Posts Made By: Rod Mollise

September 19, 2012 09:19 PM Forum: ASTRONOMY

Eyes Going Bad -- Need Advice

Posted By Rod Mollise

"M-a-l-l-i-n-c-a-m"... that's what I did. wink

September 19, 2012 09:23 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Meade LX-80 How much is too much?

Posted By Rod Mollise

I am sorry, but based on what I have been told by owners, most are having similar issues or worse. It is not ready for prime time. Return it immediately. A CG5 is in the same price range and is a proven performer. Sorry. I wanted this to be a breakthrough too. sad

September 25, 2012 12:13 PM Forum: Comets

Possible major comet next year

Posted By Rod Mollise

Jim McSheehy said:

New comet with parabolic orbitals:

C2012 S1 ISON

Projected to graze the sun (0.012AU) and reach mag -4 in Oct-Nov 2013, 0.4 AU from Earth.

About damn time! 8)

Hope so. BUT...this is what was being said about Kahoutek a few years ago... Comets are like cats. wink

October 26, 2012 10:15 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Views on the Vixen VMC110L modified Cassegrain

Posted By Rod Mollise

John Herda said:

Hello fellow sky-watchers;

I've recently purchased the Vixen VMC 110L ( Chinese?, not Japanese manufacture) and have had some issues with the unit as I put it together and checked the sloppy eccentric focal adjuster, and sloppy eyepiece fit which may indicate the overall performance of this unit which has received some glowing remarks about its performance despite its low end cost and smaller aperture.

Equally bad experience with a large distribution wholesaler on Ebay who missdescribed the package which was to have included a Vixen Porta 2 mount; so,(tongue in cheek) I'm left holding the scope freehand and checking its optical capabilities. Some reimbursement of funds , but far short of the cost of finding a replacement tripod with the Vixen shoe adaption .

I purchased the scope for it's reasonable viewing capabilities( after reading various reviews) and portability as I plan to use it in the field and on my travels. I'm hopeful one of you fellow sky watchers may have had some positive experiences viewing with this scope, and may alleviate or validate my concerns.

Suffice it to say, what tripod should I get that will be portable? Should I consider a goto setup? Should I restart and try another more expensive, portable unit which may provide a prolonged and positive celestial viewing life ?

Clear skies!

Alas, my experience has been that Vixen is not what it used to be. If I were looking for a portable MCT I'd get a Celestron C90. Cheap and good. Did I mention cheap? grin

November 12, 2012 05:48 PM Forum: Star Parties

Mid-Atlantic Star Party cancelled! :-(

Posted By Rod Mollise

Scott Satko said:

I just found out yesterday that the Mid-Atlantic Star Party (MASP), which was supposed to be held next week in Robbins, NC, has been cancelled. I'm not sure if it was just cancelled for this year, or permanently cancelled, but the organizer's explanation posted on the MASP website doesn't seem to bode well for the future. I'm pretty disappointed, as this star party has always been the highlight of my observing year for the past decade. sad
http://masp.us/

Sorry to hear that. It was going strong for quite a while, I understand, and I'd always hoped to make it up there. The bright spot? A star party will not die if enough folks want it to continue. If you all established an audience, someone will take the reins eventually.

February 2, 2013 12:48 AM Forum: Telescope Making

counterweights LX20012" on CGEM

Posted By Rod Mollise

eric hamel said:

Does anyone have a Celestron CGEM mount with a Meade LX200 12" OTA?
Is 2x17lb (34lb total) of counterweight enough to balance the apprx. 38lb OTA?

An observatory 12 years in the making is about to go online, finally.
thanks for any help

eric

Probably won't make it. I think you'll need to throw a counterweight extension into the mix. 3 11-pounders are enough for a C11, but the Meade is significantly heavier.

February 3, 2013 09:35 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

Software help

Posted By Rod Mollise

Bruce Hayes said:

All i read is use Photoshop. I hate spending so much on a program that I will use so little of. Does Elements or Elements Premium have what I will need for astrophotography. If not what are the options? The current Photoshop is PCS6. I would rather spend $700 on telescope stuff. And buy the way the blog on PSC6 states the need to use the cloud for high end editing. Why would I want to call in the clouds for astrophotograpy?

Adobe is allowing anybody to download Photoshop CS2 for free, and has released the key code for it...google CS2 download...

February 15, 2013 11:11 PM Forum: Reflectors

Any experience with Parks telescopes?

Posted By Rod Mollise

Well...they never sold many scopes and they are out of business now. Bottom line? Optics ranged from fair to good, OTAs and mounts were yesterday's technology, prices too high. wink

March 17, 2013 10:23 PM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

Why I don't Post On CN...

Posted By Rod Mollise

For some on CN, collimation, not viewing, is the reason for having a telescope. I have tried to talk sense to them, but without too much success. LOL...

March 24, 2013 02:06 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

I just turned this down… WAS I RIGHT?

Posted By Rod Mollise

Wm Reed Lovick said:

A 12 year old 8" Celestron on an older manual but heavy duty tripod mount that was missing a knob or two and had three counterweights. The accessories included one Tele-Vue 11mm EP and
a small set of standard EP's, 2x magnifier, two sets of colored lenses, a 45 degree diagonal, 6x50 finder scope, etc. There was also a padded cloth case for the tube. Price was 350.00 firm.

What say ye?

It was actually advertised as 9.25" but the person measured the tube with the cover on it. The glass actually measured 8".

For 350, yes, you made a mistake if it was in good shape (and that's without knowing what sort of mount it was on). I'd essay a do-over, muchacho. ;-)