Posts Made By: Jackie LaVaque

Hi, this may be a dumb question, but here goes. Are Jaegers refractors still being manufactured?

Thanks,

Jackie

Rob Teeters (of teeterstelescopes.com) makes some wonderful handmade eyepiece cases... I just got mine today. It is a gorgeous, mahogany-stained case with plenty of room for eyepieces and accessories. The workmanship is just awesome. Check out the picture to see for yourself.

Hey all,

I'm also an astronomer/ham type, and wondered if any of you are attempting to pursue amateur radio from an 'antenna-restricted' location? I am in an apartment, and though I have a balcony, I'm reluctant to put up an antenna out there unless it's super-stealthy. Are any of you in a similar situation? If so, are you currently able to pursue amateur radio there, even though you may have a compromise antenna? I'm interested in hearing from others in my situation so I can get a few ideas on "what works" for small and/or indoor antennas.

I have a "slinky" type antenna, but haven't put it up yet... would like to see if I can get that to work indoors...

73 de Jackie

Hi there,

Our club recently acquired an FS-128 OTA. I wonder if there is a plate that can be used to fit an FS-128 clamshell to a sturdy alt/az mount, or any other non-Tak mount for that matter? The reason we are thinking of acquiring the Tak clamshell is because we've got access to a club member's Tak mount, but we would also like to use it on another mount that we may purchase in the near future. In other words, can the Tak clamshells be used with any mounts other than Tak ones? If so, which adaptor plates work well with, say, one of the new Stellarvue M6 mounts? Thanks in advance!

I concur with Don's suggestion of the Orion Vista line. Their 10x50's and 7x50's weigh 28 oz. and have really good coatings. I think they run about $189.

hi John-

I will second the advice of many others on this thread- get thee to a star party! There, you will see many types of scopes and most of the time, their owners are more than happy to discuss the pros and cons of their various scopes with you, and they are generally also glad to allow you some looks through them.

Many of us amateur astronomers who've been in the hobby for awhile end up with a couple different types of scope. No one type scope can do it all and do it all perfectly.

Dobsonians, a type of reflector with a simple, easy to use base, are great first scopes in the 10" and under range (I'd stick with 6" or 8" for a first scope, especially if your kids are younger); they give the most bang for your buck and are very easy to set up and use. Refractors are generally great for planets, double stars and brighter deep-sky objects, but they can get very expensive in large apertures. SCTs and Maksutovs are good all-around scopes (and excellent for astrophotography) but beware of the larger sized ones because they will take awhile for you to set up compared to other types, and they can get cumbersome in the larger sizes.

We may all be a bit biased as to the type of scope we prefer, but I still see many of us ending up with a reflector and a refractor, or an SCT and a refractor, or any combination thereof. Just goes to show you that your viewing options will be increased if you have more than one type of scope, but I don't recommend this for a beginner. That's why it's a very very good idea to check out as many types of scope as you can first, viz. a star party. You will not be sorry if you do a bit of hands-on research first!

You may also want to try first a pair of 7x50 binoculars, or even any old binoculars you may already happen to own. You would be amazed by how much more you can see with a pair of binoculars compared to just your two eyes. I used binoculars for many years before I bought a scope. They are cheap, easy to carry and show a lovely wide field of view. Some objects, such as the Milky Way starfields and the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the double cluster in Perseus, are actually their best in binoculars.

Let us know what you decide to do, but I can't stress enough that you should check out a star party first, even if you have to drive 100 miles to do it! You will save money and time this way.

Good luck!

Hi Doug

You may want to check out this book. It contains star lore for many Native American tribes. As you might imagine, there are just about as many star mythos as there are tribes.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/039539970X/002-8848669-5835249?v=glance

Good luck!

I own an FS-102. I have also owned other scopes, and am about to become the owner of a 10" Dob.

The objects I love to look at are at their absolute best in a great refractor (i.e., planets, double stars) and IMO, Takahashi makes some of the best there are. One of their greatest advantages, though, is in the fact that they are both available and eminently portable! And the workmanship is second to none. Try out a typical Tak focuser a few times; you'll be in love.

I've looked (and loved the views) through Astrophysics refractors. Great optics and mechanics; alas, they are eminently unavailable, if you insist on buying new stuff.

TMB's are likewise amazing, in terms of optics. The non-CNC versions make them much heavier than they should be. They are built like small battleships, but are not as easily transported as my Tak.

When I purchased my FS-102, it was actually cheaper than a TV 102 because the FS-102 OTA's were on sale at the time.

Anyway, you can compare and contrast the various models and makes for yourself, if you attend a few star parties and are fortunate enough to find representatives of the competing models. But for availability, mechanics, and optics, the Taks remain my favorite refractor of choice.

I live in Minnesota, in the north central USA. The winter temps are often -30 C. in the northern part of the state. In the northern part of MN, there are few people, and therefore fewer lights to intrude on dark skies. I live in the southeastern part of the state, and temps where I live rarely get much below -27 C. Still cold!

Some of our astronomy club's members use a handheld tape recorder to record their observing sessions when it's really cold outside.

Many of them also use the "fingerless" gloves with a mitten covering, and some use those handwarmer packets that contain iron filings. These actually work, even though I have limited experience with observing in below-zero weather myself.