Posts Made By: Blake Andrews

Tom Masterson said:

It took me a while to figure out what that big bright thing was in the sky. Once I realized it was the Sun, I dusted off my PSTs and imager and snapped a couple shots.

There was one active region on an otherwise blank solar disk.

Great shots. Can you share some info on your setup? I just acquired a PST and am thinking about how I might mount a digital camera on it. I have a C8 that I can piggyback to.

Regards,
Blake

Here's an update on what I know, so far. Please help me fill in the "???"s. I'm looking for info on when the eyepiece was originally purchased, the type of box, part number if documented, etc...

Approximate Date:_late 70s__1980s____late 80s____1990s

Body Style:_______Bevel____Bevel______Bevel_____Side
________________Lettered__Lettered___Lettered__Lettered

Barrel Mark:______JAPAN____JAPAN____JAPAN_____JAPAN
__________________KD_____Circle-V___(only)____Circle-V

Box Style:_______Pale Grn___Pln Wht____???_______???

FL:______Part No:
4mm_____???______Made____Have_____???_______???
5mm_____???______Have____Made_____???______Have
6mm_____???______???______???______???_______???
7mm_____???______???______Have_____???______Have
9mm_____???______Have_____???_____Have______???
12mm____93305____???_____Have_____???_______???
18mm____93306____???_____Have_____???_______???
25mm____???______???______???______???_______???
36mm____???______???______???______???_______???
45mm____???______???______???______???_______???

PS Thanks to Jon for the table formatting tip (AM deletes the extra spaces between table entries).

Regards,
Blake

Here's an update on what I know, so far. Please help me fill in the "???"s. I'm looking for info on when the eyepiece was originally purchased, the type of box, part number if documented, etc...

Approximate Date:_1980s____1990s

Body Style:________All______Black Top
________________Silver_____Silver

Lettering:_______Orange_____Red
_______________Engraving___Paint

Barrel Mark:______JAPAN____JAPAN____TAIWAN____TAIWAN
________________Circle-V___Circle-V____(only)____(only)

Box Style:_______(TBD)

FL:______Part No:
7.5mm___93310____Have____Have_____???_______???
10mm____93311____Have____???______???_______???
15mm____93312____Have____???______???_______???
17mm____93313____???______Have_____???______???
22mm____93314____Have_____???_____???_______???
26mm____93315____Have_____???_____???_______???
30mm____???______???_____???_____Have_______???
36mm____93316____Have_____???______???_______???
45mm____93317____Have_____???______???_______???
50mm____???______???______Have

This table is a work-in-progress. Stay tuned. I will revise this message when it is completed.

Regards,
Blake

Steven Cotton said:

I have seen an all silver 50mm

Wish I would have bought it ...

Thanks for the reply, Steve. That at least gives me some indication that this variation might exist. I've never even seen a photo of one. Do you know if it was engraved like the 1.25" silvertops, or was the lettering just painted on?

Regards,
Blake

Hi Stuart,

Thanks for sharing this information. I ran a couple of web translators against this web site and I think the Company name may translate to Astro Valley Optical.

I found your post interesting because I think that Tani may have been one of the providers to Celestron in the 1970's before they established Vixen (Circle-V) as the sole provider through the 1980's and 1990's.

Regards,
Blake

Thanks for your replies. I have attached a proposal to this post for forum consideration.

A few thoughts regarding the replies.
- No worries about the example. I've dealt professionally with these kinds of differences in the past.
- I'm also not worried about "enforcement", as the rating scale provided by AstroMart takes care of that.
- My hope for such a guide is that it will help proactively narrow the gap between our interpretations of what these terms mean, resulting in fewer item returns and renegotiations (hopefully the only ones that lose are the shipping companies due to fewer returned items!)

With that said, here for your reading and commenting pleasure is my proposed standard. I've taken the concepts from a number of other hobby standards that I'm familier with, including Toy Trains, Firearms, and Ham Radio.

(jpg of the document is finally attached)

A few thoughts about the guideline: My goal was to remove as much subjectivity as possible. So, I've chosen to avoid the use of percentages. I've also attempted to make the criteria as "yes/no" as possible. Also, limiting the number of grades to 7 +/- 2 seems to make a lot of sense (preferably erring on fewer) as the more grades there are the more difficult it becomes to pick between two grades (6 or 7 grades seems optimal based upon other conventions I am familiar with).

Thanks & Regards,
Blake

I track sales of interesting eyepieces. In the last three years I've only seen one 13mm sold (over on that big auction yard). It went for about $225 without caps or box. I suspect that given econonmic conditions, you might fetch a tad bit less than that. I hope this helps.

Regards,
Blake

Update - The green JTII sticker seems to have been used in the early 1980s. This has been established by the original owner of a Mizar illuminated reticule eyepiece having the same sticker. The Mizar illuminator's potentiometer has a date code of 1980-12.

Still could use some help sleuthing these other stickers. Thanks!

Blake

Ok, the silence is deafening, so here's an idea...

All 2" Tele Vue and para-focal to boot...

55mm Plossl
26mm Nagler 5
17mm Nagler 4
8mm Ethos
6mm Ethos

I wasn't able to plug the "gap" between the 17mm and 8mm. It might not be necessary. In my 11" f10, these would yield 59', 46', 30', 17', and 13', respectively.

Cheers!
Blake

charles geiger said:

I find a 32 mm erfle gives me better resolution than a 40 mm MK70. I want wide field and good resolution. Before I plunge, I would like your input. And are the images across the field in these two eyepieces with a C-14 good?

Interesting comment regarding the 32mm Erfle. One of the "best" (meaning it finds its way into my scope a lot) eyepieces I use on my C8 and C11, is an Edmund Scientific 2" 32mm Erfle I picked up cheap. I added an extension tube to it to make it more para-focal with the rest of the livery.

Regards,
Blake