Image of the day

Captured by
Douglas Rollain

M20 Trifid Nebula in LRGBHa

About Astromart

My Account

New to Astromart?

Register an account...

Need Help?

Posts Made By: Bill Byrd

March 11, 2006 11:29 PM Forum: Telescope Making

To Spoke...or Not to Spoke...That is the Question

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]I'm torn. I like the way non-spoked alt bearings look. Not that spoked (spoken?) versions are ugly, I just prefer the clean lines of non-spoked bearings.

I've routed the outer sides of my bearings and I have to decide whether to leave the half circles and make cutouts (lots of work) or use the router to make an inner cut (less work) on each half circle to make a non-spoked bearing.

Any pros or cons about which way to go from an operational standpoint?
Bill[/COLOR]

April 6, 2006 02:29 AM Forum: Landscape Photography

Casa Grande - Big Bend NP

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]Just got back. Not too many photos worth sharing but here's one of the "Big House" or Casa Grande.
Bill[/COLOR]

April 9, 2006 12:08 AM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

The Boys (Girls?) Are Back

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]We have a bumper crop of monarch caterpillars this spring! Not much of a picture but it shows how big some of them are getting.
Bill[/COLOR]

April 10, 2006 12:51 AM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Views of IC4617?

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]IC 4617 is a mag 15.2 galaxy near M13. Not to be confused with NGC6207 which is also near M13 but farther away. From its location, IC4617 would seem to be simple enough to find if it weren't as faint as it is. I tried to find IC4617 last week from very dark skies in west TX but had no luck with a 14.5" scope. NEWT puts IC4617 beyond the reach of a 14.5" scope. My next scope, an 18.75", should be able to reach mag 15.2 according to NEWT. I'll try again once the new scope is finished.

In the mean time, what has been everyone else's luck with IC4617? What size of scope were you successful with?
Curious,
Bill [/COLOR]


April 15, 2006 06:50 PM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

Different Kind of Monarch Caterpillar?

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]Most of my monarch caterpillars have "spikes" at the front and back end; 4 spikes. Ihave a couple of newer caterpillars that have an extra set of spikes on the body; 6 spikes. The newer ones are also a little "brighter" in coloration. Anyone know if these are a different species? Maybe a male/female differentiation?
Bill[/COLOR]

April 20, 2006 02:03 AM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

As The Monarch Turns

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]Looks like at least one of the monarch pupae will actually become a monarch butterfly. Tonight I noticed that you can see the wing markings through the wall of the pupa. Won't be long now! I just hope I'm around to see it emerge, or at least see it before it flies away.
Bill
[/COLOR]

June 19, 2006 01:55 AM Forum: Telescope Making

Alt Bearings - Aren't They Pretty?

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]Well...not really but they look like they'll work okay. wink

These are the alt bearings for the long suffering 18.75" scope I'm building. Diameter is 23.25", heighth is 2" and they are 1.875" thick. The nice thing is they only weigh 2 pounds each. Adding the Ebony Star will add another couple of ounces to each. The nice Al bearings I bought weigh 10+ pounds each...too heavy for the semi-lightweight scope I'm building.

The ply is some stuff I found at the local hardware store...not exactly Baltic Birch but for the price not too bad at all. 11 plies and only a few small voids. Note the different colors of the wood. Each sheet had a lighter side and a darker side. The dark side should look nice facing out, with a very dark Ebony stain on it.

If I lean on one end with the other on the ground, there is a tiny (less than 1/8"?) bit of compression. Since the whole scope will be around 100 pounds, I think this will be okay.

I'm going to make them removeable for transport. Any suggestions on a "no tool" way to do that without having knobs sticking out?
Bill[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Maroon"]P.S. Can you tell that I was considering spoked bearings? Look at the lighter bearing and you'll see layout marks.[/COLOR]

July 1, 2006 02:44 AM Forum: Wildlife Photography

Front & Back

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]Here's a couple of Texas toads out for dinner. The one facing the camera hangs out there every night. Tonight he had company over for dinner.
Bill[/COLOR]

July 7, 2006 02:29 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

12V Laser

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]Anyone have one of the 12V powered green lasers that ScopeStuff used to sell? Good? Bad? Anyone want to sell me one now that they are no longer listed on the site and I never got around to buying one? :S
Bill[/COLOR]

July 9, 2006 03:52 AM Forum: Telescope Making

Mirror Storage/Transport Box

Posted By Bill Byrd
[COLOR="Purple"]Hi All!
I finally finished a mirror transport box for my 18.75" f/5.22 cellular mirror. I used "L" shaped wooden "hold downs" to allow me to secure the mirror back plate so nothing touches the front. There is a central hole in the back plate that fits over a wooden plug in the bottom of the box. The hold downs really just keep the mirror from coming up off of the bottom. The hold downs have 1/2" medium density foam on the face that presses on the back plate.The bottotm of the box has the same foam on it to cushion the mirror.

Here's an overall pic.
Bill[/COLOR]

Funding Member

Sponsors


View all sponsors

Search