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Posts Made By: Larry Thaxton

December 27, 2004 12:21 AM Forum: Refractors

MILO refractor?

Posted By Larry Thaxton
Anyone out there familiar with "MILO" refractors? I just received one and it appears to be a 1960s vintage Japanese scope, all metal construction and .965" format. Mine has a 76mm objective of 1400mm focal length which works out to F/18.4. Heavy equatorial mount, 6x30 finder, wooden case which holds the scope and mount.

January 7, 2005 04:41 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Cave Restoration Project

Posted By Larry Thaxton
I just bought an old 12.5" F/6 Cave scope with Astrola mount that is in need of restoration and see that several folks out there have already done similar projects. Any hints you can pass along? I need to re-do the main tube (either paint or gel coating) and repaint the mount. The mount has drives on both axis and a declination control box that appears to be missing the push buttons so it looks like I will also have to do some electrical restoration. Anyone out there with a Cave dec drive who can send pictures so I can see what I need to replace?


Larry Thaxton

April 11, 2005 01:32 AM Forum: Telescope Making

Diagonal for an Edmund 4 1/4

Posted By Larry Thaxton
I picked up an old Edmund 4 1/4" F/10 that I am going to restore and give to a friend's kids. It came with the prism diagonal that was common on old Edmund scopes. The mirror requires aluminizing and I could have the prism done as well but I'd prefer going to a standard diagonal. To change over, I will need both a diagonal and a single stalk holder. I assume a .75" to .83MA will be OK. My guess is that the diagonal will be easy to find (Protostar as an example)but the single vane holder??

May 12, 2005 01:39 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Re: russian mak help!!!!!!

Posted By Larry Thaxton
Hi Mark,

I owned an MK-67 Deluxe and liked it. Then I bought an MN56 and following that an MN76. Loved them! The MNs were a world ahead in terms of planetary performance and had great widefield low-power performance as well. The MNs were sharper on everything I aimed them at. Sold the MK and ultimately both MNs too. I wish I still had the MN76 and actually considered the MN86.

Downside:

MNs - longer tubes, weight, larger mount needed, focuser

MK - very narrow Fielf of view, larger central obstruction, very critical collimation

July 30, 2005 01:58 PM Forum: Maksutovs

Mak-cass v Mak-newt: best planetary scope?

Posted By Larry Thaxton
This is an off-shoot of the longer thread re: newtonians v APOs. Many folks mentioned Mak-newt or Mak-cass scopes as good planetary performers and that got me started thinking about trying one or the other in a large size. I have owned a couple of Mak-newts (MN56 and MN76) and found they provided excellent performance as visual planetary scopes. My experience with Mak-cass scopes is almost nil- one 6" F/12, Intes as I recall. I am wondering what folks have experienced with 8" and larger mak-cass scopes (TEC 8" F/15) versus something like an MN86. The MN has a much smaller secondary obstruction while the Mak-cass enjoys a longer focal length and use of more relaxed eyepieces to reach equal powers. Is there a consensus (bad word I know!) on which format makes a better visual planetary instrument? Seems like an 8" to 10" MN would be a great choice though something like Roland's 10" Mak-cass may be even better. Your thoughts and experiences?

November 27, 2005 07:26 PM Forum: Refractors

Re: Refractor Collimation

Posted By Larry Thaxton
Hi Michael,

Collimation is not all that difficult once you get over the psychological hurdle of trying it. The push-pull arrangement is really simple, especially with a helper and a cheshire tool or collimation scope. I own a Takahashi collimation telescope and it makes the job simple. If you have problems when the scope is returned- which I doubt- I'll gladly loan you the collimation scope.

Larry

November 28, 2005 10:53 PM Forum: Refractors

Re: Refractor Collimation

Posted By Larry Thaxton
Great to hear it all worked out. Art is an honest and dedicated man who in my experience has always been a great guy to deal with.

LArry

February 9, 2006 05:26 PM Forum: Takahashi

Color Match for Takahashi Green?

Posted By Larry Thaxton
I bought a tube ring that has had a rough life and need to paint it to match a takahshi mount. I know someone listed a commercially available spray paint but can not find the post. Anyone have the paint brand and color information?

February 28, 2006 02:49 PM Forum: Takahashi

NEW TAK SCOPES

Posted By Larry Thaxton
This may be "old" news, but I saw this on a site from Japan:

"Takahashi announced TSA-102 (F8). It seems to be a narrow airspaced triplet apo with a super ED element.

Takahashi announced FET-300 (not FCT). It is a triplet apochromat, which consists of an ED element and a Fluorite elements"

Start saving those $20s!


April 14, 2006 04:08 PM Forum: Takahashi

Tripod Leg Question

Posted By Larry Thaxton
I am looking at an NJP to replace my EM-200. The NJP has medium legs and I probably need the tall legs currently used with my EM-200/FS-152 combo. Is it possible to simply switch the wooden legs to the NJP top plate (assuming the width is correct) or do I need a tall tripod specifically for the NJP?

THANKS!

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