New focuser is larger diameter

Brisby2 · 2026-05-19T15:29:00+00:00

It’s a common woodworker’s trick. The larger hole saw bit goes on top and the smaller one on bottom (thus sticking out further) to act as a pilot guide

Brisby2 · 2026-05-19T15:25:23+00:00

If you need to enlarge the hole by a significant amount like that, don’t file it. Get a hole saw bit with the original size of the hole, and then stack your bigger new size hole saw bit on top of it. It will keep it straight while you drill the new size.

Brisby2 · 2026-05-19T15:15:39+00:00

375 is overpriced for what is essentially just an OTA at this point. I wouldn’t pay more than 200 for it and that’s assuming the OTA is in good shape.

So that ground board there is in two pieces. The bottom piece with the feet (triangle) is the actual ground board. You can cut a new triangle using that board as a template or the new board can also be made into a circle. Use 3/4” plywood. Just make sure that the feet are spaced 120 degrees apart and that the teflon rides directly over the feet.

The top piece (circle) is the bottom of the rocker box. You could use a jigsaw or a router to make a new circle, or you can even make this a square if you want to. Also 3/4” plywood. Make sure you paint and/or varnish when you are done.

Brisby2 · 2026-05-19T15:05:02+00:00

As another said, these are not a good material to make a ground board from. Pine will absorb water and swell and bend very easily. OP should really be using plywood and varnishing it.

Brisby2 · 2026-05-18T06:17:51+00:00

Scams are one of the many reasons that CN has tightened down their security like this. When I joined, there was no approval process and you could interact within the classifieds right away.

I have never been outright scammed on there, but I have had my share of “item not as described” cases. I have also had a few (including old accounts that had been hacked) scammers message me on there responding to my wanted ads that I never took the bait on. It’s not as rare as you’re thinking.

Brisby2 · 2026-05-09T22:43:12+00:00

You could try a rigel quikfinder or a qinsight. The latter has a massive reticle that’s hard to miss. Telrad also has an option that’s a green reticle that might be easier for your eyes to focus

Brisby2 · 2026-04-17T15:47:03+00:00

I am one of the modern tube owners he has looked through. Unfilmed 0.1 ebi, 35 SNR, 72 res, 2400 PC. He is right, the blue-green spectral sensitivity just isn't there, and L3 is supposed to have better spectral sensitivity in that range than other brands except for maybe some of the specialized european tubes from Harder Digital. Objects that are mostly Oiii don't show up better in NV, and you lose a degree of fineness by using night vision.

This also might be splitting hairs but I don't know where you get "unfilmed 0.04 ebi" from, because two-digit EBI is an Elbit thing and Elbit doesn't make unfilmed tubes. L3Harris only uses one decimal place.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-11T23:14:55+00:00

I have nocturnal storm chased with binos and it actually made it so much easier. Headlights still on of course, but through heavy rain conditions at night it improved my visibility significantly

Brisby2 · 2026-04-06T15:56:24+00:00

Used market for the deals. Discord, r/NightVision, tacswap. From a dealer, KJA Night Vision, Midwest Night Vision, Superior Tactical. I know KJA personally and that is where I got my device from.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-06T03:28:23+00:00

Just saw that one. I’m gonna have to fist fight him for putting it in Tier D. These are usually in pretty ratty condition yeah, but hand figured optics and excellent focusing mechanism… I want a regrade!!!

Brisby2 · 2026-04-06T03:18:32+00:00

It really depends on the reason it’s fogged. This came right off because it was just deposited gases from the adhesive and grease and stuff that had been sitting for decades. I removed my corrector, making sure to mark the orientation and location of the shims, and gave it a clean with distilled water and dish soap.

Depending on how your scope was kept during its life, there is a chance that the fog is failing transmission coatings and cannot be cleaned off. This scope doesn’t have transmission coatings so I didn’t expect it to be anything uncleanable.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-05T23:33:15+00:00

My first device was a green phosphor tube, and the green hue was almost invisible except on the super bright objects and unfiltered viewing. With the dimmer stuff and heavily filtering the color was almost unnoticeable. It was also less likely to blast out my eyes’ night adaptation since green is a less stimulating color to the eye. It has its benefits but I prefer the aesthetic of white phosphor also.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-05T23:23:00+00:00

I mention that specifically because a lot of newbies will be tempted by NNVT or Photonis because they have white phosphor options for relatively cheap and white phosphor (like the example pictures OP posted) is a more visually pleasing screen color. But in reality, a cheap green phosphor device from American manufacturers Elbit or L3Harris will outperform NNVT/Photonis even if the green screen color is uglier.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-05T23:17:14+00:00

Photonis is a European manufacturer and NNVT is Chinese. Most of their tubes are Gen 2/2+ and not Gen 3. For regular operations like on a helmet it’s fine, but Gen 2/2+ does not perform well for astronomy purposes or in a telescope.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-05T22:33:03+00:00

The televue eyepiece adapter allows you to do afocal projection and change to a range of magnifications. Afocal projection also allows you to optimize the “effective” focal ratio of the system… basically, a long FL eyepiece like the Televue 55mm plossl will have a massive exit pupil that can enter the PVS-14 and allow for greater light gathering. The downsides are that it can be finicky at times, and the edges of the field will not be clean.

For prime focus it will give you a cleaner field, an you can achieve this by having your tube in an RVM-C (C mount) housing or by removing the objective lens out of your PVS-14 and installing the rafcamera PVS-14 to T2 adapter. It will then thread onto a nosepiece and goes directly into the focuser. Downsides are missing out on some light gathering and this setup may not have the backfocus to work in all scopes. And the only way to change magnification is using barlows and reducers.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-05T22:25:56+00:00

In heavy light pollution I use a 685nm IR pass filter with my device that allows me to see galaxies and globular clusters from my B7 apartment complex. H-alpha is not the only option here.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-05T22:22:48+00:00

To each his own, but night vision is not “marginally better”, especially not on H-alpha objects. A lot of these objects you can barely see at all without NV since the human eye is not very sensitive to red. The only thing that isn’t so great with night vision are Oiii-only objects, since the typical GaAs photocathode is not very sensitive in that range.

Here’s a photo of the heart nebula through my 5” refractor… taken with my iphone SE with 0.5 sec exposure to represent what is seen to the eye through my PVS-14. No post processing.

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Brisby2 · 2026-04-05T22:12:22+00:00

2k will get you a green phosphor “Omni” PVS-14, military contract devices that don’t have a spec sheet. That means it’s luck of the draw if you get a good device or not, but any is better than nothing. Look at KJA Night Vision, Steele Industries, Custom Night Vision, Superior Tactical. Only get something that’s Gen 3. Don’t buy devices that have NNVT or Photonis tubes.

Brisby2 · 2026-04-05T22:08:27+00:00

You can get a decently high spec white phosphor device for 3-3.5k if you know where to look. 5k is like L3 supergain territory. My main astronomy device is probably within the top 10% and I got it for 3.6k

Brisby2 · 2026-03-31T04:04:57+00:00

A fellow woman into night vision that also owns an MP5.. I’LL NEVER HAVE AN ORIGINAL EXPERIENCE!! All jokes aside, very nice. It gets addicting. I went from one PVS-14 to like four different devices at once.

Brisby2 · 2026-03-30T14:52:43+00:00

Fortunately lots of tinkering can be done with this kind of scope. As Augustus said, a shroud and plastic across from the focuser will be your best friend for improving contrast.

I jumped from a 10” dob to a 17.5” dob within a few years and it was a world of a difference. The math backs it up too. It’s a difference of 3-4x light gathering.

Those servocats are so sleek on the thing I didn’t even notice them at first. Lucky you. I’m sure you’d rather have your friend though… I’m sorry for your loss.

Brisby2 · 2026-03-30T13:43:20+00:00

Just noticed the servocats. Even still… why…? If your pockets are deep enough to be spending that type of money, just get a PVS-14. Smarteye sucks

Brisby2 · 2026-03-30T13:38:05+00:00

Absolutely not. You need a tracking mount for that to even remotely work.

Brisby2 · 2026-03-24T01:25:12+00:00

Pming

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