Posts Made By: Milton Wilcox

April 22, 2004 01:40 AM Forum: Binoviewers

Binoviewing's Dark Secret?

Posted By Milton Wilcox

The sweet spot for my setup is between 60x and 120x. Although the OCS does a nice job eliminating coma, below 60x (I can go all the way down to 38x/1.63° with 24Pan's), edge stars begin to defocus significantly due to Newtonian field curvature. Above 120x, spherical aberration limits the sharpness. Note, at high powers I am effectively running at f/7 due to the approx. 1.8x I get with the hollow nosepiece.

Don't forget to add "expansive effect" to "comfort" and "floater reduction" for the benefits of using both eyes. I really am a dedicated two-eyed observer as Brian knows from the binocular forum. I just happen to think there is still room for significant improvement in binoviewers. Nils, I look forward to your thoughts.

Milt

April 28, 2004 03:41 AM Forum: Astro Binoculars

Re: new Fujinons in the USA!

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Tom Hole wrote:

"Just like there are things the Fuji's can't do (high power), there are things the Starmaster can't do (4 deg TFOV). Very symbiotic.

Amen, Tom. And the best binocular viewing is yet to come - the summer Milky Way. cool

Milt

April 30, 2004 04:44 PM Forum: Takahashi

Mewlon Questions

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Hello again,

Thank you all for your replies and discussion relating to my questions, and a special thanks to Mark R. for his genuine concern.

A 210 with Cassegrain focuser has gone on my personal wish list. I will continue to monitor your forum.

Clear Skies,
Milt

May 6, 2004 02:44 AM Forum: Astro Binoculars

Apparent Brightness Comparisons

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Hi Ed,

I re-read your original CN post on vignetting in binoculars and am curious about something. When you viewed into the edges of the objectives, did you have some kind of sight tube perpendicular to the binocular tube end? This seems important to verify the extent to which on-axis rays are being vignetted. It would not be as damning to have a dropoff in limiting magnitude at the outer edges of the field as long as the center is 100% illuminated. This would be caused by vignetting of rays that are both toward the outer edge of the objective and off-axis by some percentage of the 1/2 FOV. In binoculars where you are talking about several degrees, this might be difficult to judge. In a Newtonian reflector, the central part of the field is (almost) always 100% illuminated, but off axis illumination is commonly reduced by the secondary or focuser.

Thanks,
Milt

May 6, 2004 02:59 AM Forum: Binoviewers

First light with the Denk Power x Switch

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Gorgeous scope, Chris!

I heartily second your Crayford endorsement. I recently installed a JMI DX2 on my 8" f/4 Newt and the fine focus capability and lack of hysteresis or image shift when carrying heavy loads is a huge improvement over the R&P.

The second part of your recommendation will have to wait until I resolve my Denk II issues. Russ was nice enough to take it back and check it out himself on a similar scope.

Enjoy, Milt

May 22, 2004 02:14 AM Forum: Astro Binoculars

bino dilemma

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Hi Brian,

I feel exactly the same way about my 18x50's. Since I use mine mounted most of the time anyway, by all rights I should sell them and get a pair of good 70's. But they're hard to part with (one never knows when the IS will come in handy, he rationalizes...)

If you can swing it, I would suggest picking up the 100's first while keeping the Canons. The 100's are much bigger and heavier and there will be times you won't be able to take them or will just want that quick look the Canons are perfect for.

I hardly ever use my 7x50's for astronomy.

Good Luck,
Milt

May 25, 2004 01:09 AM Forum: Takahashi

Finder with green Laser for my FS128

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Hi Daniel,

Nice holder! I had considered doing something like this but decided against it because I leave my red-dot on all the time. Are you doing this with the laser and if so, are there any problems with overheating and fading? What battery life do you anticipate compared to the LED?

Thanks, Milt

June 24, 2004 04:34 AM Forum: Zeiss

APQ 130 and discmount

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Hi Alan,

Nice looking setup! Can you please tell me the length of your Zeiss OTA and which height A/P pier (I assume 6" dia.) you are using?

Thanks,
Milt

June 25, 2004 03:18 AM Forum: Refractors

Triplet/ED/fuorite APO

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Guy,

If I may pass along some good advice given to me (repeatedly) over the past several years: If you are not already in an astronomy club, join one. Attend star parties. Take every opportunity to look through these scopes yourself. Larger star parties will give you the opportunity to look through a variety of apo configurations made by different manufacturers. These are generally very expensive scopes for their aperture so seeing for yourself is the only way to decide if one is right for you.

Good luck,
Milt

September 12, 2004 07:39 PM Forum: Binoviewers

Using AP/Zeiss Binoviewer on Reflector

Posted By Milton Wilcox

Hi Rob,

A bit of background: When I ordered my Denkmeier II with OCS, I also put my name on the waiting list for the AP/Zeiss. As it happened, I ended up returning the Denk II because it noticeably degraded the images of my fast-reflector-from-hell (Vixen R200SS f/4 with 37% C.O.) This topic was thrashed on this forum earlier this year.

Anyhow, my name recently came up at AP, and I decided to give it a try; I really miss the two-eyed views in my mono scopes. My Vixen will come to focus with the 1.7x Glaspath compensator only with significant focuser intrusion into the light path. My guess is that most Newt's will need the convertible barlow (2.6x) to even reach focus. This is a clear benefit of the Denk OCS, which gave me 1.2x.

I will report here on whether the AP/Zeiss gets along any better with my Vixen than did the Denk II.

Good luck, Milt