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Posts Made By: Bernard Kean

August 13, 2004 10:42 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

What is the best scope for under $5?

Posted By Bernard Kean

No toilet paper tubes in his day.

September 1, 2004 04:02 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Carbon Fiber Tubes...

Posted By Bernard Kean

Hi Jay
The company I work for makes carbon fiber tubes, however they are the industrial grade stuff, and we make'm big too. I've talked to them about this hobby and the biggest problem is we have to make them in about 19' lengths, and they aren't as pretty. I'm still working on it though.
Buck

September 15, 2004 03:24 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Help with DOB azimuth bearing stiffness - FRP or E

Posted By Bernard Kean

Hi Steve
I believe FRP is what is on my Starmaster 11" and it is very smooth in the AZ motion. It has much larger bumps than Ebonystar which I would assume means less surface contact therefore smoother movement and less striction.
I had a Hardin 8" and I replaced all the bearing pads with virgin teflon and it improved movement both axis immensely so I never did put Ebonystar on it.
For what it's worth
Buck

October 12, 2004 12:29 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

October 21, 2004 06:22 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Name this lens

Posted By Bernard Kean

Hi Alan
You might try looking at the Rolliflex camera line. They used the Zeiss Planitar lens and from the numbers it might be an F4.5 180fl but I have no idea which camera or product line it might be from.
Hope this helps
Buck

October 24, 2004 09:44 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Pelican case - foam or divider?

Posted By Bernard Kean

I'd go with the foam. Even though the dividers are padded it makes me nervous feeling things rolling around, especially eyepieces. Another option if you have a Lowes near you is their TOOL CASE in the tool section. It's a metal case like the Celestron or Meade and it has pluck foam and diveders so you can fashion it as you please. It also comes with a pocketed tool holder for inside the lid if you like. Nice case for about $30 or less.
Hope this helps
Buck

November 21, 2004 02:43 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Should I consider using a laser collimator? (HELP)

Posted By Bernard Kean

Hi Jim
I just passed though that stage a few months ago. I had the Hardin DSH 8" f/6 scope which is pretty much about the same as the Orion. If you are comfortable with the cheshire and get a good star test, I would save the money. I bought several types of collimating tools because I bought a larger and faster truss dob. This included Tectron set and the Kendrick 2" Laser with the 45* face (used with truss dob) and I found that I really couldn't improve the collimation process on the 8" f/6 scope. I also found out that a laser is only as good as the collimation of the laser and it ain't easy or quick to collimate a laser. If the laser isn't dead on, it's worthless (I did by buy it used off Amart and it was off when I got it). That's my $.02 however I'm sure others will disagree.
Buck

November 25, 2004 01:29 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Ebony Star Questions

Posted By Bernard Kean

H Ed
I'm not sure if it's the best place but I bought some from Meridian Telescopes ( www.meridiantelescopes.com ). The price for a square sheet is higher than a full sheet from Home Depot but they were convenient because they took PayPal, you can order online, and they shipped quickly. They also have various sizes of virgin Teflon. I had no problems at all.
Hope this helps
Buck

December 11, 2004 02:01 PM Forum: TeleVue

Pronto...convert from set screw to comp ring?

Posted By Bernard Kean

Hi Bill
I had this same question about my TV101. I talked to Al, and it depends on the width of the ring on the end of the draw tube. If it is a narrow ring about 1/2" then it cannot be converted, however if it has the wider ring about 1" or wider (I can't remember how wide the wide ring is exactly) then they can convert it to the compression. I'm not sure if this holds true to the Pronto so a call to Televue will give you a positive answer.
Hope this helps
Buck

December 13, 2004 10:20 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Error in Losmandy G-11

Posted By Bernard Kean

Alex
You might want to ask this on the Losmandy Group on Yahoo, and maybe the Gemini Group over there as well.
Buck