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Posts Made By: David Colton

February 3, 2004 12:44 PM Forum: TeleVue

Focusing Lever

Posted By David Colton
Any opinions on Televue's focusing lever? Since Televue advertises that their focuser is "buttery smooth" is the focus lever an improvement and is it worth the money?

February 11, 2004 08:49 PM Forum: Digital SLR AstroPhotography

Home Made Adapter

Posted By David Colton
I have a Casio QV3000 which does not have a threaded lens. Before buying one of the universal adapters that Orion and Scopetronix sells, I was wondering if anyone has built one using pvc or other tubing? Or does anyone know where I could find plans on the Internet showing how to build my own adapter?

February 22, 2004 03:08 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Photos

Posted By David Colton
I enjoy seeing the photos contributors post with their messages, but hate when they are so large you have to scroll all over the place to see the image. If you do attach a photo remember to reduce it in size. I typically reduce photos that I'm going to attach to an email to 640 by 480 pixels, and they always appear well with no loss of contrast. Large image files also take up more memory on the network server hosting this site.

February 27, 2004 07:01 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

How do you figure resale value?

Posted By David Colton
I have an LX90 I bought a little over a year ago, which I have considered selling as I am not getting as much use out of it as I had intended. The entire package, including accessories and shipping cost me about $1900. However, I'm now seeing fairly new LX90's going for as little as $1000 to $1100 on Astromart. I can't afford that much of a loss so I've decided (which is probably for the best) to rethink the situation and figure out how to get greater use out of the scope.

I can't help but wonder however, why a fairly new, preowned scope would lose so much value so quickly. So, I'm wondering how most folks figure the resale value of astro equipment.

March 2, 2004 05:23 PM Forum: Binoviewers

Swapping between scopes

Posted By David Colton
Are binoviewers easily swapped between telescopes (I have a TV 102 and LX90) or are they configured for a particular type of scope, such as SCT, refractor, Newtonian, etc.?

March 5, 2004 04:37 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Contrast Booster Filter

Posted By David Colton
I finally had a chance to try out the Celestron - Baader Contrast Booster Filter on my TV102 the other evening. It did make a subtle improvement in contrast on Saturn, but not as much on Jupiter. I think in part this was due to the elevation, as Jupiter was still in the soup and the sky was somewhat hazy.

It seemed to me that the filter was reducing glare, which improved contrast. It does produce a pale yellow color, which is not too distracting. I want to try it under better viewing conditions and with my LX90. I noticed that in this month's S&T review of filters, the reviewer indicated that the Baader Fringe Killer did not introduce as much color. So I was wondering if anyone has had experience with the Fringe Killer filter?

March 14, 2004 04:58 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

M51 Where Are You

Posted By David Colton
I spent a good 20 minutes hunting for M51 last night, to no avail. (TV102 with a 32mm and 26mm plossl.) Is this considered a difficult object to find? Any tips.

March 17, 2004 06:02 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Hutech Mount

Posted By David Colton
Being a fan of portability, I see where Hutech makes a motorized alt-az mount, the model AZM-100 for $229. The description states it handles loads up to 3kg. Sooooo ... what is that in pounds and ounces? What telescopes would that handle? A small Mak or refractor under 80mm?

March 31, 2004 06:11 PM Forum: Eyepieces

UO Ortho vs. UO HD Ortho

Posted By David Colton
From those of you who have experience with both, is there enough of a difference to warrant the extra $30? I plan to buy the 5mm and use it primarily with a TV102.

April 7, 2004 05:32 PM Forum: Digital SLR AstroPhotography

Remote Shutter Release

Posted By David Colton
So far, the only digital cameras that I've come across that have a remote shutter release are some of the Olympus models, such as the 3030, 4040, and 5050. I would think that a remote shutter release would be a major consideration in selecting a digital camera for astrophotography, as it reduces vibrations. What other models and manufacturers offer this feature? How do those of you who don't have camera's with remote shutter release address the problem of vibrations? Do you use the self-timer?

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