Ethos Downunder

gary · #1 17-10-2007, 02:45 PM

Last week myself, Andrew Murrell and John Bambury were taken aback
when observing colleagues from the US we were hosting presented us
with a wonderful gift, a brand new 13mm Ethos eyepiece.

Thank you Dave, Scott, John and Don for your generosity.

I had the first opportunity to use an Ethos when Al Nagler brought a couple
of the pre-production units to the Texas Star Party in May. It was the first time
for Al to use this eyepiece under a dark sky site and I was sold and wanted one.
I got to look through the Ethos through a variety of scopes both at TSP and
then at Riverside so I knew this was an eyepiece that worked equally well
on a variety of scopes.

Last week afforded the opportunity to use a pair of Ethos eyepieces on
5 nights from a dark site at Coonababran. The eyepieces were used on
a pair of Obsession 18" scopes as well as on a new Obsession Ultra
Compact 18 (first in Australia) along with a 25" Obsession. A common
comment was that "it was just like looking out of the port-hole of a space-ship".
Particularly dramatic were objects such as NGC 253 and NGC 55, where the
combination of power plus the 100 degree effective FOV allowed one to
look around the object in detail. The Tarantula was incredible through it and the
detail so dramatic that at one point I removed the eyepiece to confirm that
nobody had left a UHC filter in it. No, in fact it was delivering incredibly
bright, detailed images to the eyeball just raw.

This is a wonderful piece of optics and on the 18's is a convenient eyepiece to
leave in place as the defacto "cruising eyepiece".

On another note, the new Ultra Compact (UC) 18" Obsession was a real
joy to use. As a disclaimer, Obsession Telescopes is a customer of
Wildcard Innovations. However, with my observer's hat on, I can tell
you that this scope delivered all of the quality one expects from an
Obsession with the bonus that the scope will fit easily into any car.
It can be assembled in under three minutes and makes many smaller aperture
scopes appear large, bulky and impractical to transport by comparison. Combined
with the Ethos, it was a killer combination.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

skies2clear · #2 17-10-2007, 04:59 PM

Gary, thanks for the comments about the Ethos and the UC 18" Obsession. I've been very curious as to the UC's use in practice, and any scope that can perform as a large scope can, but still be easy to setup and easily packed into a car sounds great to me...assembly in under 3 minutes! Wow, that sounds almost too good to be true, almost! Will look at Obsessions website for more details....

Clear skies,
Nick

erick (Eric) · #3 17-10-2007, 05:03 PM

Photos on Obsession's website and link to Cloudy Nights review/photos is very interesting.

http://www.obsessiontelescopes.com/news/index.html

A 15" version later? - very interesting.

gary · #4 17-10-2007, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skies2clear

Gary, thanks for the comments about the Ethos and the UC 18" Obsession. I've been very curious as to the UC's use in practice, and any scope that can perform as a large scope can, but still be easy to setup and easily packed into a car sounds great to me...assembly in under 3 minutes! Wow, that sounds almost too good to be true, almost! Will look at Obsessions website for more details....

Clear skies,
Nick

Hi Nick,

I happen to have the UC stored with me right now, but alas, I am only
holding it for a short while until the real owner arranges to have it picked up.

Nevertheless, I did take a few photos of the assembly of the scope whilst
we had it in the field and I will be sure to load them onto IceInSpace as
soon as I get the chance. With the exception of the truss poles, the entire rest
of the scope fitted easily into the back of my Subaru Forester without having to
fold the rear seats down. It would fit in the boot of most cars. This is an important
attribute as I suspect there are many enthusiasts looking for a high
quality, large aperture scope that they can easily transport. Few people want
to buy a new, larger vehicle just to transport a telescope. For those that do
have larger vehicles, the additional space can be used for other purposes,
such as transporting the kids so they can have a chance to get into observing as
well!

Best regards

Gary Kopff
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

wavelandscott (Scott) · #5 19-10-2007, 05:12 AM

Nice gift!

It sounds like this eyepiece is a grand thing...

Did you happen to try the Ethos with a Parracor?

Did it seem to need one?
Did it make a difference?

Just curious...

Thanks!

gary · #6 19-10-2007, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wavelandscott

Nice gift!

It sounds like this eyepiece is a grand thing...

Did you happen to try the Ethos with a Parracor?

Did it seem to need one?
Did it make a difference?

Just curious...

Thanks!

Hi Scott,

Thanks for the post.

We did and it did make some difference, but not enough to warrant leaving it
in. Obviously the shorter the focal length of the scope the greater the benefit.

I was talking to another Australian Ethos owner today on the telephone.
He had used the eyepiece on a variety of instruments including a C14
and a refractor. On the C14, the focal length was such that the Ethos
became an excellent planetary eyepiece. He said the views of Jupiter were
stunning.

Again, the description of it being "like looking out the port hole of a space ship"
came up during the conversation.

This is certainly one exciting eyepiece and provides an adrenaline rush
even when used on old familiar objects.

Best regards

Gary Kopff
Mt. Kuirng-Gai

wavelandscott (Scott) · #7 19-10-2007, 10:22 PM

Thanks for the reply!

I appreciate your comment with respect to the Parracor...it sounds like a remarkable eyepiece!

I am in the US visiting family at the moment so most likely will not get the chance for any eyepiece time unless I can convince my wife that I need a scope here too...(a Takahashi Sky 90 would work nicely) which is unlikely...so I am living vicariously through your and other Ethos posts...

Clear Skies!

skies2clear · #8 25-10-2007, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary

Hi Nick,

I happen to have the UC stored with me right now, but alas, I am only
holding it for a short while until the real owner arranges to have it picked up.

Nevertheless, I did take a few photos of the assembly of the scope whilst
we had it in the field and I will be sure to load them onto IceInSpace as
soon as I get the chance. With the exception of the truss poles, the entire rest
of the scope fitted easily into the back of my Subaru Forester without having to
fold the rear seats down. It would fit in the boot of most cars. This is an important
attribute as I suspect there are many enthusiasts looking for a high
quality, large aperture scope that they can easily transport. Few people want
to buy a new, larger vehicle just to transport a telescope. For those that do
have larger vehicles, the additional space can be used for other purposes,
such as transporting the kids so they can have a chance to get into observing as
well!

Best regards

Gary Kopff
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.

Thanks Gary. Can't wait to see more photos when you can manage. Great point about fitting the kids, etc in the car too!

Cheers,
Nick

gary · #9 04-11-2007, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skies2clear

Thanks Gary. Can't wait to see more photos when you can manage. Great point about fitting the kids, etc in the car too!

Cheers,
Nick

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the post.

I have just submitted a post and some images I took last month of the
Obsession 18 Ultra Compact (UC) on the Equipment Forum -
Clik here.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Mt. Kuring-Gai

CoombellKid · #10 04-11-2007, 08:29 PM

Great pictures Gary, thanks for sharing a wonderful design. I think in the
end as with everything we'll get more aperture that will take up less
space. I sometimes wonder what the Galileo's, Hershel's, Dunlop's would
think of the instruments being built today. A bit like taking Edward Van
Halen back to Mozart, I'm sure he would of been impressed with a
Marshall Stack.

regards,CS

gary · #11 04-11-2007, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoombellKid

Great pictures Gary, thanks for sharing a wonderful design. I think in the
end as with everything we'll get more aperture that will take up less
space. I sometimes wonder what the Galileo's, Hershel's, Dunlop's would
think of the instruments being built today. A bit like taking Edward Van
Halen back to Mozart, I'm sure he would of been impressed with a
Marshall Stack.

Hi Rob,

Thank you.

I know exactly what you mean. We live in a Golden Age. Imagine something like
an 18 UC in the hands of Galileo, or a modern computer in the hands of Newton.

However, in some ways, these technologies are where they should be, that is,
within the reach of dedicated enthusiasts. Power to the people indeed!

Best Regards

Gary