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Posts Made By: Hugh Bartlett

January 7, 2006 08:53 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Checking Kendrick laser's collimation

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
Not good. At 15 feet, the dot (or pattern) should remain in the same place. I'd even go for a farther distance, and play around with the collimation screws until it stays put.

Hugh Bartlett

January 8, 2006 06:44 PM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Ground vibration!

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
I don't know about the pier, but for a tripod, you should try Vibration Suppression Pads (VSP's). They are hockey puck size disks with foam insulating that dampens vibrations between the tripod and the ground. You still see a second or two of shaking, but it stops faster with the pads under the tripod legs. Meade, Celestron, and Orion sell them for about $50 a set.

Hugh Bartlett

January 11, 2006 05:19 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Selecting eyepieces

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
You need a 2" wide field eyepiece that will maximize your true field of view in whatever scope you are using. This would be particularly helpful in the 9.25" SCT. At f/10, you really don't have to be concerned about too large of an exit pupil (focal length of the eyepiece divided by the scope's f-ratio).

You have some quality eyepieces from TeleVue, so I would continue that trend and get something like a 35mm Panoptic, a 31mm Nagler, or (if on a budget, which does not seem to be a problem) a University Optics 40MK70.

Hugh Bartlett

January 12, 2006 04:10 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

You Know Your an Astromart Junky When .....?

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
When you start making "opportunity purchases" not because you need something, but just because it seems like too good a deal to pass up, and it might come in handy some day. (Sometimes I disgust myself!) wink

Hugh Bartlett

January 12, 2006 04:16 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Easy cooling fan for Orion XTI

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
That's a good one! You should post it on the skyquest yahoo group to get to its target audience.

Hugh Bartlett

January 13, 2006 01:36 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Celestron Powerseeker 127 ?

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
A reflector is a great buy! I'm not sure what not a lot of money is, but if it includes the equatorial mount, you'd get more bang for your buck with a Dob. For about the same amount of money, you could get an 8" Dob, which would have a more stable mount, significantly more aperture, and probably better eyepieces and finder. You would keep the 8" and be happy with it much longer than the 5" would keep you satisfied.

Hugh Bartlett

January 14, 2006 12:13 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

Possible Supernova!!! Need answers

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
I suspect it was an Iridium Flare. They can get quite bright, and even be seen during the day. Check the Heavens-above website for predictions and see if it matches what you saw.

You should have been able to track it move as it brightened, which is a clue that it is something close rather than a star. The last supernovae seen in our galaxy was over 400 years ago, so we all would have heard about it if that is what it was! The other disqualifying feature was its duration. Supernovae brighten over a period of days, and then diminish gradually in brightness over several months.

Keep looking up!
Hugh Bartlett

January 14, 2006 03:49 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Focuser question

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
Take one of the original screws down to the hardware store. They will have a metal plate with a bunch of tapped holes in it to help you determine the thread pitch and diameter.

Hugh Bartlett

January 18, 2006 12:48 AM Forum: Eyepieces

Eyelash oil on eyepieces

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
That happened to my 3mm-6mm zoom right after I got it when I used it at a public star party. I called TeleVue for advice, and Al picked up the phone! He walked me through his technique. IIRC, 1) blow off dust, 2) gently swipe with Q-tip dipped in acetone, & 3) rinse with Q-tip dipped in alcohol. He said the coatings are pretty tough and can even be cleaned with Windex (as long as you don't apply excessive pressure and blow off the dust first).

I've found that eyepiece in particular to be the most frequent to get smeared with eyelash oil. The lens is just slightly below the top of the eyepiece, the lens is flat, and the eyepiece only has about 10mm of eye relief.

When it comes to mirrors and objective lenses, I would agree with Floyde that less cleaning is better, but I take the opposite approach to eyepieces, and clean them as soon as I notice a smear or sizable spec on them. It is a small area to clean with a large benefit.

Hugh Bartlett

January 19, 2006 05:20 PM Forum: Astro Binoculars

Nikon 8X40 Action Extreme

Posted By Hugh Bartlett
I have not used that model, but it gets good reviews on the yahoo binocular group. Be sure they are Action Extreme, though, and not just the Action ones, which are said to be inferior.

I don't think collimation is an issue of whether you buy them on-line or in a store; more of a quality control sort of thing. The guy who runs the Big Binoculars company, for example, checks out each pair he sends out. You pay maybe a little more, but his prices are still very reasonable. Nikon seems like a reputable company that would have the requisite amount of QC to make sure they were collimated at the factory, but who knows for sure?

Hugh Bartlett

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