(February 2, 2021 at 10:57 am)popeyespappy Wrote:(February 1, 2021 at 3:18 pm)HappySkeptic Wrote: Nice looking kit! How did first light go? It is supposed to be clear tomorrow night, when I'll take out my 5" refractor.
Not too good. I couldn't get anything to focus. Carried it out the next day and discovered I had to pull the diagonal almost completely out of the focuser to get it to focus. Not good since I don't think the barrel of the diagonal made it past the back edge of the tightening ring on the focuser. I ordered 35 and 50mm extension tubes which should get me in range, but it kind of pisses me off that it would not work with the parts that came from the manufacturer.
The good news is I was impressed with the optics once I got it to focus. I was looking at a house on a hill about 4000 feet away. Using a 14mm eyepiece, 51x, I was able to clearly see buds on a dogwood tree.
Yeah, a bad "first light" experience isn't fun.
Many refractors are made with a long back-focus, so that they can accommodate cameras and filters, or binoviewers. Knowing whether you need extension tubes or not is a learning experience. Too bad the seller couldn't have told you this. It is quite normal, though.
It is worse when you don't have enough in-focus, and you have to buy new stubby diagonals (that doesn't happen these days, unless you are trying to use a field flattener).
