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Posts Made By: Tom Dove

January 19, 2004 10:01 PM Forum: Ham and Shortwave Radio

Re: Cute call

Posted By Tom Dove
Hi all,

My son got:

N3IMU

He's the ham with the identity crisis.

-- 73 de Tom / K3ORC

March 2, 2004 10:15 PM Forum: Ham and Shortwave Radio

Re: ARRL restructuring proposal

Posted By Tom Dove
The restructuring proposal looks good to me (I'm Advanced class, first licensed as a Technician in 1960). I've long thought that there are too many levels of licenses and that the bands are too cut up. I certainly see no reason to hold CW proficiency as an axe over people's heads to make them feel inferior.

Hams are a conservative, stodgy bunch. They don't like change. It takes a progressive force to get new ideas through, and the ARRL often provides that, as in this restructuring.

-- Tom / k3orc

March 10, 2004 10:42 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Re: mirror making

Posted By Tom Dove
Andrew,

You just missed the excellent Mid-Atlantic Mirror Making Seminar in Delaware last weekend. I went and made a nice 6" f/8 mirror -- my first. They had some high-powered consultants there, including Steve Swayze. They'll probably do it again next March, so check the Delmarva Stargazers' page occasionally:
http://www.delmarvastargazers.org/

-- Tom Dove

March 26, 2004 12:43 AM Forum: Ham and Shortwave Radio

Re: ARRL restructuring proposal

Posted By Tom Dove
Perfect timing. See the ARRL Web site for an update, including several additional proposals by other groups. It was in today's ARRL newsletter, and is too long to post here.

-- Tom / K3ORC

August 5, 2004 06:34 PM Forum: Binoviewers

Binomate?

Posted By Tom Dove
There are ads in the Classified section for Binomate binoviewers, and the price is certainly right. I don't see any discussion threads about these units here in the past month and wonder if anybody can tell me more about them. Presuming they're not Denk, AP or Zeiss quality, just how good/bad are they?

I have a homebuilt 6" Dob, an Orion StarBlast and an Orion 127 Mak (which I rarely use now). How about the Binomate with these scopes? Anybody know about the 100mm f/6 refractor the same company is selling as a package with the Binomate? How many questions will fit into one post? wink

-- Tom

August 25, 2004 01:48 AM Forum: Binoviewers

5mm-6mm EPs for binoviewer?

Posted By Tom Dove
I've been enjoying my new Binomate and 100mm f/6 achromat for a couple of nights (complete review coming when I have a bit more time with it). I have a pair of 25mm Sirius Plossls and 10mm Antares Elites and they work quite well on the Binomate, giving 24x and 60x. Images merge easily and they're sharp. I wear glasses with the 25mm but not usually with the 10mm. I'm getting addicted to the two-eyed views.

A 2x Shorty Plus Barlow will not come to focus with either my 25mm or 10mm, so for higher power, I'd like to get a pair of mid-priced eyepieces about 5mm (120x) or 6mm (100x). I'm picky about sharpness.

Web articles indicate that a 6mm orthoscopic has somewhat more eye relief than a 5mm Elite or Plossl. Can anybody tell me about these eyepieces in a binoviewer? Is the eye relief a problem? How about merging the images with such short focal lengths?

-- Tom Dove

August 27, 2004 02:27 AM Forum: Binoviewers

Binomate / achromat review

Posted By Tom Dove
My review of the Binomate + 100mm f/6 achromat combo has just been published in the Articles/Accessories section:

http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=130

Enjoy.

-- Tom

September 17, 2004 10:34 PM Forum: Film Astrophotography - Imaging and Processing

Coolscan III Mac driver?

Posted By Tom Dove
I've been given (!) a nice Nikon Coolscan III 35mm film scanner with the Adaptec cable for USB and hope somebody here has used this hardware for image processing and can help me.

I downloaded the Mac driver software from the Adaptec site, but my trusty Flower Power iMac won't recognize the adapter even when rebooted into OS 9.2. I realize this scanner will not work under OSX or Classic, but is there an Extension or Control Panel I need to make it work under 9.2?

-- Tom Dove

October 20, 2004 07:38 PM Forum: Mounts

Hercules Alt-Az mount

Posted By Tom Dove
Can anybody here advise me about the Hercules Alt-Az mount from Helix? This is it:
http://www.helix-mfg.com/hercules.htm

I now use an Orion Skyview Deluxe equatorial mount (like an EQ-3) for my 127mm Mak and 100mm f/6 achromat, and it's adequate, but a lighter Alt-Az would be nice to have if it had similar stability. If the Hercules mount is good, could it or something like the Unistar be attached to the aluminum tripod that now carries the Skyview Deluxe equatorial mount? If not, what Bogen tripod would be appropriate? If I need to buy a tripod, I'd like it to be usable for terrestrial photography, as well.

-- Tom

January 21, 2005 09:32 PM Forum: Wildlife Photography

Phragmites

Posted By Tom Dove
It's an alien, invasive species here on the Chesapeake, but it does take backlight nicely.

-- Tom Dove

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