Posts Made By: Ed York

Eric,

It looks like your secondary is not lined up with the focuser so part of your light cone is being cut off. Try looking down the focuser with nothing in it and see if it looks like what you expect. Try rotating the secondary a bit while you look. Using the laser, I've also looked in the front at the reflection of the seconday to see if the laser was hitting the secondary where I expected it to be (be careful not to get the laser in your eye - hold up a piece of white paper first to see if/where the beam comes out).

When I pull my scopes apart and put back together, I eyeball it all up, use the EP collimation tool, then final check with the laser. The laser doesn't work so well if you are way out.

Ed

Howard,

I know the feeling on the LP Backyard. Just remember though, it only reduces what you can see. It doesn't eliminate it. There are still great things to see in the reduced list. I chase the bright stuff from my yard and it gives me more time to chase the faint stuff from the dark sky site.

Recently I actually caught M57 from the yard - miracle in that LP. It wasn't the best view I've ever had, but it was a great surprise and put a nice little bounce in my step. Better then leaving the scope in the closet.

It also makes me really appreciate how good I have it when I do get to dark skies. Other guys are talking about how the seeing is just ok and I'm drooling. We see the same thing and I have a lot more fun. It proves the old addage about having steak every night, then steak becomes just like hamburger.


Congrats on the Veil.


Ed

Tonight was a total surprise in the that the forecasted clouds opened up and gave us a decent night of viewing. I worked from my yard (not dark) but had the moon to check out, run up the magnification, take some pictures, etc. WOOOOWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

Between the refigured mirror and the Antares secondary, the views are incredible. The CR2 focuser really lets you slide effortlessly into the sweet spot and take advantage of the optics. I had the moon at 500x in an 8" f4.9 scope and was looking to go more.

The weak link turned out to be the mount with a bit of shake at that magnification. I used to use 500x for sliding in and the views were terrible. I had only been above 250x a couple of times because the optics broke down.

Attached is a photo at 444x with a digital camera hand held at the EP. Due to my movement, this shot really doesn't do justice to the view. I have some film to develop that I can post tomorrow - shots up to 250x.

Drool, Drool, Drool, Drool. I love this scope. These views, portability, quick setup, easy storage, .....

Ed

Sagitarrius has plenty; try M22 (glob), M8 (neb), M20 (neb), M55 (glob)

M13 in Hercules is nice (glob)
Rasalgethi nice double (1 blue 1 orange) in Hercules.

M57 Ring Nebula in Lyra

M27 Dumbell Nebula

M31 Andromeda omes out a little later in the evening.

There's tons more. These are easy and give a very nice view.

Ed

I'm with Chris. I have an 8" and on some Nebula it really brings out some detail. The light loss can be overcome by dropping the magnification a bit. I am very happy with this purchase.

There is a link if you search on Nebula Filters that has reviews by Nebula for each type of filter. Using this you can see which Nebula the UHC/Ultrablock will help you on. Right now the Lagoon is a great one to use that filter on.

I would recommend buying one here on Astromart. If you decide you don't like it, sell it and you're only out shipping ($3).

Ed

Dave,

This is an excellent public service. Keep it up!

Ed

Robert,

From your description, it sound like you could fix it one of two ways.

In a statics equation you get the moment of the scope (cg*distance) is equal to the moment carried by the bearings. The moment of the scope is the horizontal distance of the center of gravity of the scope to the pivot point * weight of the scope. The moment at the bearing is the frictional load * radius of the bearing.


Fix 1.

When the frictional load required exceeds the capability, the interface slides (scope falls). The frictional load is the force normal to the surface * coefficient of friction. You can bump the coefficient of friction by roughing, but some scope companies instead increase the force by adding a spring that pulls the scope down. I'd add a turnbuckle to the spring to make it adjustable.

Fix 2
The center of gravity is not at the pivot point. As the scope moves the horizontal distance from the cg to the pivot point varies. This distance is at a maximum as you lay the scope out horizontal. The weight is constant so the moment created by the scope and thus carried at the bearing is directly proportional to being horizontal. At some point, this moment is too high to be carried by the friction at the bearing. Counter weights (balance the scope), should move the cg close enough to the pivot point to get within the working limits of the friction. (i.e. if the cage falls, the cg is above the pivot point, add weights to the box and the cg is lowered).

Ed

Paul,

You can use any focuser you would like. You may need to look at the base. If it is curved to fit the 4.5" tube, you will either need an adapter, a different base or a new focuser. To address preference (not just function), my bet is the 4.5" relector has a 1.25" focuser. For an 8" or larger scope, I would recommend the option of 2" EP's, so you would need a 2" focuser.

Thre is a shareware program called Newt (do the advanced search and you'll find several links). It can help you determine the size of the secondary. If you need a new one, Antares is good to deal with and you can pick the quality you are willing to pay for. A good secondary is well worth a little extra cash.

Ed

Congratulations Inge,

I think we can all relate to wanting to see something but due to our location we have small windows and everything has to be just right.

I chased The Omega globular cluster this spring. I never could get good Southern exposure, a clear night, and available time. So I missed out this year. At the same time an AM'r from Australia or New Zealand writes in very matter of factly, it's directly overhead right now.

Good for you that you got to see the good stuff on the edge of your viewing windows. It is always a great feeling!

Ed

You guys obviously do not recognize the scope. He is using it perfectly.

It is an experimental scope for Dew & Urban Homes. It has an extended front tube length to act as a dew shield for the humidity and to cut stray light in the urban envirionment. To keep the overall tube length reasonable they had to cut the focal length.

This is a 3" f0.75 Duh Reflector.

Ed