Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

Discuss your refractor type scopes here.
Post Reply
Virtus
Earth Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:42 pm
2
Location: North Carolina
Status:
Offline

Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#1

Post by Virtus »


Can anyone recommend a 4" refractor that is binoviewer friendly? Ideally would be less than $1k give or take a couple hundred.
Explore FirstLight 10 | Celestron C6 | Meade StarPro 90
Morpheus 6.5-9-12.5-17.5 | APM UFF 24-30 | Baader Mk IV 8-24
User avatar
Lady Fraktor Slovakia
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 9860
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:14 pm
4
Location: Slovakia
Status:
Online

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#2

Post by Lady Fraktor »


The Teleskop-Service 102mm f/11 refractor is binoviewer ready if that is what you are looking for. https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/pr ... cuser.html

Do you have binoviewers already?

If you do not mind used a lot of refractors from mid 2000 were designed for binoviewing with either a removable section or a slider.

If you do not mind using a OCA/ GPC just about any refractor can use a binoviewer.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
Image
Refractordude
Interdicted
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 1493
Joined: Sun May 12, 2019 1:05 am
4
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#3

Post by Refractordude »


I would not buy from teleskop-express. Read some bad things about their service to the USA.
User avatar
notFritzArgelander
In Memory
In Memory
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 14925
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 4:13 pm
4
Location: Idaho US
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#4

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Refractordude wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:43 pm I would not buy from teleskop-express. Read some bad things about their service to the USA.
My experience with them has been excellent. I have the very scope the Lady Fraktor recommends. It is optically excellent and my discussion of it is here:

viewtopic.php?f=65&t=9641

I have not used it for binoviewing yet as I am waiting on a new Baader diagonal for this kit and the production has been delayed due to the pandemic.

From my experience Teleskop-Express is highly reliable and provides excellent service.
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
User avatar
Lady Fraktor Slovakia
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 9860
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:14 pm
4
Location: Slovakia
Status:
Online

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#5

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Refractordude wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:43 pm I would not buy from teleskop-express. Read some bad things about their service to the USA.
Their service or a shipping companies service?
I have been purchasing items from them for quite a few years and without problems.
Anything that was needed was taken care of with a simple telephone call.

I have read a few comments in past about service over the telephone but that was it, but I do see more complaints about customer service from OPT.
Just one of those things, not everyone is going to be happy about something. :)
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
Image
User avatar
notFritzArgelander
In Memory
In Memory
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 14925
Joined: Fri May 10, 2019 4:13 pm
4
Location: Idaho US
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#6

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Lady Fraktor wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 7:21 pm
Refractordude wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 6:43 pm I would not buy from teleskop-express. Read some bad things about their service to the USA.
Their service or a shipping companies service?
I have been purchasing items from them for quite a few years and without problems.
Anything that was needed was taken care of with a simple telephone call.

I have read a few comments in past about service over the telephone but that was it, but I do see more complaints about customer service from OPT.
Just one of those things, not everyone is going to be happy about something. :)
I always deal with them by email, never telephone since.... around 2005? Everything has been perfectly clear that way. My German is poor and their written English is good. I do notice that recently they prefer the DHL to UPS shipping option which is more expensive but acceptable and more reliable. The one shipment that was a little delayed was UPS problem.
Last edited by notFritzArgelander on Tue Jun 01, 2021 8:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Scopes: Refs: Orion ST80, SV 80EDA f7, TS 102ED f11 Newts: AWB 130mm, f5, Z12 f5; Cats: VMC110L, Intes MK66,VMC200L f9.75 EPs: KK Fujiyama Orthoscopics, 2x Vixen NPLs (40-6mm) and BCOs, Baader Mark IV zooms, TV Panoptics, Delos, Plossl 32-8mm. Mixed brand Masuyama/Astroplans Binoculars: Nikon Aculon 10x50, Celestron 15x70, Baader Maxbright. Mounts: Star Seeker IV, Vixen Porta II, Celestron CG5
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7548
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#7

Post by Bigzmey »


Virtus wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 2:05 pm Can anyone recommend a 4" refractor that is binoviewer friendly? Ideally would be less than $1k give or take a couple hundred.
Prism based binoviewers typically add at least 110mm of focuser travel. I don't believe any APO/ED currently on the market can accommodate that much in-focus travel without modifications. Most of them designed with AP in mind and have about 50mm (or less) of in-focus travel.

Your options are
1) linear (mirror-based) binoviewers which don't add extra focuser travel.
2) prism-based binoviewers with OCA/GPC.

Either of these options should work with any APO/ED refractor.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
Virtus
Earth Ambassador
Articles: 0
Offline
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 2:42 pm
2
Location: North Carolina
Status:
Offline

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#8

Post by Virtus »


Lady Fraktor wrote: Tue Jun 01, 2021 4:59 pm The Teleskop-Service 102mm f/11 refractor is binoviewer ready if that is what you are looking for. https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/pr ... cuser.html

Do you have binoviewers already?

If you do not mind used a lot of refractors from mid 2000 were designed for binoviewing with either a removable section or a slider.

If you do not mind using a OCA/ GPC just about any refractor can use a binoviewer.
Thanks for the response and suggestion; I should've included additional details in OP.

I currently have Arcturus binoviewers which comes with 1.85x and 3x OCAs; I also have a Burgess 1.9x.

I was specifically looking for a refractor that has a removable spacer to allow binoviewer use without an OCA. There are a few options in 5" range but was curious if there are any around 4" f/6-7 that could be more grab and go.
Explore FirstLight 10 | Celestron C6 | Meade StarPro 90
Morpheus 6.5-9-12.5-17.5 | APM UFF 24-30 | Baader Mk IV 8-24
User avatar
Lady Fraktor Slovakia
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 9860
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:14 pm
4
Location: Slovakia
Status:
Online

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#9

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Other than the 4" I listed above I cannot think of any other in that size at the moment.
Curious which 5" are available as BV ready?

I would recommend watching the used ads for any mid 2000 Stellervue refractors as a lot of them had LOMO or LZOS made optics and BV ready.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
Image
User avatar
Bigzmey United States of America
Moderator
Moderator
Articles: 8
Online
Posts: 7548
Joined: Sat May 11, 2019 7:55 pm
4
Location: San Diego, CA USA
Status:
Online

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#10

Post by Bigzmey »


Lady Fraktor wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 4:15 pm Other than the 4" I listed above I cannot think of any other in that size at the moment.
Curious which 5" are available as BV ready?

I would recommend watching the used ads for any mid 2000 Stellervue refractors as a lot of them had LOMO or LZOS made optics and BV ready.
Why would someone sell SV refractor? :D
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
User avatar
Lady Fraktor Slovakia
Co-Administrator
Co-Administrator
Articles: 0
Online
Posts: 9860
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2019 9:14 pm
4
Location: Slovakia
Status:
Online

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#11

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Bigzmey wrote: Wed Jun 02, 2021 5:01 pm Why would someone sell SV refractor? :D
Occasionally people do silly things like when I sold my SV115 TMB/LZOS to a friend :(
At least he lets me borrow it occasionally when not using it for AP but he refuses to sell it back to me.
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
My day was going well until... people
Image
User avatar
WilliamPaolini United States of America
Saturn Ambassador
Articles: 9
Offline
Posts: 303
Joined: Tue May 25, 2021 8:57 pm
2
Location: Virginia, USA
Status:
Offline

TSS Awards Badges

Re: Binoviewer friendly 4" Apo?

#12

Post by WilliamPaolini »


I can use my TSA-102 Apo and my APM 152 ED-Apo without an OCA binoviewing with the Baader MaxBright-II binoviewers. I will have to check my notes if the Zeiss Mirror binoviewer can also work without OCA on my APM 152. The APM 152 ED Apo has I believe 175mm or 180mm of backfocus, so is just enough when you use proper connections to minimize light path -i.e., a 1.25" diagonal that direct connects to binoviewer like the Baader T2 Prism. Here are reviews I did on the 2 binoviewers so you can see the connect types to minimize backfocus usage....

Zeiss -- https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/3704 ... inoviewer/

Baader - https://baader-planetarium.co.uk/wp-con ... aolini.pdf
-Bill

U.S.A.F. Veteran - Visual Amateur Astronomer since 1966 - Fully Retired since 2019
8" f/5 Newt - Lunt 152 f/7.9 - TSA 102 f/8 - Vixen 81S f/7.7 - P.S.T. - Pentax 65ED II - Nikon 12x50 AE
Pentax XWs - Baader Morpheus - Takahashi LEs - Edmund RKEs - BST Starguiders - 6ZAO-II/5XO/4Abbe
PM and Email communications always welcomed
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in

Return to “Refractor type Telescopes”