Posts Made By: Darrell Hensley

All fellow Amarters,I just want to thank evetyone for their great advise,concern,and true generosity.All your words and yes even replacement eyepieces made a terrible situation feel as though it almost did'nt happen when some trash walked into my yard and took what I worked so hard to buy.Please accept my offer to help anyone of you if you ever need it.These eyepieces and filters will not go to waste.Theres a band of kids around here that said thank you also,they said I have a bunch of good friends.I laugh everytime I think about it ,but there was an 8 year old said she was gonna punch'em in da nose for getting our eyepieces.I will become a supporter soon,I want this website to be on when they all grow up too.My 2 teen age sons are so happy for me because I was so depressed when I lost my eyepieces.One felt so sorry for me he actually cried a few tears then got mad.Everything is good now in whoville.Thank You a million times over and clear skies whenever you want'em,Darrell Hensley

Hello everyone,I knew it would happen but we just had the clearest night in months here in s.e.KY.Since I could'nt use my scopes for reasons everyone knows,I still had to go outside and try my hand with a decent pair of binos.The moon was full so I am now blind,but seriously I had a blast seeing what little I could see.I'm starting to get used to using them so maybe I can find some things a little quicker when my ep's come in thanks to you wonderful new friends I have.Hey ,I'm actually a supporter now and plan to always be one.Clear skies,Darrell Hensley

Hello everyone,Today is my anniversary so my wife foolishly asked what I'd like as a gift.For a while there I thought it was gonna be some replacement eyepieces but some of my Amart brothers fixed that-Thank you lots and lots,so I was able to get the AR5 from meade factory outlet.It was what I think is a really good deal not a lot of experience in refractors but I've seen the prices,anyone that wants to pick one up now is the time because they stopped making them as you may know,right now they are set at $329.00 for tube only and not refurbished-they're new!I really wanted it and it was within my budget if I work a couple off days,I can do that standing on my head for a new telescope.If anyone has one of these how are they and is it a decent scope? Clear skies,Darrell Hensley

Hello guys and gals,I asked this question on the Meade forum with no answers as yet.The Equipment talk forum is always where I get help anyway,I should have come here first I guess.Today was my 29th anniversary,my wife is a saint to have put up with me this long.But anyway,she asked me what I'd like as a gift.So I got her to agree that I needed a new telescope.It was gonna be replacement eyepieces but that was taken care of by some of my Amart brothers,Thank you so much-again!!!The Meade factory outlet has the lxd 55 ar5 new,not refurbished,for $329.00.I really dont know anything about this scope or even refractors for that matter but I have seen the prices.So when I saw a 5" refractor I felt like it was a pretty good deal.This was the last one's that they made so maybe it will be worth more given enough time,not that I'd ever sell it.Does anyone have any input on this scope?Good or bad,its the tube only but no problem,I have an extra tri-pod with a single arm go-to mount and autostar.So what I'm wondering is if its worth the money that I already spent before I even checked around,but the fact that its a 5" refractor for that price made my hands shake a little .I have a couple 5" reflectors that I really enjoy,the only refractor I have is the ETX 60 which gives great views for its size and I mounted it on my 10" dob.Tell me I did good,if not just tellme me I cold have done a little better with the amount of money for a refractor.To get it I had to agree to work a couple off days to pay for it before it accrued any interest,I can do that standing on my head for a new telescope.Clear skies,Darrell

Hello all,Could anyone guide me to what type of electric focuser I could use on my AR 5.It looks similar to the ones used on the DS models but might be a size difference.Any input would be appreciated.After using my new scope I realized that it will eventually will have to be done.Also if anyone has one posted or plan to post one for sell please let me know.I'm pretty green to astronomy and really green to refractors.I've learned a lot about reflectors but dont know beans about refractor accessories.Any advise would be greatly appreciated.clear skies,Darrell

Hello folks,Well it finally stopped raining last night and I got to use my new AR5 for more than just an hour.Although I live where it feels like day time 24 hrs a day I got some really good views.I'm really happy with my new scope,even with a little fringe around the moon and Jupiter.The bands around Jupiter were very visible and everything around me was lit up.It took all the power I could give it when viewing the moon with the same clarity as a lower powered eyepiece.I finally got to see M13 with it and it resolved most of it.I think if I could get it away from all the light I could do a whole lot better.All in all I'm glad I bought this telescope.I had my 10" dob out with me at the same time so I was going back and forth between them to compare.The AR5 held its own against the dob but the dob has more character-I built it.The mount I'm using for the AR5 is actually for a 5" reflector,and it has never been as accurate as it was last night,maybe the extra couple of pounds were needed for this goto mount. Everything I would tell it to go to wound up centered almost every time.Well,I just wanted to post a little of how it went.If its not raining I'll be out again at about 3am.I think I've found a good dark place to view next week-end,I'm anxious to see how it does with no street lights.Clear Skies,Darrell

Hi folks,I finally discovered an absolutely dark spot without traffic.Last night I decided I was'nt going to stand under all the street lights and just half way see everything.I took my 10" dob and 5" goto reflector telescopes to the cemetery.I don't know why I had'nt thought of it before,its only a quarter mile from my house and totally black dark .You could'nt even see the grave stones.The views were amazing.I started out using my goto for reference formy dob then just turned it off.I could'nt believe how clear everything was thru the dob was.I scanned for about 3 hours and never had so much fun.There were satilites every few minutes,meteorites,and ofcourse there was M13 and the double cluster just to name 2.Someone once said the first time you really get a good view of M13 it'll make your socks roll up and down,thats the best way to describe it.I think I did a pretty good job building my dob afterall,I was very impressed at how well it did its job.Nuff said and clear skies,Darrell

Hello all,I know that the inventories are all different at the Big Lots stores but maybe most will have what I lucked up on.I found an AC/DC adapter with the 9 volt battery plug type on it.It has all the other types also,it goes from 3volts up to 12 volts with the polarity switch and 300ma for 4.99.I bought it and hooked it up and it worked great.I thought it was worth mentioning for anyone needing an adapter for less than the 25.00 price you always see.I used it for an hour or so with no problems at all on my AR5 which is'nt too light of a scope.If it burns out -oh well,but it did'nt over heat tonight.I also have another one that I just soldered to the battery pack terminals that has 600ma but did'nt have the right plug for around 7.00 .It seemslike everywhere I go I look for something that can be used for astronomy.I bought a portable car window defroster to keep the dew off my eyepieces about A month or so ago.I put the battery clamps on it and hook it up to an old car battery I'm constantly using for something.It works as well as any kendric eyepiece warmer and lighter than and smaller than a hairdryer for 12.00 .I just lay it on its side in front of the eyepieces on the accessory tray on the telescope.When the secondary dews up I hold it on it for about aminute and its good to go.Most of you may not be interested but it might help some poor soul like myself to save a buck or two and put it towards an eyepiece or something.I'll hush now,Regards,Darrell

Well I've decided I'm gonna have to get the LXD75 mount and tripod for my AR5.I've been using the DS2000 series goto mount and tripod and am wanting to possibly start doing a little imaging.The mount I use does OK to carry the accessories that are on the scope but its not going to carry the DSI or especially a 35mm camera that I love using for old fashion photos,I guess thats the old folk in me.I've seen that you can get the LXD75 mount and tripod with the 6" reflector for 599.00 or without the scope for 499.00 DUH!!!What my question is,does anyone have any experience with the LXD75 6" reflector.Its actually just gonna cost 100.00.Is it not very good or what for just the extra money?If its just so so I thought I might just sell it to help buy the DSI since I already have a 6" dob on a pedestal mount which gives beautiful views and am completing a 6" newt project with 30" focal length that is very lite weight that I am gonna put on the DS2000 goto mount.Even with about 8 or 10 kids sometimes at my house having a ball looking thru all my scopes, I think would be too many scopes to keep up with.Some of these nippers are 7 & 8 years old but I digress.Back to my question-is the reflector a good scope?Its the SN-6,and I gotta admit its pretty and I still cant imagine selling a telescope and may add on to my work shop slash astronomy building slash music room for my guitars that are hanging all over the walls.I think I've sit here and talked myself out of selling anything,now I can't wait to get the 6" reflector,OH WELL.Clear skies,Darrell

Hi Jeff,I've never had any experience with the GPS but the autostar will let you scroll down to another alignment star if the one it is trying to slew to is obscured.I've had to scroll down several stars before.Good luck,Darrell Hensley