Posts Made By: Tom Hole

Ken,

I just sold my Orion XT10 that I loved and bought a used 11" Starmaster truss dob. The reason why is outlined at the bottom of this web page:

http://www.tomhole.com/What%20will%20it%20Look%20Like.htm

I paid $650 for my XT10 1 year ago. I paid $2,000 for the used Starmaster. For me, the comfort of knowing that I have the best 11" optics money can buy is worth the added cost. It's that last 10% that I really wanted to get, both optically and mechanically. Actually, it's probably closer to 20%.

Would I have ever started out with a Starmaster? Nope, I just got into this hobby and knew nothing. I didn't want to spend $2,000 only to find out I hated it. Well, I don't hate it and now $2,000 is a bargain for this level of performance.

Don't know nuthin' 'bout refractors. Love to have one though.

Clear skies,

Tom

I tried all the ep pairs I have and the best view of Jupiter was with the 9mm Nagler T6's in the TV's. After tonight, I am convinced the type 6 Nagler is the equal of the UO orthos with a lot of added AFOV. I also looked at the 11mm TV plossl and 10mm Antares Ultima. I felt the 11mm TV plossls were not up to ortho performance. The image was not as sharp or contrasty. They will need to be replaced by 11 Nagler T6's. The 10mm Antares Ultimas had a great image, easily matching the orthos and Naglers, but the ergonomic design is not good. The flat top with the recessed upper element makes them almost unusable. They are not keepers. If not for the perfect (and I mean PERFECT) seeing, I would be reticent to draw conclusions on ep performance so quickly, but it was obvious under such ideal conditions.

Initially, I wasn't going to waste great seeing like this on testing. I spent 45 minutes just staring in amazement and then decided I couldn't resist. I put the Denk's in with the 2" OCS in 1.4x mode with the 7mm orthos(305x). I left the 9mm Nagler t6's in the TVs for 339x. Although the Denk view was very good, the TV definitely had the edge in the level of detail and overall contrast I could see. I put the 10mm Ultimas in the TV binovues to exactly match the mags at 305x. Same result. I could definitely see more detail and better contrast in the TV's. This matches what I had seen in Aug on Mars but was a bit more evident under these excellent conditions. I really want to try this again with the 12.5 UO orthos in the TV's (244x) and the 9 Nagler type 6's in the Denks (238x). Hopefully tomorrow morning will be as good

I decided to put the Denk OCS in 2.5x mode. The whole mag before the prisms, less glass, etc... I used the 12.5mm orthos in the Denks at 2.5x (305x) and the TV binovues with 2x corrector and 10mm Ultimas (305x). This one I had to swap back and forth a lot. The Denk's put up a silightly better image. It was subtle, but most definitely better contrast and the same sharpness. I could see the same detail in the TV's, but it was slightly more contrasty in the Denks (especially in the SPR). Hmmm. Can't let those Denk's beat up on my beloved TV plantet killers. The 10mm Ultimas must be the cause. I decided to put the 9 Naglers in and whup up on those upstart Denks. Hmmm, I still like the Denk view a little better. The Denk's in this configuration with the 12.5 UO orthos (my favorite orthos, BTW) had slightly better contrast than the TV binovues with the 10mm Ultimas or 9mm Nagler type 6's. This difference was more subtle than the difference I saw between the TV 2x and Denk 1.4x comparison. But, it was definitely there.

cont'd

Greg,

I'm gonna start the congratulation train. Nothing like viewing with both eyes per design. Please post your first light experience and share the wows with us. Ask a lot of questions and we'll try to stay on topic and out of the wrastling ring

Off to have a peek at Saturn. This morning, when I looked at Jupiter, the seeing was 0 (zero). Oh my goodness, I can't believe I spent all that money on all that astro gear just so I could barely discern 2 bands on Jupiter. If someone were to have that view as their first look, they would box up whatever they had and return it.

Hope your skies are clear and steady.

Tom

Floyd,

Probably $2,000 or so with the Meade optics. That is a beautiful dob, BTW.

Clear skies,

Tom

And he would have been such an excellent contributor, too. Maybe he was a regular on the binoviewer forum

Tom

Uh, ok. I don't disagree with you, necessarily, but the fact that you brought it up kinda gives me the heebie jeebies. Is there something I should know about, Glen? Answer off-line as this has nothing to do with Equipment Talk.

Clear skies,

Tom

Jeff,

I was hoping more folks would have jumped in on this one. Have you tried the Cloudy Nights forum? The issue is the combo of the C9.25, crayford focuser and digaonal. Folks have reported not getting a .5 reducer to work with just a diagonal, let alone with a crayford focuser in there. They used a .7 reducer and it worked, but not with a crayford focuser. That might prevent it from working. Also, you have the TV binovue which adds about 3/8" to the path length over the Denks.

I'll bet if you call Russ, he'll send you one to try out. That'll answer the question straight away. Can you lay that OTA on someone's back to see if it focuses?

Clear skies,

Tom

Chad,

I have a pair of 10mm Antares Ultimas that are fantastic as far as sharpness and contrast. They are easily as good as my UO Orthos and Nagler type6's. But I have heard reports of less than stellar results on these ep's from a guy on the Skyquest Telescope group that i would trust. So, maybe some variation in production. I got mine from a right nice fellow here on Astromart and they are very good.

The Orion Ultrascopics are the same thing. They are a bit more, though.

My focal lengths for planetary are:

12.5mm UO orthos
11mm TV plossl
10mm Ultimas
9mm Nagler type 6's
7mm UO orthos

Lots to work with on Jupiter as it is the pickiest of the planets as far as magnification goes. My scope is an 11" f/5.4 Starmaster.

Clear skies,

Tom

Yeah Glen! You caught me! The conspiracy theory is true! I better go back and revise my post in true cronie fashion before anyone discovers my secret! I figured that with your extensive research into my personal life that you could have figured this out on your own. Yes, I, Tom Hole, am Michael Sandy. Don't tell the Navy, they might take away my test pilot job.

BTW, I stand by everything I said.

Tom "Cronie" Hole aka Mike Sandy (I wish. He has a lot nicer telescopes than I do

Don,

When I had my 5" Burgess refractor, I would use my binoviewers straight through on the sun. I got it in the late fall, so the sun was always pretty close to the horizon. I never really figured out if the view was better, but I only had the 2x TV corrector or the Denk 2" OCS which gave me 1.65x because it was the Newtonian version. I wanted to get down to the widest FOV possible for the visual impact. Going straight through gave me 42x and a 1.6 deg TFOV with the 24 Pans. Very nice. I was able to get set up with my observing chair in a very comfortable position, but a lawn chair would have been even better. I miss the 1.6 deg TFOV now that I'm down to just the Starmaster.

One thing I found was that the Denks could reach focus straight thru, but the Televues would not. I needed an extra 1/8" of backfocus that I didn't have for the Televues. That make sense as the TV's have a slightly longer light path due to the taller ep holders.

I tried straight through at night, but I didn't care for the contortions so much.

Clear skies,

Tom