Stupid question?

[TeZZa]

I have just purchased a Megrez II 80 FD APO, I got the Quartz dielectric diagonal (apparently it needs either this, or a 2" extender tube) plus an Andrews UW80 F30 mm eypiece.

My (dumb?) question is that I can't get it to focus with everything properly seated. If I pull the diagonal and the eyepiece halfways out, I can get it to focus, but this seems wrong to me - should'nt it focus with them sitting in properly?

Any help would be appreciated

Tar

TeZZa

[iceman]

Have you tried other eyepieces?

[iceman]

btw :welcome: to the forum!

WHere abouts in Sydney are you?

[TeZZa]

Hi Iceman, thanks for your prompt reply, I'm in Undercliffe, which is near Earlwood and Marrickville (nobody ever knows where Undercliffe is!)

Unfortunately I don't have any other eyepieces, I only purchased this scope today!

[Miaplacidus]

Hi Tezza,

Welcome. Nice scope (I have one), but I think you must have been misled. The Megrez apo WILL require an extender for your eyepieces to come to focus. A bit of a pain, that.

Williams Optics sell them, of course, but BINTEL have them too, and although not as shiny, they are cheaper and probably do the same job. (You will need the 50 mm one, if you get it from BINTEL. WO's own are 55 mm, I think.)

Good luck,

Brian.

[Miaplacidus]

PS. A teacher once told me that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Only stupid answers.

PPS. And the Andrews UWA that you bought is perfect for that scope. Good choice.

[Miaplacidus]

Oh, yeah. What mount are you using?

[RB]

Welcome TeZZa,

Like Miaplacidus said try Bintel for the extension tube.
I had a similar problem and they sorted it out with the 50mm tube.

I know where Undercliffe is, I grew up at Dulwich Hill. :)

Cheers and good luck.

:thumbsup:

[TeZZa]

Thank you all for your replys, I'll grab an extension tube Monday...

I picked up a EQ3 Synta EQ mount at the same time (today), unfurtunatly when I got home and tryed to set it up there was a whole bunch of bits missing, so I'll have to go back to Andrews on Monday and pick up the missing bits...

I have a couple of photography tripods, one of which is what I was using to try out the tube tonight, managed to get some good views of Jupiter in between the clouds!

Thanks again to all for your replies, very quick, and to the point! :thumbsup:

I'm off to Tassie next week for holiday, dark sky's here I come!! :D

TeZZa

[TeZZa]

Hi Miaplacidus, I noticed you have the same scope - what would you recommend as a more powerful eyepiece for the 80 FD? I was thinking of picking up the Andrews UWA 2" 80° 15mm eyepiece as well...

Any thoughts?

[davidpretorius]

Hi TeZZa,

I hope you bring some nice weather ie leave clouds behind. It has been dreadful viewing for an entire month.

PM (private mail) me if you require any directions etc or you want to have a look thru a guided 10" dob whilst in Launceston.

The launceston boys will probably have a get together next weekend out at a dark sky site if you are interested.

Welcome to the worlds best astro forum!

[Miaplacidus]

ABSOLUTELY DON'T BUY THE 15 mm!!!!!!! In another post here recently I warned people off this eyepiece. I have it, and take my word for it, it is a shocker. (The moderators need to make a sticky of astro gear to avoid, and this eyepiece needs to be near the top of the list.)

Alas, I have no cheap suggestions for higher power EPs. I love my 10mm Pentax XW, and am pretty fond of my 12 mm Nagler, and the 5 mm Vixen LVW and Radian performs nicely in this little refractor. (I will be selling the Radian soon, probably for around $220.)

The Megrez loves wide fields, as I'm sure you'll find with the 30mm Andrews UWA. Still, I find 25, 15, and even 9mm GSO/Celestron plossls perform quite nicely in it too. (I guess those are my cheap high power suggestions.)

BUT REMEMBER: whatever you do, STEER CLEAR OF THAT ANDREWS 15mm UWA, IT'S A DOG!!!! (Lee ought to ditch it, I reckon.)

Cheers,

Brian.

[saturn c]

try another i piece ?

[ving]

g'day tezza :)
well your questions have been answered so i'l just say welcome to the forum :)

undercliffe is right near arncliffe... I work in rockdale :)

[Miaplacidus]

Hi TeZ,

If you're coming to Hobart, PM me. The AST has a regular meeting at Mt Canopus, not far out of town, 7.30 every Fri evening (rain, hail or, er, moonshine).

Cheers,

Brian.

[TeZZa]

Thank you all for your kind welcome (and info)

Firstly, as a beginner I have found the whole business of buying a telescope and mount rather shabby! Maybe it was just me, but talk about amateur! If I treated my customers the way I have been treated I would be out of business... I guess you can get away with that level of service in a niche area. :shrug: If anyone is interested I can open another thread detailing my experience as a complete beginner in buying a telescope, let me know.

Now, onto better topics; you guys have been great, a fantastic source of info! :thumbsup: Onto specifics; I have decided not to buy the 15 mm eyepiece, maybe it was the capital letters, maybe it was just the 'DON"T BUY ONE' message, but I got the feeling I should look into the topic of eyepieces a bit more before I buy another one! Thanks.

Tassie, thanks for the kind invites, I am going overnight on the Spirit of Tasmania on 28 May, I have a couple of nights booked at Low Head, and a couple near Bicheno, then I'm off back to Sydney, so I have no real time to catch up with anyone. I was planning on dragging my new toy along with me, mostly in the hope that I can play at least once in a dark sky situation.

Now, for the lurkers/bods who come along in the months to come and do a search looking for the exact same info that I was;

The Megrez II 80 FD APO requires an extension tube of about 2" (or 50-55mm)... which seems a bit dumb to me; why didn't they make the tube 2" longer!

[janoskiss]

Please do if you are up to it. I'm sure a lot of people including myself would be interested to read about your experiences. A discussion of the issues would also be useful for others looking to buy their first telescope. Just please be tactful when referring to specific dealers. From the IceInSpace Terms of Service (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=7856):

"When discussing a vendor, be careful about what you post as it can be easy for comments to be taken the wrong way and a vendor may take offence. In general, remember to be specific about your experience or opinion, don't generalise and don't play judge and jury. Think and re-read before pressing submit."

I suspect you were buying from a dealer who themselves did not have much of a clue about astronomy, telescopes and other equipment apart from what they might have learned through buying and selling them. :confuse3:


Because then many other eyepieces would not reach focus. It's easy to make the tube longer with an extension tube, it's not so easy to make it shorter ... although Bert can show you how to wield a hacksaw if you're interested. :lol: