What Binoviewer for a Meade ETX125

[chrissara]

Hello all. First time poster and very new to astronomy. Was recommended a Meade as a good mid to long term investment and their ETX series I have just purchased a Meade ETX125 accordingly (link here) http://www.meade.com/etx/etx_mak.html and was wondering what would be a good binoviewer for it (preferably cheaper). My six year old son and I are coming to grips with a single eyepiece, and I would really love him to see through the telescope for longer without having to pull away when he is straining with a single eyepiece. From what I have read here on the forums, the binoviewers are great for the apparent 3D effect.

[janoskiss]

The current line of budget Chinese binoviewers are all basically the same. There are small differences between the different models but the optics are supposed to be the same. I have the Burgess unit which is supposed to have a little bit more clear aperture than the rest (and I can confirm it takes 19mm Panoptics without vignetting), but it does have those stupid nylon screws too.

I noticed that Andrews were advertising binoviewers for under $300 in S&T. But the William Optics unit from Frontier Optics with 2 eyepieces for $350 is probably the best buy and it should work well in your scope.

[chrissara]

Thanks very much for your reply. Much appreciated.

[[1ponders]]

Hi chrissara, :welcome: to the site. Be a bit careful of using binoviewers with the ETX. They will work but just check to make sure the weight of them isn't going to put too much strain on the gears from being out of balance. You might need to develop some sort of weight system to attach to the front of the telescope to balance it.

[chrissara]

I am not sure how the binoviewers work, but I assume that you unscrew the eyepiece and put this on? Might sound weird, but how about I let the telescope find the object, unscrew the eyepiece and then put the binoviewer on? Or is it the case that the weight of the binoviewer may be heavy enough to pull the telescope out of kilt.

[[1ponders]]

I have a pair of Saxon Binoviewers and they are pretty weighty (as heavy if not heavier than a BIG nagler I would say at a guess).

A couple of friends have ETX 90s and I'd hate to try binoviewers on them without having some sort of counterweight on the other end of the scope. I've not seen the ETX125s in real life so I don't know how robust they are but it is definately something to consider. Last thing you want to do is have your scope too far out of balance and damage your gears (which I "think" are plastic), or burn a motor out because it is under too much strain.

If you don't mind me asking, where did you purchase your ETX from. If from Bintel, then I'd be giving them a call and asking their advice. That would be the safest way

[[1ponders]]

Oh and to answer your last questions :P

You simply replace the eyepiece with the binoviewer. You won't need to swap bino and eyepiece back and forward as the bino will replace the eyepiece

[ausastronomer]

Chrissara,

Paul has given you very good advice here. Definately check with the supplier of the scope. Hopefully you bought it from someone reputable like Bintel who can give you good advice.

Placing such a heavy load on the scope may even void you warranty and that I think is important, although the binoviewers plus eyepieces shouldn't be any heavier than some photographic rigs. I have only used an ETX125 on one occasion, but I am doubting its ability to handle that load. It may handle the load in the short term, but ultimately I think I can smell burning motors or hear stripped gears.

CS-John B

[janoskiss]

The new line of budget binoviewers are a lot lighter than the Saxons. They are also much better performers. I tried a pair of Saxons at Bintel, and they are pretty ordinary: heavy, poor optics, bad vignetting. The current Chinese units sold under many of the big (and some not so big) brand names are a lot better.