Posts Made By: Patrick Kelly

Televue 55mm plossl
Televue 32mm plossl
Univertsity Optics 25mm ortho...
..and so on and so on down the line w/orthos and Edmund RKe.

FWIW at the low mag end I also have a Vixen 40mm ortho and Russell 65mm plossl which see regular duty.

I use these also for deep sky...and to double stars. Pretty basic simple set I've accumulated, and been through a bunch of other eps (many $$$) that have come and gone over the years.

Scope is D&G 6" f/15 equatorially mounted, observatory-housed refractor.

Hi Steve

Solve temp issues in the structure and you will solve temp issues in the instrumentation.

Passive ventilation just by openning the slit both sucks and blows...in a sense.

Being in the greenhouse business, I can cool greenhouses of warm air by passive ventilation and openning roof vents..analagous to you dome slit. Only difference is that I have vents the entire length of the structure; you're stuck with a tiny narrow openning compared to the area of the dome surface. Big picture this is an inefficient method of cooling so it needs some mechanical help. I utilize fans to forcefully exhaust warm air and introduce cooler ambient air which cools the interior air but also the infrastructure and instrumentation.

Warm air rises...I suggest blow a fan "up" out of the slit to forcefully exhaust warm, trapped air. In the doorway, place a fan to blow in ambient cooler air to more rapidly replace the warm air and cool the infrastructure and instrumentation. I'm using "Essential Home" 20 inch fans purchased from K-mart, they can be assembled for use on the floor, on a stand or hanging; first to aid in air circulation in my greenhouses at work, and now for air movement in my observatory.

I'm coming to the conclusion (as has been suggested by others) that the key, like in a greenhouse, is to avoid the buildup of heat inside the observatory in the first place...and the issue of temperature management is multifacetted. White reflective exteriors, insulating factors both interior and exterior (to trap cooler existing air "in" and keep radiated heat "out") and cooling devices (we use evaporative coolers in greenhouses) such as AC units with internal or external thermostats to take the edge off the extremes to maintain as much as an ambient temp as possible.

I've seen numerous articles on Japanese star gazing and they are very comfortable at straight thru viewing i.e. sitting or doing the squat. Bit of an Asianphile here...wouldn't be the first thing culturally Japanese are comfortable at simply doing the squat. 8O :S

Hans Tucker said:

I have been spying an ad for an APO MAX 130 F/12 Refractor

That was my ad posted last week...wanted to see what was out there. This had been one of my dream scopes for many years...when I was in 5" and smaller aperture. I was leery re shipping from Germany so passed re Markus' scope. I chatted with a few other owners/offers and did some hard thinking before parting with my cash. In the end decision, greater aperture won out. Kinda figures don't it...when I can finally afford one it doesn't fit well in my plans anymore :S

Please accept my condolences Inge. My mom passed away last year and she was the one that fueled my passion for the stars. Whenever I'm at my scope I feel her presence still with me; my observing brings me still close to her, physically looking up into space, and in my memory and heart. I have a feeling this may be similar to what you may feel.

Dad lives with us passing through the final and difficult stages of cancer and though he never shared our passion for the stars, he understands; the scope and Family becoming one, aimed to the heavens.

Save The Earth; Kill Yourself. Wonder if Mr. Perkins will be first in line for this selfless act

Thanks James...the owner mentioned he has been inundated with mails (and even calls) and he'd been told of the 8K eBay sale...I peruse eBay now and then but musta missed that one for reference.

Thanks again!

Hi Greg

I've been through several wonderful Taks but unfortunately can't help you here despite having some exploded parts diagrams in the past. If Herb or some others here can't help maybe contact Texas Nautical. One thing about Taks...you don't purchase a telescope; you purchase a system.

larry thaxton said:

1)It would also be interesting to know how the larger scopes are handled- permanent installations, "portable" arrangements that are set up each time they are used? How about the obvious- are you hinderd by the large aperture meeting atmospheric limits?

2)Also, what are your preferred planetary eyepieces. In larger achros, have you found that any particular eyepieces excells in terms of color correction?

3) Have you ever though of going back down to a smaller refractor after buying a large scope?

1)Permanent setup in an observatory. I can afford a portable big apo OR an observatory; not both. So I compromised and I got a big classic achro AND the observatory. The only thing holding me back is the geometry of the observatory walls. Seeing is so-so; I doubt I'd get my $'s worth out of a large apo.

2) Simple designs for the most part that compliment the simplicity and high performance of the refractor design.

3)As a primary instrument...heck NO!

The only attention I pay to the review items in S&T is to note what it is and then Google the 'Net for the nitty gritty. 8) Outside of that the reviews are multi color multi page advertisements.