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Posts Made By: Greg Shaffer

May 10, 2015 08:06 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Where can I get an OTA for 9" lens???

Posted By Greg Shaffer
john raymond said:

Hello
I'm interested in a large, short refractor like the IStar 9" f/7.7
They only offer lens, not the complete telescope. Any ideas on where to get a tube made?
I've already had one refusal from a machinist who is VERY qualified to make it. Didn't even get to talk price. I don't have a shop, tools, or skills to make anything. I just want a large refractor that's easy to mount, for low power observing, and under $5500.

Thanks
John

http://www.istar-optical.com/achromatic-doublet.html#lens15

Before I ultimately made the decision to build my 8" f/16 myself which is all but finished now I did some investigating into having someone else build it. As I own a 10" f/5 newt made by Parallax and it is definitely a fine example of craftsmanship I decided to talk to Joe about building the OTA for my lens. We got around to talking about a ball park price ($1800) after some discussion about what I wanted. This was about 5 years ago so I am sure pricing may be somewhat higher now but it was definitely reasonable based on what I now know it takes having done it myself. I would suggest you contact Joe Nastasi at Parallax and discuss it.....I also have another scope he built though not for me which is a 90mm f/16.6 that is also an excellent piece of work and is collimatable on both ends.

I don't have a pic of it handy but I do have a pic of a 6" long focus refractor he built that I really liked and combined with knowing the quality of the 10" newt I have led me to consider having him build the 8" refractor.....see below.


May 21, 2015 04:52 AM Forum: Politics

Well-known AM Politics guy finally photographed

Posted By Greg Shaffer
David Cotterell said:

Anyone we know?


Appears to be one of the liberal cheerleaders on here......selfie? lol

May 25, 2015 10:05 PM Forum: Politics

The politics is getting thick in Oregon

Posted By Greg Shaffer
Given this article is from the Huffington Post I have to wonder if its related to why many call it the Puffington Post lol

May 26, 2015 08:59 PM Forum: Politics

Demographic reality

Posted By Greg Shaffer
While I have little use for Rubio you made excellent points......

May 28, 2015 02:45 AM Forum: Refractors

Coulter Optics Refractor....

Posted By Greg Shaffer
Roger Sherman said:

Hello refract nuts...

I purchased a Coulter Optics 90 MM F10 (I think) Refractor today from a friend of mine. I had never heard of such a scope. Yes, I've heard of and have an 1989 10" Odyssey Dob. A little bit of research on the subject turned up nothing.

Please tell me what you know...... Thanks in advance....Roger Sherman in Ft. Myers, Fl.

Hi Roger.... You may yet get some input on this here but if not you might consider posing the question to the Classics forum over on CN....They have a very active group there and I can think of nowhere else you are likely to find someone with knowledge of that scope.

June 1, 2015 09:01 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Sweet $3 find at the flea market

Posted By Greg Shaffer
Looks like moisture has had its way with it around the edges......shouldn't cost much to have that coated....I would certainly look into it.

June 7, 2015 06:37 PM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

Message Problems?

Posted By Greg Shaffer
Kevin Conod said:

Not sure if this is appropriate place to ask, but has anyone else experienced a major problem with messages here on Astromart? I placed a classified ad last week and I was surprised that I got a lot of views but no offers or messages regarding the item. I figured no one was interested but then last night at about 9:30 EDT I got a flood of email messages from Astromart stating that I had private messages from the past several days. But when I go to my Inbox there is only one recent message!

Responses to ads are not sent via PM's but rather by email, for PM's the poster has to specifically choose to send you a PM instead of responding to the ad.....the 1st thing you need to do is look at the email address on your profile and verify that its correct. 2nd thing you need to do is make sure they aren't going to your spam folder or being trapped as spam in a spam folder on your providers online email reader if they have that.

June 18, 2015 08:14 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Question regarding equipment, posting, and advice

Posted By Greg Shaffer
Nathan Graves said:

I'm not entirely sure where to start this topic and I would appreciate a few pointers if someone has the time. (dear mod's if even asking the question is somehow against the rules, please delete my post or contact me to delete it without banning me).

I'm attempting to word this so as not to step on any toes, and at the same time I'm not sure how to word this without giving at least a little background.

Myself and a partner have an observatory that we built 4 years ago that we use for astrophotography. Since we started, we've transitioned through an LX200, a CGEM, a CGE, a CGE PRO, and now an LX850.

One of our biggest annoyances was the USB-232 cabling and adapters that make an otherwise clean setup a complete jumbled mess.
Recently, we got so fed up with it that we decided to make our own clean cable and see if there are any other astronomers out there who would be interested in going together and getting a bunch made to keep the cost down.

From what I can tell, it appears that it is against the T&C of Astromart to link to a crowfunding effort (like indiegogo, kickstarter, etc).

This isn't a "Donation or Deal for our Cause" kind of post, and it isn't allowed in the Classifieds section, so where/how/what is acceptable for us to try and see if there is any interest for this type of thing?

Thanks for your time gents,

Nathan

So a group purchase for best deal then......I don't know of any reason that wouldn't be allowed unless of course its the folks making them are the ones promoting the group purchase, that would label them as a vendor and subject to vendor rules.

June 24, 2015 08:53 PM Forum: Politics

It's been a.....

Posted By Greg Shaffer
David Cotterell said:

.......quiet week in Lake Politicon... (Apologies to Garrison Keillor.)

Is everyone ok?

Has the current political situation in the world suddenly become satisfactory to everyone?
(Yeah, I know, impossible....)

Dave

Given the hot topic in the MSM news lately has been much silliness over a battle flag of the Confederacy that is pretty much a non-starter there isn't a lot to bicker over. I just wonder what we are really being distracted from......

July 6, 2015 10:48 PM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

Obtaining more ads

Posted By Greg Shaffer
Robert Capon said:

Hi-

I'm a member of the Charlottesville Astronomy Club in Charlottesville, VA. I'm handling the sale of an observatory and astro equipment for an elderly member who is terminally ill. It's been a huge and difficult job. And I'm rapidly burning through my available ads, with 19 remaining. And we have a lot more equipment to sell.

Is there a way for me to purchase more ads? My membership expires in November. If I renew before November, does that reset the number of ads?

I'm more than happy to add to my support of AstroMart, if you can advise me.

Thanks so much,

Rob

I forget the exact details but you can purchase additional batches of ads. Send an email inquiry to [email protected] and I am sure Herb will give you the details although he will probably also reply here once he sees it.....

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