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BOscope
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 Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 9:32 am Post subject: Questions on Bushnell 5" Makstov Cassegrain |
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I recently recieved a 5" Bushnell Mak (788850) and I have some questions:
Will you be able to look through the small hole in the 4mm (high mag) eyepiece?
Are you able to order lenses from other brands, if so, what type?
When using align earth mode for the GOTO computer, how do you get the star in the center if you don't know any of the stars!?
Is the seperatly ordered Barlow Lenses (not the plastic one that came with the box) from Bushnell any good?
Thanks for answering my questions  ! Hopefully it will work better with your help! |
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opticsplanet.com
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Joined: 23 Sep 2003
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| Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 10:58 am Post subject: |
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Hi
Glad to help.
Yes, you can use any brand of 1.25" eyepiece or barlow in your Bushnell, but I would discard the 4mm eyepiece for two reasons (as I explained in response to an earlier post). First, the 4mm is a total mismatch in a 1550mm telescope, producing 388x. On a good night, if you are patient and willing to work with the light Bushnell mount, you can probably squeeze 200x out of your scope on planets, but you will never be able to use 388x. Second, even if your scope could handle such an extreme magnification, you would need a far better grade of eyepiece than the Bushnell 4mm to get it.
In the Bushnell 5", my recommendation for a top end magnification eyepiece would be a standard Plossl such as a Celestron Omni, http://www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-telescopes-eyepieces-omni-series.html This eyepiece has an adequate 13mm of eye relief and will give you 103 x without the barlow and 206x with the barlow.
The supplied 25mm eyepiece is at least useable, but a standard quality Plossl such as an Omni or Meade Series 4000 will improve performance. Again, I like the Omni for its nice 22mm of eye relief.
These two eyepieces - a 15mm and a 25mm - plus a barlow will give you 62x, 103x, 124x, and 206x. This will cover the basics, but you might also want to add a lower power eyepiece for a wide field views, such as the 32mm Televue Plossl (my favorite 32mm Plossl), http://www.opticsplanet.net/televue-plossl-epl-32-eyepieces.html This will give you 48x in your 5". If your interests run more to deep-sky stuff, you could subsitute a 20mm eyepiece as a lower power alternative to the 15mm.
The Bushnell barlow sold separartely, http://www.opticsplanet.net/bus125for2xb.html is definitley a better barlow than plastic one Bushnell includes with their scopes. You can do better, however, with something like the Meade #126, http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-barlow-lens-07273.html
Yes, I understand the frustration you are experiencing with the Northstar. According to the manual, you don't have to know the names of a star, but that's a little optimistic on their part. To keep things simple, I would learn the names of a the stars in the Big Dipper, since you are pointing the scope north anyway and this constellation is basically visible every night of the year in temeprate latitudes. This is not difficult; there is a diagram on page 13 of the manual which will show these.
In fact, learning a few star names is fun and will add to your enjoyment of astronomy, not to mention making your Northstar alignment easier. As a tour guide at an observatory, one of the favorite sessions I conducted was to point out a handful of the brighter stars and their names. Each season brings some new bright stars. This time of year, for instance, Sirius (the brightest star in the sky, other than the sun, of course) in the constellation Canis Major shines like a beacon. Every astronomer should know this one. Betelguese is anothe famous star in the winter sky and is easily found in Orion. Try learning a few, going at your own pace. I promise you'll like it.
_________________
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dw
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 3
Location: S. texas
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:54 am Post subject: More info on Bushnell Northstar 5" Motorized GoTo Maksu |
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Joanie,
Great advice! It would be nice if details like this were included with the description of the telescope.
I am going to purchase the lenses you have previously described. Here's my questions:
1.) Do I also need to purchase a moon filter?
2.) Are there any other lenses that would improve viewing?
3.) Any recommendation for reference materials/software programs for learning names/location/best viewing of stars etc...
Thanks |
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opticsplanet.com
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Joined: 23 Sep 2003
Posts: 4044
Location: Prospect Heighs, IL
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks. Glad to help.
You don't need a moon filter to observe the moon, but it's a relatively inexpensive accessory and will help bring out contrast on the bright areas. These simply thread to the bottom of any 1.25" eyepiece.
Celestron, http://www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-telescope-moon-filter.html
Meade, http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-moon-filter.html
You can upgrade the performance of your Bushnell with better eyepieces. Those I listed will do a good job, but if you want to take it to the next step in performance, look at premium eyepieces from Televue, Meade and Celestron. Premium eyepieces offer a) better image sharpness and detail, especially at the edge of the field and typically b) a wider field of view. To make an eyepiece with an 82 degree field of view and also make it sharp, however, is a very expensive proposition as a glsnce at the prices will show you. These are addictive - I know some people who would sell their telescope before they would sell their Televue eyepiece.
A trip to your local bookstore will reveal that there is no shortage of literature available in amateur astronmy. Our pastime has a great literary tradition! We don't carry much in this line, but one of my favorite books for begiiners is "Nightwatch" by Terrence Dickensen. For software, I love Starry Night, but there are many others available.
_________________
----------------------
Your personal optics expert
Joanie (Jne) K
http://www.OpticsPlanet.com
Phone: (888) 263-0356
Fax: (847) 574-6820 |
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dw
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 3
Location: S. texas
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:05 pm Post subject: Eyepiece Confusion |
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Joanie,
Would it be better to go ahead and buy the Televue Plossl's for all eyepieces and forgo the Omni?
Thanks
| opticsplanet.com wrote: | Hi
Glad to help.
Yes, you can use any brand of 1.25" eyepiece or barlow in your Bushnell, but I would discard the 4mm eyepiece for two reasons (as I explained in response to an earlier post). First, the 4mm is a total mismatch in a 1550mm telescope, producing 388x. On a good night, if you are patient and willing to work with the light Bushnell mount, you can probably squeeze 200x out of your scope on planets, but you will never be able to use 388x. Second, even if your scope could handle such an extreme magnification, you would need a far better grade of eyepiece than the Bushnell 4mm to get it.
In the Bushnell 5", my recommendation for a top end magnification eyepiece would be a standard Plossl such as a Celestron Omni, http://www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-telescopes-eyepieces-omni-series.html This eyepiece has an adequate 13mm of eye relief and will give you 103 x without the barlow and 206x with the barlow.
The supplied 25mm eyepiece is at least useable, but a standard quality Plossl such as an Omni or Meade Series 4000 will improve performance. Again, I like the Omni for its nice 22mm of eye relief.
These two eyepieces - a 15mm and a 25mm - plus a barlow will give you 62x, 103x, 124x, and 206x. This will cover the basics, but you might also want to add a lower power eyepiece for a wide field views, such as the 32mm Televue Plossl (my favorite 32mm Plossl), http://www.opticsplanet.net/televue-plossl-epl-32-eyepieces.html This will give you 48x in your 5". If your interests run more to deep-sky stuff, you could subsitute a 20mm eyepiece as a lower power alternative to the 15mm.
The Bushnell barlow sold separartely, http://www.opticsplanet.net/bus125for2xb.html is definitley a better barlow than plastic one Bushnell includes with their scopes. You can do better, however, with something like the Meade #126, http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-barlow-lens-07273.html
Yes, I understand the frustration you are experiencing with the Northstar. According to the manual, you don't have to know the names of a star, but that's a little optimistic on their part. To keep things simple, I would learn the names of a the stars in the Big Dipper, since you are pointing the scope north anyway and this constellation is basically visible every night of the year in temeprate latitudes. This is not difficult; there is a diagram on page 13 of the manual which will show these.
In fact, learning a few star names is fun and will add to your enjoyment of astronomy, not to mention making your Northstar alignment easier. As a tour guide at an observatory, one of the favorite sessions I conducted was to point out a handful of the brighter stars and their names. Each season brings some new bright stars. This time of year, for instance, Sirius (the brightest star in the sky, other than the sun, of course) in the constellation Canis Major shines like a beacon. Every astronomer should know this one. Betelguese is anothe famous star in the winter sky and is easily found in Orion. Try learning a few, going at your own pace. I promise you'll like it. |
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dw
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 3
Location: S. texas
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:18 pm Post subject: Eyepiece Confusion |
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|
Joanie,
Would it be better to go ahead and buy the Televue Plossl's for all eyepieces and forgo the Omni?
Thanks
| opticsplanet.com wrote: | Hi
Glad to help.
Yes, you can use any brand of 1.25" eyepiece or barlow in your Bushnell, but I would discard the 4mm eyepiece for two reasons (as I explained in response to an earlier post). First, the 4mm is a total mismatch in a 1550mm telescope, producing 388x. On a good night, if you are patient and willing to work with the light Bushnell mount, you can probably squeeze 200x out of your scope on planets, but you will never be able to use 388x. Second, even if your scope could handle such an extreme magnification, you would need a far better grade of eyepiece than the Bushnell 4mm to get it.
In the Bushnell 5", my recommendation for a top end magnification eyepiece would be a standard Plossl such as a Celestron Omni, http://www.opticsplanet.net/celestron-telescopes-eyepieces-omni-series.html This eyepiece has an adequate 13mm of eye relief and will give you 103 x without the barlow and 206x with the barlow.
The supplied 25mm eyepiece is at least useable, but a standard quality Plossl such as an Omni or Meade Series 4000 will improve performance. Again, I like the Omni for its nice 22mm of eye relief.
These two eyepieces - a 15mm and a 25mm - plus a barlow will give you 62x, 103x, 124x, and 206x. This will cover the basics, but you might also want to add a lower power eyepiece for a wide field views, such as the 32mm Televue Plossl (my favorite 32mm Plossl), http://www.opticsplanet.net/televue-plossl-epl-32-eyepieces.html This will give you 48x in your 5". If your interests run more to deep-sky stuff, you could subsitute a 20mm eyepiece as a lower power alternative to the 15mm.
The Bushnell barlow sold separartely, http://www.opticsplanet.net/bus125for2xb.html is definitley a better barlow than plastic one Bushnell includes with their scopes. You can do better, however, with something like the Meade #126, http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-barlow-lens-07273.html
Yes, I understand the frustration you are experiencing with the Northstar. According to the manual, you don't have to know the names of a star, but that's a little optimistic on their part. To keep things simple, I would learn the names of a the stars in the Big Dipper, since you are pointing the scope north anyway and this constellation is basically visible every night of the year in temeprate latitudes. This is not difficult; there is a diagram on page 13 of the manual which will show these.
In fact, learning a few star names is fun and will add to your enjoyment of astronomy, not to mention making your Northstar alignment easier. As a tour guide at an observatory, one of the favorite sessions I conducted was to point out a handful of the brighter stars and their names. Each season brings some new bright stars. This time of year, for instance, Sirius (the brightest star in the sky, other than the sun, of course) in the constellation Canis Major shines like a beacon. Every astronomer should know this one. Betelguese is anothe famous star in the winter sky and is easily found in Orion. Try learning a few, going at your own pace. I promise you'll like it. |
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opticsplanet.com
Site Admin
Joined: 23 Sep 2003
Posts: 4044
Location: Prospect Heighs, IL
|
| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2006 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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|
Hi
By all means, if you can afford the Televues, they are a premium grade Plossl eyepiece.
_________________
----------------------
Your personal optics expert
Joanie (Jne) K
http://www.OpticsPlanet.com
Phone: (888) 263-0356
Fax: (847) 574-6820 |
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