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Posts Made By: John Piper

January 29, 2004 11:40 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Any sources for rubber eyeshields other than Orion

Posted By John Piper
I'm a big fan of the winged rubber eyepiece shields offered by Orion. Use them on my zooms/binoviewer and they really help keep out the glare of city lights. Also use them on some of my binoculars but they aren't quite long enough for the eye relief. Any suggested sources for other types of rubber EP eyeshields other than Orion ? I find Swaroski shields on a google search but that's about it.

thanks

July 2, 2004 03:03 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Why no 'do-it-yourself' kits to make bino-scopes ?

Posted By John Piper
I've purchased some binoculars recently, and it made me wonder why there aren't any kits marketed which could turn small refractors like the TV 76 into bino-scopes. Getting the EPs to line up with your eyes correctly would seem to be the biggest technical challenge. I like using a Binovue with my old TV 76, but it wouldn't have been all that much more expensive to have purchased a 2nd TV 76 instead of the Binovue if only I could hook them together and align them correctly.

August 29, 2003 12:51 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Anacortes + SolarMax 40

Posted By John Piper
Earlier this month I received a Solarmax 60 with BF10 blocking filter & T-max adjuster from Kansas Windpower (www.kansaswindpower.net)just a few days after placing the order.
Coronado keep a list of vendors with items in stock on their web site; http://www.coronadofilters.com/cgi/display_info.cgi?file=edito_69.dat
The Coronado list may be a bit out of date, for example they show KansasWindpower.net with solarmax 90s and 40s in stock, but don't list the 60mm which they also had in stock.
Now all you need are a dual set of Cemax EPs for the binoviewer and some deep pockets ;-]

October 1, 2003 10:12 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Which laser collimator?

Posted By John Piper
I've used both a 2" Teleport laser collimator and a 1.25" Orion LaserMate Deluxe Laser Collimator on my 10" Teleport. I much prefer the Teleport collimator with a target on it's face. It's very easy to use and once the reflection of the beam hits the secondary it takes under a minute to adjust the primary correctly. There is a picture of the Teleport collimator and a short overview at; http://www.teleporttelescopes.com/Collimators.html
The cost is the same for both the 2" and 1.25" models. If your adapter is spot on there shouldn't be any accuracy difference between the 1.25 and the 2", but there is less chance of error if you go with the 2" that matches the size of your focuser. The benefit of the holo pattern laser collimator over a single point of light is that the pattern is fairly large and easier to adjust under relatively severe misalignment where you might have difficulty finding a single laser point reflection.

October 5, 2003 11:15 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

HELP!! Need H-alpha / Televue advice

Posted By John Piper
Robert, I use a 60mm Solarmax with BF10 blocking filter and adapter on a TV np 101 and TV 76. Some people have recommended the larger BF30 straight through blocking filter for the 90mm, but if you're used to using a 90 diagonal either the BF10 or BF15 are rated for a fast scope like the TV 101/102. Either scope should provide essentially identical prerformance. There are a couple of Coronado and solar viewer forums, here and on Tahoo, that cover the debate in more detail.

October 30, 2003 11:31 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Long-Term Scope Storage

Posted By John Piper
Moisture is the other thing to watch out for. There have been a thread or two about that on the forum in the past few months. Desiccant can be used IF the amount of moisture trapped in the bag when it's closed is faily low. Some people prefer using a low wattage special purpose heater of the kind used in gun cases, others might recommend a 25watt bulb. If it goes in dry with a couple of pounds of dry desiccant in a well sealed bag rust or oxidation of the mirror surface shouldn't be a problem, though the previous post about filming possibly due to outgassing of the plastic wrap was an interesting and unexpected aspect I hadn't considered before this.

December 17, 2003 07:03 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Question about Laser Collimators.

Posted By John Piper
So much has been written about collimation already that it's impossible to summarize it all usefully in a single post. You might want to check out these few collimation overviews to get started;
http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~mbartels/kolli/kolli.html
http://www.efn.org/~mbartels/tm/collimat.html
http://w1.411.telia.com/~u41105032/myths/myths.htm

January 6, 2004 11:53 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Best 4" APO

Posted By John Piper
The Astro Physics and TV 4 inch apos always get rave reviews for quality. I have a TV np 101 primarily due to its relatively small size and light weight (29" long and weighing 11.3 lbs with the 2" diagonal attached), but you pay a considerable premium for shaving off those few extra lbs. There are lots of competing products in the 4" apo refractor market and asking for the best one is sort of like asking for the best pie recipe. Better have your check book ready when the answers roll in.

January 7, 2004 10:02 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Best 4" APO

Posted By John Piper
The premium scopes seem to hold their value quite well, but as mentioned in several posts there are good deals to be had in the resale market. I've purchased (and eventually resold for lack of use) a Questar and a Teleport from Astromart at a considerable savings. Each was a few years old but in beautiful condition. There were a number of TV 101s for sale when the np 101 was released, and TV np 101s started coming up for sale when the TV 127 was released. If you decide on a particular scope try posting a 'scope wanted' ad on Astromart before you buy new, yuo may be surprised at what you can get.

March 2, 2004 12:46 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Zoom eyepieces - dust collectors or...?

Posted By John Piper
I have the TV 3-6mm Nagler and 8-24 zooms. As a relative beginner who only gets a chance to view a few times per year I find that the versitility of the zooms makes them by far my favorites. There are lots of other posts about zoom here and good info on CloudyNights. The summary seems to be that regular EPs are favored over zooms by the more experienced viewers for their wider (in some EPs) and better views. For someone like me who doesn't get the scope out very often, who lives in a well lit urban area and who vastly prefers the binovue to cyclops viewing, the dual click-stop 8-12mm TV zooms get most of the use simply because they are so much more convenient to use. If you pick up one used on Astromart classifieds you can always resell it later if you decide you don't like it.

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