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Captured by
Douglas Rollain

M20 Trifid Nebula in LRGBHa

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Posts Made By: Doug Culbertson

September 19, 2003 01:12 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Nagler 13MM T1 differences

Posted By Doug Culbertson
They are both T1 13mm Naglers. The smooth barrel model came first, and included at least the 9mm T1 in that line. Later on, TeleVue added the rubber grip rings and the rubber eyecup, but the Type # did not change. Actually, they did not designate them as Type one at all, until the Type 2 came out! I used to have one of the ones with the rubber grip ring, and it was an excellent performer, although I always thought that the Meade UWA 14mm was a tad better. Oh yeah, the 13mm was the original Nagler, the one that started it all!

BTW, good price on the 11mm, although I am not sure that they are now considered collector's items since the T6 11mm was released. Anyway, a year or so ago the 11mm T1 was fetching $400+!

Doug
Midway, FL

September 19, 2003 06:31 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

One telescope for a year.

Posted By Doug Culbertson
14.5" Starmaster with Skytracker goto/tracking and Argo Navis. The perfect balance of aperture and portability, IMHO and the added bonus of Zambuto mirror. Plus, I have one on the way.
I had an 18" which met the definition of "portable", but it aggravated my already ailing back.

Doug
Midway, FL

October 1, 2003 11:49 AM Forum: Binoviewers

25mm Epics and 9mm Expanse EP's

Posted By Doug Culbertson
Thanks for that report, Tom. I had asked about the Expanses for binoviewing a day or so ago as I was kind of thinking about the 9mm and 6mm. Guess I will scratch that idea and stick with the 10mm Antares Ultras and the 9mm UO orthos.

Doug
Midway, FL

October 7, 2003 11:35 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

AstroSystems Dew Guard

Posted By Doug Culbertson
I have owned four Starmasters with the Astrosystems Dew Guard installed and it works as advertised. I live in the dew capital of the world and the only time I ever had my secondary dew over with the Dew Guard was one night when I forgot to plug it in!

Doug
Midway, FL

October 20, 2003 12:40 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

What astro gear is made in America?

Posted By Doug Culbertson
Starmaster/Zambuto, Nightsky Scopes, Starsplitter, Obsession, Portaball/Zambuto, TEC, Universal Astronomics (alt/az and bino mounts) Virgo (bino mounts), STI (imaging stuff) SBIG (more imaging stuff and a kick ass mount), Siebert Optics, Denkmeier binoviewers, AstroSystems truss tube kits, T-Scopes, and mirrors by Swayze, Zambuto, Nova, Lightholder, Royce, Mark Harry, Pegasus and a ton of others...I am sure that I left some out, but there are quite a few astro goodies made in the good ol' USA.

Doug
Midway, FL

October 23, 2003 01:14 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Digital Setting Circles and Dob leveling

Posted By Doug Culbertson
Bob,
Not sure which DSCs you are using, but I will assume it is the Sky Commander since the Tangent boxes and the Argo Navis do require leveling the scope; or at least inputting the angle of the scope. While the SC doesn't *require* leveling and inputting the angle of the scope, I do like to get mine as close to level as possible, and I at least *think* that I get better results because of that. I just stick a bubble level in the bottom of my rocker box to check that it is level, and then use some shim stock under the feet if it isn't level. At home I am on a permanent pad, but when I go to my club's site, I find this procedure necessary.

Also keep in mind that all of the DSCs on the market, or at least the ones that I have used (AN and Sky Commander) will lose some accuracy over the course of the night. I am told that this is just the way it goes when using the optical encoders currently on the market. I do find that doing a "realign on object" gets me back on track for the most part.

Doug
Midway, FL

October 24, 2003 05:11 PM Forum: Takahashi

FS 102 First Impressions...

Posted By Doug Culbertson
Hi Mike,

Thanks! I actually have no problems with short eye relief at all. I have been thinking about the 4mm Tak HI for awhile now, and this may be the perfect excuse. I like higher powers as my astigmatism tends to disappear. I don't like wearing my glasses at the eyepiece when I observe.

Doug
Midway, FL

October 27, 2003 12:43 AM Forum: Takahashi

2" Diagonal Recommendations....

Posted By Doug Culbertson
Hi Paul,

I use the WO Second Generation standard diagonal in my FS 102 and I like it quite a bit. No sign of any aberrations at all, and it is bright and crisp. I think that at $99 it is a pure steal! I got a brief chance to compare it to a friend's AP Maxbright on his TMB 100/800, and we honestly couldn't tell a difference in the images between the two diagonals. It is also a beautifully machined diagonal, and both the diagonal and the 1.25" adapter use compression rings.

Doug
Midway, FL

November 5, 2003 04:10 PM Forum: Takahashi

Lightweight Clamp/Rings for Sky 90?

Posted By Doug Culbertson
Paul,

Borg makes some lightweight tube rings, but I don't know if they make any that fit the Tak Sky 90. You can take a look at http://www.sciencecenter.net/hutech/

Also, Parallax makes various sizes of tube rings, but a bit pricey, and I am not sure that a pair of them weigh any less than the Tak tube ring. I have a pair of Parallax rings, but I am in the process of buying a Tak ring for my FS 102, as it will work better for my needs. However, I haven't gotten it, so I can't do a side by side yet!

BTW, if you haven't decided on an alt/az mount yet, I just received the Unistar Deluxe from Universal Astronomics (Amart sponsor) and I am very happy with it. It weighs in at around six lbs, and doesn't require any counterweights for balance. There is also a Unistar Light, which only weighs a couple of pounds, and may do just fine for the Sky 90. Larry will drill and tap the base to fit pretty much any thread you need it to fit. Just an idea...

Doug
Midway, FL

November 8, 2003 11:21 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Who makes the best O-III and UHC filters?

Posted By Doug Culbertson
Lumicon used to be the standard in narrow band filters, but now there are other choices out there.

Some friends and I have done a side by side between the Astronomik and Lumicon OIII filters, and the Astronomik beat it by a good margin. The Lumicon showed some astigmatic stars, which were not present at all in the Astronomik filter. The Astronomik uses a dialectric coating on a single piece of optical quality glass that is superior to the Lumicon, which uses a filter material sandwiched between two pieces of glass. I suspect that the glass is plate rather than optical glass as well.

Oh, and the Astronomik filters carry a five year warranty too.

You can get the Astronomik filters through Adirondak Video Astronomy, as well as some other places. AVA is an Astromart sponsor though, so that is a plus in my book.

Doug
Midway, FL

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