Posts Made By: Darren Hiebert

February 16, 2005 06:02 AM Forum: Binoviewers

Re: best wishes for Tom Hole's recovery

Posted By Darren Hiebert

Shocking news. I certainly hope it is not serious and that there is no permanent damage. I hope to hear about his condition soon.

Concerned,
Darren

February 21, 2005 05:11 AM Forum: Coronado-Lunt-DayStar Solar Filters

PST Tuning?

Posted By Darren Hiebert

I believe that I have read messages from PST owners that mention the ability to tune the PST. Yet, the description for the PST on Anacortes states (in the comparison with Maxscope) "The PST has no capacity for Doppler shifting."

I am confused. Can the PST be tuned or not? Is it a different tuning that Doppler shifting?

Thank you,
Darren

March 16, 2005 01:53 AM Forum: Coronado-Lunt-DayStar Solar Filters

What's a good PST mount?

Posted By Darren Hiebert

Hello,

I just received my own PST a week ago. I have only had a couple of chances to use it so far and it looks like it is going to be fun to use. I put it on a camera tripod that I had and find that it is not adequate to the task, primarly because it is so awkward to do fine adjustments in altitude.

What kind of mount are folks finding works well for the PST, particularly with regards to stability, tracking (manual is OK), and portability?

April 19, 2005 02:43 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Red LED flashlights

Posted By Darren Hiebert

I thought I would let folks know about a great source for red LED flashlights that I uncovered. They are the same folks that sell those clean-looking flashlights under the Eddie Bauer label.

http://www.pumaknives.com

Click on the "Coast LED-Lenser Lights" link, then enter "Red" into the "Search Store" box on the left, using "ALL Exact". This will bring up a list of the their red LED flashlights. There are a lot of them that would be very useful for astronomers.

Clear skies,
Darren

November 24, 2005 06:21 AM Forum: Eyepieces

Group purchase of TMB Monos?

Posted By Darren Hiebert

Are there any others out there who are wanting to order one or more TMB Mono eyepieces, but don't want to pay $35 for an uninsured shipment from Europe, or who think $65 is too high for one or two eyepieces?

I was thinking of ordering a couple and wanted to find if there were others who wanted to group an order together with mine to share the $65 postage amongst us. If so, please send me a private message me with your email address and we can work out the details.

October 2, 2003 03:29 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Synta EQ6 wheight capacity/large OTA's

Posted By Darren Hiebert

My documentation states 40 lbs, which I presume to be payload, not including counterweights (since mine came with a 34 lb. OTA from Orion).

December 31, 2003 03:39 AM Forum: TeleVue

Barlow/Powermate Question

Posted By Darren Hiebert

Barry Clarke wrote:

"From my understanding, a two inch 2X Powermate is the combination of a Big Barlow and a Panoptic Interface."

Your understanding is not correct. To understand the difference between a barlow and a Powermate, read the product information on Powermate available on the Tele Vue web site. There are some important distinctions.

Secondly, with regards to a barlow, the power achieved is determined by the spacing between the barlow lens and the eyepiece field stop. The longer this is the greater the magnification. The barlow is used designed to yield 2X when an eyepiece is inserted directly into the barlow. However, if you place a spacer between the barlow and the eyepiece, you will get greater magnification.

Darren

January 11, 2004 04:00 PM Forum: Binoviewers

What the heck is going on in here?

Posted By Darren Hiebert

I just figured it out from what you said. It *is* the full moon! Binoviewer users must experience *incredible* frustration when the full moon is out and they can't use their binoviewers for DSOs. Combining the full moon with bad seeing will bring out worst in any binoviewer user! It may even cause them to turn on one another!

I think we should circulate a petition among ourselves to compel binoviewer manufacturers to attach a warning label to all binoviewers cautioning users about the risks of this kind of behavior.

Darren

January 15, 2004 04:03 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Baffling Newts unnecessary?

Posted By Darren Hiebert

Mel Bartels writes, in his article on Ultralight Dobs ( http://www.efn.org/~mbartels/tm/ul-dobs.html ):

"Proper baffling ensures that no unwanted light enters the focuser. There is a baffle just below the focuser and a baffle opposite the diagonal. The focuser baffle is particularly important. Both are covered with Edmund Scientific black felt. The primary is also baffled, just in front of the glass, and totally enclosed in ultra flat black. It is an impressive demonstration to shine a powerful flashlight on any part of the scope, and discover that your observing buddy looking through the eyepiece with his eye cupped cannot tell you when you have the light on or off. The goal in baffling a minimalist ultra light is to block every ray of light not coming from the primary mirror. Extra baffling to absorb secondary reflections from the baffles is used in high performance refractors, but this is a luxury we can forego since the flashlight test is quite convincing when using light trapping felt or velvet."

Later, he continues:

"Some traditionalists are upset by the absence of a shroud. With a heated diagonal, and proper baffling, the shroud is superfluous. Some claim that a shroud cuts out stray light. Stray light does not mysteriously diffuse through the air to reach the focal plane. It must reflect off of some surface. Proper baffling will stop all of these reflections. Under bright light situations, if you see glaring then the scope needs to be better baffled. Adding a shroud will be a hit and miss affair, depending if the shroud blocks the unwanted light from the focal plane. Beware of the placebo effect which can cause a shrouded scope to perform 'better' in a bright light situation thanks to more care given at blocking out stray light from the eye at the eyepiece."

Chuck Dethloff added this clarification of a question about Mel's "flashlight" experiment:
http://astro.umsystem.edu/atm/ARCHIVES/JUN98/msg01154.html

I hope this furthers understanding of the points Doug Scobel raised.

Darren

May 2, 2004 10:45 PM Forum: A Day in the Life of the Administrator

1100

Posted By Darren Hiebert

Could someone please explain to me what these periodic messages from the Administrator mean? The subject containing only a number doesn't tell me anything and I would like to be part of the "in crowd".

Thanks