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Posts Made By: Floyd Blue

March 5, 2007 07:25 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Unbelievable GOTOs!

Posted By Floyd Blue
Joe,
Welcome to the world of Go-To! 8) I for one have always been in favor of it and have it in one form or another on all my scopes.

April 3, 2007 01:36 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Is This a Good Power Supply

Posted By Floyd Blue
Hi Paul,
That should do nicely for maybe two evenings of power, without dew removal gear. Maybe one night with dew removal.

May 21, 2007 09:13 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Re: Refractors

Posted By Floyd Blue
Hi Jim,
Not an expert on refractors, but I do own several.
First off, a 10" Dob or Newt would require perhaps an 8" refractor to equal the view. The difference between them being the central obstruction of the reflector and how it takes away from the image.
Aperture is aperture, whether a refractor or reflector and the resolution is aperture dependent.
The refractor would have a somewhat sharper image of stars normally due to no central obstruction, but because of the lesser aperture it would have a dimmer image of the fainter objects such as DSO like galaxies.
So, a 5" or 6" refractor will not give as bright of an image or has a fine of resolution as a 10" reflector, but would have a better contrast and sharper star images normally. A 9" refractor would probably perform as well as or better than a 10" reflector and maybe an 8" would also rival it.
The refractor is quicker to stabilize at night with temperature changes and it is usually easier to transport, depending on it's size and the size of the mount.
Hope this helps.

October 5, 2007 07:04 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

What is the meaning of 8 arc/sec mounts

Posted By Floyd Blue
Hi Ken,
That is usually describing the periodic error of the mount. It is described in arc/sec and is a measure of how far off the straight line that the mount is tracking deviates from a perfect line. 8 arc/sec is quite good actually. Astro Physics states 5 arc/sec or less and that is excellent.
A Paramount can be as little as 1 arc/sec which is as good as it gets.

December 29, 2007 07:21 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

can i post a photo directly from my computer for a

Posted By Floyd Blue
Hi Steve,
Yes you can. Just make sure it is not too large byte wise. Browse to the file and then select it and it will be uploaded to the ad.

January 8, 2008 07:01 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

which would you rather have?

Posted By Floyd Blue
Hi Victor,
There is no doubt that the 12" Dob will give the best views in under any sky. The 9.25" SCT will do OK, but it will lack in detail compared to the 12" Dob. I have used these size scope in light polluted areas and the larger aperture shows more hands down. smile

January 8, 2008 08:40 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Telescope Grease

Posted By Floyd Blue
I use charcoal lighter, it works great and usually you have some around. It doesn't normally attack paint if only wiped on and off, but be careful none the less. It dries quickly and is pretty clean.

January 24, 2008 05:58 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

I PULLED THE TRIGGER

Posted By Floyd Blue
Hi Victor,
Well, welcome to the club! I have refinished a few Dobs and it was always fun. You can make it look any way you want, that is one of the neat things about Dobs.
Let us get a look at it when you can take a picture.

January 24, 2008 06:00 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

I PULLED THE TRIGGER

Posted By Floyd Blue
Hi Victor,
Well, welcome to the club! I have refinished a few Dobs and it was always fun. You can make it look any way you want, that is one of the neat things about Dobs. Here is the last 12.5" scope that I had and refinished.
Let us get a look at it when you can take a picture.

February 13, 2008 09:27 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Astigmatism

Posted By Floyd Blue
Well, I will add my $.02. If the scope is using the secondary from the old Meade as well as the primary, then the secondary might be the problem. If it is pinched in the holder for instance, then it can give this type aberration.
Also, if the problem is temperature related, much better at one temp than another, the secondary might be the problem.
I have seen this before and by remounting the secondary I did get resolution with one scope, but with another the secondary had to be replaced as it was effected by dropping of temperature due to internal stress I believe.

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