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Posts Made By: Mike Gibson

July 25, 2003 03:06 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Mars 7/24/03

Posted By Mike Gibson
Mark - nice shot, good contrast, sharp limb. Try using an IR blocking filter on Mars to stop the ToUCam's Sony HAD chip from blooming. I've been playing with the Registax quality setting; seems like 25% works well.

There are some Mars CCD threads in the Solar System forum with great ToUCam shots and tips.

July 26, 2003 09:17 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

What can you expect on Mars....

Posted By Mike Gibson
Cool...excellent analysis. And yes, there are nights(most nights) when my Starmaster 12.5 ELT cannot stretch its legs for the reasons you describe. The apo's contrast is a given.

July 27, 2003 02:39 PM Forum: Solar System Observing

Mars Observation (July 27, 2003)

Posted By Mike Gibson
Carlos - the only comment would be that you sure know how to document an observation. With your skill, who needs CCD imaging!

Thanks for the Sirius filter tip too.

July 30, 2003 05:11 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Good eyepiece for 8" reflector?

Posted By Mike Gibson
Hard to answer without knowing exactly what you have, but you can pick up many of the old Naglers for less than $200 (4.8mm, 7mm, 9mm) right here on Astromart. The Meade 8.8mm and 14mm UWAs are also outstanding.

Kellners are OK in longer focal lengths, but often have ghost reflections. If you were willing to live with ghosts, Orion's complete Expanse set can be had for under $200 (6mm, 9mm, 15mm, 20mm with 66* fields).

July 31, 2003 02:55 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Tangent Instruments?

Posted By Mike Gibson
Try this business info found on the ATM web sites:

Tangent Instruments
Rick McWilliams
1691 Spinnaker Dr. Suite 202
Ventura, CA 93001-4378

Out of courtesy I will not post his phone number; you can find it easily enough if published.



August 1, 2003 08:24 PM Forum: Solar System Observing

Mars 8/1/03 - sketch and a question - Hellas

Posted By Mike Gibson
Could be a storm, but it looked normal to me last night. Here is an image for about the same time:

August 6, 2003 05:38 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

32mm Super Plossl decent?

Posted By Mike Gibson
It is worth $50, but the current 4 element design is not as good as the older 5 element Masuyama design. The FOV is narrower IMHO. Meade phased out the good ones in 1994.

August 7, 2003 03:27 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Which refractor?

Posted By Mike Gibson
Oh boy, here we go! For planetary and best color correction, that would be the Tak FSQ106 Petzval with Extender Q; it also doubles as the best astrograph. A similar choice would be the NP-101 but it does not have the Q's wider/stronger focuser. My opinionated ranking:

1. Tak FSQ106 w/Extender Q (or NP-101 or TMB 105)
2. Tak FS102 tied with TV102
3. Meade 127ED (more aperture, but semi apo)
4. Vixen ED114SS (Petzval with color?)

There are other planetary choices for $3000, but you wanted apo refractors.



August 7, 2003 06:05 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

SN vs. SCT

Posted By Mike Gibson
The 8" SN is a good size for the LXD55 mount. Light transmission is a tad more efficient than the SCT with diagonal, and the wide field views are excellent with less coma than a fast Newt.

If you like GEMs (like your old Dynascope), then the LXD55 is not a challenge setting up compared to the easier LX90.
Cooldown and collimation issues are a wash. LX90 costs more for some added refinements compared to the LXD55 SC8.

The LXD55 is higher maintenance, so if you dislike tweaking backlash, set screws, orthogonal alignments, etc., then get the LX90, which also has more accurate GoTo precision.

August 8, 2003 04:28 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Any Meade 102/ACHR 500 f/9 Opinions?

Posted By Mike Gibson
The 102/ACHR's weight is a mystery, but should be around 11 pounds. Ed Ting reviewed this scope at:

http://www.scopereviews.com/page1b.html#8

In the late 90's, this discontinued package could be had for a song ($399).

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