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Posts Made By: David Colton

October 3, 2007 08:10 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

ioptron mounts

Posted By David Colton
S&T has a brief review of a new company offering an inexpensive goto mount for small scopes. The company has a well organized and informative website that is worth visiting (www.ioptron.com). It's refreshing to see a company acknowledge that they are a joint venture with a Chinese manufacturer and to provide a link to the manufacturer's website.

The basic model sells for $200 although we'll have to wait for a report here or on Cloudynights as to the quality of the product. Still, it's nice to see a goto mount and tripod for less than the price of an eyepiece!

November 15, 2007 02:25 AM Forum: ASTRONOMY

Video from the Moon

Posted By David Colton
The Japanese Space Agency has posted a high definition video taken from its lunar probe at:
http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2007/11/20071107_kaguya_e.html

December 4, 2007 09:55 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Re: Sky Scout

Posted By David Colton
I asked the same question and got the same answer earlier this year. But you have to agree that the concept - using a GPS locator in lieu of digital setting circles (which are more expensive then the Sky Scout) - is the next logical step in finder technology.

December 11, 2007 04:28 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Re: equipment pricing

Posted By David Colton
For whatever reason, astro equipment does not maintain high resale values. New or like new equipment usually sells in the classifieds for about 30% less than their retail/purchase price. (There is a TV102 and Gibraltor mount currently in the classified for 50% of their retail price). When you consider the good care that most of us give our equipment, it sad that we can't recoup more of what we paid.

February 18, 2008 03:55 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Looking for a small part

Posted By David Colton
I'd like to replace the plastic focusing knobs on my Orion 80mm ST refractor with metal knobs. Are there any dealers you can recommend that carry this item?

April 23, 2008 08:57 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

2 80 ST's better than one?

Posted By David Colton
Just curious. Does anyone market a bracket for mounting two Orion 80mm ST together? Has anyone done that and if so what was your experience?

May 21, 2008 05:15 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Overseas sale

Posted By David Colton
I'm thinking about selling one of my telescopes (just in the thinking stage now) and because of the low value of the U.S. dollar I know that I can sell it for a better price overseas. I'm particularly interested in advertising in the UK. Does anyone know of any sites similar to Astromart in the UK, with a classified section?

I have sold and shipped scopes out of the country (once to Austrialia) without any problem, so I'm not worried about that part of the process.

Thanks.

May 29, 2008 09:51 PM Forum: ASTRONOMY

Phoenix Lander from Space

Posted By David Colton
Here's a truly rare photo - the Phoenix lander descending with its chute open, taken from another spacecraft orbiting Mars. On the Scientific American website:

http://www.sciam.com/gallery_directory.cfm?photo_id=2B3A21F2-EDAC-40D3-4BB4500AF715240B

October 8, 2008 02:35 PM Forum: ASTRONOMY

Dull Sun

Posted By David Colton
Astronomers who count sunspots have announced that 2008 is now the "blankest year" of the Space Age.

As of Sept. 27, 2008, the sun had been blank, i.e., had no visible sunspots, on 200 days of the year. To find a year with more blank suns, you have to go back to 1954, three years before the launch of Sputnik, when the sun was blank 241 times. "Sunspot counts are at a 50-year low," says solar physicist David Hathaway of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "We're experiencing a deep minimum of the solar cycle."

Full story: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081006184638.htm

November 18, 2008 10:06 PM Forum: Refractors

Collimation

Posted By David Colton
One of the things that drew me to a quality refractor (TV102) was that it should not need collimation. So why is Astro-Tech making collimation a selling point in the advertisements for some of their refractors? It was my understanding that collimating a refractor is not something the average user should need or want to do.

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