Eyepiece Help

[rosshald]

Hello all, I am a new member and seek help already. I have a Bushmaster StarExplorer SE 114900 and have just managed to assemble it and make it stable, I think. I need help with the Eyepieces, I have an ( erecting eyepiece 1.5 x ) a ( 2 x Barlow ) a H 12.5mm ) and a ( H 20mm ).
I know that the small eyepiece ( telescope on the main barrell ) is for sighting in but the main viewer is at present empty and is ready for the items mentioned above ? here in lies the problem/s. I have lot the instructions, so can some one please assist me viewing the star or point me to a link, please
cheers
rosshald ( Ross ):help:

[janoskiss]

Download this manual:
http://www.telescope.com/text/content/pdf/inst_09036.pdf
It is for a scope very similar to yours and should answer most of your questions.

Re EPs, use only your H20mm EP to begin with, and the 12.5mm later for closer looks. Forget the barlow and the erecting EP - they are probably poor quality and not very useful.

[iceman]

Hi Ross, :welcome: to IceInSpace!

The "small eyepiece" as you call it, is called the "finderscope". It's usually something like a 6x30 on those small telescopes (6x magnification, 30mm objective diameter).

You use the finderscope as a low-power "finder" to find the object you're interested in, and then look through the main telescope to get a more magnified view.

The 2 eyepieces you have (12.5mm and 20mm) will give you magnifications of 72x and 45x respectively.
If you use the 2x barlow in conjunction with those eyepieces, it effectively makes the 12.5mm a 6mm eyepiece, and the 20mm a 10mm, giving you magnifications of 150x and 90x, respectively.
The 1.5x erecting eyepiece is a waste of space, you'll likely never use it.

Have a look at the following 2 reviews here on IceInSpace, of 2 similar small scopes. Some of the learnings there might help you with your scope:
- http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?id=41,358,0,0,1,0
- http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?id=41,362,0,0,1,0

You will probably need to align the finderscope so that what you point it at, matches what you see in the eyepiece. Do this during the day, on a far-away mountain or street-light. It won't work on close obejcts as you won't be able to bring it to focus.
Once you can see a street light or similar in your eyepiece, adjust the finderscope until the same object is in the middle of the crosshairs.

The moon will be up tonight - put in the 20mm eyepiece, use the finderscope to locate the moon, and then look through the main eyepiece. You will most likely need to focus (rotating the knobs backwards/forwards) until you see sharp detail.

You can then try the 12.5mm eyepiece, and then the 20mm + 2x barlow, and then the 12.5m + 2x barlow. With each increase in magnification, you'll see a closer-up view but it will also get harder to focus and more "blurry" looking when the conditions are not good.

Anyway give this a try and let us know tonight how you go.

Also point it at the brightest "star" that will be directly overhead shortly after sunset. That's Jupiter. You should see a bright ball and 4 bright moons nearby.

I hope this helps, Keep asking questions!

[OneOfOne]

One of the first things you will want to do is to ensure that what is in the middle of the finder is also in the middle of the eyepiece view. this is best done in the daytime. Place the 20mm into the end of the scope, this will give the least magnification, and locate something a mile or so away that is recognisable in the scope eyepiece (tree, house, pole etc). Then adjust the finder until this same object is in the centre of the finder (there will be adjustment screws on the finder and as you turn them, the image will move). Make sure you keep the other screws of the finder tight, you may need to loosen some before you can tighten a different one. After a while you will get an idea of which screw moves the view which way. When this is centred, you will know that the thing that you have "found" in the finder will be somewhere in the view of the main scope.

Now when it gets dark you can move the finder around to something you are interested in and then look in the scope. If you put the 20mm eyepiece in, you will get the smallest magnification, but the widest view. When you have centred the subject, you can put the shorter length eypiece in for a closer look. You find that using the barlow will often give too much magnification and the image quality will get worse. Try to get a look at the Moon as this is big and hard to miss but you should be able to see something (full Moon you will need a moon filter to reduce the amount of light). Next point the scope high at the "bright star" that is overhead at the moment, this is Jupiter. You should be able to see up to 4 other bright little stars very close by, these are it's moons. You will also need to keep moving the scope as the image will drift out of the view, but using the 20mm will give you the longest amount of time to observe. A good star to look at would be Alpha Centauri (the brightest pointer to the Cross) as it is very easy to find and with your scope you may be able to see that it is a double.

So give it a go, I hope my instructions are a help.

[OneOfOne]

Ah! IceMan must have been typing at the same time as me. Fortunately for me he said the same stuff too.:D

[rosshald]

Great work everyone and great help, big thanks to all

[rosshald]

Thank You All
Great work everyone and great help, big thanks to all

[erick]

So how is it going, Ross? Are you getting good views and finding interesting objects now?