Posts Made By: James Adams

I'm intrigued that so many amateurs here have machinist/mechanical backgrounds. I'm a fine woodworker; certainly there is a wide variety of professions represented here.

What do you folks do? I don't care if you're a trustfund kid or play piano in a whorehouse, and it's not about status, I'm interested in inclinations.

One of the things which has attracted me to the hobby has been the fellowship between folks who will stay out in freezing or marginal weather to all hours to look for vanishingly subtle objects.

James Adams

Technically, an inhabitant of Venus would be a Venerian, not a Venusian. And if you caught a cold from him/her/it, wouldn't it be a Venereal disease?

English is a most provocative language!

James Adams

When I got my 1026 refractor from BO the lens came nowhere near the quality of the prototype I had received and for which I'd posted an evaluation on the BO site. It was, basically, a chip off Granny's cookie jar.

So I phoned BO and he said that if I sent the lens back, with a check for $100, he'd send me an APO relacement lens which he expected to get within a couple of months. I did this.

Two years went by, and, well, nothing. I phoned again and again, but either there was no-one there or BO wasn't. He never cashed the check...

I checked out Antares Instruments [Canada] Vixen spec lenses; they had [IIRC] a 102 F 6.6, which would have probably been OK with the existing tube, as I intended to use a binoviewer with it. I never got around to it.

Then, last week, I spotted a Meade 102 f6 achro lens for $79 at Surplus Shed! I sent for it.

It fit the existing cell nicely, but in switching it over the plastic[!] separator between the lens elements got kinked. It was toast.

So I cut slightly heavy gauge aluminum foil spacers [from the foil cover on a can of cashews, and placed them between the elements.

Voila! Daytime images are very nice. When these darn clouds go away, I'll have a look skyward and post the results.

I should say that my BO 1278 is a keeper! Lightweight, sturdy, and good optics, and my BO eyepieces are super, for the money.

James Adams

I just got a Losmandy G 9 [made for Celestron by Losmandy], and the bottom plate, which is supposed to attach the mount head to the tripod is different from those on the GM-8 and G 11 which I used to have; those mounts had base plates which were edge drilled and tapped for socket-head machine screws 120* apart which fit into L-shaped slots in the top of the tripod.

This one has no edge holes but six evenly spaced, countersunk holes for flat-head machine screws [#10 or #12, I presume]

Does anyone know if this was for a different type of tripod? The mount I just got came without a tripod. Oh, and the bottom plate has a 2" diameter hole in the center.

Any info?

Thanks

Several years ago I had to sell my scope mounts due to foreclosure; now things are more stable for me and I wanted to get back to giving star parties in our small town in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California's Central Coast.

I looked into several crowdfunding sites as a way to get money to purchase a mount. I still had my scopes and accessories.

I eventually decided to try our local town Yahoo Group site directly. I offered contributors a private star party with refreshments, followed by a public one for our local elementary school kids. I used to do those a couple times a year before I lost my home.

Success! Ten folks contributed an average of about $100.00 each and I got enough to purchase a used Losmandy G-9! The weather is warming and our first star party will happen soon, possibly early June when the moon is a waxing crescent.

No more wasted photons!

J. Adams

Several years ago I had to sell my scope mounts due to foreclosure; now things are more stable for me and I wanted to get back to giving star parties in our small town in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California's Central Coast.

I looked into several crowdfunding sites as a way to get money to purchase a mount. I still had my scopes and accessories.

I eventually decided to try our local town Yahoo Group site directly. I offered contributors a private star party with refreshments, followed by a public one for our local elementary school kids. I used to do those a couple times a year before I lost my home.

Success! Ten folks contributed an average of about $100.00 each and I got enough to purchase a used Losmandy G-9! The weather is warming and our first star party will happen soon, possibly early June when the moon is a waxing crescent.

No more wasted photons!

J. Adams

I sent in my Coronado BF 15 diagonal for repair in late August and got it back a few days ago, as good as new. The coatings on the distal end glass filter had gone bad somehow, and now it's perfect! The price was reasonable, <$200 including shipping both ways, which Meade picked up. Their communication was good. Word.

I'm doing outreach solar viewings with my 5" f8 achromat with a Coronado 60mm etalon / BF15 combination. My 40mm Plossl is a tad weak, and my 20mm Burgess W.A. is too strong; any suggestions for a *budget* 26mm to 32mm or so W.A. eyepiece? Not sure if a 30mm Plossl would have adequate F.O.V.

Thanks

Maybe someone here can help me with this: my GM 8 dec drive worm / gear doesn't engage the dec shaft. I've tightened the dec clutch, it doesn't make any difference. The worm / gear moves, the shaft doesn't.