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William Optics Amici Prism Blues


Nightspore

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A while ago I bought a second 1.25” William Optics Amici prism diagonal. This was to replace an older WO Amici diagonal that got broken in transit. Its prism had become unseated but I decided to keep it as the helical can be unthreaded and placed on a similar diagonal.

 

pX4sJYh.jpg

 

The second diagonal is the new version of the WO Amici which can be seen in the picture above with its distinctive silver housing. It is redesigned, more expensive, and has a different focal plane to the older version.

 

36dtTRt.jpg

 

The first new WO Amici would not hold an eyepiece securely with its compression ring. It wouldn’t tighten properly. After nearly destroying it trying to fix it I decided to change its drawtube to a conventional one taken from a GSO Amici and use it in my refractors. I didn’t properly try its replacement and at first it seemed fine. But after using it recently with my 127mm SkyMax I’ve discovered that it works fine on smooth sided eyepieces and some with shallow undercuts but does not fasten securely on some of my Barsta made EP’s.

 

jjXNzF3.jpg

 

The ring fastens enough to hold the two eyepieces below loosely but will not tighten sufficiently.

 

tGgnqK5.jpg

 

I’ve swapped the helical unit with the one from the borked old Amici so I can use it. So, if you’re contemplating one of these new WO Amici prisms bear in mind certain eyepieces may not be held securely.

 

Cfklcn7.jpg

 

Edited by Nightspore
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Undercuts on eyepieces ?

I hate them !!

Compression rings work so much better when the eyepiece barrel is smooth.

 

Problem is, an awful lot of eyepieces out there have undercuts...

And tapered barrels are even worse.

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6 minutes ago, Bino-viewer said:

Undercuts on eyepieces ?

I hate them !!

Compression rings work so much better when the eyepiece barrel is smooth.

 

Problem is, an awful lot of eyepieces out there have undercuts...

And tapered barrels are even worse.

Yeah, the undercut was an answer to a problem apparently. So was the compression ring. They just don't mix. Slight tapers are actually useful but exaggerated tapers (I'm talking about YOU Explore Scientific) can distort compression rings sometimes.

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