Meade Polaris 114EQ-D Eyepieces
Pioneer42
cheap plastic 0.965in eyepieces. I've spent a lot of time with them and
I have pretty much exhausted their capabilities. I am thinking about
buying some new 1.25" Plossl eyepieces and an adapter. My question is
whether or not new higher quality eyepieces will give my telescope any
improvement in performance, meaning that the telescope was being limited
by the cheap eyepieces, or whether the telescope itself is even capable
of producing any clearer images than what it could with the cheap
eyepieces. Is it worth the investment? (And no, I cannot buy a new
telescope)
Pioneer42
> On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:41:43 -0600, Pioneer42
> <pion...@NOSPAMgmail.com> declaimed the following in
> alt.telescopes.meade:
> assembly, you may not have enough depth to focus a 1.25" eyepiece if
> using a "large to small" adapter in your existing focuser.
>
> Even if you do have the focus range for this, the smaller tube in
> the focuser may cause vignetting.
Well, I'd like some verification on whether this is actually the case.
Does anyone have any experience with a .965" to 1.25" converter with a
similar telescope?
gkliet...@gmail.com
> Dennis Lee Bieber wrote:
> > On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:41:43 -0600, Pioneer42
I have a Meade DS 2130 that came with the .965 eyepieces, and
upgrading to 1.25" eyepieces was a snap and made a big difference.
On my DS 2130, the focuser can accept up to 2" eyepieces, but I had to
call Meade to get the adapter (which was free) to upgrade from the
original .965" eyepieces. I looked at the manual for the Meade
JUPITER 114EQ-D (couldn't find one for the Polaris) and if yours is
the same as the focuser shown in that manual, you can't upgrade
eyepieces without replacing the focuser as well. Not a good plan,
because you might as well buy another scope.
If you can use larger eyepieces, I recommend the ever popular
Celestron Accessory Kit. I bought this quite a few years ago, and the
5 eyepieces, filters, and 2x Barlow are good (excellent for the
price!) plus you get a very nice aluminum carrying case. I bought
mine from Amazon. Good price at $129.95. Here's a link:
gkliet...@gmail.com
Forgot to mention that the manual I looked at is this one:
http://www.meade.com/manuals/TelescopeManuals/Reflectors/062002Jupiter114EQ-D.pdf
Pioneer42
My scope is very similar to that one, just a brand name change. My
focuser is very similar, with three screws attaching it to the body, but
with the .965" eyepiece diameter instead of the 1.25" on that newer
model. Therefore, I'm going to assume it can't be replaced. I think
I'm going to give the adapter a try.
Here is the adapter:
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=adapters_and_cables/~pcategory=accessories/~product_id=A0315
Zyp
> On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:02:15 -0600, Pioneer42
> <pion...@NOSPAMgmail.com> declaimed the following in
> alt.telescopes.meade:
>
>> My scope is very similar to that one, just a brand name change. My
>> focuser is very similar, with three screws attaching it to the body,
>> but with the .965" eyepiece diameter instead of the 1.25" on that
>> newer model. Therefore, I'm going to assume it can't be replaced.
>> I think I'm going to give the adapter a try.
>>
>> Here is the adapter:
>> http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=adapters_and_cables/~pcategory=accessories/~product_id=A0315
>
> adapter you'll be using will basically raise the eyepiece by the
> length of the black portion of the body. This implies that to focus
> the eyepiece you will have to lower the focusing tube by that amount.
> On a refractor, that is often possible because of the straight line
> motion of the tube -- but on a reflector you'd end up with the bottom
> of the focuser tube sticking an inch or more into the main tube.
>
> In contrast, the adapters for using a smaller eyepiece in a larger
> focuser only raise the height by the thickness of the ring with the
> thumbscrew.
>
> If you can borrow a 1.25 eyepiece, you can test this without using
> the adapter. Take the eyepiece off the telescope (after centering a
> star -- you want to be at near infinity focus). HOLD the 1.25 eyepiece
> centered over the top of the focuser so the bottom of the eyepiece
> tube is against the lock ring of the focuser. While holding it there,
> use the focuser knobs to move up/down to see if you can get the star
> back into focus.
>
> --
> Wulfraed Dennis Lee Bieber KD6MOG
> wlf...@ix.netcom.com wulf...@bestiaria.com
> HTTP://wlfraed.home.netcom.com/
> (Bestiaria Support Staff: web-...@bestiaria.com)
> HTTP://www.bestiaria.com/
I have a 4.5" that came with 1" lenses. I bought through Meade an adaptor
for 1.25" lenes, and the newer lens worked great.
--
Zyp