10.5mm televue plossl

ving (David) · #1 09-03-2005, 05:15 PM

I'll soon be recieving a 10.5mm televue plossl (in about a week) and I am soooo looking forward to it. While GSO EP are recognised as being quite good I cant wait to get my hands on an EP that is supposed to be premium.

the big question is, do you guys want a review of the EP and if so what would you like to see in the review. I am quite happy to do one for the website mike but I need to know what you want in it.

while I dont have another 10.55 EP i do have a 9mm I can compare it against if that is part of what you guys want.

ps: mike, the review i did for the GSO SW 2" 30mm can be added to your reviews page if you want. just tell me what you want to add to it.
http://www.iceinspace.com/forum/show...=&threadid=639

Starkler (Geoff) · #2 09-03-2005, 06:01 PM

I think a review comparing it to the 9mm would be very worthwhile for those who wonder what the differences are between a garden variety ep, and a quality ep.

Striker (Tony) · #3 09-03-2005, 06:32 PM

Yep go for it Ving...we need reviews.....keep them coming...

iceman (Mike) · #4 10-03-2005, 06:02 AM

Nice one Ving, you getting this EP for your planetary/doubles viewing? Where are you getting it from and how much did it cost?

Have you got a barlow to get a nice 5mm mag? What barlow do you own?

I'll be very interested to hear your comparisons to the 9mm gso plossl, same as what i've got. A review will be most handy and I can help you out with the type of info needed in it, cause by then i'll have finished my review of the andrews ED eyepiece.

ving (David) · #5 10-03-2005, 07:17 AM

ah! I was wondering what happened to the ED EP

I'll use the EP for planetary and double viewing but its not why i got it. It was really out of curiosity.
being the 10.5 its of the older series of TV plossls, the new one is 11mm.
I've got a gso 2x barlow to use with it, and while its quite good I'll probably end up getting something better one day.

I didnt tell cheryl i was getting the EP... i got into trouble when i got home

iceman (Mike) · #6 10-03-2005, 07:47 AM

Where did you get it from? Was it new or 2nd hand? How much was it?

<small>now you can't ignore those questions this time

</small>

Isn't it nice to get in trouble from the missus when you splurge on an astro purchase

ving (David) · #7 10-03-2005, 09:16 AM

lol, not much trouble. "your supposed to be saving david!". well what can i say... I like to spend money on the love of my life

nice to know who wears the pants in my household

it was second hand from ebay and cost about $60 US (bargin me thinks)

iceman (Mike) · #8 10-03-2005, 09:32 AM

Nice price! Can't wait to hear how it performs.

iceman (Mike) · #9 14-03-2005, 08:14 AM

oi Ving!

How is it?

I'm looking to get a planetary eyepiece of my own and have read some good reviews about televue plossls. Have you had a chance to use yours yet, or has it not arrived yet?

ving (David) · #10 14-03-2005, 09:15 AM

no not yet mike. I purchased it last thursday i think it was... It'll be posted this week from the US.
trust me, as soon as i look thru it there'll be a post the next day

televue plossls are supposed to be amoung the best plossls so I am looking forward to it

ving (David) · #11 18-03-2005, 03:34 PM

must be arriving soon, its raining.

Dave47tuc (David) · #12 19-03-2005, 09:05 AM

The 10.5 is a very nice eyepiece, I use to have one.

Bit small on eye relief but very sharp. Enjoy

ving (David) · #13 25-03-2005, 01:29 PM

sure is dave!
just recieved it last night and heres a very quick review (more detailed review to come).

date: 24.3.05
time: 2200 hrs
moon: full as!
seeing (1-10): between 1 and 2
visual limiting magnitude: about 3
EP used: 10.5mm TV pl and GSO 9mm pl

the construction of the TV is good and strong. my piece is 2nd hand and is in great condition. its of the older series as the replacement i believe is 11mm.
Eye relif is very small, which doesnt bother me but it didnt come with an eyecup which means that I had to cup mu hand around it to stop stray light from coming in (which i did for the 9mm too anyhow). Also I found that my focuser didnt have enough outward travel to focus and I needed to lift the EP about 1/2 cm to get it to focus

My colimation was way off and i had a bugger of a time fixing it but got there eventually. anyhow, off to testing..

my first post of call on this night of terrible viewing was saturn and stright away i notice a difference in the views. The TV had much greater contrast darkening the surrounding sky without sacrificing any in the view of the planet (which was waving and weaving in the field of view). the skies looked blacker than the GSO which was considerable greyer. as the seeing was bad it was hard to focus enuff to get any detail from saturn or jupiter of which i saw the bands and little else.

star testing. I hit rigel next and easily split, tho because of the seeing it was once again hard to focus and I certainly didnt get a fine point of light i am accostomed to.
sirius was a boiling mass even with an aperture mask. gah! this is the worst nights viewing ever!

m42/43, now here we go. in the TV m42 filled the FOV nicely with dark(ish) green nebulosity. M43 shone brightly (for m43) at the edge of m42 with averted vision, and dimer straight on. the trap shone brightly (4 stars) and the er... mouth is it? was very distinct. the wings filled the field of view. The GSO just wasnt up tothe task. m43 was a very faint blob and the whole m42 was fainter not as sharp nor as contrasty.

conclusion: this will be a very intersting piece to use under better seeing conditions. it is high contrast and sharp (or it would be under better seeing). a soft eyecup would be very advantageous. Its a shame that i have to sit it out from the focuser and lock it in place too. does anyone know how this would effect the magnification?

anyhow at $60 US I cant complain

ving (David) · #14 25-03-2005, 01:32 PM

any more info required ?
oh and hows the ED review going mike?

RAJAH235 · #15 25-03-2005, 06:39 PM

Ving, for the focus problem, why not use a spacer, that will stop the E/Pc going so far into the tube? Find the right Diam.plastic tube, cut it to length & fit to E/Pc.

L.

ving (David) · #16 26-03-2005, 01:07 PM

will do, when i get around to it

Starkler (Geoff) · #17 26-03-2005, 01:18 PM

Im surprised to hear that you have to lift it out of the focuser Ving.
Wherabouts in the focuser travel range do your gso plossls focus?

I had a Celestron Ultima 12.5mm (sold to Frosty) which is said to be on a par performance wise with the TV plossls, but focused at a similar point to a standard plossl.

ving (David) · #18 26-03-2005, 01:41 PM

considerably further down, say 5-6 turns for the 9mm down from the top.

iceman (Mike) · #19 31-03-2005, 06:55 AM

Quote:

any more info required ?

Ving, i've uploaded a new file to the files section, from the astronomy_shootouts yahoo group. It's an "eyepiece shootout guidelines" file which has a list of things to look for and check for when doing an eyepiece review.

If you're still keen to review the TV 10.5mm plossl (which would be most cool if you could), you could do another review under the stars taking into consideration the guidelines in that file, and write it up in a word document, appropriately sectioned etc with some pics of it as well.

Would also be interested to read about it's planetary/lunar/double-star performance when barlowed, on a night of good seeing.

Thanks

iceman (Mike) · #20 31-03-2005, 06:57 AM

Quote:

ps: mike, the review i did for the GSO SW 2" 30mm can be added to your reviews page if you want. just tell me what you want to add to it.

Also if you want to re-do your review of the GSO SW 2" 30mm with i'm sure more experience and more nights of use with it, in combination with the things to think about in that file, that would also be most cool.

Thanks David.