®

for Meade RCX-400, LX200R, LX200GPS, LX-90GPS, LX90 & LX200 Classic 

An EyeOpener enhances the performance of long focal length 2" eyepieces on Meade 10”, 12" and 14” Schmidt-Cassegrain and Ritchey-Chrétien telescopes by increasing the eyepiece optical path size as much as 65%.  2" eyepieces are "where it's at".  Get all of the eyepiece aperture that you paid for while enjoying the full benefit of 2" eyepieces.

As Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes (SCTs) evolved from 8-inch models to larger-aperture scopes, and as eyepieces evolved from 1¼" to 2", the "Schmidt-thread" couplings used for securing 1¼- inch diagonals and eyepieces to telescope backplates remained unchanged. This "Schmidt visual back" supplied with your RCX or LX200 scope has an internal diameter of 1½", and it functions as a 1½ inch-diameter field stop.  This field stop effectively limits the performance of your costly 2" optics to the equivalent of 1½" optics.  When using the 1½" visual back with Meade's 2" 56mm Plossel (an eyepiece with a full 2" of glass in the nose)  you loose 65% of the light to your eye! 

  Do you think that the large diameter front lens (the "field lens") on your long focal length 2" eyepiece is there for decorative purposes?  That's about what happens when you restrict the size of the optical path to that lens with a 1½ inch-diameter field stop.  Without the EyeOpener® you're getting the equivalent of 1½" optics.  You might as well take a piece of 1/4" wide masking tape and cover up the outside 1/4" of glass on the nose of your eyepiece.

How does it mount?  The EyeOpener threads onto a 3-1/4" male thread found on the backplate of 10", 12" and 14" Meade SCT & RC scopes, providing a full 2"  unrestricted optical path.  The microfocuser attaches directly to the EyeOpener.  Unscrew your 1-1/2"visual back and check it out for yourself.  To use the EyeOpener on  RCX400 or LX90GPS scopes and on the older "Classic" Meade SCTs, or to shorten the optical path by eliminating the Microfocuser you will need the EyeOpener 2" Tube Adapter.  As an alternative, the EyeOpener will also allow LX90 and LX200 Classic SCT owners to retrofit a Meade #1209 Zero Image-Shift Microfocuser or JMI's NGF-S electric focuser.

Microfocuser mounting thumbscrews now included.  Do you recall the old proverb about the added straw that broke the camel's back?  Meade's RCX and LX200 scopes are heavy enough to transport without the added 1-1/4 pound weight of the Microfocuser.  Replace the 3 mounting set screws in your Microfocuser with these special thumbscrews, and your Microfocuser is readily detachable for scope transport or storage.  A plug-type dust seal is also included with the EyeOpener. 

Note that the EyeOpener will not improve your viewing with 1-1/4" eyepieces or with the smaller 2" eyepieces.  But it is hugely beneficial when used with the larger 2" eyepieces that give you your widest actual field of view.  To see how various eyepieces will perform on an SCT click here 

For a technical explanation of vignetting and how the EyeOpener prevents vignetting, click here

For information on how to use the EyeOpener with an f/3.3 focal reducer for ccd imaging click here

You ain't seen nothin 'till you've looked thru the EYEOPENER

Customer comments:

From Florida: " I don't know if you remember speaking to me last week but I order the EZ Counter Weight from you and we discussed the Eye Opener and I also purchased one of them. The weight worked great.... The reason for my E-Mail is that Eye Opener. I installed it (Easy as Pie) and used it for the first time tonight. I emailed two of my friends tonight talking about how unusually great the viewing was tonight. The weather here in Florida is cold and clear skies. But I've viewed nights just as clear. I told both of them ... how the Orion Nebula took up my entire field of view in that 31mm Nagler with all kinds of nice wisps I had never seen before even with my expensive filters. Tonight no filters and view was awesome. Same with other targets too. The Double Cluster was particularly great tonight. Little fuzzy's weren't so fuzzy:) Then right in the middle of my email to ..... I stopped and said. "Holy Cow" I did not even think of this. Is this because of the Eye Opener:):) ...... What do you think? I'll tell you what, if this is the case than that Eye Opener is the greatest single invention to help these scopes that can possibly be made. I then came back to your web site and read more. That part about the 65% increase in light that gets to your eye and the part about it's like adding 2 inches of aperture to your scope has pretty much got me convinced it's the Eye Opener who should get the credit for tonight's great viewing. I can't believe Meade makes a 2" eyepiece holder and backs it up to a 1 1/2 hole. That's like putting a potato in the exhaust pipe of your car:) Any way, let me know what you think.

12 inch GPS Nagler Powered with the Eye Opener Power Port"

From MAPUG "I own a 40mm SWA (Meade) and noticed that on the standard VB on my 12" LX200, the vignetting was so bad, I almost took the eyepiece back. It seemed that almost 10% of the outer edge of the FOV was blurred. When I put this eyepiece in the EyeOpener, the difference was drastically different. Stars were crisp, even at the very edge. Now, I haven't sat down a measured anything, but I have tested it with the eyepiece and it does make a huge difference (at least with this eyepiece)."

From California: "Thanks for a great product. My 2in EP views are noticeably brighter.  Another benefit realized with the Eyeopener is that it decreases the distance that the EP is located relative to the telescope back 13/16 of an inch by eliminating the AP SCT diagonal adapter.  This gets me a closer to the 100mm distance that the optics are optimized for (spherical correction). My inside focus diffraction pattern is crisper. I calculated that the original AP diagonal combo lengthened the FL to 3000mm instead of the advertised 2800mm on my C11. I should be closer to 2800mm now."

From MAPUG: "I own a 40mm SWA (Meade) and noticed that on the standard VB on my 12" LX200, the vignetting was so bad, I almost took the eyepiece back. It seemed that almost 10% of the outer edge of the FOV was blurred. When I put this eyepiece in the eyeopener, the difference was drastically different. Stars were crisp, even at the very edge. Now, I haven't sat down a measured anything, but I have tested it with the eyepiece and it does make a huge difference (at least with this eyepiece).

Availability: Usually ships the next business day

EyeOpener Eyeopener