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Posts Made By: Bill Byrd

September 14, 2004 02:12 AM Forum: Telescope Making

1800Destiny Curved Spider?

Posted By Bill Byrd
Anyone have any feedback on the larger units Destiny sells? I'm thinking of one for an 18.75" scope with a 3.1" secondary.
Thanks! Bill in SA

January 2, 2005 03:16 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

OT? Best Eyeglass Lenses?

Posted By Bill Byrd
Part of my "equipment" when observing is the glasses I wear to correct astigmatism and other vision problems.

Well...it's time for a new pair. What's the current best lens for eyeglasses? I'm willing to pay more for really good lenses. I like the progressive lenses I've been forced to wear as I get older so the lens material needs to be usable for progressive lenses.

Thanks for any thoughts!
Happy 2nd day of '05!
Bill in SA

February 5, 2005 10:25 PM Forum: Bad to the Bone Autos

"Scope Hauler" Can Now Haul Even More!

Posted By Bill Byrd
"Scope Hauler", my '03 PT GT now has a roof box so I can keep most of the inside freed up for scope stuff when travelling. For a small vehicle, the PT has a lot of room inside but I tend to travel with W A Y too much scope stuff so it was pretty crowded when fully loaded for a trip. With the roof box, I can put the lightweight, bulky stuff up top and save room inside for the scopes.

BTW, when the turbo spools up, "Scope Hauler" is truly a Bad to the Bone vehicle and is mucho fun to drive!
Bill in SA

February 11, 2005 01:52 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Change Secondary Size on a Meade SN?

Posted By Bill Byrd
I've got an 8" Meade SN on the way. It will be my MW, wide field sweeper. Visual use only. No imaging.

The stock secondary is 3.1". I'm thinking of reducing the size and I noticed that the secondary for the Meade 6" SN is 2.14". Anybody know if the mounting holes in the correctors are the same size for the 6" and 8" SNs? If they are, I'll try to buy a replacement holder + 2.14" diagonal from Meade and put it in the 8" corrector.

If the 3.1" stock holder is under sized for the 3.1" secondary, I guess I could try to remove the 3.1" mirror and sub a 2.14" mirror from Protostar.

Am I crazy to even think about doing this swap? shocked
Bill in SA

February 19, 2005 02:39 PM Forum: Chinese Optics Imports

Re: Happy Anniversary

Posted By Bill Byrd
I waited one year before throwing in the towel. I figured at some point by now, maybe the 1026 OTAs would make it to market and I'd see how they were before thinking again about a purchase. I've quit waiting for reviews. 8)
Bill in SA

March 6, 2005 04:50 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Is This Any Way To Make A Mirror Cell??

Posted By Bill Byrd
Making some revisions to a new (to me) 8" scope. I took the mirror out to do some cleaning and thought I'd take a pic of the cell to show where the three support points are located. Pretty far off from the 40% rule! wink

All reports on these scopes say that they perform very well so I guess placement of the supports is not too critical with an 8" mirror only 1" thick. Once I get it back together and have some clear weather, I'll find out for myself.
Bill in SA

March 19, 2005 11:56 PM Forum: Mounts

Meade 8" f/4 SN on Giro II DX?

Posted By Bill Byrd
Anyone ever used this combo? Thoughts?
Bill in SA

March 20, 2005 12:00 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Meade 8" f/4 SN on a Giro II DX?

Posted By Bill Byrd
Cross posted to Mounts...more traffic here. smile

Anyone used the above combo or something like it?

The scope + rings + finder + heavy EP is close to 26 pounds. The G2 is supposed to be okay with up to 30 pounds of scope.

Just curious if this would work okay.
Thanks!
Bill in SA

April 15, 2005 01:59 AM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

Big Bend Cactus

Posted By Bill Byrd
I was in Big Bend National Park last week. The cacti were in full bloom all over! I think this is a claret cup?
BB

April 15, 2005 02:01 AM Forum: Landscape Photography

Casa Grande In Big Bend

Posted By Bill Byrd
In Big Bend National Park last week. Casa Grande towers over the camp ground where I stayed. Beautiful color changes as the sun set each evening!
BB

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