Posts Made By: William Rose

Bart Condax said:

I recently inherited a Holmar Astronomical telescope. I am unable to see images when looking through the main tube. I can see through each lens individually, but not when everything is put back together. I can find objects with the finder scope just fine.

Any suggestions as to what I should be doing?

This may sound silly Bart but your post isn't 100% clear (no pun intended).
Are you looking through the 'main tube' using an eyepiece or just looking up through the telescope tube?
You indicate, "when everything is put back together". Did you receive the objective as seperate pieces or disassemble it yourself and put it back together?
I'm not that familiar with the Holmar refractors, is the objective a doublet, triplet, or ?? and are there any other lenses in the refractor such as near the front of the drawtube?
Clear Skies, Bill

For those of you who may be confused, I guess I should explain the 'Gailand' (the Company) versus "Galoc" the eyepiece & eyepiece design. (I apologize to those of you who already know the distinction.)
Gailand Company manufactured several eyepieces marketed under the their brand with the GC/Saturn emblem. They manufactured several Orthoscopic eyepieces and a wide field eyepiece stamped "Galoc" which represents the design type of a particular wide field eyepiece. There is some question as to the actual design type of the later Gailand Company "Galoc" eyepieces especially since originally, Gailand Company did manufacture a 16.8mm Erfle eyepiece as well as the 16.3mm "Galoc" eyepiece. Later versions of the 16.3mm "Galoc" appear to actually be an Erfle Design even though they are embossed "Galoc". To my knowledge, by that time Gailand Company had stopped making a 16.8mm Erfle.
Now back to the original post, which of the University Optics eyepieces were manufactured by Gailand Company?
Clear Skies, Bill

Chuck Burton said:

Hi - Does anyone here have any experience with the 41mm Pan coupled to a 10" or larger SCT? I am contemplating the purchase of a 41mm Pan, but would like to hear of others' experiences with the EP first. I had 27mm and 35mm Pans in the past. They were very sharp and comfortable to look through, but the pincushion distortion really bothered me, so I sold them. Has anyone evaluated pincushion distortion in the 41mm Panoptic? Is it better, worse, or about the same as other long EFL eyepieces in the Panoptic line? Thanks in advance for any advice! - Chuck

I'm not an expert Chuck but I have 'test driven' both a 27mm & 41mm Panoptic in a C11 and 12" Meade LX200. The pin cushion distortion isn't as bad in the 41 but it is there at the very edge. If it bothers you in the 27 & 35 I suspect your eye will be drawn to it while using the 41. Just as a thought you might see if you can try out the 40mm TMB Paragon.
Clear Skies, Bill

Hi Kevin,
I use a fair amount of silica gel for various reasons. Dry air for Marine Aquarium ozone generation, enclosed cabinets that contian metal items, eyepiece cases, etc. I "recharge" it whenever needed in a regular kitchen oven.

Not all silca gel has been dyed to change color.
This is from a site that sells silica gel -

Material: Silica Gel
Notes:
Non-Toxic
40 grams protects three cubic feet of enclosed space
Color coded (blue when active; pink when inactive)

Reactivation: Can be reactivated easily by heating in an oven.
In quantities less than 1,000 grams heat as follows:
In aluminum container heat to 300 - 325 degrees for 3 hours.
In cloth container heat to 240 - 250 Degrees for 3 hours.

Clear Skies, Bill

Clinton Tower said:

Can a Powermate be used before the diagonal or does it have to be inserted into the diagonal and then the eyepiece inserted into the Powermate? I own a C6-R so for balance reasons it would be almost imperative that the Powermate be used between the drawtube and diagonal. I use a 20mm Nagler T2 and hopefully in the next few weeks a 31mm Nagler T5 (see my want ad in the classifieds, thoes who want to sell one or know someone who does, PLEASE!). Otherwise I will be looking for a 5 or 3.5 mm Nagler T6 for high mag. work.

Thanks for any replies.

Clinton Tower
Jacksonvile Florida

Hi Clinton,
Yes you can place the TV PowerMate front of the Diagonal as long as you have enough travel to reach focus.

From Ask Al @ http://www.televue.com/ask_al/Ask_Al_Frame.asp?AATopic=barlows
"Kevin Balch asks if our new 4x, 2" Powermate can be used in front of a 2"
diagonal.

Yes, but this ain't no Barlow! I think you'll agree, that for the
following reasons, there really isn't any benefit. First, to focus
you'll need about a 6" extension tube ahead of the Powermate, and the
magnification will only grow to about 4.5x"

Clear Skies, Bill

As an adjunct to Floyd's comments, I have riders on my equipment. With many thousands of dollars of equipment, it is all inventoried & digitally photographed. A disk with the photos & Excel Spreadsheet Inventory is kept in a Safety Deposit Box.
My concern isn't so much theft as destruction. I live in a rural area that's had Forest Fires in the last decade.
I also use Floyd's method of home protection: Former Deputy Sheriff & Mounted Patrol as well as current registered NRA Instructor in Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Home Defense, Personal Protection, and a few more.
As the saying goes, "We don't Dial 911" - I never could teach the dogs how to dial the phone and they're home 24x7.
Photos helps in more than one way. Recently I saw a For Sale advertisement for an eyepiece with a somewhat distinctive appearance which was exactly the same as a stolen eyepiece. When contacted, the local law enforcement in the sellers town did some investigation. After arresting the Seller they found over $50,000.00 worth of stolen optics in his possession. Had we not been able to provide an actual picture and point out the similarities to the photo of the item on sale, I doubt they would have taken the request seriously.
Photograph your equipment! Don't have a camera, buy a disposable camera at wherever. How much equipment do you have? Isn't it worth $25 to get lost/stolen/destroyed equipment back or replaced? Clear Skies, Bill

Thanks Phil,
Excellent write-up! I've eyed the 2" PMW on the Siebert site a couple times but hadn't heard anything about it.
I'm sure we'll all be interested to hear how it preforms under the stars.
Thanks again and hopefully your skies will clear soon.
CS, Bill

Floyd Blue said:

I have been informed that the 3.2mm and 8mm TMB/BO EPs are on their way to dealers. If this is true they should begin to ship to those like myself that have pre ordered them. Maybe as soon as next week!
I will let everyone know when I see mine.

Thanks Floyd, Please let us know how the 8mm works. I like the 4 & 6mm but as many others have indicated, the 9mm just isn't as nice. If the 8mm is closer to the 6mm than the 9mm I'll pick one up.
Clear Skies, Bill

Hi Robert,
Somewhere in this forum a few monthe ago I and others made comment on the 40mm Paragon, the 35mm Panoptic, and the 40mm UO. I also have the 32mm MK UO as well as a couple others including the Siebert 36mm OG. Sorry I'm traveling and can't go into detail as I've got to catch a flight. Shoot me an email and I'll send you more tonight.
CS, Bill

Excellent eyepiece and one 21mm eyepiece with a couple rings gives you 21, 17.6, 15.5, & 14mm focal lengths for about $160.00

Clear Skies, Bill