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Posts Made By: Roger Hinson

October 16, 2006 04:40 PM Forum: Eyepieces

W.O. 4mm Uwan

Posted By Roger Hinson

Anybody tried out one of these yet? I'm looking for a new eye piece and right now the the leading contenders are the Radian 3mm, Radian 5mm and the W.O. 4mm. My scopes are a 66.. W.O. pez, a 10 inch F4.6 dob and an 8 inch Celestron SCT, with the 66mm W.O. being the most used scope at the moment. I found plenty of reviwes on the Radians, but came up short on the W.O. 4mm.
Opinions anyone?

Thanks
Roger

December 26, 2006 06:33 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Lost Web site Help

Posted By Roger Hinson

Hi all. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas and that Santa brought you some nice new toys.
I lost a web site and cannot remember the name of it. I'm hoping that someone here will know of it. I think they were an AM sponser at one time. The site is basicly a parts depot. When you went to the home page and scrolled to the bottom of it it had a link that said "Click here to view my entire catalog" or words to that effect, and would take you to another page that was just text, no pictures, and was listed by items, and under each item would be a listing of parts. The place is like a ATM junk yard, working and non working control boards, fork arms, knobs, bases,etc...
Thanks
Roger


January 31, 2007 01:55 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Interesting

Posted By Roger Hinson

http://www.eyefloaters.com/


Roger

August 8, 2007 05:18 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

OIII Filter Problem

Posted By Roger Hinson

Hi All
Not sure if this is the forum to post this queston in, but here goes
I have a Lumicon OIII filter that appears that the coating is breaking down. I tried to take a pic of it, but it's just not working. If you hold it at an angle in the light, it looks like the coating is crazing about 1/3 around the outer edge. It doesn't seem to be noticeable in use, but I can't under stand what can be causing this. The filter has always been stored in its case, which is stored in an Orion eye piece case with dessacant packs in the case to keep things dry while in storage. I bought this filter from Pocono Optics about 10 or so years ago (just before they went out of buisness) The other filters in the box are fine, including an Orion LPR bought about the same time. I have only cleaned the filter a few times using a Lens Pen ( finger prints from fumbling around in the dark) and have not ever used any chemical cleaners on it. When I say crazing, what I mean is the coating looks like it has fine cracking that looks brighter in the light than the rest of the filter.
Has anyone else had similar problems with Lumicon or other brands of OIII filters? Altho this one still does a great job in enhancing nebulas, I think I'm going to pick up a new one, but I don't want it to start breaking down like this one. Do these filters have a limited life? By the way, I really never noticed the coating breaking down untill this year, but then again, I've really never taken it out in the day light and looked at it untill just recently when I decided to clean out the ole box
Thanks for any advice or recomendations
Roger

September 22, 2007 05:11 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Replacement Knobs?

Posted By Roger Hinson

Any one know of a site that would have knobs that would fit a Meade 125 mak focuser? Or how about the flip mirror knobs.
Thanks
Roger

January 12, 2008 08:07 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Carry strap with handle

Posted By Roger Hinson

I'm looking for some kind of strap setup with a handle attached to carry my C-6 around. I was thinking of something like two straps that wrap around the tube with a handle between then, or one wide strap with a handle attached to it. It would make it so much more secure when taking it out and setting it in the mount. I don't want to use tube rings. Tried that and didn't like it.
Any ideas?

Thanks
Roger

January 23, 2008 09:00 PM Forum: Celestron

Celestron service

Posted By Roger Hinson

Well, just got my C-5 Classic back from Celestron. Had to have the corrector replaced (shattered!). After contacting them I finally got a return authorisaton number (that took almost 2 months to get!), and sent it to them in October. Didn't hear from them untill December wanting my payment. Est. time for repair was 3 to 4 months(sometime around March) "We'll send you an Email with the tracking number when it's ready to be shipped" Just for the heck of it, I decided to check the statis of my repair ticket on the web site. There, in the upper left corner, in tiny print, was a tracking number! click on it, and it's scheduled for delivery that day! I make a note to put on the door for the UPS man to knock hard,as the door bell is broken. Open the door and see the UPS man driving away and a "Unable to deliver" notice stuck on the door. I swear, this guy just knocks and runs! Anyway, it came yesterday, and in great shape. I now have a new corrector with the XLT coatings, fresh factory collimation job and a either a new, or recoated primary and secondary. Haven't had a chance to get it out yet, but I am chomping at the bit waiting! Total for the corrector, D&C, mirrors, shipping and insh. was $225. Not bad considering the price of a new one.
Thanks Celestron!
Roger

May 18, 2002 04:36 AM Forum: Telescope Making

making an 8-inch dob

Posted By Roger Hinson

It's not hard at all to make a simple dob. Me and my daughter made one last year using a 6 inch optic set I got off astromart for under $75 bucks, a mirror cell made out of scrap wood, a concrete pouring tube bought at home depot for $4.00, a cheap focuser from orion, and a spider from university optics (forget the price, but it wasn't much) some black paint and a used finder
I already had. It looks nice, and the views are great. All together we got about $125 in it. And after gathering all the parts, it only took a day to make. The only tools I needed was a router, hand saw, sharpe knife, and a few drill bits. Optic wise, it's as good as the orion setups, pretty wise, it falls short. I think anybody that in interested in telescopes should build at least one. It teaches so much. And the satifaction you get from using it really makes worth while. As far as to how much work is involved, it all depends on what you want and how far your willing to go. My setup was easy, simple, and cheap, and I like it. My opinion is build one!
Roger

July 22, 2002 05:19 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Can I use 1.25" diagonal in 0.96" scope?

Posted By Roger Hinson

Check out the PVC plumbing supply at your local Home Depot, Lowes, ACO, etc.... I found an adapter for an old .965 Tasco that would slip over the end of the draw tube with some duct tape wraped around it to make it tight, and my 1.25 diag slipped in the other end and held in place with a set screw for wich I drilled and tapped a hole for. After I was done, I painted the thing black and it looked quite good.
Roger

August 3, 2002 07:24 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Camcorder & mount

Posted By Roger Hinson

Try Kens rings. He's listed on the Astro Mart home page.
Roger