Posts Made By: dave ruel

I am buying a TV 85 and planned to get a Gibraltor mount as I want an Alt-Az. I have tons of trees at myhome so I will be "going mobile" or looking "up" at steep angles to view through the "holes" in my tree cover. I have seen mention that some mounts have limitations with viewing at zenith or steep angles. Does the Gibraltor have this problem ? I need something portable, stable (for high magnification viewing), and something that can handle high angle/zenith viewing well. I have seen references to Bogen, Polaris, Universal Astronomics, Helix...Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,

A "newbie" here about to buy my first scope. I have settled on a TV 76 and can buy the OTA for $ 1,275 or get the "package" for $ 1,675. For the additional $ 400 for the package I would get:

"tube ring/photo tripod adapter; 2" rack and pinion focuser with brass clamp ring accessory holder; 2" Everbrite dielectric coated 99% reflectivity mirror diagonal and 1.25" accessory adapter, both with brass clamp ring accessory holders; 1.25" 20mm Plössl eyepiece (24x); self-storing metal dew cap; thread-in metal objective lens cover; soft fitted carrying case with shoulder strap."

Are these items worth the extra $ 400 ? Am I better off saving the $ 400 and using the money to purchase better or "upgraded" components ? I have read good things about the Everbrite diagonal so that seems like it's worth it but I don't know about the rest. Being a "newbie" I want to try to avoid buying these things and then re-buying the upgraded pieces later when I know more about what I am doing. Any guidance is appreciated. Thanks.

Does anyone have some thoughts they could share about if there is any "viewable" difference between the 85 and 76 ? Even as a "newbie" I am learning that "aperture rules" but would the 9 mm or anything else make a diff between the 76 and 85 ? As much as anything I am trying to avoid a "newbie" mistake that will haunt me down the road when I actually can tell the difference. I pull the trigger tomorrow so am running through the last couple of thoughts - I hope ! Please make it stop...lol....

The guidance I have received has been wonderful and much, much, appreciated. Thanks.

I have no eyepieces for the new TV-85 except the one that comes with the purchase "package" - 1.25" 20mm Plossl eyepiece (30x).

Are there some classics or standards I should be starting out with ?I have read some stuff about the Televue 35mm Panoptic, etc...

Any help is appreciated. (man, these things ain't cheap)

Thanks.

Hi,

Just bought a new TV 85 and am getting first eyepieces so I call Televue Tech support for guidance...I need a high power lens for planetary and lunar viewing and I tell the tech that I read good things about Televue 3-6mm Zoom and was thinking about that...he asks me what kind of mount I have and I tell him Alt-az....he says that Zoom has too narrow a field and I will be better off with a Nag 3.5 because I will be able to view object longer with that eyepiece. Well, it makes sense to me and I appreciated the advice though I have heard such great things about the 3-6mm Zoom....I really only want to buy one of these ONCE....lol....any thought ? Thanks.

Hi,

Just looking through my new copy of the updated "Backyard Astronomer's Guide"...they mention the importance of getting a filter for your scope, especially for deep sky viewing, and say that a good filter is well worth the investment. If choosing one filter only, which is where I would start, they recommend a UHC-class narrowband filter....anyone have any experience with such a filter and know of one brand they could recommend...As always, thanks for any guidance...Dave.

I am a Newbie here and I hope someone can offer an opinion...I am looking at a Williams Optics Megrez 90 APO Fluorite and wondered if anyone has any experience or info about this scope ? Are they good visually and/or considered a quality name refractor ? Any perspectives are welcome. I know WO has a good rep for mechanical quality but several reviews I have read almost seem like they have acerage optics ?

Looking at purchasing one of these and wondered about the optical quality. I know that they (Williams Optics) have a good rep for mechanical quality but is the optical quality only average ? Thanks for any info.