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[erikruud]

I apologize for the clouds tonight.

I placed an order with Agena Astroproducts the other day and it arrived today.

Here are the goodies.

[erikruud]

The Barlow is the Meade Series 4000 #126 1.25" 2x Short-Focus Barlow Lens

The Cheshire is the Agena 1.25" Collimating Eyepiece for Newtonian Reflectors

[erikruud]

The filter is a GSO 1.25" Neutral Density Filter ND96-0.9 13% Transmission

[erikruud]

The new eyepiece is an Agena 1.25" Enhanced Wide Angle Eyepiece - 6mm





Here it is compared to my 10mm and 25mm 52degree Plossls.


The same group from the other end.


And comparing the overall lengths.

[erikruud]

the clouds couldn't stop me from trying out the cheshire though.

The collimation appeared to be off just a bit, but now I think I have it much closer to perfect.



the clouds are preventing a star test though.

[erikruud]

While I have this in mind, does anyone have any thoughts on the shiny edges of the secondary?

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

New toys are always great...even if they bring clouds.

The shiny edges of the secondary are not as detrimental as shiny edges on lenses. The secondary being a simple reflective surface, the edges play little part in direct light interference. But...it's always a good idea to cut the amount of any glare within the light path of any scope for better contrast.

I have taken a black marker to my edges on eyepieces and objectives with good success. I would see no problem doing the same to your secondary edges there. In urban astronomy, I like to squeeze out every little bit of glare I can.

[erikruud]

I can try that.

With the shroud on, I am not so worried about the parts that are parallel to the incoming light path.

While collimating it I noticed that there is a slight bevel to the edge that you can see while looking down the focuser.

You can see it here as a bright highlight.

[erikruud]

I got a chance to spend some quality time with my new gear tonight.

Orion was hiding behind a tree, so I popped in the neutral density filter and spent some time looking at the moon. The filter does exactly what it is supposed to do knocking done the moon glare and boosting contrast so I am happy with that purchase.

The 6mm Agena EWA eye piece also seems to have been a good choice. You have to be a bit more careful about keeping your eye centered, but the views are nice and nearly as wide as my 10mm Plossl. An extra bonus is that is very nearly parfocal with my 25mm Plossl. Just the tiniest nudge on the focuser when switching from one to the other.

The big disappointment is that the barlow does not work in the Ares 5 even though it is supposed to be for focusers with limited travel.

After Orion climbed from behind the tree I spent some time admiring the nebula even though the moon was trying to wash it out of the sky.

This was also the first time I tried observing from my backyard. The houses block the street lights, but the views are restricted to higher angles and any thing to the east is in the trees.

[erikruud]

I found that if I shorten my scope about a quarter inch or so, by sliding the trusses in, that I can then use the barlow in the Ares 5. It doesn't appear to hurt the collimation, but then I get very close to the other end of the focuser travel when using the eyepieces without the barlow.

[Paulie pchris00]

Since I've been using my Barlow, I've noticed that I don't really have to adjust the focus when using the same eyepiece. There is a slight adjustment, but not much. It's almost parfocal(?).

[erikruud]

But you aren't playing with the physical length of your scopes light path.

By sliding the truss in a bit, I am shifting the focal plane farther up the focuser so that I can get it in the right place for the barlow which then throws it off for use without the barlow.

[Paulie pchris00]

No, I'm not changing the focal length of the scope. I just don't understand why you can't focus with your Barlow with the OTA fully extended.

[erikruud]

Not enough inward travel on the focuser.

This barlow is supposed to work on scopes with limited travel but apparently not on mine. It doesn't quite reach the focal plane.

If it had a longer nose piece it would probably work.

The Orion Shorty looks like it would have been a better choice, the nose piece appears to be longer than the upper portion.