Posts Made By: Clyde Lacombe

Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum & kinda new to astronomy. I live in central Louisiana. I am away from any city lights completely. I own an old homemade (flea market bought) 10" dob. reflector. I don't know if optics are up to par or not. But I think I am seeing some fairly good looks at Jupiter, Saturn & Moon. I have collimated it myself with a eyepiece. I also own a pair of Celestron Pro 10x50. My question is:
I am interested in purchasing a new or used telescope. Should I purchase a "go to" mounted telescope or learn the sky myself. Portability is not a problem as I am on 20 acres of land. Should I purchase a refractor, mak-newt, cass., different reflector. I know you are wondering what I like to look at (deep sky or planets). Well I thought Andromeda Galaxy was extremely beautiful in my dob.,but other deep sky objects looked too small to enjoy. I think I find myself going back to Jupiter,Saturn & the Moon. Also I am willing to spend around $1000 to $1200. I do prefer quality equipment. If you need to ask me more questions, please do, because I would like to purchase wisely for my needs. Thanks very much in advance.....

Clyde ([email protected])

Hello,
I am fairly new to astronomy. I own a 10" dob. for viewing. Recently was digging around & found an old telescope. I would guess age around 25 to 30 years old. Sticker on scope says: Sears no.49 24071 150 power Achromatic coated lens
F=600mm D=50mm Japan. I took a look at the lens in this & to my surprise it is glass. Two pieces of glass separated by a thin plastic like spacer. My question is; Can I use these lens to make a spotting scope of some sort (terrestial or birding)? Is it worth it or these lens no good since it probaly was a cheap scope? Or maybe make a finder? If it is worth it to make a spotter can I put this in a shorter tube since this one is about 2 feet long. Can someone please point me in the right direction.
Thanks very much for your time in reading this.
Clyde (La.)
[email protected]

Hello everyone,
I am "new" to refractors & mounts. I have a Televue upswing mount & Apogee 80mm refractor with 1/4-20 mounting block made on it, which I purchased from two different individuals on Astromart,that should be in this week.Trying to get ready before they arrive. I would like to know what mounting rings I need to buy, to be able to mount the Apogee to the Televue,if the 1/4 x 20 does not work. Thanks very much in advance for any help. I can see that I will be very happy knowing anybody associated with Astromart, as both individuals I purchased from, were extremely trustworthy. Also I will be open for suggestions on a wooden tripod new or used.
Thanks,
Clyde Lacombe

Hello everyone,
I am in the process of building my observatory. I have a few days free with my men and would like to get slab poured, quickly. My question is: I would like to install concrete pier when I pour the slab. But, I am not sure how tall to build it, other than to take height off one of my tripods I have. Please, do not ask me a million questions about different mounts and scopes I will be mounting on this.:-) I change scopes a few times, can't keep the same one all the time right....Thanks, again....Clyde L.

Hello Doug,
My father-n-Law had the same experience as you a couple weeks ago. Hang tight as he just received his. His understanding was they were in the process of moving to a different location.
Good Luck, Clyde

Hello Everyone,
Just wanted to say thanks for all comments. I will take everyone's advice. Will post later on exactly what I did and hopefully have a picture to send soon.
Thanks very much,
Clyde