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Posts Made By: Steven Jindra

July 29, 2004 09:42 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Using Meade Superwedge on a fixed pier?

Posted By Steven Jindra
Tom
I have a fixed pier made from 6" schedule 40 pipe. The top is capped with 1/2" steel plate and a 4" round handhole cut in the in side about 6" down. The top has a 1/2" hole in the center for a 1/2" bolt that comes up through the center of the wedge and is tightened with a nut. I can access the bolt through the handhole when tightening. the top also has three 5/16 tapped holes for the lock down screws for the wedge.

Hope this helps.
Steven Jindra

August 19, 2004 04:38 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Value of used equipment? Opinions please.

Posted By Steven Jindra
Bill
If you are saying the wedge and tripod are the Meade Giant Field tripod and Super Wedge then these would have about a $400 additional value over the standard ones. If you plan on photography work, these will be a good value for you.

I think your total figure of $1500 sounds fair to your friend and for you. $1400 would not be unreasonable either.

That is my opinion.
Hope this helps.
Steven Jindra

September 1, 2004 05:44 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

ETX90RA mod

Posted By Steven Jindra
Don
The ETX90 OTA will not fit on the ETX 60 or 70 fork arms. I have a Nexstar 114 mount with an adaptor plate that works great for a go-to mount for a variety of OTA's for optical use only.

I also have a couple LX200 mounts I have adapted with a saddle bracket for mounting a variety of different OTA's. These work well even for medium focal length photography.

Hope this info helps.

November 6, 2004 08:16 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

M33-Pinwheel Galaxy & HorseHead

Posted By Steven Jindra
See previous post for info.
Thanks.

November 26, 2004 06:48 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

What to buy?

Posted By Steven Jindra
James
I too live in light polluted skies and agree that a good go-to or else guided push to (digital setting circles) mount helps a lot. The Meade 7" Mak LX200 sound good for planets. As an alternative, the Celestron 9.25" SCT is also good for planets and has more aperture for deep sky.

I personally have the 9.25" SCT OTA and recently purchased a CI-700 GEM (better for imaging) with digital setting circles. For visual though, the Meade or Celestron go-to fork mounts are great, especially since they can be used in an alt-az setup.

Those are my thoughts. I hope they help. I'm sure that others will be helpful as well.
Steven Jindra

February 7, 2005 03:49 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Meade LX-200 and Celestron Nexstar 11" GPS

Posted By Steven Jindra
Ken
I have never had the 11" Celestron, but I have had the Meade 10" and 12" LX-200's. The 12" can be handled by 1 person, but it's a load. The 10" is much more managable.

For astrophotography, the 12" scope is pushing the limits of the LX200 mount, where the 10" is more the size the mount was designed for.

I hope this info is of help.

Steven Jindra

March 2, 2005 08:53 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Advantages to Autoguiding with APO over Achro?

Posted By Steven Jindra
For now, the ST80 stays. Overall I have been happy with the guiding of the 80ST. Just trying to stack as many of the cards in my favor as possible and wanted to make sure my guide scope was not a weakness.

There has been a bit of discrepancy of quality of guiding dependant on which area of the sky I am imaging. Part of this may well have been a balance issue. In the past my East/West balance was good (slightly favoring the East), but my North/South balance was a little off when aiming nearer the zenith. I have since remounted everything, testing for balance on all axis,in all directions, I just haven't had an opportunity to do any imaging since.

Thanks for the feedback.
Steven Jindra

March 4, 2005 09:01 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

alt-az vs GEM

Posted By Steven Jindra
Leif
I tried an LX200 for imaging and it was fair for lower focal lengths, but even guided it was difficult to get good images above 800mm focal lengths due to high PE. If you go with an LX200 or Celestron equal the 8" OTA with a 3.3 focal reducer may be the better fit than the longer focal lengths of the 10" OTA's.

I now have a CI700 GEM and it is much better. Even with a GEM, I would recommend a higher quality one for serious imaging. A used CI700 (around $1400) or a Losmandy G11. But these are not very portable.

For visual though, I still prefer the LX200 fork mount in alt-az mode.

Hope this helps.
Steven Jindra

March 10, 2005 04:20 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M101 from Utah

Posted By Steven Jindra
Tyler
A nice image, especially from a light polluted area.

I too live in a very light polluted area (Houston area) surrounded by refineries and chemical plants. But I enjoy imaging from my back yard, so far only in black and white.

I would be interested in what equipment you use as well as the timing on the images.

Thanks
Steven Jindra

March 27, 2005 02:45 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Need help with accessories for my new LX200 12

Posted By Steven Jindra
Brad
It looks like you have a good plan. You may need a quality eyepiece of around 9mm for planitary viewing. When I had a 12" LX200 I found the Meade 8.8 UWA to be the highest power eyepiece for most nights. Your Ultima 7.5mm should work well for those few nights of exceptional seeing.

The scope buggy sounds good too. The 12" LX200 is a load. Allow plenty of time for cool down.

Hope this helps.
Steven Jindra

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