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Posts Made By: Pat Plunkett

November 28, 2008 08:09 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Where can I get foam for my case?

Posted By Pat Plunkett
Try JoAnn's Fabrics or any other fabric store. I've gotten foam there MANY times!

Pat

December 2, 2008 04:52 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Where can I get foam for my case?

Posted By Pat Plunkett
For cutting the foam, I use a trick my "crafty" wife taught me (and the same one they use at JoAnn's)... Use an electric knife! Make sure you wipe off the turkey guts first, though! Seriously, this is the best way to cut it.

December 6, 2008 03:41 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Jupiter Oct 30

Posted By Pat Plunkett
Paul:

Nice! I'm sure you know that streaking of Jupiter's moons is normal when you're stacking images(?)

Pat

January 8, 2009 05:46 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Primary Mirror Suppliers

Posted By Pat Plunkett
Have you checked with Bob Royce? I never had a problem corresponding with him. His website is:

http://www.rfroyce.com/

Pat

May 15, 2009 04:50 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

From a 12" to 8" what do you think?

Posted By Pat Plunkett
I went from a 12.5" Dob down to an 8" Dob... I know it's a different question, but similar results. You will lose a lot in galaxies and globular clusters, but to me the added portability is a real plus. Were I you, I would seriously consider a 10" truss-Dob. You really wouldn't lose much in the way of deep sky and you would still have good lugability.

Good luck!

Pat

June 17, 2009 05:52 AM Forum: Landscape Photography

Manteo, NC

Posted By Pat Plunkett
Ivan:

I've never done this to someone else's picture before, so please don't be offended. I saw real possibilities in your picture and did some cropping and manipulation to come out with this. If you don't want it up here, let me know and I'll just delete it...

Pat

August 30, 2009 02:16 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

laser collimators for Dobs

Posted By Pat Plunkett
I use a Howie Glatter - works great!

September 21, 2009 06:19 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

What are the tradeoffs of a zoom eyepiece?

Posted By Pat Plunkett
Since I bought my TV 8-24 a couple of years ago, I have significantly winnowed my eyepiece collection. I bought it for convenience but find that I use it almost exclusively. Sure, the field gets narrow, but I don't find it objectionable. When paired with a barlow, the range of magnification is really nice - from 4mm all the way to 24mm! You do have to switch the barlow in and out to obtain this range, but not as big a deal as trying to figure out which eyepiece to grab and then worrying about lens caps, etc.

I also find the zoom REALLY nice for star watches. The big, wide-field eyepieces are great, but newbies seem to have a lot more difficulty positioning their eyes with them. Plus it's nice to just bump the power up and let someone see the difference.

Pat

October 27, 2009 05:19 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

40 year coating effect on star test and foucault???

Posted By Pat Plunkett
I'm probably wrong (I usually am), but did you do your Foucault testing with the mirror removed from the mount? If not, does the rill coincide with one of the mirror clamps? I have seen something similar in a mirror with an over-tightened clamp.

Pat

October 29, 2009 01:02 PM Forum: Landscape Photography

Observatory

Posted By Pat Plunkett
This brings back memories! Rode my bike (yes, bicycle) up there a couple of times! Thanks for the memories!

Pat

Funding Member

Telescopes, Astronomy, Binoculars

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