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Posts Made By: Peter Glus

December 1, 2006 10:15 AM Forum: Refractors

Need help from the straight thru experts

Posted By Peter Glus
Also, any advice on what kind of focuser to buy? I intend to use this for visual, but maybe someday photography. Here's the pic of the smashed one...

April 16, 2007 06:51 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Meade LXD650 Owners...let's hear some experiences.

Posted By Peter Glus
Mike,

I had a lxd650 with a 10" SCT and I loved it. The mount worked wonderful...it was solid, smooth, easily balanced, and the goto worked well. I generally think of this as a very nice piece of equipment...I know the atlas is its stiff competition but I believe this has a greater degree of quality.

I also liked the rather "old school" computer looks and the classic lx200 controller...this was the most popular goto interface for like a decade, and with good reason. Yes, it may not have 17 biggilion stars in its library but who needs all them anyway...10,000 or so is fine for me.

The 10" SCT is just about at this mounts limit...mine was 36 lbs.

There's also an active user community, which is a plus.

Good luck and enjoy...850 is a nice price.

April 23, 2007 08:55 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Mounting a Nighthawk NG to a Meade 10" SCT

Posted By Peter Glus
Fred,

Im having a similar problem with my 12" Meade SCT and my CI700 mount. The Nighthawk is a beast, and when you add the losmandy dovetail, etc. it adds up. I am hoping the guys on the CI700 group can help me out on this one....Anyway....

Do you have the fork arm mount? If so, you could try to add a counterweight dovetail bar (like scopestuff, etc...). However, my sense is that they are probably intended for balancing loads less than 3 - 5 lbs, althouhg this is not to say that someone out there hasn't done this.

If you have an GEM, then check your mount's capacity and maybe just ad more counterwieghts.

The heart of the problem is that Nighthawk is HEAVY. However, most other 80mm scopes are not less than 2/3 of the weight. For example, on the real low end, the SV 80mm Superfinder is about 2.5 lbs, and I don't think these compare optically to the Nighthawk (no focuser,single lense, etc). Most 80mms will be around 4 lbs.

Best trick might be to figure out a different way to mount it w/o the losmandy plate...you could save maybe 1 pound or 2 net.

Hope these ramblings help.

May 15, 2007 12:29 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

C5+ Travel and Airline carry-on restrictions

Posted By Peter Glus
I am very interested in anyone's answer....I am planning some air travel this weekend and am wondering how a telescope will be recieved by the checkpoint staff. Do the generally require the scope to be disassembled?

June 25, 2007 11:56 AM Forum: Eyepieces

Stratus Hyperion Knockoffs-First Sighting!

Posted By Peter Glus
As a slightly related subject, so the Baader Scopos and discontinued 30mm and 35mm Stratus's have the same lineage?

Regarding cloning, did Vixen LVW begat Baader Hyperion who begat Orion Stratus who then begat the mystery clone?

August 16, 2007 06:01 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

best scope for $1500

Posted By Peter Glus
Do you do photo or visual?

August 22, 2007 01:28 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Best selection of eyepieces for a 10" f/10 SCT?

Posted By Peter Glus
I have a 12" SCT (used to have a 10") and I almost exclusively use a 22 Nagler with a Denk PowerSwitch S1. This gives me three EPs in one...you should seriously consider this as it ends up becoming a great value. In general, target 3 EPs with 100X, 200X, and as wide as you can get.

For your scope:
Alt A - Used 22 Nag could be $300 on AM, plus $340 for a Denk S1 = $640 the combo gives you roughly a 14, a 22, and a 40 translating into 62X, 113X, and 178X.

Alt B - I have owned a few of the Meade 5000 SWA series EPs, and the $599 special for the set of 34, 24, and 16 gives you 73X, 104X and 156X is not a bad deal. FOVs are less than Alt A, though.

I am a fan of the PowerSwitch, and I think the math shows that for roughly the same price you could get a single perimium EP and have lots of flexibility. If you want to get higher mags on the planetary, add a single hyperion in the lower range and you get three EPs from that (e.g., a 13 goes to 7mm and 26mm).

Just my thoughts...others will chime in Im sure.




September 5, 2007 04:14 PM Forum: AstroMart FAQ

Posting Picture

Posted By Peter Glus
Its true what everyone says...posting a picture makes the ad MUCH more marketable...I generally get twice the hits from an ad with a pic than w/o. The only time I buy an item w/o a pic is when it comes from a longtime AMer that Ive had a few transactions with.

September 10, 2007 06:01 AM Forum: Eyepieces

Nag 20T2 vs Nag 22T4

Posted By Peter Glus
Ive also owned both, then sold the 20T2. Honestly, I regret the decision. The 22T4 is very nice, but there's someting very intangible about the views in the 20T2 that sets this apart from the other primium pack.

October 1, 2007 12:59 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

I took the plunge!

Posted By Peter Glus
Thats a nice mount Floyd. A tank! Did you get it with the Gemini?


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