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Jupiter (clearer) Nov 5th 2023 w/Mewlon 180c

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Posts Made By: ken pfeiffer

April 29, 2004 08:47 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Transporting SCT

Posted By ken pfeiffer

A long time ago someone here suggested using a life vest as a container for an SCT. I haven't tried it, but it makes sense. You could zip up the vest and cinch it down to provide some protection to the tube before you safety belt it into the seat. Of course, this could get expensive if you don't already have a suitable life vest.

Most of the time I usually just put my SCT on the (padded) back seat of my car. It is on a fork mount and it would take a BIG crash to dislodge it, even without a seat belt.

November 12, 2004 01:50 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Inexpensive spotting scope recommendation

Posted By ken pfeiffer

You are right you get what you pay for. I haven't seen the scope you are talking about. If you can, take a look through it and see what you think.

Do you already have a camera tripod? If so, and you don't like the other scope, you may want to check out the Orion short tube 80. It is a lot more money ($200), but it is a pretty nice scope.

November 19, 2004 02:01 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Borg 76 ED vs. Megrez 80 II ED

Posted By ken pfeiffer

I dunno about the Borg, but a couple of guys in our club have the Megrez, and it is an astonishing scope for that aperture. Amazingly good!

December 1, 2004 05:22 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

My new toy arrived!!

Posted By ken pfeiffer

Congratulations!

A guy in our club is a big fan of those scopes, and he has had several different ones in the last few years. I remember at least one being exceptional, and I would look forward to going to our observations just so I could look through his scope.

Hope you have as much fun as I did!

December 3, 2004 05:36 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Lasers for shutting down streetlamps

Posted By ken pfeiffer

Is this totally automatic? Does she have the ability to control the light?

If so, the "kind" solution might be to talk with her and tell her your problem and ask her if she might be willing to help you out. If she can turn off the light she may cooperate with you. If not, you may be able to get her to install a different kind of light that she could control.

Many times the "social" rather than the "technological" solution is more efficient. Now if I could only figure out how to get Santa Barbara High School to shield their freakin' football lights, I might be able to observe during the evenings...


December 9, 2004 02:18 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

uhc filters

Posted By ken pfeiffer

An observing buddy and I have compared the Lumicon with the Orion in two different C-8s. We both agreed that the Lumicon offered the best views. We looked at a variety of objects, including the Veil, the North American, the Pelican, the Crab, the Orion Nebula, etc.

FWIW, we also compared these with the O-III and a couple of other light pollution filters, including the Orion. The Lumicon UHC was the clear winner. You could see a lot more detail with this one.

I would be interested in other observers' views, particularly those with larger scopes. A friend in our club has an 18" Obsession, and he can put in an O-III and get an amazingly bright view of things that are pretty dim in a C-8. The O-III blocks out a lot more light than the UHC, at least in the views I have seen.

December 16, 2004 11:08 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Has anyone seen or heard about the Bushnells ??

Posted By ken pfeiffer

NO! Anything but BUSHnell!

Had some Bushnell stuff, looked through friend's Bushnell stuff, and I have never seen anything I would want to keep. You don't have to spend a lot more to get something that you will really enjoy. Better to invest in something worthwhile than to throw away some money to get frustrated.

December 17, 2004 02:54 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

equipment dilemma- warning: long preamble

Posted By ken pfeiffer

"Hi folks. I’m thinking about rearranging my scope line up once and for all. "

Ha ha ha! How many times have I done this? But I'm still trying. It sure is fun! Seems like every time I get the "perfect" setup, I use it for a while, then lose interest. After a pause, I start looking at equipment again, and it picks up my interest. "Wow! Wonder what I could see with THAT?" And so on...

It's a great way to enjoy the hobby.

December 22, 2004 06:05 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Binoviewers and limiting magnitude

Posted By ken pfeiffer

Hi Dimitri,

I use a TV binoviewer with a C8. It is very clear that the binoviewer makes it harder to see dim stars. Closing one eye makes that effect much worse.

Interestingly, views of bright extended objects (like M42) are much better in the binoviewer. You can see much more detail and the views are much more dramatic. This is also true of planets and the moon. However, views of dimmer extended objects are much worse. Go figure on that one, eh? Please let me know if you have any insights on this. When I want to go galaxy hunting I take the binoviewer out. For anything bright (including terrestrial) it stays in.

January 3, 2005 07:00 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

seeing clear with the meade lx200 10

Posted By ken pfeiffer

Center a moderately bright star (e.g. Deneb) in the field of view with a higher power eyepiece (e.g. 10mm or shorter). Then defocus the star until you see the diffraction rings. Are they round and symmmetrical around the center? If not, you need to collimate more carefully. This is very, very important with SCTs.

Clear skies! (It has been raining almost solidly for two weeks here. Thanks for getting a new scope... smile