Cel. The X-Cel has a larger field stop and eye lens producing a larger field of view. It also seemed sharp across the field. I thought that the SW UWA was brighter with more contrast but less sharp off axis. Another thing which surprised me last night was that when I swapped the 4mm SW at 225x for the 7mm Fujiyama at 128.5x I didn't have to re-focus. Two eyepieces I never considered par focal lol.

 

I started viewing the Moon at Transit (20:00 BST) until around 22:45. Waxing Gibbous, 62.7%, 0°S, 18.3° elevation, (Ophiucus). Transparency was below average most of the time with wispy clouds. 130mm Newtonian (‘Bazooka’). 4 & 5mm Sky-Watcher UWA’s, 8mm TS Optics Planetary, 6mm AH orthoscopic & TeleVue 2x Barlow.



Magnifications: 112.5x, 150x, 180x, 225x & 300x. Baader Neodymium used. Highlights included Clavius, Copernicus, Mons Pico and Montes Apenninus. The Terminator shadows on the west wall of Clavius were quite stunning.



First light on the TS Optics 8mm Planetary. It performed basically the same as the Sky-Watcher UWA’s from what I could tell, but with no noticeable periphery shadows. Obviously you get better flocking for a tenner extra lol!

 

Very nice images, MTN! You punched this up to 300X? That's a wild amount - considering your location and generally unfriendly 'seeing' conditions. Wow! I understand the Moon is subject to easier rules of mag. in the UK/Globally, but 'wow' still!

It's so refreshing to hear from folks who have found some great eyepieces that don't cost Juniors' College-Fund and have 'Green-Letters' in their descriptions. It's a blast of fresh-air!

Thank you for helping to bring this field-of-study into the grasp of everyone.

Dave - the evil socialist.....

 

It's not uncommon to get 60x per inch of aperture in the UK outside of cities and major towns regardless of what's spouted on some UK forums. I personally know quite a few people who do get these magnifications, and in some instances I've seen through their telescopes. I think 70% of the UK is still farmland or countryside. I live in a Bortle 2 area in a village in the greenbelt at 152 metres above mean sea level.

There has been an overall diminished seeing though the past couple of years because of the shifting jetstream. But I've known crystal clear skies and they will return eventually, like always. I'm hoping to regularly get around 340x with my 235mm SCT on the Moon.

I once accidentally got 337.5 with the Bazooka (130mm Newtonian) by using a TV 3x Barlow with an 8mm TV Plossl. Well, in the dark the 2.5x TV Powermate and 3x TV Barlow look a bit similar lol! The image was a bit darker than normal but surprisingly detailed. In fact as I can easily get 281.25x on the Moon with the 8mm/Powermate combination I was very tempted to get the TS Optics 3.2 mm Planetary HR.

I can often get 250x with Saturn when it's nearer Opposition, I was getting a good 257x and 281x on Mars and when conditions allow I can often get 200-250x on Jupiter ... and all with a 13cm scope.

The fact is, most of the people on UK astronomy forums live in light polluted cities or towns and are forever whinging about it. They just won't accept that anyone else in the UK can see more than they do. I've had so many arguments *cough* discussions about this that it's ceased to be entertaining. Don't believe everything you read on UK astronomy forums about conditions lol.

The Sky-Watcher UWA series are very good value for what they cost, especially here. I'm paying £38 each for these.


That's £152 altogether for these four above. The TV DeLites are about £246 each now in the UK or $326 (USD). The TS Optics 'Planetaries' are about £58 each.



There's no denying the technical brilliance of the TeleVue DeLites, I still have the 18.2mm model. But I was very disappointed in the quality control of the two borked 7mm DeLites I had to return. After having a run of borked different 7mm eyepieces I discovered the SW UWA Barsta made EP's. The 7mm was perfect and unborked. All of them have been fine.


The Sky-Watcher UWA's do have their faults though. Unlike the similar TSO Planetary EP's (above) which don't suffer from the peripheral reflections the Sky-Watcher UWA's do and the overall build quality is not quite as good as the TS Optics EP's. I'm pretty sure both EP's are Barsta/BST.

The reflections problem only seems to be in certain conditions and at the outer field of vision near the field stop. Considering you have 58° FOV compared to the 42° of most Abbe ortho's though it's a small imperfection when the view is virtually the same as an orthoscopic for something that cost less than 40 quid.

Few things gobsmack me. These Barsta Sky-Watcher/Olivon EP's have. I just can't believe the quality of view for such a small price.

 

It will be interesting to hear what the Barsta EP's are like for solar viewing Ray. Good luck at the pulmonologist. I've had to order the ST80 with an EQ1 mount and tripod. There's a good possibility I can connect the saddle to my other EQ2 mount. I decided against an alt-az as I'm not so convinced they're good for looking up at the zenith.

 

I don't have an excuse for ordering a new eyepiece. So no Olivon - yet. Maybe I'll get 'lucky' and lose on of mine and have the excuse.....

You ordered an ST80?? Oh wow! You'll love that thing! The first thing I suggest is to overhaul the focuser: Disassemble, clean out the old grease, put in some top-quality PTFE-lube (SuperLube) - just a little bit does it, re-assemble & adjust. And you'll be a happy-camper! You'll soon know why I pamper mine - such as buying it a Crayford 10:1 Dual-focuser/Visual-back.

Must run off to do some errands -

'til later,

Dave

 

Mod's to ST80's seem to be the in thing. I'll think I'll leave mine as stock for a while. I once ruined a perfectly good small refractor by taking it to pieces lol.

 

I observed the Waxing Gibbous Moon from Transit (20:51 BST) until about 22:30, illumination 72.5%, altitude 18.6°, 390, 075 km distant (Sagittarius). Sky-Watcher Explorer 130M. Eyepieces: 8mm TSO Planetary, 7mm Fujiyama orthoscopic, 6mm AH orthoscopic, 4mm Sky-Watcher UWA, TeleVue 2x Barlow. Baader Neodymium Filter. Magnifications: 225x, 257x, 300x.



Transparency was above average for a good 90 mins after Transit but eventually wispy cloud and a slight haze appeared. I started off just before Transit with 225x and as it looked so good I went straight to 300x. Later I varied the magnifications depending on what view I preferred at the time. As conditions deteriorated slightly at the end of the session I went back to 225x (4mm SW UWA).



Highlights were Clavius, Newton, Moretus, Casatus, Longomontanus, Sinis Iridum, Promontorium Heraclides, Copernicus and the Montes Riphaeus. Clavius’ eastern crater wall was very dramatically illuminated this time. Newton was similarly impressive. The whole Bay of Rainbows area was very clear and defined. Detail inside Copernicus was very good.



The biggest surprise was how well defined the Riphaeus Mountains were.



I used the 8mm TS Optics Planetary combined with the TV 2x Barlow to get 225x to directly compare with the 4mm Sky-Watcher UWA. The image was not surprisingly virtually identical. Although the 8mm did exhibit some slight peripheral reflections combined with the Barlow. I also occasionally detected some slight ghosting, although I wasn’t that surprised with a relatively low and bright gibbous Moon, and the fact I was using a Barlow with an eyepiece that already has its own integral Barlow/Smyth lens. At the end of the day there was very little, if anything, to separate the two eyepieces. I spent some time with the 7mm Fujiyama combined with the Barlow for 257x. Again, apart from the difference in magnification, all four eyepieces gave very sharp, defined and contrasted views. There wasn't really anything between them.



Lunar images by VMA & Google Earth.

 

I have the 150mm SW Maksutov. And I opted for the VersaGo II from Orion-USA. You know these as an AZ4 from SkyWatcher over in the UK. The 1500mm is at the upper-limit for these mounts. And it will indeed allow zenith - views with no issues. I noted that the mount was prone to be a bit 'shaky' with this scope.So I hung a 5-pound weight on a 15-inch line tied to it's center-bolt. Now it's steady as a rock. Here's a link to these mounts at Orion:

http://www.telescope.com/Mounts-Tri...h-Telescope-Mount/pc/-1/c/2/sc/35/p/10105.uts

I enclose an image of a small part of the mounting-rail these ST80 scopes come with - to address what's coming to you. I'll be interested to hear how the Eq. mount goes. May I ask you where you ordered your ST80 from? I'd like to check some things out for a comparative view.

Until later -

Dave

 

Is that a 9x50 RACI mounted as a finder Dave? I was wondering if I could use my spare Orion 9x50 for it.



As far as I can see from this picture there is no dovetail mount and the O ring cradle is bolted directly onto the mount saddle, as is usual with most Synta scopes with EQ mounts.


I suppose I could get an alt-az mount for it if I wanted to. To be honest though I prefer an EQ in many ways. It is easier to track objects over a period of time. If I'm lucky it will fit my spare EQ2 mount.

 

The 8 X 50mm finder is a GSO, but the shoe is the same as came with my Orion 9 X 50mm I have on my Newtonian 200mm F/4. So it should work fine on your scope.

My original ST80 has the same mounting-rings and rail as the one I got from Orion-USA recently, after I noted a problem with the original - which was a blue-tube branded Skywatcher. I think it came from the UK. So I guess you'll find out soon enough what your new one crawls in with.

If it comes with the finder my Skywatcher did - something that was, I think, a 5 X 26mm-joke, you'll surely be replacing it quick. But I didn't need to swap-out the shoe. As for your words on the Olivon EP's, I found a source, or 3, over here and read the info on them. So I'm putting that on the top of my 'NEXT' list. Should I have cause - or provocation, to pull "The Trigger" for any EP's. Thank you very much!

How's the Celestron 9.25" beastie doing? It's a chore moving these BIG cassegrains. So I'm happily playing with my 150mm Mak and ST80 much more often. These Maksutov's are fascinating - and a lot of fun, too!

Cooler weather here - first time in months I've actually closed a door and/or window over here. And no rain on the charts heading my way! Wow!! Well - off to my crib for now.

Good night!

Dave

PS: Here's a shot that somewhat shows the shoe on my ST80 -

 

Ok thanks Dave. I know the Orion RACI’s have Synta compatible feet. I was just wondering about the combined weight of the 9x50 on the ST80, bearing in mind I’m disabled.

With my disability I can’t really use a straight through finder, so it’s going to have to be replaced!

The Barsta UWA’s (Sky-Watcher/Olivon) are so competitively priced over here I couldn’t help but try one of them. All I wanted was a decent 7mm EP lol. I figured being Barsta (BST) they would be pretty decent. I was a bit shocked just how ‘orthoscopic-like’ they actually were though. A Celestron Omni 9mm Plossl is about £22 on average here. They’re basically GSO Plossls with a silver finish from what I can see. They’re not bad Plossls, but I wouldn’t compare the view with a TeleVue Plossl or an Abbe orthoscopic. I can with the Barsta UWA’s though.

The 9.25“ Evolution is proving to be difficult for me to get together logistically. I bought it earlier than I was going to as I thought I could use it for the Mars Opposition. The weather’s turning against me now and damp conditions can be lethal for me underfoot. So it may have to wait until next year for first light with it. I need to be able to transport assemble/disassemble and set it up in the dark, virtually blindfolded, and predominantly with my left hand and arm. I often have to rehearse a lot first in daylight before I feel confident enough at night. My garden path has a slight incline by the top lawn and both of my lawns have a lot of springy moss in them. My right foot and leg are weak and I still have some shortening problems. I can walk several metres without a stick now though as some range and dexterity has come back. I’d have felt better setting up the Big Cat in drier conditions. Still, I got a free Celestron StarSense Autoalign with it as a promotion, so buying it when I did was a bit fortuitous. The universe will still be there next spring anyway.

How’s Pale Moon going? I’m using it as my default browser now ...



... and with this colourful Camino theme.