Posts Made By: Scott Mitchell

Chris,

If you have not done it yet, contact a local Astronomy Society near your base and go out for a night or two of viewinig before you make a purchase.

I think you will find that scope owners are happy to "show off" their gear to interested people.

A little time invested looking through other people's scopes will help narrow your choices based on your likes/dislikes of their equipment. This will help get you "into" the gear that is right for you...the right telescope is the one that you use...

Good Luck!

Besides the picture, is there any other infomration available on them?

Just curious when and if they will hit the shores of Australia...

While I can't answer your question (I've got an AN on my Dob)...I am sure Gary at Wildcard Innovations(makers of AN) can answer your question if you don't find it in the manual. http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au//

He is a very helpful guy!

Cheers!

Great idea and looks well done...Once you are happy with it you should send a picture to Wild Card Innovations (makers of AN)...Garry K is always interested in seeing everyone's ideas and uses of the AN.

Cheers!

Purely my opinion and no intent to get anyone mad with my thoughts...

I think the term "necessary luxury" as noted earlier is the go here...

For the manufacture I think it is becoming a necessary thing (to have a widefield offering) to participate in the eyepiece market...While there are some fine "narrow" eyepieces available, I believe that most people would prefer "wider" (how wide is wide?) to "narrower" if given a choice. As we all continue to age I suspect that there is a growing need for more eye relief too.

I think that wider FOV and longer eye relief make the hobby more accessable to more people...combined with GoTo there is no longer a need to spend years learning the sky (apprentice style) before you can enjoy it...

With the large (by historic terms) amount of disposable income many things that could/should be considered luxuries are now considered "necessary"...I offer mobile phones, automatic transmissions etc. etc. espcially for the people willing to substitute time and money...So I vote for necessary luxury. I much prefer to view with a wider FOV and longer eye relief...I look longer and more often in eyepieces with those characteristics.

Must the FOV be all usable and/or color free at the edge, it is really a question of percieved value...Yes, I think it needs to be all usuable and basically color free for me...I mean would I be okay with my car topping out at 50 miles an hour in a 55...that is "almost" all of the way to the speed limit? Not a chance...

Good questions!

Have you considered the 10 mm Pentax XW?

I have the 7 mm and the 10 mm Pentax XW and they are fine eyepieces at the magnification range that you are considering...I also have some Naglers (13 and 16) used to have the 11 T6 too.

I tend to prefer Pentax eyepieces at the higher powers and the Naglers at lower powers used with my 12.5 inch f5 Discovery Truss Dob mostly and in my Skywatcher ED80 some.

Good Luck.

I agree 100%...there is no substitute for time at the eyepeice...

However, there is one other thing I usually add to the list when someone asks me the question you have asked...it is a good adjustable height chair. For me, no other bit of gear has contributed to more eyepiece time than a good chair. I can comfortably sit, relax and enjoy the view...

Let me first state that I to am new to solar viewing but have really enjoyed the most recent sun spot activity!

A couple of tips that I've picked up that have been helpful for me.

*Check the filter (no pinholes etc.)
*Check that the filter is secure...a strip of light adhesive tape (I am sure that there is a better name for it)can make "double sure" that the filter won't come off accidently.
* I remove my finder/telrad so I'd suggest either removing it or covering it...finder and sunlight are a bad combination!
* I use the scope's shadow to align it on the sun...I was surprised how well that worked.
*I take a towel and use it as a shade between my face and the sun (just behind the eyepiece)...this also give some cover for others to take a look
*Like all viewing I use a comfortable chair and take it all in...

I am sure that the more avid solar viewers will have many more tips...and alter/improve the ones I use too.

I am not certain of the "relative" pricing where you live so this might be a budget blower but I would highly recommend the Pentax 10 mm XW...

When I bought mine (I live in Australia) they were cheaper than the comparable Televue eyepieces.

The performance in my 12.5 inch f5 has been WOW! I had an 11mm T6 for a long while and figured I would never part with it but after using them side by side for a while found that I preferred and used the Pentax more often...so I traded away the 11 mm T6

Enjoy the search and try as many as you can before you buy.

That is a cool picture...thanks for sharing it!