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Posts Made By: john raymond

August 17, 2010 03:33 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Cases...Inexpensive (but good) options?

Posted By john raymond
A stanley "fat max" case will hold an 8" SCT + foam padding. A 9.25"? cant say, but you should look at one.

Sterlite plastic cases with snap on lids and carry handle are also good for accessories. Add thin foam to the bottom and sides with double-sided tape.

Tripod - try an old golf club bag minus the crossbars.

Eyepieces and such - any pluck foam case works great.

John

September 6, 2010 09:07 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Alternatives to right angle finder

Posted By john raymond
Make sure your RA finder is in focus and aligned with the scope. If its slightly out of focus stars will be dim.

Is the finder a RACI (right angle correct image)???
These finders work well with star charts. Just match the chart with the finder view. Add a Telrad and you're set.
RA finders with mirror image are near impossible to use with dobs.

Dont attach the Telrad or Rigel permanently at first. Experiment with placement. The double sided tape is immovable.

Practice aiming your scope using the RA finder. Lyra works great as the stars are all bright and close together. Ive been satisfied with Antares 8x50 RACI finder.

John



October 13, 2010 07:54 PM Forum: Refractors

Takahashi scopes at MASP

Posted By john raymond
Photo of FSQ 106 ED

October 22, 2010 01:27 AM Forum: Astro-Physics

StarFire 152mm f/12 + PM1 mount

Posted By john raymond
Congrats, what a nice setup! You are indeed lucky.

I have Starfire 152 f/9 of similar vintage, found here on Astromart.

Cheers
John

December 4, 2010 08:05 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Orthoscopics

Posted By john raymond
Greg

There's nothing wrong with good orthos. The do have a couple of drawbacks which may or may not affect you. The field of view is narrow compared to other designs and the eye relief is a little short in the higher powers.

On the plus side they have excellent optics and good prices, and work well in any scope.

Ive been wanting a set of the Baader orthos for a while. I have some vintage Celestron, Meade orthos and a UO 6mm. The UO is a gem of an eyepiece.

The advantage of the Televue Plossl is its parfocal with many other TV ep's, and its parfocal with the Televue barlows.
None of my orthos are parfocal.

Having said all that, I mostly observe with Nagler type 6's. Just as sharp as simple ep's, wide field, parfocal, good eye relief and convinient size/weight. I consider them near perfect...

But...

You will benefit more from increased aperture than fancy eyepieces. Ive done lots of lunar/planetary overving with 60 and 85mm refractors. Been there, done that. Ive seen more stuff this year with an 11" dob than in 3 years with small scopes.

Regards
John

December 5, 2010 09:33 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Astro eyepieces on a spotting scope

Posted By john raymond
I think any of the TV 1.25" eyepieces will work. Look at the Televue website and try the eyepiece calculator.

My question is will xxx eyepiece design come to focus with this scope? Try before you buy.

My concern is how will this scope work on bright moon and planets due to the terrestrial prism?

The SLC bino shows some faint ghost images on a bright moon. Other than that its perfect.

Good Luck
John

December 17, 2010 12:17 AM Forum: Astro-Physics

The mysterious Star 12 ED

Posted By john raymond
Close up of the decal

December 27, 2010 01:47 AM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

forum entries

Posted By john raymond
Look for My Forum Posts on the left side of the screen under My Account

February 7, 2011 09:07 PM Forum: Mounts

King Kong has Arrived

Posted By john raymond
Jeff

Here's a dumb question. I have Losmandy mounts that are easily rough polar-aligned with the integral boresight. (Im visual only) I dont see that feature on your new mount. How do you polar align it?

Its a beautiful work of art!

Thanks
John

February 12, 2011 12:30 AM Forum: Maksutovs

MK91 and DM4

Posted By john raymond
One more pic

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