Posts Made By: William Conner

I have recently acquired this OTA and have noted non-concentric reflections of the main mirror when a very bright star is in the CCD image.

I need a careful walk through of the procedure as I don't have any Tak procedures to work from.

Thanks!

I have noticable backlash on the DEC axis. I infer that this can be taken up as the RA axis reflects none.

Does anyone have experience in this area? I'm a bit reluctant to dissasemble the DEC axis without some advice.

Bill

These old AP's pop up every now and then at very reasonable prices. A 5 inch scope at f/4 is a very appealing wide field scope. I looked through one about a year ago and saw a bit of color on mag 1 stars. I'm wondering how much refocusing I would have to do with each RBG filter to get a decent CCD color image.

I would appreciate Roland's comment on this early design.

Does anyone know when this film will be reformulated as was done with Elite Chrome 200? The local camera store clerks couldn't come up with an answer. The 200 speed film does wonders with a reciprocity factor of .95.

Attached is a 20 minute exposure of the Rosette taken through a Vixen R200SS @ f/4, scanned and enhanced in Photoshop.

After printing my images with an ink jet printer at home for years I recently took a disk to Walmart where they are now advertising 4x6 prints for 19 cents. This is significantly less than it costs to print at home so I gave it a try. A professional photographer friend suggested that matte finish would be best for astrophotography as it reduces the very fine noise in the image.

With my roughly 1/4 million pixel Starlight Instruments MX916 camera, I didn't expect great images but was very impressed with the results. The 4 x 6 prints are beautiful. Even the 8 x 10 prints at $2.50 each are acceptable for star party contests. I have won several 1st place awards recently and feel that it is worth your time to give it a try.

If you show off your portfolio on 4 x 6 prints, they hold up well to handling and don't show fingerprints like the glossys do.

It is best to bring your images in on a CD but I have used a 3 1/2 floppy in a pinch.

The Rosette Nebula, a winner, was made with Kodak Elite Chrome 200 slide film, scanned then enhanced in photoshop before printing.

I wish to change my profile picture but have not had any success in overwriting the current image using the change screen. Que Pasa?

Mike, I used a giant easyguider on my old C11 for quite a few years. I found that I needed extension tubes for the guiding eyepiece so that I could back the eyepiece out and still be able to secure it for guiding. you can obtain 1 inch extenders that screw into the filter threads from Lumicon.

You will need a different guider EP setup for each focal length. As I recall, I could set mine up for about f/6.5, f/5.5 and f/4.

What focal length are you trying?

Camera focus is a tough nut to crack unless you have a fine, clear screen to work with. You might check the camera suppliers to see if they have a microscope phototography screen for your OM-1.

I have a NIKON "C" screen in my NIKON F camera that has a clear center area with crosshairs.

Bill

Great image! I have recently revisited my old Nikon F on a Vixen R200SS using Kodak Elite Chrome 200 film - new formulation with a reciprocity figure of .95

What a differnce a few years make! My images with a C11 @ f6.5 with 400, & 800 speed film of that era cannot match what we have today.

Bill

This is one of those situations where those of us in the know sometimes get off the track without realizing it. Do we know what they want. I've talked to too many sales types that have solutions to your problems before they know anything about you.

I generally start with the parents. Are they interested in astronomy? Will they relish setting the telescope up every time little Johnny wants to look through it or would they like to see Johnny learn how to set it up himself and have a ball with his buddys? Simplicity pays off.

Secondly,how about the child's aptitude and physical ability. I've helped one whiz of a young lady at age 12 get going with a 6 inch dob where holding binoculars steady enough to view at that age was a challenge. How many of you have had success trying to get a group equipped with binoculars locked on the same target? Ok, it is easier today with a green laser but who's going to direct it?

How about the child's eyes? I was recently working with a youngster and noted that his focus point was significantly different than my 20-20 setting. It was a suprise to the parents that he needed glasses in order to see the sky clearly enough to identify constellations for star hopping.

Where do they live? City or Country? Where do they intend to set up the scope, etc? Be realistic with the parents. Promising great views from under a city's light dome will not help your credibility.

So, you guessed it, pry as much info out of those parents as you can and keep it simple. You know the ropes: Budget, How much can he lift, Intended use, Enough flexibility for growth and last but not least, Who is going to be the MENTOR! These kind of things don't go far without someone stepping up and helping the parents/child along. Are you the one.

Respectfully,

Bill

Just be sure that you have enough in focus to accommodate the focal reducer that you plan to use. I have a Mewlon 250 with a Tak corrector at f12 that is built for film that works fine. There is also an f9 focal reducer that I use for my Starlight CCD camera that has a T thread. I tried a f3.3 but the Mewlon did not have enough in focus to make it work. Good luck!