Posts Made By: Jim Mahon

While no company is perfect, and certainly turnaround times seem to a problem judging from recent posts, I think I need to offer my thanks to William at Meade customer support for his aid today.

I managed to LOSE a friend's ETX-125 and Autostar manuals while cleaning my computer room/office. I suspect they went out with trash in my efforts to get rid of old paperwork. William (edited error...) bailed me out of this sorry situation by mailing new manuals, and also printed out a revised online Autostar manual and included that in the package. I was frank with him about having lost the originals, and was prepared to pay for the replacements, but he did this gratis and handled the situation quickly and courteously.

I'm personally grateful for the quick resolution.

Jim Mahon

Hey guys, those of us who made it to GCSP ought to relate our experiences...

Astromarters Thom, Nancy, Denise, Mike, and myself were at the South Rim - who else? Thom got a pic of Mike, Denise, himself and I one evening. Also present was astromarter John, my boss at Griffith.

I was clouded out for the first time at a GCSP on Wednesday. I know it's just been good luck on my part over the years, but it was quite weird to be there in the parking lot at Yavapai, all set up, staring at clouds with just the most fleeting of sucker holes. I threw in the towel at around 11:00. Heard it cleared around 1:00.

You really do need to get to Yavapai by 5:15 at the latest if you wish to grab a spot in the parking lot. For this purpose, the various feeds arranged for the astronomers at around 3:00 are very nice - you head over right after you struggle to your feet to leave the feast! Different groups did different things, with my personal gratitude going out especially to Thom and the Sirius lookers, who adopted my daughter and I for the trip and included us in their daily potlucks and made sure we knew about the other get-togethers like the mostaciolli at Mather campground (what a great bunch of people - thanks for hosting us, Elaine!) and the BBQ at the ranger's home.

The North Rim has nothing like this level of organized group grazing - it's a smaller bunch of folks, tending to break into little subgroups. I'm still full of fond memories of the North Rim experience two years ago with Kim, John, Nancy, Richard, and Mark!

Mark, we missed ya down south!

Anybody get to the North Rim?

Conditions Thursday and Friday were dicey early, with some clouds, followed by clearing and a window of an hour or two before the wind got to be a big factor. I had my friend Richard Wade's 20" Starsplitter, and it made a fine weathervane after about 10:30 or so each night. Lots of people got good looks before this occurred, though.

Saturday was better, although not entirely free of the wind. The skies were beautiful, although with the air movement, we never had really great seeing. Nice and dark, though.

If you've never made it to GCSP, I enthusiastically recommend it - lots of great people to meet, lots of astonished members of the public to light up, and one of the greatest settings one could ask for. Not a quiet gathering of "serious" observing friends, but a rather raucous, exuberant sharing of dark skies with loads of "civilians" who are already primed to appreciate nature by their presence at the Canyon. Looks like it will fall in the very early portion of June next year, tentative dates looking like the 4th through the 11th. Make your plans now! Next year I'm going to try to plan a run up to Escalante either just prior to or just after the party - probably just prior.

Clear Skies!

Jim

I'm sorry to be negative, but the face height of those waves did not approach what is shown in that pic. It's a fake...

Jim

Tonight's conjunction (OK, maybe near-conjunction is more accurate...) of Jupiter and the Moon is quite lovely! If you can, take a look.

Clear Skies!

Jim

If you're just starting out, possibly with a telescope you got for the holidays, this free event may be for you if you live in the Los Angeles area.

My club, the Local Group of Santa Clarita, will hold a beginner's Star Party and Telescope Clinic at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area on Saturday, February 12th, from 3:00pm to 11:00pm. During the afternoon, volunteers will be available to assist new telescope owners with setup/assembly questions, and we'll also have several solar telescopes set up to allow viewing of sunspots and prominences (weather permitting!).

After dark, you can experience a moderately dark sky, as the park is located some 35 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, on state route 14, 15 miles north of the I-5/14 split in Newhall Pass. This is high desert terrain with normally dry conditions for observing. Experienced volunteers will roam the telescope field to assist new observers in getting the most out of their telescopes. Targets available will include a 4 day old crescent Moon, Saturn, M-42 the Great Nebula in Orion, bright galaxies like M-81 and M82 in Ursa Major and a wealth of double stars and star clusters. The event will officially end at 11:00 PM, just as Jupiter should be poking above local terrain features.

For more information and directions see the Local Group website at: www.lgscv.org

Clear Skies!

Jim Mahon
President, The Local Group

For those of you looking for a public star party convenient to North L.A. county, we'll be back at Vasquez Rocks this Saturday, weather permitting.

Vasquez isn't pristine - it's a semi-rural sky - but it is easy to get to and provides us a good public venue. With Astronomy Day using the first-quarter moon Saturday, we're doing the public event at Vasquez on the April dark Saturday. Not our normal pattern.

Clear Skies!

Jim

This evening, my club held a public star party at a local natural area, Vasquez Rocks. Many of you would recognize its distinctive sandstone formations from the many movies, TV shows, and commercials filmed there. I conjure a mental image of Captain Kirk being chased by the Gorn every time I visit...

Anyway, as we were knocking down equipment around 11:30 at the close of the event, I happened to be set up near fellow Astromarter Linton Rohr.

I was knocking down my Genesis when, for the first time in over 10 years of ownership, I DROPPED the nice aluminum dust cap onto the dusty ground. You could hear the collective intake of breath as everyone nearby wondered what piece of equipment had made that very audible, slightly metallic impact. I had all my cleaning gear and this was more an embarrasment than a real problem, so I reflexively let out a fairly mild curse as I bent to pick up the cap. My subdued reaction made it obvious that it wasn't a 31mm Nagler that had hit the ground.

A moment later, the silence was broken by Linton's voice....

"Like New, In Box....."

...and the astronomers taking down their scopes all immediately dissolved into laughter!

Jim

I'll lead off with a partial - I was able to just get in a few nights due to a family obligation...

The South Rim was well attended by amateurs, most from the Arizona clubs but with a sprinkling of Californians, Nevadans, and a few folks from more distant points present at the SAC pizza party on Sunday (Thanks to SAC, and also to the Sirius Lookers' Thom Walczak for the Wednesday mostaciolli feed!). I was happy to be sharing my campsite with Paul Keen of my club, The Local Group of Santa Clarita, California.

Unfortunately we had significant wind for most of the public hours through Tuesday night, enough at some points that the 20" Starsplitter I was swinging actually became unsafe to use for public astronomy. Despite this, there were hundreds of enthusiastic and impressed park visitors who enjoyed the views each night.

The winds did die down late on at least two nights I heard about though I had already packed it in. On Tuesday night, I stayed set up despite the 20" being almost uncontrollable and waited it out - it was my last night. I was rewarded by a couple of hours of superb dark-sky viewing between 1:00 and 3:00 AM, with about ten other die-hards, including Brad Campbell and Dennis Young of the Sirius Lookers and Steve, whose last name escapes me but is a first-rate astronomer and dad - our daughters were pals last year. Brad and Steve were back working that gravitationally-lensed quasar in U Major, trying to split it again in Dennis' 28". Awesome object, but I was spoiled since I'd been privileged to view it in the Mt. Wilson 60 inch! My good friends Nancy and her brother John were set up with me near Brad, and hopefully we didn't bother you too much, Brad! Also, my regrets to Kevin from Texas, who I had no chance to say goodbye to. I hope you enjoyed the views as much as we enjoyed your company!

I was very happy to see Mark Rieck as I pulled into camp Saturday night (and to meet his wife) but I suspect Mark took off for the North Rim as I did not see him again. Either that, or the wind was too nasty for him, though I have trouble buying that. Hopefully, all is well with him. Want to chime in, Mark?

The warmth and camaraderie of the astronomers at the South Rim GCSP is amazing and very hard to contemplate foregoing for a return to the North Rim edition next year - something I might do, depending on how things are organized. I know I'll return to the South Rim party at some point in the future, though. Some of my favorite people are there - Brad, Thom, Geoff, Ara, Bill Lofquist (a true gentleman and scholar!)and his lovely wife from Tucson, Carter the wunderkind from Tuscon, Steve, Cheryl, my "sis" Nancy Chistopherson and her brother John, and of course Dean. I even miss Dennis Young, the little "s"! (inside joke) Sorry I had to take off, guys - but Dad had to be at 6th grade graduation! (Jen got a presidential award for her academics, btw. Dad is proud!)

Lastly, many thanks to the TAAA members led by Dean who make GCSP happen.

Let's hear how the rest of the party went from some of you lucky ones able to stay for the whole thing! I expect reports starting Sunday!

Clear Skies!

Jim

I have historically had good experiences with Celestron technical support and customer service, but recent events have me extremely concerned...

The hand controller on my Nexstar 11 GPS was swapped out a couple of years ago as part of the motor controller board upgrade Celestron provided free of charge to owners of early models. Everything went smoothly until recently, when I noted that my second line of text was only working intermittently. Now both lines are illegible most of the time.

I contacted - or I should say ATTEMPTED to contact Celestron to inquire about repair/replacement options for the hand controller, starting over a month ago. I'm assuming that I'll need to bear the cost - this scope is well out of warranty. I just need to know what part number to buy or if there is any exchange/recycle program for controllers.

I first tried to use the Celestron online support in early November. I described my problem, noted that I expected to have to purchase a new or reconditioned hand controller, and sent the mesage on its way. Weeks passed, and no reply came.

I then called the technical support number listed on the Celestron website about 2 weeks ago. Following the prompts on their automated phone system, I repeatedly attempted to hold to speak with a human. After three waiting periods terminated by attempts by the system to get me to record a message instead of holding for a human, followed by disconnections, I gave up and left another message fully describing my problem and imploring them for some help. Again, weeks have passed. No response, no answer to my question, not even a message that acknowledges that they are behind and will get to me someday. Zip.

Not the Celestron I dealt with even 2 years ago!

I got lucky this morning and got through to the tech support number, but the guy who answered wasn't able to provide me with any information - he said he'd need to ask "them" and he'd get back to me. I related my recent trials, and he allowed as how they were "swamped". He took my phone number and promised to get back to me. I'm hoping that he does but a little skeptical...

Is anybody else noting this trend? Am I the last one to notice it? One of the reasons I bought from Celestron is my perception that they provided better customer support than the other guys. I had some very poor support experiences in the past on some blue-tubed scopes. Now it looks like Celestron is going the same way.

I may need to stop recommending their products to novices. If I'm Celestron, that should raise a red flag.

Are you listening down there in Torrance?

Jim

Got my reservations for the North Rim already! Campground reservations for the star party dates of June 17th through the 24th opened up on February 5th - both rims. Meant to post a reminder on the 5th but have been rather busy. This year I'm following a slightly different strategy and reserving starting the 16th, so for once I can have a good night's sleep before the start of the party - I'm always missing night one due to road fatigue! With the 7 day maximum, I'll have to check out Friday morning, but that might work out with my available time anyway. I love gettng a free cmapsite, but waiting until late spring to be sure I have one makes me crazy, so I consider the reservation cheap insurance. I have a 22 foot trailer and not all sites will accommodate it. If there are enough sites for astronomers and I get one, I can get all but one day's fees refunded. Getting the new-old tow vehicle project rolling, stripping the 88 F-250 interior for soundproofing, new seats, and stereo. Old diesels are pretty noisy and the scopehauler needs to be a place my wife and daughter are happy. Will have lots of room for more scopes this year with an 8' bed under a shell - Nancy, maybe loading up at the end of a night will look less like a chinese puzzle! More ground clearance should also come in handy if we manage a trip to Grand Staircase-Escalante after GCSP. Can't wait! Jim