Ah HA! Finally! I finally got to use my long-in-search late '80s Brandon 94mm triplet.
So as the photo shows, this is how the finder SHOULD be mounted...Up by the dew shield! The focuser (especially accommodated by old-boy Tele-Vue glass) is heavy and throws balance off very fast on my GP mount. It is a real match made in heaven and only 30% the weight of my GP-D Tak setup, which is reserved for only the very best nights of the year.
To those unfamiliar with the B-94, they are DENSE and the GP mount would be a minimal mount. Given I still have an allowance of an additional 5 pounds after a big eyepiece is on-board.
The original seller (from ebay) had been using this on the Meade 4500 mount!! He was lucky this didn't go crashing down! Aack!
The last time I saw a Brandon 94 in person was at Tacoma Astronomical Society's public night in 1997. It was always fun to see the wide sweep of M45. It was the only telescope (in a choice mass of 15 available) that could do this. So looking through it earlier tonight with my wife, Jill, was a real time travel for me. We didn't try to look at M45 though, the Moon was "dog-guarding" it!
The night here had a break in the fog and temperatures plummeted 10 degrees in 40 minutes; so seeing teeter-tottered A LOT in the 50 minutes I got to play with it. The 40mm TeleVue Wide Field was able to corral the entire sword of Orion and almost got a hint of Saiph in the corner. Then we put the Ultima 80mm eyepiece (it had almost 1 FOOT of eye relief!) in the diagonal and we got the sword and nearly all of the belt in one view! WOW! Pinpoint stars in the Ultima. The Wide Field got ever so slightly soft in the last 5-8 degrees on the rim; to be expected from this top-shelf classic.
Interestingly enough, the Meade 8.8mm UWA and the 9mm Nagler WILL NOT come to focus. I can barely get the Vixen LVW-5 to work. I have just the itty-bit right amount of in-focuse travel to resolve with him. Luckily Brandons (at least this one) have that exact "snap focus" effect like many of my Takahashis; so reaching focus is in an extremely small window. It is either dead on or completely fuzzy.
The best view of the night was awarded to the 20mm Nagler T2 (Japan); pinpoint all the way to...What edge? I can't find it!
On a final note and an important one: I was very concerned that the very beautiful and smooth deluxe focuser WOULD NOT hold eyepieces like the 40mm Wide Field or the 20mm Nagler (both well over 2-pounds when combined with the 2-inch diagonal). It held! It held all night and I didn't have to rack the set screw all the way down for the compression clamp to engage. Since I am pretty much strictly a visual dude, I guess I'm in the clear and this Brandon has proven its worth to be a family member.
Any other 94 owners out there? What's your favorite experience?
All the best my friends!
So as the photo shows, this is how the finder SHOULD be mounted...Up by the dew shield! The focuser (especially accommodated by old-boy Tele-Vue glass) is heavy and throws balance off very fast on my GP mount. It is a real match made in heaven and only 30% the weight of my GP-D Tak setup, which is reserved for only the very best nights of the year.
To those unfamiliar with the B-94, they are DENSE and the GP mount would be a minimal mount. Given I still have an allowance of an additional 5 pounds after a big eyepiece is on-board.
The original seller (from ebay) had been using this on the Meade 4500 mount!! He was lucky this didn't go crashing down! Aack!
The last time I saw a Brandon 94 in person was at Tacoma Astronomical Society's public night in 1997. It was always fun to see the wide sweep of M45. It was the only telescope (in a choice mass of 15 available) that could do this. So looking through it earlier tonight with my wife, Jill, was a real time travel for me. We didn't try to look at M45 though, the Moon was "dog-guarding" it!
The night here had a break in the fog and temperatures plummeted 10 degrees in 40 minutes; so seeing teeter-tottered A LOT in the 50 minutes I got to play with it. The 40mm TeleVue Wide Field was able to corral the entire sword of Orion and almost got a hint of Saiph in the corner. Then we put the Ultima 80mm eyepiece (it had almost 1 FOOT of eye relief!) in the diagonal and we got the sword and nearly all of the belt in one view! WOW! Pinpoint stars in the Ultima. The Wide Field got ever so slightly soft in the last 5-8 degrees on the rim; to be expected from this top-shelf classic.
Interestingly enough, the Meade 8.8mm UWA and the 9mm Nagler WILL NOT come to focus. I can barely get the Vixen LVW-5 to work. I have just the itty-bit right amount of in-focuse travel to resolve with him. Luckily Brandons (at least this one) have that exact "snap focus" effect like many of my Takahashis; so reaching focus is in an extremely small window. It is either dead on or completely fuzzy.
The best view of the night was awarded to the 20mm Nagler T2 (Japan); pinpoint all the way to...What edge? I can't find it!
On a final note and an important one: I was very concerned that the very beautiful and smooth deluxe focuser WOULD NOT hold eyepieces like the 40mm Wide Field or the 20mm Nagler (both well over 2-pounds when combined with the 2-inch diagonal). It held! It held all night and I didn't have to rack the set screw all the way down for the compression clamp to engage. Since I am pretty much strictly a visual dude, I guess I'm in the clear and this Brandon has proven its worth to be a family member.
Any other 94 owners out there? What's your favorite experience?
All the best my friends!
Attached Image:
Just a few thoughts:
8) FS-152SV sitting in the office
Japanes super lucky zen observatory garden:S Meade ETX-90 finder scope position
Hino Optical Mizar 120SL observatory model:C SR-4mm eyepiece with a 3x barlow in a 60mm refractor
8O Zeiss Victory 7x42 SFs
Having over 135 vintage oculars to play with
My life surrounded by wonderful friends and impeccable optics
