Who has the beautiful old Hygenes eyepieces stashed away ?

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

It has come to pass , down in the beginners EQ forums that there are a few here that still hold these old .965 Inch H20's , Or's and SR4mm eyepieces in their collections and still use them , like me .
I have two of these survivors , a H20mm and SR5mm , both in good condition and I do bring them out every now and then to remind me of how lucky we are today .
The SR5mm gives me 200x in my Istar and the inner 25% is very good on Jupiter , Saturn and the likes , but the outer 75% is hideous !!.
But it was all I had 25 years ago before this chineese revolution we like and enjoy so much today .

Why have I kept these 2 eyepieces , well ,,, I made a quality .965inch to 1 1/4 inch adaptor years ago so I could use my Zeiss .965's and now we are talking . .965 inch eyepieces can be found in real quality .
So I do take the Hygenes and Series Ransdom's (?) out for a look at star light every now and then , just to bring me back down to earth and it works .
Hope this makes sence .

Anyway pitch in here so we don't hi-jack Ricks original thread any more ..

Brian.

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

What's beautiful about em? I've got em but I can't bring myself to use them again. Dunno why I don't throw them out. I do have a nice Unitron 0.96 something 25mm Kellner though and it's really quite good.

Using a Huygens eyepiece is like using a refractor like Galileo's but that's what I did for the first 10 years. They work better at slow f/D ratios like f15 but on fast scopes they are terrible.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

say what , ?.
So now there is 2 of us that know what a Hygenes is , cool
.
They are not all that bad , Jupiter was discovered using these in a 40mm f9 refractor ... yea we are so spoilt . .
Brian

Originally Posted by cometcatcher

What's beautiful about em? I've got em but I can't bring myself to use them again. Dunno why I don't throw them out. I do have a nice Unitron 0.96 something 25mm Kellner though and it's really quite good.

Using a Huygens eyepiece is like using a refractor like Galileo's but that's what I did for the first 10 years. They work better at slow f/D ratios like f15 but on fast scopes they are terrible.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Oh ,,, Galileo used a singe eye lense 1644 , Hygens came along in 1660 20 years after Galileo , top of the heap in eyepiece design 1660ish and hand build .
We are spoilt .
Brian

[cometcatcher (Kevin)]

Well the huygens eyepiece is only 350 years out of date then.

[PeterM]

Huygens ( Christiaan HUYGENS - Dutch) were more or less throw away if damaged eyepieces that were great for Solar projection with no glue/cement. Rarely see them around now.

[Wavytone]

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

Series Ransdom's (?)

They're "Ramsden" eyepieces. Typical design http://spie.org/x33112.xml

It's time to let go of these old things.

[ausastronomer (John Bambury)]

SR = Symmetrical Ramsden

As others have said the Huygens and Symmetrical Ramsdens are at least 200 years out of date and IMO a monumental degree below the optical standard required for serious use in a modern astronomical telescope of F-ratio of anything less than F15.

Cheers,
John B

[bojan]

I have one Ramsden or Kellner 20mm from Zeiss 4" terrestrial refractor.. and I still use it from time to time if you believe me..
Another one is 40mm (cartridge only, 45mm dia.. ) I plan to make the rest for 2" one day.
Both came from the same telescope (on the pic attached), they are surprisingly good, excellent eye relief.. and were part of the turret (the third 10mm one was broken)

[doppler (Rick)]

Checked my box of bits and pieces and yes I too am guilty, a H 6mm 0.96" eye piece. I think I kept it to power up my finder scope. I do have a 25mm kellner that gives good veiws on my 8" f6 newt and is still well used. I did find an old 4mm ep made by Clave paris. Not sure of its configuration.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Yes , but OLD does not necessarily mean no good .
I just found a 6mm Ortho .965 ( Unitron I think) in my junk I am cleaning out and I remember the views of Jupiter in my home made 10 inch f10 Newtonion were better than our clubs C14 ,, the middle 70% of course , even at f10 , but the centre was exquisite massive detail seen .
I will take this out to our dark sky night this Saturday and try it out on Saturn and later on Jupiter in my Takahashi M210 .
I will report the findings , weather permitting .
Brian.

Originally Posted by Wavytone

They're "Ramsden" eyepieces. Typical design http://spie.org/x33112.xml

It's time to let go of these old things.

[johnt (John)]

Originally Posted by cometcatcher

Well the huygens eyepiece is only 350 years out of date then.

I'm so glad most people have this attitude about "old stuff". It leaves all the old ("Out of Date") stuff for the rest of us that really appreciate it.

[johnt (John)]

Originally Posted by cometcatcher

What's beautiful about em? I've got em but I can't bring myself to use them again. Dunno why I don't throw them out. I do have a nice Unitron 0.96 something 25mm Kellner though and it's really quite good.

Using a Huygens eyepiece is like using a refractor like Galileo's but that's what I did for the first 10 years. They work better at slow f/D ratios like f15 but on fast scopes they are terrible.

Dont throw them away, Sell them. I'm sure one of us that appreciates them for what they are (and possibly has an older & longer telescope) will actually pay for them!

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Originally Posted by johnt

Dont throw them away, Sell them. I'm sure one of us that appreciates them for what they are (and possibly has an older & longer telescope) will actually pay for them!

Bang on , I hear one of us here on IIS is in the process of building a 6 inch f12 refractor ,, I bet they will perform in that beauty .
Brian.