New EP: Baader 8-24 Zoom. Yay?

[Woodgnome (David)]

Hi all,

At last, I have another eyepiece to go with the telescope. Of course the weather has been dreadful since it arrived.....

I am curious whether anyone else with a Celestron NexStar SE8 has tried using the Hyperion Zoom EP in the standard Celestron diagonal? the 1.25" barrel on the end of the EP seems too short, as the bottom of the EP rubs against the diagonal locking screws.

This also appears to make correct focus a bit of an issue. Luckily, I had also ordered a 0.5 focal reducer, and this came with an extender and the correct thread to attach to the EP. When I attach the extender (with or without the focal reducer), focus and clearance are no longer issues.

Anyway, in theory, I now have an effective zoom range of 8mm (254x) down to 48mm (42x, using the focal reducer somewhere in the connection with the EP and extender) if my maths and assumptions are OK. Not sure if I'll be able to use it all (if my limited understanding of FOV and pupil diameter are correct), but hopefully it will work out.


David

[Poita (Peter)]

I had no issues using the Vixen zoom in the standard Clestron diagonal, it is great to be zoomed out, find a planet or lunar crater and then zoom in as far as the seeing will allow.
Not sure about the Baader or if it is the same design.

[Renato1 (Renato)]

I don't really understand what the problem is. If you are adding an extender, the eyepiece sits further out of the diagonal and you say it works fine.

I don't have your Celestron, but I do have a C8. While screwing the eyepiece in might be a slight annoyance, I can't see why you should have focus issues, since it is closer into the diagonal than with the extender.

But as this is a problem for you, perhaps pick up the cheapest screw in filter you can find (the show up in the classifieds every now and then) screw it in and see if the extra 4 or 5mm added length fixes your problem. If it does, knock the glass out and keep the filter ring permanently attached.
Regards,
Renato

[GUS.K (Ivan)]

I have the same issue with the bottom of the eyepiece hitting the locking screw on my solar scope diagonal, I just pull the eyepiece out a few millimeters and its fine.

GUS.K

[chappo (John)]

Same problem on the SE6.
I made a spacer from a piece of plastic chopping board. If you get the hole size as a friction fit, it stays on nicely.

[Woodgnome (David)]

Alright!

Skies cleared tonight enough to get the scope and new zoom lens out for a hunt around.

Apart from some issues with the goto thinking Saturn was somewhere in Scorpio, managed to test it out well.

With the spacer, focus is fine, and with the focal reducer added, only a few twirls to refocus.

The EP seems pretty good. Was able resolve two stars in alpha centauri (though getting good focus was hard), get a good zoom in and out of the jewel box, some nebula (very faint, but the fr improved these), Cassini rings in Saturn and full EP view of the moon to finish.

Going to have to work on my setup though, and add more weight to the tripod (I used bungee cords and the battery starter I'm using for power hangin off) to reduce the visible vibration time. Getting the tripod level seems a bugger, and I'm assuming the tracking issues were a result of that (3star sky align said it was set ok).

Still, apart from freezing my arse off (Canberra winters), that was a great start.

Cheers,
David