Posts Made By: Andy Sedlacek

Nothing will EVER BEAT the Lumicon UHC filter. Get the Ultra High Contrast filter! You will be so happy you did.

I have about every nebula-LPR-SkyGlow thingy filter made from vintage to date and if I could only have ONE filter it would be the UHC.

This filter gets the highest mark from me because it works as an "all-rounder". The OIII filters may, MAY pip it on extreme detailed performance in, say a 12-inch reflector over the UHC, but it only works good for planetary nebulae. Yes, it will work on other nebulae and you could try it on galaxies with bold dust lanes, like M64, but as a whole, it is limited to the planetaries. With the UHC, you can do diffuse, dark, and planetary nebula work. It will do justice on certain galaxies especially in apertures above 10-inches AND it can kinda-sorta do the whole Horse Head observation trick, but not as well as the dedicated H-beta filter.

Hope this helps and finds you well friend.

There actually is a RKE ocular case that Edmund came out with in the '80s. They were blue with gray foam inside or yellowish white with blue foam inside. It would hold all the original line RKEs along with the 2.5x Barlow.

Pretty rare to find though and now days, collectible.

One time I saw a label on a Celestron Powerseeker 114mm that read "Meade in China".

LOL! Wonder if this is a clue ???

Where is this to be? I think it is illegal for WA state to have a total eclipse.

Best all!

Have you tried using a prism diagonal instead of a mirror diag?

Mount detail.

Note** The polar illuminator pen/kit came without flaw, but is not mounted at the time.

That lovely, lovely sticker on the side of the tube showing a refractor connoisseur's favorite letter, " F ".

Ed,

If you are going to trot off into the very dark skies with your ETX-125 for use of brighter planetary viewing, I would say "yes", it is worth it. The filter will remove bright contrast and "make" the nebula appear more up-front.

I know where you're coming from. I too have seen inaccurate ads stating on one page the filters would be "better suited for XX-inch scopes" and then they have someone in there hippity-hopping over how they saw the Horsehead in their 2-inch scope. Okay, not quite like that, but to some similarity.

It is true. To an extent the aperture might be too small to discover the full gains of the filter. I have, for fun, put an OIII on the diagonal of my FS-60c while at M57. It made it contrasty, but SO DARK, it was a ghost. I saw more without the filter.
On the contrary, I put the OIII on M57 with my 18" mirror and M57 began to show very mild knotting.

Why there is no law of when the filter is applied to too small, too large an aperture I'll never know. It would be obvious to me the company that made the statement "Not suitable for scopes under 8." did this because of too many returns or on-the-phone complaints.

Years ago I saw an ad of a solar filter (don't remember if it was Lumicon or Orion) with its box and poised in new condition. Below the filter image were lists of other sizes and prices. Just to the right where it said "SOLAR" it showed an H-alpha photo of the Sun! I wonder how many customers felt "wrongfully dealt" on that one?!!!

And now we must vote on the 51st motto:

1). Uhh, I guess we're a state!

2). Please refer all disability claims to our new number Boo Hoo hoo wah wah wah wah.

3). Did little; still got in baby!

4) meh!

5). A gator under arm and a cuppa joe in mah handman!

Matt, I watched your very first ad and thought you may find your way into the forumworld; great to have you!

I will say three things that are my personal anchors into astronomy:

1) You will NEVER find the perfect telescope. I do not believe they exist and I cannot be made to. But us humans live a long life of most creatures on this planet, so SAMPLE all that you can when you can. You will find an eyepiece or a scope that you will attach to for a long time, maybe all your life, but keep on sampling all there is to in the world of optics, mounts, and gadgetry. Innovations to this hobby change month to month and will re-facet your views. So finding just one scope to fulfill all your ambitions will only work until you run across someone else with the next great "thing". It is quite a satisfying mindset if you are one for goals.

2) NEVER sell ALL you own in relation to your relationship with astronomy. DO NOT divorce the stars. I've hit some mighty hard times. I had to give-up my greatest telescope love of all time to this date; my FCT-150. It had to be done though and although I was bitter gnashing angry over the inevitable consequences, I kept one Nagler 11mm T1, two $20 plossls, and a pair of binoculars. The Nagler was my talisman, so to speak, which I won't get into details over. The binoculars saved my interest from going dark and my mind ignorant. And a few years later when I met my Jill, the binoculars got us going into astronomy not only together, but strong.

3) Keep the largest aperture you can or the biggest setup that you can while you are young. Once you get near your 40s the male lumbar and rotor cuffs suddenly become your very worst enemy over stargazing with big gun scopes. Enjoy the large apertures while you can. Or better yet, have a serf that will always be present to move your large scope at your will; thus making this point moot.

And does the hobby stall with children? Financially, yes it can. But don't worry. You being there with your son or daughter and a pair of binoculars and you will win their enthusiasm for years! I don't have kids, but Jill and I have some nephews and a niece we educate on a fun level. Uncle Andy never drives to Tacoma, WA without a telescope. And the kids know well that mom will let them stay out LATE if with the telescope!