Inexspensive Binoviewing

Started by Settimio, 01/20/2004 12:52AM
Posted 01/20/2004 12:52AM Opening Post
I have been haveing a blast with my TAL100R Achromat Refracter, 25mm TAL Plossl(Konig?) E.P. and BN binoviewers.

Saturn is sharp tonight showing more detail then I can see with my Pentax xl line of E.P. I had Harry make me a 1.8x OCA and a 5x OCA, so I could maximize my excellent 25mm TALs. I love the 25mm, it compares well agianst the Pentax XL line, it's even parfocal with them.

Orion nebula showed a lot of nebulosity, even from suburban sky's.

Saturn showed 4 moons last night, but only 3 tonight and several bands on the surface. The cassini division was black and sharp. The gap between the ring and planet was black as well. This was with the 5x OCA producing 200x for my 100mm x1000mm refractor

It's amazing how much light is not lost when using the binoviewers with the OCA. You cannot tell by contrast loss if the OCA is in or not.


I'm having a 3x OCA made to cover the gap between 1.8x and 5x.

Total

TAL100R - $365
2xTAL 25mm $40 (Web Special)
BN with 1.8 and 5x OCA $469
I use a Atlas and TAL mounts.

Buying different x OCA's is a excellent way to maximize
buying power while getting excellent results.

Jupiter report on this setup soon.

The first Step towards failure is trying. - Homer Simpson