Status Update ... sort of

I ordered some eyepieces and a Telrad finder today; estimated delivery by mid-February.  So, with the Moonlight focuser from the other day, everything that I think I need to purchase is now moving toward Sri Lanka.  :)

As I've been pondering my options for a tube, I've pretty much convinced myself that I'd prefer the look and feel of a hand crafted wooden tube.  I traced out a full sized sketch of a six-sided tube with 8" inside face-to-face and I like its proportions.  Will speak with my woodworking friend tomorrow and see what he thinks.  A nice dark stained wooden tube would really be sharp.

"Paint it Black" ... I bought some very flat black paint today to paint the inside of the tube and all the mounting hardware for the mirrors.  It is important to minimize or eliminate any stray light which reduces the contrast of the image.  Basically, the only light you want reaching your eye, is light that has been reflected (and focused) by the primary mirror.

I purchased a set of four eyepieces of 20/15/9/6 mm focal lengths.  All have good eye-relief and present a 66 degree apparent field of view.  They are often recommended as being very good for their price; i.e., "bang for the buck".  :)

The 20 mm will yield a magnification of ~80X, and will show a patch of sky ~0.8 degrees in diameter (the full moon is about 0.5 degrees in diameter, so it would be half again as large).  For a 6" telescope, this works out to about the maximum magnification for resolving details ... as we increase the magnification, the image gets larger, however no new details will be noticed.

The 15 mm provides a magnification of ~110X, with a field of view of ~0.6 degrees of sky (slightly larger than the full moon).  I don't anticipate using this eyepiece that much, wishing it were a 12 mm instead ... but that is the way it was packaged.

The 9 mm will provide a magnification of ~180X, which is about the maximum magnification one can use on a 6" scope under normal conditions.  I expect this eyepiece will be used the most.

Finally, the 6 mm will provide a magnification of ~270X, which is about the maximum magnification one can use under very steady 'seeing' conditions with a 6" scope.  Although the nights are rare when one can use that much magnification; it is nice to have the means to take advantage of excellent seeing when one gets the opportunity.  :)

The Telrad finder is a 1X finder; i.e., what you see through the finder is the same size as it normally appears ... just like looking through a window ... which is essentially what you are doing.  The main difference is the Telrad projects a set of circles on that window that can be used to help point the telescope at the target ... or at least get it close enough that you can see the target with a low power eyepiece (i.e., the 20 mm in my case).  These finders are simple to use and most everyone who has ever used one recommends it.