Posts Made By: Tom Mengel

I just picked up a older CG-5 mount with the standard RA/Dec drive motors and controller included. Since I want to keep the rig as light and uncomplicated as possible I want to make this a "Push-to" system linked to my laptop (when I want the extra bells and whistles). But to do that I need to mount some encoders, preferably so that the given axis can be unlocked and moved w/o upsetting the DSC function.

I know this is old hat but the Celestron DSC's seem to be long out of service and with all the variations in the mount over the years I want to be sure I get the right options.

Any suggestions as to mounting the encoders and simple interface system?

Thanks!

Hi,

I would suggest you put this thread on the Equipment forum for a better chance at an answer.

Regards.

Hi,

I would suggest you put this thread on the Equipment forum for a better chance at an answer.

Regards.

I have a pair of the Nikon Action 10X50s and they supposedly have a aspherical field lenses in the 60* EP's to prevent pincushion distortion. This may flatten the "wide field" view but does not cure edge distortion so you will always see some edge stars as "sea gulls" in any pair of binos in this price range. If you want true edge-to-edge sharpness AND a wide FOV your probably talking about $200 to $300 minimum for better Nikons, Pentax, or Fujion class glasses or settle for a smaller FOV.

I got a Surplus Shed 110mm f4.5 Achro that seems too be a pretty good lens but is a bit over corrected. Over on CN someone posted that this lens was actually designed for cement between the elements and suggested using oil between the components as a experiment. Does any one here have any suggestions as to what kind of oil to use? I'm thinking just plain old fashion clear mineral oil from the local pharmacy will have a close enough index of refraction and if it does improves the performance then go with UV cured lens cement for a more permanent solution.

Any suggestions appreciated - Thanks!

Try Todd Gross's site (see AM sponsors). He reviewed about 50 or 60 (all sizes). Also Cloudy Nites has some...

Good luck.

Some folks use a string tied to the binos and held under the foot. Just keep the string taunt... I tried it and it dose work (but not like a tripod).

Several (Meade and Orion) now make 3 element APO "shorties", you might want to check them out.

Realize that Barlows work with the EP and some EP/Barlow combinations will be great while others will just not be so hot for no real reason. Also, the TV Powermates are more $$ but have more field correction compensation built in, so you have to consider what you want to do (will you barlow your low power WF EPs or just the higher power ones?).

Since the telescope F-ratio and EP/Barlow you end up using are a system it's probably a good idea to try out a few at a star party with YOUR EPs and OTA. See what they look like and how usable they are in your eyes (remember, EP eye relief changes when barlowed, too, and you might not like the results). I would do a "low contrast" target tests (Jupiter's' bands, for example) and some brighter stars for color correcting, diffraction rings, and ghost testing. Assuming you know what these should look like in your own OTA you should be able to weed out the lesser EP/Barlow combinations real fast.

My 2 cents... good luck

I too like the idea of a small simple scope and find I end up using it a lot more than my other "big" setups.

My "baby" scope is an Orion ST80 and a few choice (but fairly CHEAP) EPs and shorty Barlow, red dot finder, and a home brew balancing arm for an old 40 year old Hollywood tripod and it all fits into a 19x12x7 inch "wheely" style travel bag. I chose the rather large carry on bag as I wanted to put plenty of dense foam around the OTA as I leave it in my car and it tends to bump around a bit.

The whole thing (with the very solid all metal tripod included but not carried in the bag) is right about 15 lbs. When set up and balanced correctly it's great, as I can crank the photo head/OTA up and down so I can use a small folding chair for almost any object without having to adjust the tripod legs, and I can also and leave the head locks unlocked to pan around with ease.

The only ways this set up could be made better (for me at least) is if the dew-cap could be slid back to shorten the whole OTA length by about 4 inches when stored. Then the whole setup (except the tripod) could probably get into a medium size 35mm SLR bag or a small day pack. Also, there are probably plenty of good lighter high-tech tripods out these days but the old one I have works so well I still use it.

Oh, and the whole thing (bag, tripod, EPs bought here on AM, OTA and red-dot) probably ran me just over US$300 so if it gets ripped off or dropped (etc.) I would be sad but not as devastated as if it were a $2500 (or even $700) scope with $300 EPs. Also, if you look for the same OTA on the web (Telescope Warehouse) you can get it for less but it's painted black (not the Orion white).

Works for me - Good luck…

Tom Mengel

Hey folks - you ever try buying "antiques"? I had a friend once who was a "guild card holder" in the racket and I could tag along to the "buyers fairs" (defiantly NOT open to the public) and see what the shop owners sold stuff to each other for. Boy, was THAT an eye opener! I will NEVER again buy a antiques (or "collector") item for that reason only as the typical dealer mark-ups will curl your hair!

Ditto with old cars, having been in that hobby too. In some cases the "sizzle" can be 80% of the buyer's cost (sounds a bit like AP waiting lists). If you want to play, fine, but old P. T. Barnum used to say something about people born on the minute and laugh all the way to the "Egress", but that's the free market at work for you. And if you can play and turn a profit, all the better.

Me, I like the "What have they been smoking - LOL" philosophy. But I think the real problem for those who do get hot and bothered is that they feel the fools who stoke this kind of buying frenzy drives up the cost for the rest of us. Maybe true but why get bothered by it? There are plenty of other more important things in this world to get motivated about.