Posts Made By: Mark Holden

IIRC, the last time a price was discussed, it was $250k for a truss ota, and about $500k with a suitable goto mount.

Whatever the problem was, it seems to have been fixed rather quickly.

Hi Dwight

Doesn't seem like a convincing argument to me.

In one paragraph he points out the process of mixing the chemicals would be overpowering.

In another he says you'd end up with something that's unstable.

If these guys were planning to blow up a plane while they're on it, I don't think they'd care if they failed because everyone died from the fumes before it was ready, or if what blew up was a different compound than they intended.

Oh, and the British say some of the folks they nabbed had plane tickets for the 16th.

They had the first production prototype, (not the one cobbled together from spare parts for neaf) but Thomas has been out of action since around the fourth of July weekend and hasn't seen it.

Thomas is back in the hospital. They still expect a full recovery, but he's quite sick.

I don't remember the exact words, but when I asked Bill Burgess when he expected the 92 brick to be available he told me nothing else can be done on this scope without approval from TMB. It's unrealistic to expect the brick will be available this year.

I didn't spend much time with it but here are some observations:

The tube is oversized. The same basic tube can be used for the 92 brick, the backpacker, and a 110 brick.

The focuser looks like an LP dual speed one.

It's a little heavy for a 92mm f7. I don't know if this was because of the tube or objective or both. It does lead me to wonder if the "backpacker" might need a new name.

Build quality looked good - nicer than the Synta ed doublets.

At an estimated $800 for the 92 brick, I think it's reasonable to expect folks who buy it would be people who are also considering the 80 or 100ed.

I don't think they put one on a mount, but I didn't spend much time in the vendor area.

They also had an 80mm planet hunter (achromat, about f11) on a mount - but I didn't bother looking at or through it. The Planet hunter was first shown at WSP, and I'm guessing it's probably the first TMB scope produced with BO that'll be available in quantity.

(edited to fix typo)

This sort of news often makes it onto the net before employees are notified.

Anyone who knows the information can call or email a reporter.

The company memo is assigned to one employee, and another probably has to approve it before it's sent.

A friend uses an SV 80/480 as his finder scope. (same objective, different, but similar tube.)

If you want a nice low power view, just put in something like a 40mm Paragon, or some other long wide angle eyepiece.

As for a camera, I'd be inclined to get a wider top plate for your mount that allows you to put the camera next to your scope.

Otherwise, I think Markus now sells CNC tube rings for that scope. They would allow you to attach a top plate between the rings, and it would be simple to mount just about anything to that.

I've observed from the private field, and the ball field at Belleplain, but I've never been to SJSP.

I'm a regular at CSP.

My impression is Belleplain is a little darker than the current CSP site.

I don't know what they bring in, but Belleplain is probably more rustic too. CSP is at a 4h camp, so they have a mess hall with a kitchen, tables to sit at, and rest rooms. They also have cabins for people who don't like tents.

The people at CSP are very friendly, and they have kids programs. The food plan is usually pretty good, though last year it seemed like the caterer was trying to get us prepared to shoot the campfire scene of Blazing Saddles. 8O They have a new caterer this year.

The same crew from my group that went to BFSP will be at CSP.

In order to get a 5 minute exposure from a 400 f2.8 lens you'll need a pretty respectable mount. I'm pretty sure you'll be above the 8 pound range too.

I think I'd be looking at the Sphinx or a GM8. Maybe even the AP mach1gto.

If you stick with smaller lenses, you'd probably be OK with something like the Orion SVP with the push to system.

Of those scopes, the only one I'm familliar with is the TMB 175. Two friends have them. They're wonderful. High contrast razor sharp images. No color fringing even at 630x. They'll comfortably cover the chip in my D70 with room to spare.

But you will want something along the lines of an Ap 900gto mount for visual, and a 1200 would probably be better for imaging.

You're the first person I've seen report results with a scope faster than F6.