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Bob Clemen

M81, Bode’s Galaxy

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Posts Made By: Michael Sandy

February 18, 2007 06:26 AM Forum: Pictures of Me and My Telescope and........

New Permament Pier Setup, G-11 and Vixen VC200L

Posted By Michael Sandy
Okay - so why did you pick such a crowded place (nearest neighbor must be only a mile or two away), and how do you ever see anything through all the light pollution you must have? smile

Very nice spot for this hobby, the spot begs for a nice large observatory!

Very cool!


April 1, 2007 08:21 PM Forum: Ask rating questions here

Those who procrastinate

Posted By Michael Sandy
I was just thinking about procastinating. I decided to try it tomorrow. 8)

April 18, 2007 04:57 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M3 - First light LRGB

Posted By Michael Sandy
Wow Tom,

That new scope really looks like a winner! Nice color, sharp image, nice flat field - was there anything else you were hoping for?

Great first image!

Mike

April 22, 2007 06:27 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

the wale SXV H16 vs SXV M25C

Posted By Michael Sandy
A truely remarkable image Dietmar! Color camera or not - that is about the best example of NGC-4631 that I have seen. Well done!

April 23, 2007 02:13 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Multi-night exposures...

Posted By Michael Sandy
You just have to be sure that you are pointed to the same part of the sky. I do that by justing an automated control software to take an initial image, plate solve the image to verify the exact coordinates, and make an adjust slew to exactly the same coordinates as the original image. ACP, CCDAutopilot, and I think CCDCommander will do that for you. Verifying your pointing lets you shoot the same object over multiple nights - or even seasons - and end up with subexposures that can easily be stacked. It is not uncommon to shoot each channel (LRGB) on different nights.

May 19, 2007 11:24 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

First completely unattended image -- vdB142

Posted By Michael Sandy
Nice image Tom! It may take another night or two of unattended imaging - but your feelings of guilt will fade, and you be left with a pleasant well rested feeling of satisfaction (as long as everything keeps working for you). Remember to go out and see the night sky every now and then - even if you don't have to.

Enjoy!

July 3, 2007 06:27 AM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

Delay in auction ending

Posted By Michael Sandy
Sounds like the seller made an extra $50......that is one of the features that I really like on Astromart auctions. Then again I hate to loose a bidding war to a better (or quicker) sniper than me.

I do wish that when I place a bid that exceeds the reserve amount, that the result would be a bid at the reserve amount instead of just the small increment over the previous bid. Did comment that make sense?

I'm begining to warm up to the auction side of Astromart at any rate........

September 30, 2007 05:42 AM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

Does anyone actually wear the AM tee-shirt?

Posted By Michael Sandy
I've been wearing both of mine for the past couple of days. My wife is just getting a bit tired of seeing them as much as she does. I'll be wearing mine once again at the AIC next month.......

October 6, 2007 06:08 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

dew heater controllers

Posted By Michael Sandy
I owned one for a while. I sold it because I thought it was overly complex and expensive for what it does. I ended up going back to a Dew Buster. I collect the extra wire in a bundle near the controller and zip tie it together under a mounting plate.

December 29, 2007 05:21 AM Forum: Eyepieces

AP SPL eyepieces

Posted By Michael Sandy
Well - first off, these are GREAT eyepieces. I think anyone that has had an opportunity to use them would agree. They have wonderful coatings, provide a crisp clear view, have an ortho-like FOV, and yet a more realistic eye relief. They are very sharp, and provide a very high contrast view. They are simply one of the best planetary eyepieces available.

They did sell for $200 when new and in production. If you were a European buyer at that time, you'd pay an additional 17% VAT (+/- a bit) to import them. Then you have to consider the exchange rate - which would have been much lower than the $1.472 to 1 Euro that it is today. If you correct for these additional costs in Europe.....in today's dollars - $400 is not that much of a premium. Then there is the fact that these are somewhat rare and out of production. This is not that different from the situation with the Zeiss Abbe Orthos......they sell for $600-800 these days, when they become available.

If you think only in terms of the original sales price of $200 - they are probably not worth $400 to you. If you have a few examples and would like to double up for use in a bino, or fill in some holes in the set you have been putting together, then they probably are.

Just my thoughts.....YMMV

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