USER OBSERVATIONS Last updated: 4 August 2005

Subject:	Viewing Report:  DSX90 / PST / BinoViewers
Sent:	Wednesday, August 3, 2005 15:47:00
From:	WarpedCorp (warpcorp@swbell.net)
I normally would not post this but thought the report on the Bino's
would be of interest. Also the DSX90 is doing double duty as the guide
scope on my AR5 / LXD75 mount combo. the LXD75 holds the AR5 / DSX90 and
PST - pictures will be posted shortly.

Just returned from vacation on the Gulf and thought I'd share some
viewing experiences with the group. This is being cross-posted on
several groups so I apologize in advance if you are having to look at
this more than once.

First off... let me say that all of us should recognize what a testament
it is to the human spirit for those who went through Hurricane Ivan last
September. The devastation that is still evident is simply undescribable
without actually seeing it. My best wishes and good hope to all of those
who are making a comeback.

Now... on to the report....

We were in a second floor condo with a nice sturdy balcony about 600
feet from the shore  and facing due south. The week's weather was clear
but heavy humidity (visible under the lights at night) limited good
seeing to three nights. All three nights were preceeded with a brief
thunderstorm and cooler breezes which cleared the air. All in all the
weather was perfect for vacation.

I recently purchased a Meade DSX-90 (same as ETX90 with a one-arm 21xx
series goto mount with AutoStar 497) to be used as a quick grab and go /
vacation scope. It served it's purpose well. I fabricated a piggyback
mount for it to hold my Coronado PST scope for some portable solar
viewing. An Orion 9x50 RACI finder, fitted Identiview white light solar
filers (same as Orion's) for the 90mm OTA and the Orion finder,Star GPS
system and a Meade 1244 electric focuser completed the setup.

The StarGPS system is a really nice plug and play option for the
AutoStar - especially if you are moving from one site to another or
taking your setup on vacation  like I did. It initiallizes the AutoStar
and automatically sets the exact location, time and date. A great
accessory!

I also had a brand new pair of the new Seibert Bino-Viewers with the
matched 20mm WA ep's which I took along for their first light.

I had three days of good solar viewing with ability to switch between
whitelight views and HA views in the PST. The PST as usual never fails
to delight and satisfy with good surface grain visible along with
several good size flares. The proms were also there with good detail and
visibility. The tracking of the 21xx mount kept the sun in the FOV for
several hours with only minor corrections needed from time to time. Each
day the line of "guest" observers grew longer which was fun - but cut
into my personal observing time.

Targets for the night were Mars, the Moon and Jupiter. The little 90mm
scope did a great job on all three but now I finally realize what I was
missing.....Bino-Viewing!!!

I've  read hundreds of reports on binos and the ong-oing arguments as to
why they do or do not improve the views. I do not know why they work but
I will say that I saw were simply the BEST views of the lunar surface
and of Jupiter that I had ever seen... PERIOD.

Mars was low on the horizon and showed some detail with well defined
polar cap. Due to the lateness of the hour - Mars viewing was short but
sweet.

Even if all you do is Lunar viewing - go to your favorite dealer site
and order a pair NOW. At $200.00 (included a free matched pair of 20mm
wa ep's) it is well worth the money. I purchased the Burgess branded
model but you can get them through other dealers such as Stellarvue and
others. They work just fine WITHOUT any adapters on the ETX90 and the
views of the Lunar surface were of the caliber that you just step back -
rub your eyes - take a deep breath and whisper to yourself -
"unbelievable".

I don't know (or care)if it was the use of two eyes  worth of info vs.
one, I won't say it was brighter but the detail within craters along the
terminator, the subtle differences in gray shades on the surface and the
comfort were amazing. The ability to keep both eyes open and just gaze
at the details was amazing - I spent over an hour just staring at the
lunar details. I them attached the 1.6x optical corrector I purchased
from Siebert.

This corrector is needed with some refractors which do not have enough
backfocus to accomodate the binos. It is NOT needed with the ETX90 but
the additional magnification now filled the FOV of the binos with the
Lunar surface. I attached a combo stacked configuration of the Baader
Fringe Killer / Moon-skyglow filter and the views just kept getting
better and better. For over an hour, I used the autostar to pan slowly
over the lunar surface with no eye fatigue whatsover - it is a very
natural view - just like looking at a photograph - only now you are
almost inside of  the craters. You can shift your eyes up - down - side
to side to see the entire "picture" - simply amazing!

The next night, I focused my attention on Jupiter. Again, I don't know
if it is added info, or the slightly improved depth perception - but the
comfort level for viewing allowed me to linger for hours - noting
festoons and details within the individual bands while the four primary
moons seemed to linger in a more 3D like visual.

As I said earlier, the BinoViewer will work with no additional adapters
in the ETX90 and I would also assume the other ETX models. For
refractors, you may need the OCA (Optical Corrector Adapter) which is
available from Burgess ($29.00) as a 2x model and from Seibet ($79.00)
as a 1.6x model. Seibert also makes an adapter for the PST - although I
did not have a chance to try it out yet.

In summary - you owe it to yourself to view through one of these bino's.
It will take your breath away. I found  that the the views through the
1.6x adapter from Seibert blew away the views using a Celestron 2x
Ultima barlow. It took a little fiddling the first time I used them to
get the spacing of the ep's correct so that the image properly merged
into one "stereo" image. Once done and you know what to "look for" the
next time the adjustment is simple. The binos have dual helical focusers
which makes it a snap to fine focus for your individual visual
conditions. My only complaint is that the three relatively tiny nylon
screws that hold each ep in place are very easy to loose as they have to
be almost completely screwed out to switch ep's. It would be nice if the
bino's had a compression ring fitting or if these three retaining screws
could somehow be made "captive".

-------------------

Follow-up Note:  I noticed today that Williams Optics is releasing their
version of these same binos - with the added "benefit" of compression
ring fittings in the ep holders. This interested me and I called Burgess
(talked with Bill) to find out if there was going to be a compression
ring fitting "upgrade" for current owners.  His reply - "Definately
Not".  He went on to explain that he had originally tried compression
ring and single screw fittings and switched to the three screw method as
the current three screw fitting acts also as a collimation tool to align
and properly center different ep's.  A compression ring or single screw
fitting will shift the ep to one side or the other and degrade the
viewing experience, according to him.  It all made sense to me in the
way he described it.  He also said he will have some add on accessories
that will definately improve the bino experience. (BTW - check out the
re-vamped  Burgess site).  He also said his bino's will definately
support higher power viewing than any of the competitors - including
some more expensive models.

-----------

Also, if you are using the Meade 8x25 right angle finder, it will have
to be removed to allow clearance for the bino's. I mounted an accessory
shoe on the right side of the focus tube to hold and auxillary Orion
Right Angle finder. You can see pictures of the set up in my photos
folder.

Other than that one small complaint - this ETX90 and bino setup is going
to make one heck of a lightweight grab and go combo!

I'll be posting pictures of the setup in my photo folder in the group.

If you own an ETX scope, You owe it to yourself to try out a pair of
binos.

Feel free to email me with questions or comments....

Clear skies.....

Warp

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