Posts Made By: Jim Miller

The 80mm was supposed to be available in March, but it's
still not even on Meades webpage. Are they getting out
to consumers? I'm really anxious to hear some reviews/
anecdotes on these! 8O

They're legalizing the use/posession of some drugs, thereby
freeing up the funds/police to chase down REAL crime.


If only our leaders had that kind of common sense.

I've noticed that when I used my Denk Starsweeper .5X
(the 2" model) that I get MUCH better images, even when I
get nearly the same magnification. (For instance, stars
are more pinpoint and planets clearer with the 15mm set
and Starsweeper than with the 25mm set - not identical mags
I know, but the difference is striking)

I also notice that the focus spot in my SCT is very much
different.

Is it the case, then, that my accessories (WO crayford and
Denk bino) move the focus far enough back that SA is softening
my images, but the Starsweeper is "adjusting" my focus point
back closer to the SCT's sweet spot?

I hope I'm making this question clear enough. Essentially, I'm
thinking it might be better to get rid of my 20mm eyepiece pairs,
and replace them with a 10mm set with the Starsweeper. And so on.
Thoughts?

Thanks...

I had some good success with the Nikon binoviewer I built, so
I decided to try another.

I just got another bino head from a microscope, and this one
is interesting. It has no brand identifier that I can find on it.
The unique (possibly) part is it uses a cube beamsplitter at the
entrance, and mirror flats after that.

Anyone have any idea of the positive/negative impact of this design?

My time is REALLY tight these days, so I don't know if or when I'll
be able to start this, but I'm open to any ideas or suggestions.

And, if I can't get to it in a reasonable time (or I lose interest,
which could happen) it'll turn up here for sale to anyone else who
has an idea to make their own. So if that's you, look for it!

Anyone know anything about this brand? I saw an ST80 of theirs listed in the AM classifieds, so I tried to look up info on them out of curiosity.

Are they Synta? Or maybe GS? I'm sure they must be Asian, based on the price alone. Their website has direct sales, with a clearance section that has a 152mm f/7.9 achro on an EQ mount/tripod for $699 (though the mount does look maybe a bit light for that monster). It also comes with two plossl eyepieces, I think.

This sounds like a potentially good deal, but I just don't know anything about this brand. $699 is a good deal for a good quality build/optic 6-incher, but I'd hate to throw down seven bills on a 1/2-wave over corrected, poorly built piece of junk. (Since it's clearance, I assume it might be tough to return, but I didn't look into this)

(On first look, it looks like an even better deal, since the link to the scope detail page mistakenly lists it as 203mm aperture! Poor webpage design)

Anyone got any info on these? Impressions on build and optical quality.
Anyone had one?

I just ordered one for a very cheap price to use as a replacement finder on my 11" SCT. (The 60-degree prism diagonal will be replaced by a 90-degree star diagonal)

My impression, based on the picture, is I hate the tube/logo, but that's an easy fix.

Life has conspired in the last year or so to keep me away from amateur astronomy, both my trusty SCT and the various groups online. So it's just today that I accidentally came upon the news that Thomas Back passed away in September.

This may be a bit off-topic, so I apologize and will keep it brief. I feel a little pang that I didn't hear of this sooner, and am so late in expressing my sympathy, not only to his family, but to the entire astro community. We've lost a giant. I'd read some of his papers on optics, and his helpful responses in the online forums. I learned from them.

I only ever had the opportunity once to look through one of his scopes for a minute or two. Seeing was not great, but the optics were clearly top class, and the overall quality was impressive.

Compared to most in this hobby, and probably everyone posting here, I am a piker. I can't star-hop worth a darn, can't name many stars, and need my GPS-enabled SCT to find the faint fuzzies. Compared to the likes of Mr. Back (and other creators of quality instruments such as Roland Christen), I am truly humbled.

Again, sorry for being so late to the party. I only hope that TMB Optical is not over, and continues producing great equipment. I'd always hoped to one day own a top notch short f-ratio APO, and TMB was certainly on the short list of companies I'd look to for it.

It's the same pic in the review as Anacortes has
on their site. Probably, they put this pic in
the review, not Uncle Rod.

http://deepskybinoviewer.com/

A 16" f/17.5 newt????!!!!!!

What do you do, set it up next to your house, then
run upstairs to look into the eyepiece through a
second story window?