Posts Made By: Chris Wong

By definition, a GPS receiver provides you with #2-5 (GPS is fundamentally based on calculations involving time signals, so time readout isn't never optional on any receiver...you always get it). Also, pretty much every GPS receiver will have trip odometer and velocity readouts.

As for mapping, ones that include that function typically only come with basemaps for the US. Other basemaps are optional (re: you gotta pay for 'em), and depending on what area is being mapped, may not be as detailed as maps for the US. For example, maps of Canada may be equally detailed, but don't expect maps of Guatemala or Zimbabwe (just random examples) to provide the same kind of information.

I'm a relative newbie, having been in this hobby for just over a year. Up until three days ago, I had never looked through a premium eyepiece. I had been using Plossls almost exclusively, as well as the Astrobuffet/BW-Optik 1rpd EP (borderline acceptable in my 8" f/6 dob).

Three days ago, I received what could reasonably be considered a premium eyepiece, a 10mm Speers-Waler WA (82 degree). Lemme tell you, the wide field of view is glorious. The night I got my eyepiece, I went out to use it (miraculously, the skies were clear) and was very pleasantly surprised by how much difference that extra field makes. The 10mm SWA is a little bit picky when it comes to eye placement, but I got the hang of it fairly quickly.

But my real epiphany occured two nights ago when I spent an evening observing with a fellow member of the local astronomy club (RASC Toronto Centre). He let me use some of his Radians, and I was floored by how easy they were to look through. The sliding eyecup really makes it incredibly easy to find the right eye placement. I'm a bit of a stickler for ease of use (being able to go right up to the eyepiece and look without trying to fight blackouts or kidney beans is a big priority for me), and for me the Radians I used that night were pretty much perfect. I'm willing to bet that I'd have a similar experience with the Nagler Type 4s and the Pentax XL and XW series, all of which have a similar adjustable eyecup feature.

So now I know why people blow hundreds on a single eyepiece. Having those sharp-to-the-edge views really makes observing that much more fun. Now that I'm thoroughly hooked, I have a feeling my credit card is going to take a beating!

Chris

First thing would be to get FULL contact information, including phone number (be wary of PO boxes or other "untraceable" mailing addresses). Give the phone number a call to make sure it's in service and leads to the right person. Also check an online phone directory to see if the listed contact information (if the phone number is a residential line and is listed) to see if it matches the information you were given by the seller (don't worry if it's not listed, since it could be an unlisted residential line, a commercial line, or a cell phone). If possible, pay by credit card through PayPal (or a similar service) since that provides a measure of protection against fraud.

Ask to see pictures of the items in question, so that you know they are on hand and that the seller isn't trying to sell something he doesn't have. Also check the seller's feedback rating to see what other people have to say, and if you're dropping a lot of money and want extra reassurance, email some people that have done business with the seller and ask them about how their transactions went.

As long as you take the necessary precautions mentioned above, the vast majority of your transactions will be hassle-free. I have done dozens of deals with people across Canada and the US (mostly with computer-related stuff...I'm just getting into astronomy within the past two weeks) and have never had any problems.

Contact Orion's customer support and ask for a replacement. I find that when dealing with large companies about items that are small and low cost, they often supply replacements for free in the name of customer service.

Too bad they don't make one in the 30-32mm range. I'd certainly buy one of them for low power wide field views on the cheap (well, as wide as you can get on an 8" f/6 Dob anyway).

Together, a 3x and 2x Barlow would be the equivalent of a 6x Barlow, not a 5x Barlow. It can be done, assuming your focuser has enough travel to bring your eyepieces to focus.

Yet another reason why hockey is the best sport. ;-) Of course this is only my opinion, but I don't see anyone damping out vibrations with a soccer ball. :-D

The general consensus is that a narrowband filter improves the view of the most objects, though an OIII filter is also useful. Here's a page that compares narrowband, OIII, broadband, and H-beta filters, with detailed notes how each filter affected each object:

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/raycash/filters.htm

The EQ6 mount doesn't come with an autoguider port. There are conversion kits to add goto and autoguiding to an EQ6 (see this one here: http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/awr.tech/ih/ih_eq6.htm ), but they're pretty expensive...that one I linked to costs almost as much as the entire EQ6 mount itself!

#14 welder's glass is the one you need (that's number fourteen...I have to spell it out just to make sure that nobody reads the number wrong and buys something that is unsafe for solar observation). However, there are a few problems with using welder's glass as a solar filter:

1) All solar filters MUST be placed in front of the aperture, not behind the eyepiece. Welder's filters come in a few standard sizes, the most common being 4.25" x 2" and 4.25" x 3.25". You will need a sheet at least 9" square to properly cover the entire aperture of your scope. Because welders don't use helmets with 9" viewing portals, finding such a large sheet of welder's glass is going to be quite difficult.

2) You need a good way of mounting the glass securely over the aperture of your scope. It's not going to be easy without a fair bit of work.

3) Welder's glass imparts a green tint to the image. Needless to say, that tint will be rather unnatural.

4) The optical quality of welder's glass tends to be fairly low, simply because welding doesn't demand high levels of correction and resolution. Chances are the image will be somewhat distorted because of this.