New telescope - help with eyepiece

Did a search but no help there.

So a friend of mine is driving down the road and there's a Bushnell Voyager by the side of the road with a "free" sign on it. The tripod and head are in good shape. Had to make a couple of knobs, but no big deal. Cleaned the mirrors. Only one problem, no eyepiece. It's got a Barlow 2x barrel in it so I grabbed the eyepiece from the spotting scope - works okay but dim. Metal tube, everything else is plastic so I'm guessing either late 70's or early 80's. No model number anywhere on the thing.

I'm a photographer, I don't know much about telescopes so I'm having trouble making sense of the eyepiece design to make any kind of decision. Any article I read about it is not very helpful besides trying to get me to buy from some website.

The mirror is 170 mm across and the length between the two mirrors is 700 mm - I measured this in inches and converted. Probably not the exact distances.

Any help would be appreciated so I can see those secret bases on the moon. Of course now it's going to be cloudy for the next six weeks.

Search eyepieces on ebay. I would suggest 2, a 25 or 26mm and a 6 or 9mm.

Cheap eyepieces give cheap views. don't skimp on eyepieces. But be warned, they are expensive, sometimes more so than the scope itself. My latest eyepiece purchase was $249 for a Televue Naglar, and that was USED!

And there's a reason the scope was free. Bushnell isn't the best in the scope world. And make sure you research collimating mirrors. This must be done, or the views will just make you stick the scope right back in the street.

Thanks. Reading up on collimating the mirrors now.

I'm reading about it here. The main mirror, of course, doesn't have a center spot on it. That'll be tomorrows project.

reply to post by billxam
Ditch the 2x barlow. They double the magnification at the expense of dimmer image with less detail on cheaper 'scopes. Eyepieces come in two diameters for low-end scopes. You will pay about 20 bucks for the cheapest one from the internet. Yet quality will be mediocre and it sure ain't worthwhile to spend any more.

The thing will only be good for looking at the Moon at best. Reflectors are difficult to set up and requires patience a compass and knowledge of what you are trying to do.

It will not be worth the hassle. Been there, done that more than once.

billxam, if the views you get through that scope leave you wanting more, I suggest you go and check out cloudynights and astronomyforum. Those are two of the forums for all things telescope.

It's a rewarding hobby, and very relaxing. My girlfriend and I spend hours under the stars on clear weekends. Getting out the star chart and locating a galaxy, nebula, or star that has been recently found to have a planet is a real thrill.

But, as I mentioned before, it can get expensive. Here's some of our equipment.











We also have a short tube 150mm refractor and a newtonian reflector.

We just started last year with a cheap meade relfector not unlike the one you just aquired. We had no knowledge, and it's been a learning process, but it's been very fun. And addictive.

IAC
I am a member there. There is a wealth of information and they can help you out.
A free site. I found it researching info for my own purchase. Hope it helps.