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Posts Made By: Larry Thaxton

September 13, 2007 05:21 AM Forum: Refractors

APO MAX 130 F/12 Refractor

Posted By Larry Thaxton

You may have read this but if not it is interesting:

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=897

Larry

September 15, 2007 05:53 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

how to know the perfect telescope..

Posted By Larry Thaxton

Hi Paulo,

You ask the same question I have been asking. In order to answer it for myself, I have gone through many different telescopes including refractors,reflectors and compound along with many different apertures (60mm to 12.5" so far)and focal lengths. All have had something to offer and I realize now that I have to first define what I want to use the scope for. My preference is visual with a focus on lunar, planetary and globular clusters since I live near a major city and do not have dark skies. For me the best scope is one I can easily set up and use by myself and that gives the sharpest, most detailed images possible. At the moment that scope is a largeish TMB 175 APO but I also have a few small scopes and a 12.5" Portaball.

Since I live by the ocean, dewing is an issue. Refractors and compound scopes all struggle with dew and the anti-dew heaters, as good as they are, do not always keep up. My newtonians do not fall prey to dew as easily though it has happened once or twice. If you can leave your main scope set up all of the time, you will not need a "quick look" scope. If you do not plan to take a scope with you on trips, you may not need a small scope at all. If I were you, I would look through as many different scopes and styles as possible and then decide. If I could have only one scope, it would be the 12.5" Portaball as it does everything well and is optically excellent when seeing is good or better. If you think it would be of help, I have kept notes on most scopes I have owned and would be glad to send them to you. My e-mail is:

[email protected]

When all is said and done, Vahe is right- the perfect scope will always be the one you don't have or can not afford. For me that perfect scope is a 8" to 10" APO which would be larger than I can handle alone, require a huge mount and permanent structure in order to get much use. Not quite perfect after all!!!


October 18, 2007 03:54 AM Forum: Refractors

C102F can't come to focus

Posted By Larry Thaxton

Hi Evan,

I have a C102F as well. Mine is the 900mm focal length version and arrived with a 2" focuser but I found I could not reach focus with a 2" diagonal and 2" eyepieces. The scope works perfectly with a 1.25" diagonal and any 1.25" eyepiece I have tried and straight through with any 2" eyepiece. The optics on my scope are stunning. I ran across this on Excelsis:

"This was one of the first fluorites sold. The mechanical
finish is so-so, but the optical quality is outstanding.
They were sold on Super Polaris mounts, which were inadequate.
The color correction outside visible appears fair (i.e.
trouble with an unfiltered CCD), but visually it knows
"no limit" to magnification and has exceptional contrast.
The tube is long, but light.

I sawed the tube down by 1/2" to reach focus with a 2" star
diagonal with a 15" TV widefield. I have never, ever seen
false color on any object with this scope. It beat a very
early Tak 100 side by side. In the 1988(?) pass of 23 Sag (??)
through Saturn's rings, it just blew away the view in a C11
right next to it. I owned a 6"f/9 AP StarFire, and in crappy
seeing (as I almost always have), the C102F was almost always
the preferred instrument.

I love this scope.

15 years later, you can still find them. They are 900mm focal
length (different than the new Vixen fluorites), and should
run about $1400. Mount yours on something worthy."



October 21, 2007 12:06 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

The Herd Mentality

Posted By Larry Thaxton

Hi Larry,

I keep trying to thin my herd down but it is not easy- too many great things to look at and great scopes to look with! At present the herd looks like this:

REFRACTORS:

Vixen FL80S on Super Polaris

Celestron C102F I switch out on the SP mount

175mm TMB APO on Losmandy HGM-200


NEWTONIANS:

8" Cave F/8 on original mount (GREAT scope!!)

12.5" Portaball w/Roundtable platform


BINOCULARS:

125mm Vixen 25x-75x Binoscope on yoke mount


PENDING:

Royce 10" F/20 Dall-Kirkham (could not resist joining the initial production run!)

8" F/6 UTI for travel to Baja

Cave 12.5" F/6 transportable I have to restore one day soon!


Once the Royce is here and I have a chance to really wring it out, I will probably be be thinning things down again. I would love to get this down to three scopes max- any thoughts?? (I am thinking UTI, TMB or Royce and 12.5" Portaball?


October 26, 2007 01:10 AM Forum: Beginning Astronomy?

6" OR 8"?

Posted By Larry Thaxton

Hi Jackie,

I have owned many scopes of both sizes and what most folks are saying is correct - there is a big jump in performance going to an 8" without a major increase in size or difficulty in setup. An 8" Newtonian is a very capable instrument. It is not that you will be disappointed in a 6", you won't be. But an 8" simply gives a lot more in terms of light gathering, resolution and mechanical options. Most people I know with 6" refractors would give their eye teeth for an 8" refractor. The jump up in aperture in a DOB is much the same.

December 16, 2007 09:51 PM Forum: Maksutovs

IM 715,703 or Tak mewlon 180

Posted By Larry Thaxton

I have had very good luck with the I-M Maks and Mak-Newts. Since you have the 4" refractor and you tend toward planets, doubles and globulars with some DSO work as well, I would think the 715 would be a good choice. Two I-M Maks have passed through my hands, a 6" F/12 and a 10" F/12.5 and several Mak-Newts from the MN56 to MN76. The 10" and MN76 were stunning, the smaller two were solid performers as well but a tad small for my tastes.

January 12, 2008 03:52 AM Forum: Guns and Hunting Optics

Do you reload your brass?

Posted By Larry Thaxton

Hi Michael,

I have been doing a lot of sporting clays shooting with friends from work and have been reloading 12 gauge. My preferred powder is Green Dot and a MEC Jr. reloader. A few months ago I picked up a Beretta O/U with both a 20 gauge and 28 gauge barrel sets. Shooting 28 gauge in particular is pretty darn costly so I am looking for a new reloader and am considering a Spolar if I can get past the initial cost. Take a rainy day with little to do outside and no chance of observing and you have the perfect excuse to reload!

larry

February 10, 2008 12:14 PM Forum: Astro-Physics

Also Ap140 first light

Posted By Larry Thaxton

Fabulous images!!

February 12, 2008 07:06 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Best "Pack & Go" setup?

Posted By Larry Thaxton

Hi Keith,

It is not clear what you plan to view with the scope so I will qualify my answer a bit. I often carried a Questar on trips but found it too small to be satisfying on DSOs. A few months ago I ran into a second hand 8" Uti and have to tell you it is an amazing package- excellent optics and very sophisticated materials. If you can find one, the F4.5 Uti provides 8" of aperture in a hard case that is said to be small enough to carry on the plane and store in an overhead bin and weighs roughly 22 pounds. While they are not currently in production, they are occasionally available used. They are a bit expensive but I would be willing to bet if you set an 8" Uti up next to a Questar or an 80mm achro or APO and looked at M13 the choice would be clear.

http://www.infinityscopes.com/Uti8Page.htm

February 18, 2008 02:43 AM Forum: Refractors

Astro Physics 130MM Star ED f/8

Posted By Larry Thaxton

Hi Howard,

I owned the Star 12ED and liked it a great deal. It was extremely sharp and had absolute minimal color. The thing that really made it nice- other than the high quality of AP builld - was how light it was and how easy to get it out and in action. Excellent scope and a nice "spacer" if you decide to wait for a new AP. I have been on the AP 160 list for over seven years now.....