Posts Made By: Randolph Groundwater

Hello to all:
I'm looking at mirrors in the 24" - 25" size for a project, and notice a fairly wide price range for professionally finished optics. Companies such as Woden and Pegasus seem to sell them for thousands less than Galaxy or OMI Torus. All these companies so far as I know are reputable, though not all appear to describe the same testing methods (Zygo Interferometers are expensive!)
Certainly not wanting here to disparage any company's quality! Just looking for some reactions as well as experiences anyone might have had with large optics from any of these ...
Regards,
Randy.

I was just notified during the last week of January, Bill. I've been on the list since August of 2000.

Randy.

I've just bought a used 12.5" Portaball in overall great shape. The primary mirror, however, is needing a re-coat. I've owned a number of reflectors over the years but all have had more conventional primary cells that used mechanical means, rather than the silicone adhesive the Portaball uses, to retain the optic.

Does anyone have experience here who can offer suggestions on how to safely separate the primary and clean off the remaining adhesive? Thanks in advance ...

Randy.

I'm considering a 21mm Ethos for my 12.5" Portaball. I've used the 17mm Ethos in it and found that it will *just* make focus with only about a sixteenth of an inch of travel to spare before the focuser bottoms out.

Does the 21 Ethos require more "in"-travel than the 17?

Thanks,
Randy.

Does anyone know what's happening at Mag1 Instruments these days? There hasn't seemed to have been much activity on their website. Just seems strangely silent since the new ownership take-over a couple years back. I do see they were listed on the NEAF vendor list this year.
Just wondering, as I have one of their incredible 12.5" 'scopes I purchased second-hand last year.
Regards,
Randy.

I've had the Paragon XHD for about a year now (bought it used), and find that it's a very nice unit. Not a really heavy-duty affair, but well-made and finished, with smooth movements. A good value for the money. The Paragon has been around for a while, so it has found its niche. I use it with a 10 lb. binocular, and it is taxed with this weight, but I'm sure it would be fine and solid for a 6 lb. load.

What a rush of memory you've given me here, Linton, about this great little 'scope. It prompted me to dust off some of my old S + T issues from the time it first appeared, as I clearly remembered something unusual about how Edmund Scientific Co. first promoted it.

The September 1976 issue, p.195 looks to be its debut. It was a full page ad, stating "A star is born...name it, win it! (in time for Christmas!)". The ad went on to say, "WHATSITSNAME, the completely unique new Edmund 4 1/4" Newtonian Richest Field Reflector Telescope. Clearest, brightest, most spectacular wide angle views of moon, stars, comets, galaxies you've ever seen..."

By early 1977, it was being identified in Edmund (note to all; no "s" on Edmund!)ads as the "Astroscan 2001". I guess somewhere along the line since then, the 2001 part was dropped. But how that odd-looking little instrument has survived! Edmund Scientific really hit a home run with it.

I used one once at a Messier Marathon in the mid-80s, at a good dark sky site here in Southern Ontario. From dusk to dawn, I managed just shy of eighty M-objects. It seemed on that night that little thing could do just about anything you asked of it.

Hope you get it to that dark sky site soon, and have an experience like I did. Maybe I'll keep an eye out for one, myself. I wonder how it would attach as a finderscope on my 22" Dob?!!

Randy.

Look at the image with your head tilted slightly to the right and it becomes a cosmic Easter basket, with young stars instead of eggs nestled in the bottom - the sensation of depth is striking.

Randy.

I like your pier setup - looks very stable. Did it do former duty with a Newtonian? How did you manage the interface to attach the CPC1100?

I ordered a 4" diagonal from Protostar on July 24th, Christian (I'm in Canada); and was told then the lead time was about four weeks. I next emailed Bryan on September 21st to say I'd noticed my credit card had been charged for the full amount (US $313.33) on August 23rd, but I'd not received the order. He replied that since they're custom-made parts, they charge when they begin construction, and that they were about 75% completed on it but were waiting on some new 4.00" mirror shroud stampings to arrive from a vendor. He said he expected them within a week, then they'd be mailing it out to me. As of today, nothing yet.

I had a similar experience years ago when I ordered a 3.1" diagonal assembly from them. Patience was a virtue then, as it is now, I guess. Their parts are, however, of excellent quality, in my view ... but the long wait is inconvenient.

Randy.