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Posts Made By: Charles Hakes

August 12, 2002 02:36 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Veil

Posted By Charles Hakes
I saw the Veil without a filter in the ST80 (12.5x) last night. I even found it that way and had to put in a filter to verify what I was seeing. I then verified what I was seeing and got a better view with a 6" scope. I guess it gets easier with practice, since that's something I had a real hard time finding last year without a filter.

Charlie

August 19, 2002 05:22 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

California in ST80

Posted By Charles Hakes
After a suggestion last week, I tried the California nebula with my ST80 and a Meade narrowband filter. And it was there! I had to try a couple of different nights to get things clear enough. As it was, it didn't seem as dark as it sometimes gets here (~5.5 instead of 6+). I used a 32mm Sirius Plossl for 12.5x and could only see it by slowly sweeping the scope across where it was supposed to be. I tried the same eyepiece in a 6" f5 scope and got the same small contrast variation in background brightness when sweeping across the field. That nebula is big. I certainly wouldn't pick it up without knowing to look at it. I'm glad it turned out that I didn't need the H-beta filter after all. Thanks for the suggestion Darian.

Charlie

P.S. My wife really thinks I'm nuts when I get up at 3:30 like that.


September 6, 2002 05:13 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Good view of Saturn

Posted By Charles Hakes
I decided to leave my scope out overnight so it would be all cooled off to look at Saturn in the morning. I'm glad I did. I think this was my best view of Saturn's rings that I ever had. I easily saw the dimmer ring towards the planet (the C ring?) and sometimes saw a line way out beyond the Cassini gap - is that the Enke?

Then it got light. Next time I do this remind me to get up earlier so I have more time to view. And to leave the light shield in the garage so the bear doesn't mess with it again.

This scope is a 10" f9.6 2-truss scope with a Dob Driver II I am building. It still has some smoothness "issues", so I couldn't crank the magnification up as high as I wanted this time. ~240x was the most consistent good view, 350x was still great, but too jiggly. I even tried about 440x, but that was pushing it a bit too far. I know the next thing I need to do with this mount, so I will have to see if that fixes my vibrations.

Charlie

September 18, 2002 09:50 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Stupid Scope Trick

Posted By Charles Hakes
I just got back from hiking in the Grand Canyon. We went down the New Hance Trail and back up the Grandview Trail, if that means anything to anyone. It was lots of fun, but lots of work, too. Somehow, I got to talking with my brother-in-law, and he convinced me that it would be a good idea and lots of fun if I took my ST80 along on the hike. I think he was supposed to carry the lightweight tripod, but somehow I ended up using it for my trekking pole. The clouds were OK for observing, but it was first quarter moon and the wind was something else. I'll bet I got a whole 30 minutes of observing during the trip, and most of that was stuff up on the rim that we couldn't quite make out. Next time, can someone remind me that I have a nice pair of 7X20 binoculars that work just fine for hiking?

Charlie

(Maybe HE had fun watching ME carry that thing!)

September 30, 2002 06:52 PM Forum: Telescope Making

recoating and insurance

Posted By Charles Hakes
I have a 16" Cassegrain mirror (<~2” thick) that I am finally ready to get re-coated. I have two questions:

1. Packing – I have gone back and forth about how to pack this thing and ended up making a wooden crate and cutting Styrofoam to fit the mirror. I then packed the crate (wrapped in bubble paper) inside a larger cardboard box for shipping. Is this OK? Overkill? Underkill?

2. Insurance – How much is a mirror like this worth? It is certainly not in new condition. My estimate is the primary is about f4 and the secondary makes the system about f15. Where could I price a replacement?

Thanks,
Charlie



September 30, 2002 06:54 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

recoating and insurance questions

Posted By Charles Hakes
I have a 16" Cassegrain mirror (<~2” thick) that I am finally ready to get re-coated. I have two questions:

1. Packing – I have gone back and forth about how to pack this thing and ended up making a wooden crate and cutting Styrofoam to fit the mirror. I then packed the crate (wrapped in bubble paper) inside a larger cardboard box for shipping. Is this OK? Overkill? Underkill?

2. Insurance – How much is a mirror like this worth? It is certainly not in new condition. My estimate is the primary is about f4 and the secondary makes the system about f15. Where could I price a replacement?

Thanks,
Charlie

October 2, 2002 03:40 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Re: recoating and insurance

Posted By Charles Hakes
I did find a couple of new sets of Cassegrain optics, but they are REALLY expensive. (eg. ~$12,350. from APM telescopes. Ouch!) That is why I want to make sure this set makes it back OK. (Why does putting a hole in a Mirror increase the cost so much? Is the price in the secondary?)

I didn't get any specific feedback on my close-fitting styrofoam packing. Would bubble wrap be that much better? How do you protect the surfaces with the bubble wrap idea? I thought anything touching them was a bad idea.

Tom, right now I don't want to unload these, but there is always a point at which it would be worth while. What's your email?

Charlie



October 2, 2002 04:33 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Re: recoating and insurance questions

Posted By Charles Hakes
I just checked pricing, and Fedex was slightly cheaper than UPS. Insurance costs the same between the two, so sounds like I should go with Fedex. Has anyone had any insurance claims problems with FedEx?

Also, would there be any advantage to bubble wrap instead of my close-fitting styrofoam?

Charlie

October 9, 2002 07:25 PM Forum: Telescope Making

SiO vs. SiO2

Posted By Charles Hakes
One more reason for me procrastinating on getting this mirror coated...

Do I want SiO or SiO2 (which looks like it is harder, but cost more) overcoat? Does it make that much difference? Do "enhanced" coatings make that much difference? (When combined with the coating on the secondary, I would think it was very important. Is it really?

Charlie

October 21, 2002 07:01 PM Forum: Eyepieces

surplus shed?

Posted By Charles Hakes
Has anyone used the Surplus Shed 2" 38mm Erfle eyepiece? I didn't see that one on Excelsis. Is it a good buy for $40., or should I save my money? This would mostly be for an f9.6 scope.

Thanks,
Charlie

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