Posts Made By: Don Joski

I installed a dual axis motor drive a few months ago but the slew speeds seem incredibly slow. I have an LX50 and at an 8x slew speed it is at least 20x faster than the 8x slew speed on the CG5. Originally I thought it was due to the very cold weather but it is slow inside as well. I've added new batteries and it is still incredibly slow. The clock drive does not keep up. I purchased it new on ebay but maybe it's a lemon. What do you think can be done, if anything?

The LX50 isn't the most portable scope in the world. I recently purchased a Stellarvue at1010 and I'm impressed with the optics on stars, galaxy's but not so impressed on planets. What is the best bang for buck refractor? I'm considering Orion/Vixen 102 flourite, Televue 102, Meade 152ed, & Stellarvue 102apo. I'll need to purchase a mount too and I want to spend around $3700 for all. What will best replace the 10" aperature? Add to list and I'll definitely consider. Thanks for your knowledge and wisdom. Quick revision, I meant a Meade 127ed.

Are adapters available for Televues equatorial mount and where can I find them. Also, this mount seems sturdier than my old CG5 mount - what type of weight can this hold? I got this mount with a Genesis I recently purchased. It tracks great and would like to use it w/ other scopes. Thanks.

I'm stuck. I'm currently selling my "lightbucket" - 10" LX50. I have a televue genesis w/ old equatorial mount & drive. Should I buy the MN56 & find some way to mount on current tripod? It seems sturdier than my old cg5. The Tal seems to have good reviews & a mount w/ drives is priced under $800. However, I live near many lights so I need something more portable than my 10". The genesis needs to go back to televue for some collimating so I need something in the meantime. I also want to use for astrophotography. One last problem, I still have a hard time finding messier objects except of course, the simple few. Smart ones, what to do?

Something is not working with Autostar. I've tried the two star alignment five or six times tonight and it totally fails to track. My first star I picked was Capella and right from the start the scope was way too low. After centering it I hit enter then picked Aldabaran (due to trees, lights & houses I can only pick a few stars) and it again was way off. After centering it I hit enter and it said set up successful. I then selected Saturn to see if it would track. It was in the area of Saturn and after centering it, the tracking was not to be found. Within two seconds Saturn was out of fov (using 32mm TV plossl). I reset to home and tried again and same damn thing. This happened the last time I tried this scope. I did have it in "home" position pointing towards Polaris. I bought it for $975 on auction listed as NIB, could it be a lemon? Any suggestions would be most welcome. Thanks.

I have a 4" TV Genesis and an 8" Meade LX90. Should I sell both to purchase a 5" Meade ED refractor? I would have to sell my Genesis, starbeam, camera setup, Televue equatorial mount, Pentax K1000, TV 26mm plossl, TV polar alignment finder thing with aluminated recepticle, and LX90 and it's stuff. Would the Meade refractor be that much more impressive than either of these scopes that makes it worthwhile? I do want to hold out for the 5" Tak FS128 and use with my TV mount/tripod. Would it support and and are there adaptable plates? I ask a lot of questions, but who better to ask? I appreciate all of your experience and knowledge. What to do?

I have a TV Genesis but I'm looking for a larger refractor that I'll use with the Televue equatorial mount. I have about $2,000 to spend. I've considered the AR-6 by Meade as well. I have considered selling the Genesis but I like the portability. I could probably sell the Genesis, mount and all accessories for $2,500. I could then buy a better scope but then I don't have a mount. Of course I could purchase Meade's 6" apo w/ tripod but that seems pretty large. The 140 NA is an f/5 so it's not too big. I do want to stay with a refractor for digital imaging. Suggestions please...

I'm considering the mewlon 180 w/p2z mount/tripod or going cheaper and just buying a Vixen 140 NA refractor. The price difference is about $2,900 and would be made up by selling TV genesis, Tv eq mount w/ drive, polar scope, camera adapter, a few eyepieces and the starbeam. I paid $2,800 for that setup a year ago so maybe I get $2,500? I have not been able to locate a review on either the Vixen 140 or the Tak mewlon 180. I'm close to buying the vixen but having last second thoughts. So please, astronomers, help! Any insight would be most appreciated. Thanks.
Don

I just purchased a Vixen 140 NA refractor. I currently have a Televue Equatorial Mount but I don't think the tracking motor (one axis) is accurate enough for astrophotography. So, I think I'll sell the Genesis and Televue setup and replace with a solid mount. So, which mount would really be best. I assume the GM8. I've really not considered the new CG5 because I really couldn't stand the old CG5. Are there mounts I'm missing and should consider? I don't really want to spend more than $1,500.

Thanks,

Don

I posted a question regarding the GM8, GPDX and other mounts for astrophotography. How is the Meade LXD55 mount? Would it be better or same as Celestron's Advanced Series CG5? I could very well purchase the GM8 or GPDX but that is only the mount. This way I could pick up a second scope since I'm selling my 4" apo. Then again for astrophotography, especially long exposure, it can't be that good. Then there is the Atlas mount by Orion. It looks like an EQ6. I don't know much about it though. I think I'm going mad...

Don