Televue Everbrite Diagonal

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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
I was skeptical of this diagonal, especially considering the additonal cost over other diagonals. I have a Meade LX200 10" with the Meade 2" diagonal. On a clear steady night I compared the two. Of course I wanted to be fair. How much difference could there be gaining 3% light transmission over the Meade. (A side note. I called Televue and the actually encouraged me NOT to buy the Everbrite with a SCT. They said that I wouldn't notice enough of a differenc in this type of scope.) I have a NGF-S focuser so it allowed me to swith the diagonals very easy from object to object for review. On deep sky objects the first thing I noticed was that the background appeared slightly darker. Although I could not say that the objects appeared brighter, the darker background in moderately light polluted skies makes a difference in contrast. Where the diagonal shines is on the plantes. WOW!!! What a difference. On Jupiter the equatorial belts snapped razor sharp. The red spot showed so much clearer I couldn't believe it. The moons appeared more orb like. A shadow transit looked tack sharp. The rings on Saturn suddenly seperated in a way I hadn't seen. More detail on the surface. It was truly amazing. I am glad that I didn't listen to Televue and went ahead and bought it anyway. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants the absolute best views at any cost.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
Excellent diagonal. Well worth the hefty price I paid.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
simply the best.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
WOW!!!! Just as someone above said, the planets snapped into focus. Worth every penny. Compared to the Meade that came with my SCT, its no contest. Jupiter was as crisp and sharp as a high end refractor would see it. I have the 1.25" The best investment I've made so far in this hobby.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
Got the new 1.25" version a few weeks ago. Noticable improvement over the Celestron star diagonal I'd been using, with better contrast, less scatter. TeleVue shipped a few of these, however, (mine included) with a eyepiece locking screw that doesn't clear the 2" skirt of 1.25"/2" eyepieces. I understand they're fixing this, and they also provide a free retrofit on the 1.25" Everbrites with this problem. Still, easily rates a "10" for performance.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
Mine came with my TV-85 so I decided to compare it to the Intes 2" diagonal that I use with my MK-67. Yeah, it's significantly better. Swapping them back and forth while viewing NGC2903 I could detect an increase in contrast and brightness. Worth it.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
I purchased the 2" Everbrite for use in my 6" CR150 refractor. I had been using a 1.25" cheapee that came with it. Fortunately my cheapee was a fairly good one and the images were not too bad all things considered. In using the Everbrite I have noticed that most fainter images are a bit brighter and the "perceived" detail etc. on planets and moon is a bit sharper. Whether the price paid justifies the small difference is something that each person has to decide for themselves. Like audiophiles, astomonony buffs pay high prices sometimes for small amounts of improvement. I am pleased with the Everbrite and when I am viewing I know that what I am seeing is about as good as it's going to get using the telescope I use. I am going to start using the Everbrite with my new SV80 and will be purchasing an AP Maxbrite for the 150 as I like the brass compression rings on the AP over the screws on the TV. I will report on the Maxbrite and any noticeable difference in the two later. I don't think there will be any as they are basically the same diagonal. If you want to own the best, then pop for the 2" Everbrite and enjoy it knowing you own a diagonal that is as good as they come, at least as of this date.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
I own the 2" version,and I can state quite categorically that, in 38 years of observing, I've never seen a better diagonal. The one-piece casting gives a very re-assuring feel of strength & dependabilty, and the optics support that feeling. No hesitation in giving this the highest recommendation, but one word of warning. The SCT adapter made for it by TeleVue is quite poor. The diagonal flops around even when fully tightened, and the thread around the one retaining screw strips far too easily. I've had to re-tap the hole twice,and replace the screw with a larger one.It can be partly solved by fitting a second screw, but I believe that you're better-off buying Takahashi's 2" adapter. It is extremely well made. I can vouch for it!

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
Great with my LX200 7" Maksutov. The Diagonal was included in the TeleVue Deluxe Rich Field Kit with the 55mm Plossl that I purchased in March 2001, a week after I purchased the scope. Vast improvment over the cheap prism diagonal that came with the 7" Mak. Stars are pinpoints against a dark background and Globulars are very well resolved with no milkiness in the background as with the Meade Diagonal or the one the came with my old 60 mm Mayflower Refractor I got for a High School Graduation present back in 1976. Views of the moon are razor sharp and it works very well with the Celestron Polarizing filter to cut down the brightness of it.

The 1.25" Star Diagonal that came with the 7" Mak is garbage. View is very milky and low contrast, plastic shavings dangling from the edges of the body of the diagonal, it just plain sucks! I knew it had to go from the first peek through it.

In conclusion I can say the vast difference in background contrast and clarity between a mirror and a prism in a diagonal makes it worth replacing your prism diagonal. I recommend it highly.


Bryan D. Gatewood
Pueblo, Colorado
1gateb@home.com

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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
I can't see the difference in brightness. There is a small but noticeable improvement in contrast and sharpness due to reduced scatter compared to generic diagonals. Very solid construction. Only possible problem is that it is very heavy - smaller scopes might be difficult to balance. I doubt that many would notice a brighter image except in larger aperture scopes, but I think the reduced scatter makes it worthwhile. I haven't seen an AP Maxbrite, I'd love to hear a comparison.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
Expensive but like everything else in the hobby, if you want the best you pay a premium for it. Background sky is definitely darker when using this diagonal when compared to a standard Celestron diagonal that I had been using previously and scatter around bright objects is reduced.
No doubt about it, this diagonal provides more pleasing views and so for me it is worth the purchase price.
Identical performance to a friends Maxbright, but I'm not a fan of the compression ring system and so bought this, I haven't been disappointed.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
Only a 9 because retention groove is not properly positioned for my holder's screws (they hit exactly on the lip of the groove). Otherwise, simply the best diagonal there is. Images are better, and contrast better than with any of the 3 others I've owned in the 2" size: Orion, Lumicon, Meade.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 6 (Veritable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
Ditto to the above comments. This is an investment well worth the money. For those serious observers who must have the best to get maximum performance. This is a must have.

Overall Rating: 10
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
The two 9's above baffle me. Obviously, to each there own. This is by far the very best diagonal you can buy. If I could give it higher than a 10 I would. If you want the best then this is the diagonal to buy until something better comes along.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
The best! Worth every penny.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
I'm new to the sport, but having this diagonal was recommended. Tried it on the Outer Banks of NC over the weekend. Compared to the standard Meade w/the LX 90, this Tele Vue was worth the money for the viewing pleasure! Buy one and don't look back.

Overall Rating: 10
Performance:10 Value:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
I have the relatively unusual position of getting this as a gift. I did not seek to replace my 2" Lumicon High-relectivity diagonal, but I thought I would try it out for comparison purposes. I'm SOOOOO glad I did. The threading in the extension tubes (versus shiny anodizing in the Lumicon), the ulta-flat black in the housing (vs. shiny anodizing in the Lumicon), and the slightly shorter mirror housing extension that allowed the diagonal to actually fir within the fork arms on my SCT, seems to make it a winner. Internal reflections are gone. And the diagonal is closer to the perfect 45 degree angle than the Lumicon was--after careful collimation on a star, the Lumicon seemed to show some astigmatism, but the Televue exhibits none. This is quite an improvement on the Lumicon, which in turn was quite an improvement on the Orion 2" before it. Only two minor complaints keeps this from a perfect rating--the screws that hold this diagonal in hit the lip of the machined retention groove instead of the flat area, so tightening the screws to secure this to the scope forces the diagonal away from the 2" adapter tube (I cured this problem by countersinking slight depressions at these points); and the eyepiece tube is a little too short to allow me to put some filters on the ends of eyepieces like the Meade 14mm and insert the eyepiece all the way (the filter hits the mirror). This is not a problem with all filters, just some, and you can easily fix it by adding a spacer ring to the eyepiece to lift it slightly out of the tube. Other than these 2 very small gripes, the performance is stunning. By those standards, this is a bargain. Recommended. Highly.

Overall Rating: 9
Performance:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=70899 

>I have the relatively unusual position of getting this as a gift.  I did not seek to replace my 2" Lumicon High-relectivity diagonal, but I thought I would try it out for comparison purposes.  I'm SOOOOO glad I did.  The threading in the extension tubes (versus shiny anodizing in the Lumicon), the ulta-flat black in the housing (vs. shiny anodizing in the Lumicon), and the slightly shorter mirror housing extension that allowed the diagonal to actually fir within the fork arms on my SCT, seems to make it a winner.  Internal reflections are gone.    And the diagonal is closer to the perfect 45 degree angle than the Lumicon was--after careful collimation on a star, the Lumicon seemed to show some astigmatism, but the Televue exhibits none.  This is quite an improvement on the Lumicon, which in turn was quite an improvement on the Orion 2" before it.  Only two minor complaints keeps this from a perfect rating--the screws that hold this diagonal in hit the lip of the machined retention groove instead of the flat area, so tightening the screws to secure this to the scope forces the diagonal away from the 2" adapter tube (I cured this problem by countersinking slight depressions at these points); and the eyepiece tube is a little too short to allow me to put some filters on the ends of eyepieces like the Meade 14mm and insert the eyepiece all the way (the filter hits the mirror). This is not a problem with all filters, just some, and you can easily fix it by adding a spacer ring to the eyepiece to lift it slightly out of the tube.   Other than these 2 very small gripes, the performance is stunning.  By those standards, this is a bargain.  Recommended.  Highly.

Reply:  Stunning???  I bought the 1-1/4 version and a Celestron stock prism diagonal that it replaced is very close in performance.  The everbrite is a tad brighter, but shows more light scatter without the MgF coatings of the prism...  The mechanics are better for Nagler eyepieces (big surprise here) and it has the recessed safety notch: but in hindsight, the 200 bucks would be better spent on another quality eyepiece.  Based on your review, I'm assuming that the Lumicon version really sucked.
Charles
Televue Everbrite Diagonal
I use the 2" version with my Takahashi TOA 130 ; I initially purchased the Lumicon "Lumibrite" but found that some of my eyepieces were difficult to remove without disturbing the alignment of the telescope. Almost all of my EP's are Televue , so I fugured that the TV diagonal wwould be better.
The pleasant surprise was the the Televue diagonal was far better in every aspect : optics seemed sharper , and the mechanical fit and finish superb. I highly recommend this diagonal.

Overall Rating: 10
Performance:10 Value:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
Excellent if you removed it and looked straight through the tube it would be almost be equivalent

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Televue Everbrite Diagonal
With quality like this a standard has been set for 2" diagonals. Superb craftmanship combined with a dead on collimated optical flat of excellent optical quality with a very good 1" 1/4 adapter. I've tested several 2" diagonals and this is one of the very few that is actually perfectly collimated. Great product Televue!.


Stan Taylor Vancouver B.C.

Overall Rating: 10
Performance:10 Value:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
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