Posts Made By: Rob Elgert

Does anyone know if Meade is still making dobs anymore? They only have the 12.5 and 16" dobs on their site now. I am assuming that the market for smaller dobs has been swallowed up by Orion.

I would like to have a larger aperture (12.5 - 16 dob)but can't afford an obsession or even discovery so I am thinking maybe Meade. Is this a bad idea? Is there another consideration I have overlooked? I would really like some input on this.

Thanks in Advance - Rob E.

I really need some help here A-mart'ers. I just purchased a Skywatcher 150mm refractor to placate me until AP130 arrives. I purchase this from a so-called reputable Canadian dealer who supposedly tests all his scopes prior to shipment. I have tried numerous times in the last 2 weeks to perform and interpret a star test. While I get nice round evenly spaced rings inside of focus, outside of focus all I get is a big fuzz ball. I have tried this numerous times and get the same results. I am using a nagler 3-6 zoom at 240X to 300X and no diagonal. I am defocusing to 6 rings. Should I interpret this as really bad undercorrection or is there another explanation? I am getting really pissed off and starting to think I got hosed. The dealer insists he tests all his scopes and that is the seeing. I fail to see how I can get such tight crisp rings on one side of focus and a light explosion on the other.

HELP!!! - Thanks - Rob E.

Hello A-marters:

I am looking for a decent quality 12.5" - 14" mirror in the F6 range. Does any manufacturer sell this optic off-the-shelf? I would rather not wait 1 year to get such a beastie if possible. Also, I would like to have a mirror with the enhanced coatings if possible.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks - Rob E.

Mike:

Just for the record, buying a new SCT does NOT gaurantee you will recieve it in alignment. Shipping these scopes will often throw them out of collimation. Its the nature of the beast and the reason why the manufacturers make them so easy to collimate. Check out Rods site - it makes it easy.
Also, if you go to your local library and check out "The Backyard Astronomers Guide" by Dickinson and Dyer, there is a section devoted to collimation.

Hope this helps - Rob

PS - Don't panic and enjoy the great scope you just bought.

Good day group:

Does anyone know if Discovery Telescope is having some problems? They always answered my e-mails quickly prior to my sending payment for a mirror set. That was 2 weeks ago. I have sent 3 e-mails this week for an update and have yet to hear back from them. I'm starting to get a little nervous.
Have any of you folks dealt with them this week or in the last few days? I don't mean to imply anything or cause alarm to anyone but this behavior is very inconsistent for Discovery and its got me wondering.....

Thanks in Advance - Rob

Hello fellow ATM types:

I am currently building a 12.5 F6 scope from the ground up. In my design, I will be utilizing a curved vane secondary using a 2.14" diagonal. I am wondering what is the best way to attach it. My thought is to glue it to a piece of dowelling cut at 45 degrees as in Gary Seroniks article. I have read that this will be work but that seems like an awful lot of glass (220 grams) to be hanging off three blobs of silicone.
Can anyone shed some light on how safe this is. I have seen metal panels glued to walls using this same adhesive that 20yrs later pull of large chunks of drywall when trying to remove. I am determined to use this design but I don't want to overlook anything and risk dropping the secondary on the primary (cause then I'd have to kill myself)

Thanks in Advance - Rob Elgert

Oh my goodness! I finished my 12.5" F6 dob and it is absolutely wonderful except for one small problem. Motions on both Axis are virtually identical however I have noticed that when moving the scope in Az. the initial movement is a little jerky to get it going. Once moving, its as smooth as silk though and has the same "feel" as the Alt axis.

Let me emphasize that this "jerky" start is ever so slight. I had the scope up to 275X and could still track comfortably however as every ATM knows, close is never good enough in a scope. I am just wondering if there is anything I can do to minimize the jerky start in Az.

I have cleaned the teflon with mild solvent and then waxed and armoraled the ebony star already. This made the movements smooth but still jerky in Az.

I'd really appreciate some comments on now to minimize this. I don't want to make the teflon pads smaller as the motions are already great. Its just that initial start.

Thanks in Advance - Rob

Good day:

I have recently finished a homemade 12.5" F6 dob and recieved the optics. After star testing for several nights, I have observed a consistent pattern on the star test. Outside of focus (6 rings)I have lovely concentric circles with a fat outer ring and evenly spaced/illuminated rings to the central obstruction. This appears to be quite favorable to the pictures and reading I have done on star testing. Inside of focus (also 6 rings) I get a somewhat "fuzzy" version of the same thing. It appears very similar however its not as clear and appear to be shimmering somewhat.
Before I go further, I collimated the scope at 300x (thats about the highest the atmosphere will allow here). The scope was 3 hours cooled, and I was using a 6mm (Nag zoom) focal length eyepiece. Also, used a 2nd mag star.
Can someone please interpret what I am seeing. The in focus views are nice however I may be overwhelmed due to the "new scope factor" and am wondering if the mirror is suffering from a TDE (my first interpretation of the star test) or some other aberration.
I'd really appreciate some input.

Thanks in Advance - Rob

Good Morning:

I have recently completed a 12.5" F6 TT dob that has been keeping me busy. I would like to purchase a set of digital setting circles for it but know very little about them.

I am hoping that some of you who have DSC's on your dobs could make some suggestions as to which type work best in that application. I don't necessarily want a DSC with a huge database but rather want a set that is accurate, and easy to use. I would be very happy with just the RA/DEC readout. I can do the cross referencing myself.

I really like some help here from anyone who has some first hand experience with DSC's on a truss tube dob.

Thanks in Advance - Rob

OK Planetary Peoples:

I currently own a 4" apo that I am very pleased with. My question is simple. For the upcoming Mars apparition, I am wondering if it would be worthwhile to purchase a good quality 5" achro.
I have read in numerous places that 5" seems to be the magic aperature for planetary viewing. This aperature seems to make the best use of atmospheric seeing on most nights.
With this in mind, would it be worth it to consider a 5"achro. I could never afford a 5" apo. The 4" apo was a stretch and I got a steal on it. Its more of a travel/quick look scope and it works well for that.
Or, and its a big or, should I just stick with the 4" apo. I also have an optically excellent 12.5" F6 dob that gives mind blowing veiws so please don't suggest other scopes. The question is whether a 5" achro would give me a big advantage over the 4" apo.

Thanks in advance for the excellent input I know this question will recieve.

Clear Skies - Rob E.