Posts Made By: Donald Durbin

Hi All,

I was out Friday night playing with a new Camera adapter and I took a few images of the moon. There was some haze and my skills with a digital camera are still a work in progress.

The equipment used to take this image was:
Nikon Coolpix 4300
Siebert Camera adapter
Siebert 36mm Eyepiece
Siebert 45mm Elite binoviewers
Celestron C9.25 SCT

This shot was taken through the right Eyepiece. The actual view was much better than this image. Even so this is not bad for a single snapped image

I took the image size down to 800X600.


Don Durbin
Burgess BV125 Model C
Original 22mm BlackNights with Diopters
45mm Elite BlackNights with Diopters
Sieberts 1.3X OCA, Sieberts UltraBarlow, Sieberts Multimag OCA.
Denk IIs
Denkmeier 2" SCT Star Diagonal
Stellarvue AT1010
Meade ETX90
Stellarvue 102APO
Celestron C9.25
Orion Atlas 8"
Meade 152ED

Hi All,

While trying to gain a little expertise in astro photos, I decided to give some daylights photos a try. This is shot out my kitchen window through one pane of glass.

Equipment is my Celestron 102 Wide Field Spotting scope and a 40mm older style Optiluxe. The camera is my Nikon coolpix 4300 and a Siebert camera adapter.

Don Durbin

To All,

Here is an image with interesting proportions. This is my Siebert 45mm Elites inside my clubs 16" SCT. This is an F17.5 with a focal length of 7000mm.

This scope has limited focus in-travel. The primary and secondary mirrors are fixed. This telescope uses a 16 inch diameter paraboloid mirror as its primary optic. At the time it was built, it was one of the largest amateur telescopes in the State of Ohio.

The Siebert Multimag made focusing in this telescope very easy. I have yet to fnd a telecope with a 2" focuser that I cannot use. I ended up with a 1.08X configuration similar to what would I have used in a refractor. It probably would also have focused going straight in without a corrector, but I thought the convenience of the diagonal was worth the minor magnification.

Using Siebert 36mm EPs we had a 210X view. That worked out nice for Saturn and the Moon. It was a little early for Jupiter. We also swung the scope over to M42 and got a very impressive view of the Trapezium.

I have also used my 22mm BlackNights on this scope with a Siebert 1.3X OCA. The view was nice, but not anything like this.

Using a telescope that has a 7000mm focal length, I have to say that having a 2" binoviewer that can use 36mm EPs without vignetting, is really the ultimate. I really like all my 1 1/4" binoviewers, but I love my 45mm 2": Elites.

Don Durbin

Burgess BV125 Model C
Original 22mm BlackNights with Diopters and focal reducer
45mm Elite BlackNights with Diopters
Sieberts 1.3X OCA, Sieberts UltraBarlow, Sieberts Multimag OCA.
Denk IIs
Denkmeier 2" SCT Star Diagonal (Modified)
Denkmeier 2" Star Sweeper SE
Denkmeier 1 1/4" Star Sweeper SE
Stellarvue AT1010
Meade ETX90
Stellarvue 102APO
Orion 100ED
Celestron C9.25
Orion Atlas 8"
Meade 152ED

To all,

My experiments with my Burgess binoviewer have yielded some interesting results.

I purchased the Orion shorty Barlow that we talked about earlier.
08711 1 Shorty 2x Barlow

The magnification was as expected.. too high. I was going to do a full report with exact magnifications and I still might. In the mean time I think this is what some of the people on this forum are looking for.

To the Shorty Barlow add for SAC a .5 focal reducer.
SAC's .5/.3 combo focal reducer $65 plus $7 shipping.

The SAC .5 focal reducer comes with a 1 1/4" extension tube. This is normally used to increase the effectiveness of the focal reducer to .3.

To build an OCA for a Newtonian telescope, screw the focal reducer into the Burgess unit, screw the extension tube into the focal reducer, screw the Barlow element into the extension tube. This assembly came to focus very easily in my 8" Orion Atlas. It looked to be about a 1.5X OCA

To use this setup in a refractor, screw the barlow into the front of a good 1 1/4" diagonal. Screw the focal reducer into your Burgess unit and place it into your diagonal. For more reduction use the 1 1/4" extension tube supplied with the focal reducer in between the Burgess and the focal reducer.

Keep the empty Barlow tube handy, you may find that it can be used as a spacer between the diagonal and the telescope. I found that an inch or two of focus helped in my refractors. The gain of the OCA when the extension tube was used on the focal reducer was very low. I would say less than 1.5X.

The SAC focal reducer is too high a power to use as a focal reducer in an SCT.

You can use either a Siebert focal reducer or a 1 1/4" Denkmeier Star Sweeper module with your Burgess in an SCT.

I would like to give some credit to Harry Siebert for this. Working with his multimag is where the idea for this came from. I also need to mention that Harry has a Burgess OCA advertised for $69. I do not have one and I do not know the specifications.

Enjoy,
Don Durbin

Burgess BV125 Model C
Original 22mm BlackNights with Diopters and focal reducer
45mm Elite BlackNights with Diopters
Sieberts 1.3X OCA, Sieberts UltraBarlow, Sieberts Multimag OCA.
Denk IIs
Denkmeier 2" SCT Star Diagonal (Modified)
Denkmeier 2" Star Sweeper SE
Denkmeier 1 1/4" Star Sweeper SE
Stellarvue AT1010
Meade ETX90
Stellarvue 102APO
Orion 100ED
Celestron C9.25
Orion Atlas 8"
Meade 152ED

Hi Guys,

Back up here just a second... Are you saying the Burgess Refractor in Auctions section does not have the 40 to 1 focuser???

Matt, Are you saying you only paid $155 for this same scope??

If true then I am really glad I got out bid. I was mainly interested in the focuser. I wanted to use it on another scope. Also if this scope is not what is being advertised then I think 'Anacortes Returns' should have provided a corrected ad. Reselling something with information you know not to be true puts you in the same class as the original seller.

Don Durbin

To All,

My Takahashi FS-128 arrived today. This is a used scope I got off astromart. The first thing I noticed was that the visual back came with two 34mm extensions. You need these to get to focus on a normal eyepiece. Actually that was the second thing I noticed. The first was that the scope did not come with a 2" visual back. This was going to severely limit my OCA/OCS choices with my binoviewers.

My club was having a Galaxy quest last night and tonight so I took my new TAK with me tonight. When setting up the view finder during the daylight I noticed that I had an inch worth of in travel focus left when using my Siebert BlackNight without a corrector on a nearby terrestrial object. I was using a Lumicon 1 1/4" lumibrite diagonal. Even though this was a Galaxy quest, Jupiter is a nice bright first target. I put in the Burgess Binoviewer with my 18mm Radians and easily came to focus on Jupiter with room to spare. Switching to my 22mm BlackNights with 19mm Panoptics in them I also came to focus with a little bit of room left. I found that if I put the Radians in the Blacknights I came up a little short on focus. I think most people might be OK but I view without my glasses and I need more in-travel than someone with 20/20 vision. The Panoptics need less in-travel.

So basically I did all my observing for the rest of the night with switching back and forth between the Burgess and the BlackNights without using any corrector at all. Life is good with a TAK FS-128.

Did I mention the TAK gave drop dead gorgeous views?

I do not have a 1 1/4" nose for my Denkmeier but if I did I am sure it would have come to focus also without any corrector on this scope. The light path on a Denk is about half way between a Burgess and a BlackNight.

The bottom line here is that a TAK FS-128 using 1 1/4" equipment is a great binoviewing scope!

Don Durbin

Burgess BV125 Model C
Original 22mm BlackNights with Diopters and focal reducer
45mm Elite BlackNights with Diopters
Sieberts 1.3X OCA, Sieberts UltraBarlow, Sieberts Multimag OCA.
(Semi)Denk IIs
Denkmeier 2" SCT Star Diagonal (Modified)
Denkmeier 2" Star Sweeper SE
Denkmeier 1 1/4" Star Sweeper SE
Stellarvue AT1010
Meade ETX90
Stellarvue 102APO
Orion 100ED
Celestron C9.25
Orion Atlas 8"
Meade 152ED
TAK FS-128
Coronado SM-40/BF10

Hi All,

Does anyone else know that a Coronado SM-40 solar filter threads perfectly into the center of an FS-128 Dew shield? As a matter of fact it runs into the TAK smoother than the Coronado adapter that I paid $155 for.

I am glad I did not buy an adapter for the TAK.

Don Durbin

Hi all,

Does anyone else know that a Coronado SM-40 solar filter threads perfectly into the center of an FS-128 Dew shield? As a matter of fact it runs into the TAK smoother than the Coronado adapter that I paid $155 for.

I am glad I did not buy an adapter for the TAK.

Don Durbin

To All,

Tonight I pulled out my Celestron 9.25 along with my Denkmeier binoviewer, a Denkmeier single arm SCT power switch and my modified Denkmeier SCT power switch diagonal. The Denkmeier optics in it have been replaced with the optics from a Siebert multimag. This allows this powerswitch diagonal to work with both single eyepieces and binoviewers alike. I believe this is similar to the newer Denkmeier Powerswitch diagonals. The reducer side has been replaced with the multimag 1.2X lens and the multiplier single has been replaced with the multimag 2.0X lens.

My choice of eyepieces was my pair of Siebert 24mm Ultra Plus. This seems to be a good choice of eyepiece with the Denkmeier binoviewers.

Using the Sieberts 24mm EPs in the Denkmeier binoviewer with all switches out produced a nice crisp image of Jupiter. With the SCT power switch engaged I was able to focus and was rewarded with a much wider view. This really proved to be a benefit when I engaged the power switch diagonal arms. The magnification levels with the SCT powerswitch engaged worked very well with Jupiter tonight. I found the power of the power switch diagonal a little high for Jupiter. Still both powers came to focus and provided good if slightly overpowered images.

I have a Williams Optics crayford focuser on my C9.25 so I did not need to use the 2" visual back that came with the Denkmeier Power Switch diagonal.

The total number of magnifications with this setup available to me tonight was 6. Starting with the original power, you can get a reduced power with the SCT Power switch engaged. The two power arms on the Powerswitch diagonal gives you four more powers, two powers with the SCT powerswitch in and two more powers with the SCT powerswitch out.

Denkmeier has a current version that is similar to this setup that sells for $599 for use with refractors.

Don Durbin

Hi All,

Well I was out tonight with my TAK FS-128 and my Burgess BV-125c.

The FS-128 has a ton of in-focus travel and will focus my Burgess, Denkmeier, and Siebert binoviewers without any corrector.

I have to say I really like the Burgess binoviewer. They are the lightest of all my binoviewers and have the shortest light path.

I doubled up on my Nagler 4.8 with one I found on Astromart. Televue EPs are really amazing in the I have bought a number of my pairs at different times and so far they have all been parfocal. The seeing was not that great tonight. It has not been good all holiday weekend, but I was determined to get in some viewing tonight and I did get some holes in the clouds to look through. The 4.8's were a little too powerful for tonight's conditions but I think this is going to become one of my preferred combinations.

I also got in a pair of 9mm HD Ortho's and they gave the best views of the night. I tried to get 7mm HD orthos but they went back order and I finally settled for the 9mm.

Using my 19mm Panoptics, I tried an experiment I had read about earlier with a light orange filter on one EP and a light yellow filter on the other EP. The light yellow filter brought out a little more detail on the bands on Jupiter, but I did not get any enhanced 3D effect with both eyes. I should have tried putting the yellow filter in the bottom of the binoviewer but I wanted to try the Naglers and the Ortho's out.

During a period when clouds obscured Jupiter I swung over to Saturn but it was already a little too low and had a lot of ripple in the image. The Ortho's were the best on it also.

I wanted to try some DSO images with my DSI camera but I felt it never really cleared up enough.

Don Durbin