Posts Made By: James Sarte

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum, and new to astronomy. My wife and I recently purchased a Konusky 200 (or 1793) 8" reflector a few weeks ago from Digitec Optical. First of all, I have to say that Digitec Optical have given me top-notch service. They are great people to deal with!

Here is my problem(s) though. My RA tracking is very slow. I do not know much about astronomy, or astrophotography but I have to say that my RA motors don't keep up with anything I'm tracking. My DEC motors are also incredibly slow in adjusting (even at 8X rate), and usuallly take around 5 to 8 seconds to start moving my target to FOV. Also, my focuser has alot of play in it. If I try to collimate with my Orion laser collimater, and I move the focuser just a little bit -- the beam jumps around alot, and I cannot get an accurate collimation.

Is there anything I can do to improve the tracking with this mount? It appears to be a typical CG-5 or Synta EQ-4 mount, except it utilizes the tubular steel tripod instead of its aluminum counterparts. Also, what should I do with the focuser? It's a 2" collimatble focuser, but no matter what I do, there is still a lot of vertical play present, and it throws off my collimation.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I am thinking of replacing the focuser, and perhaps replacing my EQ-5 with an EQ-6 mount. Would I get a noticeable difference? I eventually hope to graduate to astrophotagraphy soon, and am worried about my current mount's tracking ability. Is this the right way to go?

Hello again. I am just curious, if I ever have to replace my konus mirror with an Orion one, will it work? Apparently the konus mirror is measured at 200mm or 7.8", but the Orion mirrors are all at 203mm, 8".

Also, what factors do I have to look out for when replacing mirrors? I know my scope has a 1000mm FL, and the mirror is rated at F5. Do I just need to match up the numbers to get a mirror that will drop right in?

Any ideas? Thanks again.

I noticed this evening after rinsing with distilled water and letting the mirror dry that there is now a greenish, yellowish haze on the surface of the mirror that wasn't present before. What the heck is this? Is the surface of the mirror oxidizing or something? How do I fix this??? HELP!!

Thanks.

This is my first real telescope. It's a Konus 1793 8" reflector. My wife got it for my birthday. She even got me a set of 7 EP's to go with it and a laser collimator. I love my wife.

Hello everyone. I have a severe problem with my 2" focuser and need your advise. My focuser appears to be your standard Synta 2" rack and pinion deal that you see on most Orions and Meades. My telescope is a Konus 1793. My problem is this; there is too much vertical play in the focuser tube. You can wiggle the tube up and down by as much as 1 to 1.5 millimeters. I can not even laser collimate my scope because the beam will jump up and down as I rack the focuser.

is there any way to tighten the slack in this thing?? It is driving me crazy.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Hello everyone. I have a question about star testing. I know from reading that one way to tell if your optics are perfectly collimated, and in good condition, is if you get perfect concentric rings when performing a star test. The last several nights I have had my Konus 1793 200mm reflector out, my star tests have been a bit dissapointing. No matter how I focus, the perfect concentric rings I'm supposed to see just don't appear. What I do get are points of light that appear to have frayed out edges, resembling something like a snow-flake of sorts.

I have collimated my scope with a laser collimater, and according to several different websites and instructional texts, appears to be properly collimated. The nights that I went observing also "appeared" to be clear and of good seeing. Since I am new to the hobby though, I am not sure if there could have been atmospheric turbulence.

My views of the moon on the other hand is very sharp and detailed, and Jupiter and it's moon looks pretty good. I have been able to see 4 or 5 moons, and Jupiter itself shows two or three bands. The color is a bit dull though.

Could anyone give me some advise on this matter?

Thanks in advance for all of your help. I have found these forums and its patrons to be invaluable.

Regards and clear skies,

James

Hello everyone. I just noticed today that I have a very small 1.5" hairline scratch on the outer edge of my primary mirror. Is that going to degrade performance? I don't think so, as the scratch itself is thin, and not very long but I figure I'd ask the pro's first.

Thanks and clear skies,

James

Hello everyone. I just wanted to know what your opinions were on the Celestron GPS SCT's, as compared to the Meade offerings. Do you prefer one brand over the other? How does the company's customer service rate, and what about overall product quality. My friend and I have been recently drooling over Celestron's 11" SCT GPS scope, and at almost $3,000 not including shipping would like to know what is better. Thanks!

I don't know if I am posting this in the proper forum, and if not please let me know for future reference. I wanted to know if there was perhaps someone in the middle to north New Jersey area (Middlesex County) who might want to lend a hand to a newbie. I have had my Konus 1793 8" scope now for about a month and a half, and just wanted to make sure I am collimating and star-aligning properly. I have a BBQ grill and a backyard and would be more than happy to supply the beer and burgers. Once again, sorry ahead of time if I put this in the wrong area.

Thanks,

James

OK, I'm really starting to dig this astronomy stuff. I've been reading alot about refractors as of late, and wanted to know what the differences are between achromatic and apochromatic refractors. Which is better, and why? I've been trying to figure out why so many people swear by small aperture Tak scopes, and are willing to spend thousands on them. Can anyone fill me in?

Best regards and clear skies!

James