Posts Made By: Mark Holden

Nils Schoultz said:

I'm no fan of George Will, because I think what he did in 1980 (using a briefing book stolen from Carter's campaign office to prepare Reagan for the debate) is unforgivable. But I do read him whenever the title looks like he is going to have a blast at some Republican.
Nils

Perhaps you didn't see this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/30/AR2005083001763.html

Dave Adams said:

I am looking to purchase a 4" apo that I can use for binoviewing from my cold weather location (Michigan). I will mainly use the scope for lunar/planet viewing and wonder which of the 3 scopes - TMB 105 LW, SV-105 or Tak FS-102II will be the best choice. Will the Tak have a faster cooldown being a doublet? It seems the feather touch on the TMB and SV are favorites from what I have read. Would one scope be easier in switching from binoviewing to single eyepiece use? Most importantly, which will give the best views or will it be splitting hairs between them? If so, ergonomics seems to be the deciding factor and which would be best in this area? Thanks.

Dave Adams

Hi Dave

For lunar and planetary use, you might consider the TMB 100/8

The light loss would be insignificant for planets, and the higher f ratio would make it easier to get up to a respectable power. (The 105 has a focal length of 650mm, the 100 has a focal length of 800mm.)

The Tak fs102II is also an F8 scope.

Cooldown time on my TMB 115/7 CNC is short.

By the time you add the 10:1 microfocuser to a Tak fs102 you're going to be quite close to the cost of the triplets.

The Feathertouch focusers are incredibly nice to work with. (I added one to my CNC so I have 2 focusers)

The LW versions of TMB scopes often include a drawtube that can be adjusted for binoviewing. The CNC ones have removable extensions.

I'm not sure what Stellarvue does, but I know they're intended to be binoviewer friendly. Some Stellarvue scopes use TMB objectives - some don't.

Good luck.

Mark

Prison officials say he's still involved with the crips.

I'm thinking the jury had a better handle on what punishment was appropriate than those of us who are only seeing and reading stuff in the media.

Alvaro Garay said:

Hello !
I would like to get a digital SLR camera, but I don't know which one is better for astrophotography if the Nikon D70S or the Canon REBEL XT.
Which one would you recommend? and why?
thank you very much !!!

Alvaro Garay

Actually, you might want to look at the Nikon D50.

It's got lower noise than the D70s.

If you're planning to have it modified for astro work, someone said Hutech charges less for the D50 mod than for the Canon ones.

Tom Rodstrom said:

If you see a troll like this from Patrick, do not bother to respond. It will not be there long and neither will be Patrick. He has been warned repeatedly both privately and publicly not to use these inflammatory titles. He evidently does not get it. He now has exactly ZERO chances to make this mistake again before his account will be terminated. Anyone on the (left of right) who does the same will be warned and will have their accounts deleted if they persist.

I didn't see the post from Patrick, but the title of this thread seems to be no worse than ones critical of President Bush and Republicans.

Will thread titles like "Bush's New Lies On Iraq" or "Republican welfare for couch potatos" be out of bounds too?

As we discussed about a week ago, different people will find different things offensive - depending on their personal perspective.

I don't think "over the top" titles are effective, but whatever the rules are they should be enforced evenly.

Luke Leege said:

Any idea how long I can expect to wait for my AP130. (or what ever size will be produced then) I just signed up on the list yesterday. So how long do I have to save up my $$$$. 8)

From what I've heard, the list is running about 6 years now.

A couple of friends picked up those 6" hardin dobs on closeout.

I'm not at all fond of dobsonian mounts, but the optical tube is surprisingly nice.

I]wingko yung said:[/I]

Hi,

Any thoughts on what the 'best scope' for a PUBLIC star party is? That is, what kind of scope does the general public seem to enjoy viewing through, bearing in mind the kind of objects that are available in often light polluted environments. I have often found that sometimes the public did not seem to be overly impressed with the images through premium instruments, perhaps maybe they weren't as user friendly.

Wingko

We generally have a fairly good mix of dobs, newtonians and apo refractors at bmas public events.

The two scopes with the longest lines are the 16" F15 Classical Cassegrain under the dome at our observatory, and a TMB 175 owned by one of our members.

Once you get away from those two, the number of folks at a given scope seems to be determined in part by the size and quality of the scope, and how well the operator can work the crowd.

One equipment tip I'll mention is the BO/TMB planetary eyepieces are great for public events. They're easy for beginners to use because the eye lens is big, and they have plenty of eye relief. They're reasonably priced, and they perform well.

For events with a high ratio of kids to adults, we try to have a second person near each scope as a spotter - to keep an eye on kids. A surprising percentage of kids seems to feel a 10" dobsonian looks like a pony.

Otherwise, we have one of our members act as a "field boss" to help make sure everyone doesn't have their scope aimed at the same things, and to help folks who are there with equipment they need to learn how to use find a qualified member to assist them.

Scott Anderson said:

Saw an ad in S&T this month, think it was Astronomic's for these 60 degree FOV eyepieces by Burgess? TMB? How good are these eyepieces? I'm mainly interested in the 4mm one. It has both TMB and Burgess mention in the same copy. Are they are made by TMB or designed by them and manufactured by Burgess?

Any comment about their quality and performance would be helpful

Thanks,
Scott

They're designed by TMB and Burgess gets them made in China. TMB spot checks them for quality.

Ones made before 12/16 need to be updated with a revised retaining ring to eliminate a glare problem with off axis light. It's a two minute job, and they're sending the part to everyone who bought one.

Otherwise they're sharp, have good contrast, and little light scatter.

I used a 4mm one for a Mars open house at my astronomical society. It was much easier for the general public to use than a 4mm TMB supermonocentric because it's got plenty of eye relief, and a large eye lens.

The 6mm ones that are available now are being sold at half price because the optics weren't quite up to snuff, but many folks who have them seem to be happy with them.

Hi Roland

I'm glad to hear of your progress, and it sounds like a great product for folks who want a top quality mount that's easy to treat as a portable.

Do you have any indication of how long it will take to whittle down the waiting list for the 600 and 400 mounts?