Posts Made By: Vincent Bert

I have an ST-80 that I want to use as a finder on a big Dob, but I would like to mount it to one of the truss tubes instead of the secondary cage as it could be used feet on the ground and wouldnt require so much counterweight. Just wondering if anyone has devised a good method of doing this. Thanks.

My first Mars sketch
C8 @ 223X, no filters, Seeing 8 I did not notice a band on the polar cap, its just a smudge in the drawing that I forgot to erase.

Ok here goes. Over a month ago I purchased a "mint" Tak FS-102 on Astromart. When It arrived it was not mint, it was damaged in shipping perhaps. It seemed to be packaged OK except the shipper put the Tak tube ring in the soft case with the OTA: result, big scratch on the OTA, not really a big deal, but nonetheless, not mint. Now the worst part, the focuser shaft was bent (the stainless shaft with the focus knobs on the ends) and the drawtube now has lateral play and teeth are missing from the gear strip on the drawtube.) The optics appear OK however the lenses are (not surprisingly) out of collimation. At first, the seller said he would "make it right" Over 2 weeks ago I took a day off work at my expense so the UPS guy could come to my home and inspect the scope. Then I contacted the seller via telephone and informed him that I would like a refund and I would ship the scope back to him at my expense. He said that it would be no problem but it would be a "couple of days" before he could get to a computer and send me money via PayPal. That was over 2 weeks ago. I have left numerous message for the seller at home and on his cell phone with no response. UPS will not tell me anything about the status of the insurance claim because I am not the shipper. All insurance payments and repairs are coordinated with the shipper. If the insurance claim was paid and I find out about it, I will take legal action. In the mean time, how long should I wait before I completely trash this guys' Astromart credibility? I think that I have been very patient and accomodating up to this point.

Yet another feeble attempt at Mars. The sketch is not so good but the exercise is really helping me to see the detail. I have found that the TV Plossls work really well on the planets, much better I think than the wide field EP's. I also used the Edmund RKE's which seem to have a bit cooler glass than the TV Plossls but perform really excellent on Mars when used with filters.

Has anyone tried a UHC filter on Mars? I tried it a few weeks ago and I was pretty impressed how it brought out low contrast details.

I have been in the market for a BV and had a chance to look through some at RTMC this year. The interesting thing was that I found I have problems merging images and have very tight IP spacing coupled with a fat nose. Seems I'm not built for binoviewers, but i want to keep trying. I used the Denk std, and the TV. On some I could merge the images and on others I could not, (it didnt matter which brand I was looking through) all views were at low magnification. So now I'm very hesitant to plunk down the bucks for one. Is there one brand that is better for people who have a hard time merging images? By using binoviewers often is it possible to train your brain to merge images? Is fine focus critical to be able to merge the image? Are there certain brands or types of EP's that seem to cause merging problems? Thanks in advance, Vince

I posted this on the Equipment forum but there was no response or interest so I though i would put it out here although I know it might be slightly off topic. I know Ron B. said he has used these EP's so Ron, what do you think? And everyone else that has tried these:

< That was surely a night to remember. >>

Is Pentax still making the XL's since the new XW's have come out?

How is the dew shield removed from an FS 102 and what tools are required. I am interested in using a coronado H Alpha setup and since the adapter plate fits over the lens cell I assume that the dew shield must be removed, thanks in advance.