Posts Made By: David Tasch
August 21, 2002 12:10 AM
Forum:
Equipment Talk
August 21, 2002 12:15 AM
Forum:
Equipment Talk
Orion customer support a disappointmentPosted By David Tasch |
Today I called Orion with a request to purchase a replacement endcap/dust cover for my XT10 reflector. Much to my surprise I was told that since I had bought the scope second hand that I was out of luck and could not purchase this item. I went on to explain that I wanted to pay them good American greenbacks for the part - not that I wanted a free replacement. I still recieved the "I'm sorry but....". This was a total disapointment given the often rave reviews I hear about Orion's customer support. Does anyone have ideas with how to get through to the folks at Orion?
Thanks for any help'
David
Thanks for any help'
David
August 21, 2002 01:58 AM
Forum:
Equipment Talk
XT10 endcap/dustcover continuedPosted By David Tasch |
Thanks everyone for the showercap ideas! I was hoping to get another endcap such that I could make a really nice off-axis apeture stop. I experimented using poster board and noticed some remarkable viewing characteristics. The moon and Saturn were dramatically sharper and had much greater contrast - beyond what I think could be gained by the apeture reduction with less than ideal seeeing. I know there are different opinions regarding this concept of stopping down and clearly a larger apeture wins if the optics are immpecable but this is not a premium mirror! By stopping down the apeture, however, I have 4-5" of UNOBSTRUCTED optics that are probably on par with a premium mirror. I'm assuming that sampling a small portion of an average or better than average mirror will show that the given area has less aberations etc. Another added benefit was that I noted that my 40mm Optilux 2" eyepiece (not great on fast scopes) performed REMARKABLY better with the apeture stopped down.
I'm surprised we don't see off-axis stops on more dobs. Medium and big dob owners could essentially have big APO's for practically pennies. I guess I'll make a nice apeture mask out of some thin plywood and finish it nicely with paint and hardware.
Does anyone else have experience with "slowing down" the optics on the dob with an off-axis mask? Comments/Suggestions welcome.
thanks,
david
I'm surprised we don't see off-axis stops on more dobs. Medium and big dob owners could essentially have big APO's for practically pennies. I guess I'll make a nice apeture mask out of some thin plywood and finish it nicely with paint and hardware.
Does anyone else have experience with "slowing down" the optics on the dob with an off-axis mask? Comments/Suggestions welcome.
thanks,
david
September 1, 2002 01:35 PM
Forum:
Equipment Talk
Posted By David Tasch |
Does anybody have experience using a binoviewer using the Nagler 13T6 and 9T6 eyepieces? I was wondering if the maintain there edge performance in a binoviewer? I am currently trying out a DeepSky Bino. I don't have the 1.2x corrector yet so I am using a Powermate 2.5x to get to focus. I am experiencing some loss in edge performance with this setup. Is this normal in a Bino?
Thanks,
David
Thanks,
David
September 1, 2002 02:23 PM
Forum:
Equipment Talk
Binoviewer edge performance?Posted By David Tasch |
Does anybody have experience using a binoviewer using the Nagler 13T6 and 9T6 eyepieces? I was wondering if they maintain there edge performance in a binoviewer? I am currently trying out a DeepSky Bino. I don't have the 1.2x corrector yet so I am using a Powermate 2.5x to get to focus. I am experiencing some loss in edge performance with this setup. Is this normal in a Bino? The reviews on Bino's that I've read only discuss image brightness, vignetting/no vignetting, and planetary performance-no mention of edge performance.
Thanks,
David
Thanks,
David
November 8, 2002 09:24 PM
Forum:
Deep Sky Observing
GRS sightingPosted By David Tasch |
This morning I finally saw the GRS on Jupiter. I could tell that the periphery of the spot was darker than the center and that the equatorial band that it lays in had a greater width on one side - it appeared that the band is almost "bunched up behind the spot". During moments of really good seeing I could tell that there was multiple banding at the poles and "stuff going on" inside the large bands. I could never really put together the fine details because the seeing would change rapidly and my mirror was still cooling down. I think the sun was up by the time my mirror was completely cooled. On one last note to see the really fine details I observed with one eye. My bino seemed to degrade the image just slightly but for the low contrast details on Jupiter it was a significant difference. Has anyone else had this experience? Also, what filter(s) are going to be best for Jupiter?
Clear skies and sleeping babies,
David
Clear skies and sleeping babies,
David
November 8, 2002 09:26 PM
Forum:
Binoviewers
Low contrast details and a BinoPosted By David Tasch |
This morning I finally saw the GRS on Jupiter. I could tell that the periphery of the spot was darker than the center and that the equatorial band that it lays in had a greater width on one side - it appeared that the band is almost "bunched up behind the spot". During moments of really good seeing I could tell that there was multiple banding at the poles and "stuff going on" inside the large bands. I could never really put together the fine details because the seeing would change rapidly and my mirror was still cooling down. I think the sun was up by the time my mirror was completely cooled. On one last note to see the really fine details I observed with one eye. My bino seemed to degrade the image just slightly but for the low contrast details on Jupiter it was a significant difference. Has anyone else had this experience? Also, what filter(s) are going to be best for Jupiter?
Clear skies and sleeping babies,
David
Clear skies and sleeping babies,
David
April 16, 2003 01:11 AM
Forum:
Equipment Talk
Parcorr/need more in-focusPosted By David Tasch |
I have a 15" F4.5 truss dob that will not allow any of my eyepieces to come to focus. I think I need to shorten my truss poles to get eyepieces to focus. Without the Parcorr, the 31 Nagler uses ALL of my in-focus...moreso than any other eyepiece I own. Any ideas on the amount I need to shorten them?
Thanks in advance,
David
Thanks in advance,
David
August 29, 2003 12:01 AM
Forum:
Equipment Talk
14mm UWA and 2" barlowsPosted By David Tasch |
I want to get a 2" Barlow to use with my Meade 14mm UWA, Nagler 11 T 1. Can I use a traditional barlow (TV Big barlow)or do I need to get the 2" Powermate? I know the 31 nagler will vignette with the Big Barlow but how about the 14mm and 11mm ultrawide/Nagler? Also will the eye relief be "thrown out" beyond the comfort zone with a traditional barlow? Assuming the Big Barlow won't vignette/encourage blackouts will I be giving up anything with regards to image quality versus the Powermate. Looking for someone who has had experience with 2" barlows/image amplifiers.
Thanks in advance,
David
Thanks in advance,
David
October 3, 2003 02:48 AM
Forum:
Equipment Talk
What did I see transit the moon?Posted By David Tasch |
Tonight around 9:05 CST I was observing the moon at about 150X when I saw a dark (jet black)object/shadow? move across the illuminated side of the moon until it completely disappeared into the terminator. It was either round or slightly oblong and approximately the same apparent diameter as Mars it 150X. It crossed the moon's illuminated side in approximately 3 seconds. I am in Austin, Tx.
Thanks,
David
Thanks,
David
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