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RICHARD COFER

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Posts Made By: Joe Baldwin

June 25, 2004 09:15 AM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

Hey fellow cycling fans in the US....

Posted By Joe Baldwin
well, no showings in TN. Guess I'll have to catch it on OLN. Definitely gonna pull for Tyler, after his performance last year, he's got a good chance to finish well if he stays upright.

Think Lance can pull it off one more time for #6??

July 1, 2004 09:03 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Antares Finderscopes

Posted By Joe Baldwin
I have the Anatres correct image right angle. Mounting rings are a P.O.S. Dovetail is sloppy. Parallax galore with the reticle, had to disassemble the eyepiece to put the retical in focus. Huge amount of coma. BUT, it is very nice to have a correct image finder for <$100

July 6, 2004 06:18 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Do I need an IR blocking filter with my setup?

Posted By Joe Baldwin
Brooks,
I think that the jury is still out regarding the necessity of an IR blocking filter for the gas giants. My personal experience is that on Saturn and Jupiter, the filter makes no discernible improvement. Factors that will influence your results are:

Seeing conditions - Jupiter is too low in the sky currently for high resolution

Collimation - SC's and Newtonians must be collimated well to see much detail on the planets.

Cool down - Optics must be equilibrated with their surroundings

Aperture - bigger is better

July 15, 2004 08:52 AM Forum: Off Topic Discussions

"Same Time" in Tour de France

Posted By Joe Baldwin
Alex,

In reviewing the results, "Same Time" means that the rider was awarded the same time as the leader of that group. However, the riders are listed in the order that they crossed the line ( at least the first 5 or 10 are accurate). All riders who finished in the same "virtually continuous" stream of riders are given the same elapsed time for the stage. The first 3-5 places can receive small time bonuses and point bonuses so at the end of the day their cumulative time is adjusted by the amount of the bonus.

If a crash occurs in the last 1k all riders in that group who finish get the same time. Crashes occur a lot during the last 1k when all the big, fast guys rush to the front to get the sprinters points so I guess this rule was put in place so the "little guys" wouldn't lose any time if they got crashed out.

The winners of the TDF typically put time on the main groups by breaking out of the main group ( attacking) on steep hills and in the time trial stages. On the flat, long stages everybody is pretty evenly matched so it difficult for one rider to distance himself from the main group. It happens, but it is usually allowed by the other riders only if the rider has no chance of winning overall.


July 28, 2004 05:47 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

best ccd imaging book

Posted By Joe Baldwin
I'll chime in here as usual and say that, IMO, the best single reference for CCD imaging is the Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing by Berry and Burnell. This is a 600+ page tutorial on every aspect of CCD imaging. All other books that I have read aspire to reach this level of detail and clarity. However, if you are looking for a book that will guide you through the process of choosing a camera, learning specific software functionality and producing "pretty pictures" this is not it, this book is hardware and software non-specific.

August 18, 2004 10:31 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Day time Saturn image

Posted By Joe Baldwin
Wes,

Cool image. I wouldn't mind seeing some more results from your DMK-21F04 Are you happy with the camera? I'm about a mouse click away from nabbing an Atik monochrome USB camera, guess I just don't want to be one of the first.

Joe

August 25, 2004 09:58 AM Forum: Home Observatories

Home Dome Update

Posted By Joe Baldwin
Awesome job Mike. Looks very professional. I share your east TN, hazy, humid light pollution blues.

August 31, 2004 06:00 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Advice on a good 50mm corrected finder

Posted By Joe Baldwin
Antares finder will work reasonably well. Significant coma, fat crosshairs and quite possibly the worst set of mounting rings available. However, I only have about $100 invested and I don't have to stand on my ear to look near the zenith. My solution was the Antares finder on an orion mounting ring and base.

August 31, 2004 07:36 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

If you could spend a week on the dark side of the

Posted By Joe Baldwin
Binos, CD player with Pink Floyd and a fifth of single malt.

September 22, 2004 11:36 AM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Web Cam sensitivity

Posted By Joe Baldwin
Paul,

I think the color mosaic filters on the chip can fade over time if exposed to high ambient light levels. But, this effect is small and actually just "washes out" the color.
I have a similar setup and if you're at F20 and using 1/25 and a gain of 80% something is wrong. typically, I use 1/250 Sec to 1/500 Sec and very low gains at F25.

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