I guess I don't see the point of using cheap eyepieces for public access star parties.  It's your one chance to make a favorable impression on the young minds that will be the future of amateur astronomy.  I always use my best and at the end of the season just clean them up with a q-tip and a little isopropyl alchohol.  I'm not worried about theft because I only bring out one at a time and I'm near the telescope anytime the public is.  So what's the problem?   DT ________________________________ From: Mark Shelton <astroshelton@yahoo.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 10:54 AM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Star party eyepiece Chuck Thanks for the heads up. Looks like a good one for star party use. Mark   Mark Shelton Indian Hill Middle School Tech Ed. Teacher Salt Lake Astronomical Society Board Member (School and Special Star Parties Coordinator)  _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Send messages to the list to Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com The Utah-Astronomy mailing list is not affiliated with any astronomy club. To unsubscribe go to: http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Then enter your email address in the space provided and click on "Unsubscribe or edit options".

On Behalf Of daniel turner

Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2012 2:47 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Star party eyepiece

I guess I don't see the point of using cheap eyepieces for public access star parties. It's your one chance to make a favorable impression on the young minds that will be the future of amateur astronomy. I always use my best and at the end of the season just clean them up with a q-tip and a little isopropyl alchohol. I'm not worried about theft because I only bring out one at a time and I'm near the telescope anytime the public is. So what's the problem?

No problem other than your failure to grasp the gist of the post. "Star-party" eyepiece isn't a term that I invented. And ask Roger how many club loaner eyepieces ever come back. Hard to keep them stocked if the club buys only the "designer" stuff. The 28MM RKE is actually a very good eyepiece, from an imagery standpoint, so nobody using one for the public is cheating them in any way or otherwise making an unfavorable impression. The SS price is outstanding and not everyone can afford to spend hundreds of dollars per eyepiece. Daniel, in your mind you were thinking "inferior" rather than "cost-effective". They don't always go hand-in-hand. I'd never recommend a "cheap" eyepiece, by your definition. At that price, I purchased two for my bino-viewer. I sold my RKE set years ago and always regretted losing the 28mm in particular (I still have two earlier incarnations of the same eyepiece from Edmund) so this was a great opportunity to re-acquire it. I know Bruce likes this eyepiece, as well.