Posts Made By: Brian Schaefer

I know, dont laugh. The good news is, I'm getting this scope as a toss-in bonus with my C8N EQ, along with a bunch of other toys, so its not all that bad.
I really like the concept of the 76 though and thought, wouldn't it be great to see if I can make this into a servicable scope for Lunar and Planetary viewing?
Any ideas or experience with upgrading this scope to something more tolerable and usable? It looks like I'd need to make some sort of adapter to put an EQ1 mount on this. Perhaps get a better quality mirror?

P.S. I want to express how pleased I've been with the community here. I placed a wanted ad for a scope and had a very positive experience. Ya'll are classy and well informed.

I have a C8N with a CG-5 mount. The mount is sturdy and stable, but at higher powers, say above 200x, the vibration is pretty extreme while focusing. The focuser is a Crawford and the scope is properly balanced on the mount.
I understand and accept some level of vibration, but is there a way or tip to minimize this somewhat? I know I could use an electric focuser, but I'd rather not bulk up the the focuser, and I'd like to use the fine focuser, which itself adds considerable bulk.
Would a higher quality spider vane help? If so, can you recommend one?

Thanks all. Brian

Anyone had experience with this webcam/camera for astropics?

Can any Quickcam 3000 users relate?

I recently bought the 3000 here on AM, but so far nothing but black screen in at least 3 programs, and on two separate computers. The computer sees the camera, the software functions normally, including video capture. Have tried K3CCD, Logitec's Suite, and Yahoo, on two computer, both XP with USB2.0. Could the high speed USB be an issue? Anyone have a fix for this?

Hello all,

I'm not new to astronomy, but I am new to SCT's. Just picked up a mint C8SE and am wondering when you would want to use a focal reducer versus a barlow lense?
At a basic level, I understand that for astrophotography, you'd want a faster scope, so I presume you'd want to lower the focal ratio to f/6.3. Would it be worth it to go to a f/3.3 (Meade)?
What about reducers I see that are .5 reducers. Would I want to stick with a 6.3 or would a F/5 work as well?

Thanks in advance.
Brian