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Posts Made By: Steve Sands

October 1, 2008 01:52 PM Forum: Refractors

Cutting CR150 Tube for Binoviewer

Posted By Steve Sands
You might check with Joe Castoro of the Binoscope Company. He advertises here on AstroMart. He does tube shortening.

October 16, 2008 05:47 PM Forum: Ask rating questions here

How do you deal with this rating issue?

Posted By Steve Sands
If someone rated you for a transaction that never occurred, contact Herb York for assistance. It is against the TOS to do this and he will take the appropriate action (i.e. remove the rating, ban the user, etc).

October 31, 2008 01:29 PM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

How to Post A Classified

Posted By Steve Sands
Sign onto AstroMart, select the CLASSIFIEDS tab at the top. On the left hand margin under Classifieds, select "Place A New Ad". Under the Category drop down menu select "Real-Estate" and fill out all of the other pertinent information.

NOTE: You have scroll all the way to the bottom of the Category drop down menu before you see "Real-Estate". While they are in alphabetic order, it lists Astro first, then Astro-Not categories.

November 21, 2008 11:27 AM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

Rosenberg telescope threads

Posted By Steve Sands
A-M-E-N!

December 29, 2008 03:21 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Collins Image Intensifier EP

Posted By Steve Sands
I have used one of these extensively because a friend of mine in the astro society has one. He brings it to star parties to play with. It is pretty amazing. We use it in my 20" f/4 and the detail in globulars is astounding. It does well on some nebulae and not so well on others. He puts a 50mm lens on it and you can simply use it to scan the skies and find all kinds of objects without a telescope. Scanning the Milky Way is a blast!

It is good in light polluted areas because it allows you to see objects you would otherwise not be able to.

Some folks do not like the bright green image field, but I get used to it. The newer thin film models have greatly reduced the scintillation that many folks object to. It DOES tend to ruin your dark adaptation, so switching between it and a normal eyepiece takes some re-adaptation.

Denkmeier has partnered with another company to produce a bino version called the BIPH. They manufacture them in batches. They have a great website with explanation and pricing (denkmeier.com), so you may want to check that out also.

Yes, they are expensive. This is mostly due to the cost of the tubes used to produce them. I have considered purchasing such a device, but was waiting to see how the BIPH pans out and evolves. I have not had the opportunity to examine a BIPH yet.

January 11, 2009 11:54 PM Forum: Coronado-Lunt-DayStar Solar Filters

PST repairs, before-after performance, Ha

Posted By Steve Sands
Hi Tom,

I also had the dreaded rusting problem on my PST's objective. I sent it off to Meade and within 3 weeks had a perfectly repaired scope! They even corrected a 1/4-20 threading problem I had on the bottom of the unit. This was in September 2007. The objective on the repaired unit has a distinctly blue appearance. I can say that images are definitely brighter and show much better contrast than prior to repairs. Also, I double-stack my PST and the views are much nicer now (brighter, able to magnify more). grin

January 22, 2009 10:03 PM Forum: Reflectors

Who provides the best quality coatings?

Posted By Steve Sands
Does this process keep the mirror from having puppies and kittens? 8)

February 2, 2009 11:33 PM Forum: Coronado-Lunt-DayStar Solar Filters

Solarmax90 single vs double stacked

Posted By Steve Sands
Jim,

The BF30 allows you to use 2" accessories with your filter set, such as diagonals, binoviewers, eyepieces, etc. It all boils down to what you want to do. I have the SM90/ BF30 and can use virtually any configuration I want.

As to improving a SM60 DS, it is called an SM90 DS! grin Just keep in mind that the filters do not automatically work with each other. They need to be "matched" for optimum performance. This is done at the factory. Also, you will need an adapter to mate the two filters together because they do not directly attach to each other. It does indeed get costly.

I purchased some equipment from a guy that included an SM90/BF15 and considered doublestacking my outfit. However, after finding that the stacking adapter was difficult to come by and would be $250+, I dropped the idea because I could not gaurantee that the two filters would match up well. I am extremely happy with my setup and get awesome views. A binoviewer with a power switch improves the view even more (IMHO).

Hope this rambling actually addressed your questions!

Steve

February 13, 2009 05:29 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Powder coating

Posted By Steve Sands
I have been rehabbing a 9.25" Mak-Cass and the tube/ dew shield was really chipped up. I sent them to Joe Castoro from Binoscope and had them powdercoated. There were many, many colors to choose from. I had it coated pearl white with a silver flake overcoat. Now it looks awesome! I had to scale the picture down quite a bit to get it to post. It isn't a cheap process and shipping gets pricey on larger items, but it was worth it, IMO.

May 31, 2009 09:27 AM Forum: Coronado-Lunt-DayStar Solar Filters

Pre- and post-replacement PST quality, reactions?

Posted By Steve Sands
My PST had the rusting problem a couple of years ago. I requested and received an RMA from Meade and shipped it to them for repair. About three weeks went by and it showed back up at my doorstep. They replaced the objective with the new blue-looking one. The images were remarkably improved. Before the repair I really could not get a good focus or see any detail. Afterwards I was very pleased with the performance. I had it out yesterday enjoying proms and a very non-sunspotted sun! What I was experiencing was a continual degredation as the rusting progressed. Hope this helps. I think it would be very worth your while to get your PST repaired.

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