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Posts Made By: Joplin Motisher-Chittenden

December 15, 2007 09:22 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

No camera so I made something! :^)

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I made pretty much the same thing when I bought my DSI pro at the sale price. Nice idea with the flocking - I used some foam light seal material for cameras that I had laying around. Now all I need to do is get out and use the darn thing :-)

Joplin

December 16, 2007 07:30 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Alpine Astro or AstroPhysics?

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
Take a look at the 10 micron site:

http://www.10micron.com/english/homepage-eng.htm

Some of the mounts look kind of similar to AP mounts but when you look at more images there are obvious differences. The drive system is much different being an outboard belt driven system. The 10 micron mounts are made in Italy.

Joplin

January 16, 2008 10:41 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Alternatives to the Ultima 2x Barlow

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
The Orion 2x shorty apo barlow I have also has a tight fit on some eyepieces. I like my 2.5x powermate (these can be had reasonably on Astromart if you get the older non compression ring type).

Joplin

January 18, 2008 09:08 PM Forum: Audio

Budget HiFi systems?

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I doubt it would qualify as an "audiophile" system but I've put together a system that I like a lot for not much $.

Nikko NA790 integrated amp from 1979,
Onkyo CD player,
Audiosource Tuner,
Paradigm Titan V3 speakers,
Straightwire Waveguide cabling that cost $0.70 a foot at the local Hi-Fi supplier :-)

The Nikko amp works great with the Paradigm speakers, great stereo image and dynamics. Listening position is pretty critcal but I can pick out the positions of instruments on better recordings. Not too bad for about $300 invested. It lets me spend more money on telescopes :-)

Joplin

January 24, 2008 03:22 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Dob Tube restoration

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
Depending on how black the inside of the tube already is putting some black flocking material opposite the focuser should make the most difference in contrast. If there are a lot of stray lights where you observe then a light shield extending from the front of the scope would help too. As far as counterweights go, it would help if some of the weight on the back was attached to the bottom side of the tube (45 degrees around the tube so it doesn't hit the tube). That way the scope won't have a tendency to tip up when near vertical. For a sliding counter weight this kit from Rockler works great (change the cart quantity to 1 if you don't want 2 of them)
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5209
I made a simple carrier from scrap wood which fits small sporting goods store weights. The kit has everything else except screws to attach it to the tube. In the case of my lightbridge it has a metal tube so I used heavy duty double sided tape to attach the rail to the tube. For a sonotube I think machine screws all the way through the tube with washers (painted black) on the inside would be the best bet.

Joplin

January 27, 2008 04:08 PM Forum: After Dark

Toyota Response On Commercial

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I don't know about you but I'm not so sure I like being lumped in with this bunch 8)
http://www.starpeople.net/

January 31, 2008 06:42 PM Forum: Refractors

Orion ED80 is an APO?

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
Your manual has a typo, the Orion 80ED is an APO for practical purposes. It won't quite have the color correction of a $2000 80mm triplet APO but it won't have a purple halo around bright objects like you would get with an 80mm F 7.5 achromat.

Joplin

February 22, 2008 02:18 PM Forum: Meteorites & Meteors

Meteor and possible meterorite in eastern Washingt

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
Here is a link to the security video of the meteor:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/multimedia/2008/02/security_camera_catches_meteor.html

Since it happened on the 19th, a day before US 193 was blown up it seems likely that it was a real meteor or other space junk.

Joplin

March 13, 2008 03:16 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Low power eyepiece for CA reflector

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
The limiting factor for field of view is the eyepiece field stop, which is usually a maximum of 27mm on 1.25" eyepieces. That means that your scope which has a focal length of 1240mm is limited to a field of view of 1.25 degrees. A 32mm plossl (TeleVue is a good one) would give you the most field of view. You could also go with a 40mm plossl but the field of view won't increase. If you want a wide apparent field of view a 24mm TeleVue panoptic will give the same actual fov as a 32mm plossl. There won't be any issue with a shadow from the secondary and the digonal mirror isn't likely to limit the field size with a 1.25" focuser.

Joplin

March 27, 2008 01:19 PM Forum: Refractors

102FL rear fluorite lens

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I've had a Vixen FL80S for about 7 years and it has handled the humid climate here in South Carolina just fine. The main thing to avoid with these (or any other refractor) is complete dewing over. In the field a dew heater helps and using a somewhat insulated case when bring a cold scope indoors helps a lot. The dessicant plug should help a lot with keeping the inside of the scope dry. Fluorite does not handle high temperatures well so I would avoid leaving the scope in a hot car in the summer. I'd be interested to hear how this scope compares to the ED103S you owned.

Joplin

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