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Posts Made By: Dave Adams

May 4, 2004 05:01 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Protostar 3 vane versus curved spider

Posted By Dave Adams
Thanks for all the input. I spoke with Bryan at Protostar and felt comfortable with the curved vane. He said they have tried different designs over the last 2 years and are confident they have a good design that addresses the stability issue while using thin vane material. The curved spider uses the same thickness material as the 3 vane spider so overall diffraction should be less. The vanes are wider at the base to help with stability. I might not have gotten this correct but there is a plate mounted somewhere on the vanes that acts as damper. Since this scope will be used mostly for planet and lunar viewing, I opted to order it in the 1" size along with a new secondary. I hope I don't find the vignetting objectionable but I don't think I will be using this scope very often for wide field viewing.

Dave Adams

April 5, 2005 10:51 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Mount for C9.25

Posted By Dave Adams
Check out the Discmounts. I have a C9.25 and have tried various mounts and after a few years just got a Discmount DM-6. It is a great mount and can't say enough about how easy it is to use and setup. It is also very stable. I have seen more deep sky objects from my light polluted front yard in the last few weeks than I had for years due to the new mount and Sky Commander. Only drawback is that they are not cheap but it is built to last a lifetime and I can't imagine anything going wrong with it. A lighter, lower cost option is the Unistar which I think is a excellent choice for a lightweight mount that is very easy to setup and use.

February 11, 2006 02:35 AM Forum: Refractors

Small apo or large achro?

Posted By Dave Adams
I bought a Borg 101ED a few weeks ago and it is a great grab and go scope. It weighs 5lbs unloaded and 7lbs with finder, rings, dovetail, diagonal and 24mm panoptic. I have it mounted on a lightweight alt-az mount that weighs only 7lbs and with both being so light, it is easy to set up and carry around the yard if you obstacles.

Dave Adams

November 16, 2006 10:59 PM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

Roger Angel: For just a few [trillion] dollars mor

Posted By Dave Adams
How about global haze http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061116/ap_on_sc/saved_by_haze
I can't think this would be good for viewing not to mention other side effects.

Dave Adams

December 21, 2006 08:58 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

8" dob upgrade questions

Posted By Dave Adams
I wanted to mention that the Anttler version of the 8" dob has some very nice upgrades at a good price.
It came with a 2 speed focuser, roller bearings, 8x50 right angle finder and a fan.

Dave Adams

January 16, 2007 12:52 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Grab and go reflector

Posted By Dave Adams
Thanks to everyone for their advice and I have a lot of good ideas to pursue. Another option I ran across is a Starbuckets 6" or 8" scope. They look good and are lightweight for their apeture.

Dave Adams

January 29, 2007 04:27 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Vixen 130 sf questions - central obstruction

Posted By Dave Adams
I forgot to mention that I am going to mount the scope on a microstar and my tripod is not very heavy duty so I am trying to keep the ota total weight under about 8 lbs. Thanks.

Dave

February 14, 2007 02:47 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Hyperion 8-24 zoom

Posted By Dave Adams
Thanks to everyone for their posts and I am will get the Baader zoom when more become available. I had read the earlier threads in the forums and they were all very positive. It will also be a nice match for my TV-76 which I use now for daytime use, and my 8" f/5 Starbucket.

Dave

August 6, 2007 07:40 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

1 scope vs 3 scopes

Posted By Dave Adams
David,

I have read great things about the TEC140 and it is somewhat of a dream scope for me. I was thinking the FS-128 as they seem to go for $3-3.5K on Astromart so I could save a few $$$. I am learning to appreciate seeing the brighter objects and am getting more fun out of really good images even if they are not as bright.

Dave

August 13, 2007 07:23 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Good widefield eyepiece for 8" f/5

Posted By Dave Adams
I just ran across a coma corrector on Alpine Astro's website - http://www.alpineastro.com/optical_accessories/optical_accessories.htm#a
Has anyone heard anything about this? It looks like it would screw on the bottom of a 2" eyepiece.

Dave Adams

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