Posts Made By: Alan Koff

SoFLA observing site Area 51 was alive with about 10 or so AstroNuts observing and imaging on a pristine, cloudless night. Once the moon went down the action picked up quickly with the swirl on clock drives and, unfortunately, the glow of laptops.
My new XT10i was up in seconds, but my COL was not happy. Kept getting warps of 4.0+....didn't need it anyway. At least, not as much as the wide field EPs I borrowed from my friend Ivan. I have some looming purchases for this fast DOB, my old wide fields are sold off and I am waiting for my new EPs.
OMEGA CENTAURI !!!!!!!! I should have brought kneepads!!!!!! Prolly spent on hour scanning this beauty. If you haven't seen it I would put it on a par with M42. Simply fantastic!!!! I will need to build a 12" high platform to set the DOB on to make life a bit more comfy.
Sagittarius at 26 N. lat. is a sight to behold as well. You can stay busy for hours running around hitting the Ms, and Scorpius too. I try to change my "neck angle" often so I don't walk around like Quazimoto the next day, by moving to a different part of the sky and then move back.
Another highlight for me was viewing M51 visually in a dark sky eviron, it was spectacular! From my yard it is a faint fuzzy, but not at Area 51 on a nice night. Prolly great on a marginal night.
Sometime after 2:30 I dropped my 26mm EP in the sand, so I knew I needed a rest....haven't dropped one in 6+ years, but that one was on concrete. While reclining I heard someone say it felt like it was cooling off, "Geez it feels like 40!" Not quite, but the temp seemed to dip about 10* quickly and things dewed up in a hurry. By the time I got back on my feet and try to spy M13 I knew my primary had "crashed". Couldn't resolve it past 100x. Time to close up shop!
My first dark sky experience since the WSP in '07. Glad I made it out with my friend Ivan and his club members. Guys, thx, I had a blast!!!
Al

Don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to compare the pros and cons of these two EPS. I love my new Siebert Ultra!
These two EPs supposedly have the same FOV and F/L, but the Antares shows more room around the moon than the Siebert. I'm wondering if the Siebert is showing more magnification, shorter F/L, than is stated by Harry? You won't notice a degree or two of FOV difference between the two.
Any ideas before I ask Harry?
I did find this a bit surprising to say the least.
Al

Looking for a cost-saving widefield EP for my fast dobs, not using 2"ers any more.
Love my Sieberts, have done the TeleVue thang.
Just don'ts want mush in half the field.
22-28mm recommendations please!
Tx,
Al

PS Trade my Ultra 22.5mm 2" for same in 1.25".....

Was not happy with the little table-top mount that came with Starblast 6, worked OK, but you need a level platform, not the hood of your car or truck, and the height is very limiting.

So I figured on the Orion VersaGo II with steel legs to be the ticket for a better grab-n-go. The OTA and mount weigh just over 30 lbs. and provides good height for shorter peeps, or my starchair at my 6'2" height.

Plenty of clearance at the legs with the short tube, can go up to 75* elevation at the legs, or near 90* in between. I also went with an Orion 8" dovetail plate, I think that is 3" wider than the Starblast mount holes.

Super steady mount, I have not needed to extend the legs at my height with this short tube reflector. Smooth hand slewing from the factory bearings, and it was easy to get balanced with the 12 lb. 750mm OTA. Circles as well for object locating. Good stuff from Orion.

I have recently purchased a new TMB Planetary II 4mm EP and a nice used 3.2mm here on Amart. My new one came with a rattle and Astromonics said to tighten the internal barrel lock ring, so I did it and eliminated most of the rattle. My used one came with an even worse rattle, but I tightened it as much as possible and eliminated most of that rattle.

Anyone have the same experience with these EPs, and any lasting issues you may want to share?

Are these promblematic EPs?

Just cleaned the primary of my XT 10. Seems that the Florida environ is tough on mirrors. While the cleaning was a success, the poor thing is missing some silver after 4 years and 5 months of garage storage. Gotta luv distilled water.

Collimated, always do it after removing the cell, and ready to go.

Of course it is cloudy!

Great to hear from so many folks about MASP. I may come up twice during the week if the weather holds up. Tuesday was my early plan for a one nighter then back Friday early for a two nighter. Look for the funny looking Honda that comes with a cute blonde....that won't be me!
Al

Call Meade!

Two words, MRYTLE BEACH! It would appear this eastern location has some pluses going for it. Weather is relatvely stable in June, with many glorious sun rises. For once I'm located well for an event of this magnitude. Some guesstimates give us the last hour of the transit and exit.
I am so stoked for this I can hardly think of any thing else, except Sagitarius' arrival.
Clear skies,
Al

Emailed Mike at OPT yesterday and was told that they still haven't received their first shipment. And they know about as much as the rest of us relative to any updated schedule.
I'm on two waiting lists for Coronado products and eagerly await the arrival of both the BinoMites and the PST.
I have a good feeling about April.