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Posts Made By: Rod Mollise

December 17, 2007 11:07 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

C-14 flat field and coma corrector?

Posted By Rod Mollise
The closest thing to it is the Meade/Celestron f/5.3 reducer/corrector designed by Jim Riffle (though IMHO, it works best in C8s).

Remember, you are not dealing with coma, an artifact of parabolic mirrors, so a coma corrector--like a Paracor won't work.

8)

December 17, 2007 11:10 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

New Scope Input please

Posted By Rod Mollise
Get the Celestron--the mounts are basically identical, but the Celestron flavor of the software is _considerably_ more advanced (and you can use NexRemote).

8)

December 21, 2007 01:28 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

A good use for your old lxd 55 tripod legs.....

Posted By Rod Mollise
Chris Roten said:

Just finished my portable pier the other day. I am quite proud of it.

Chris

You should be. All I can say is "Wow...nice work!"

8)

December 21, 2007 01:31 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Mount Ideas?

Posted By Rod Mollise
John Miele said:

I'm looking for an equatorial goto mount to use with a 5.5" f3.6 comet catcher. The scope weighs about 7 lbs. I'll be imaging with a Mallincam and a DSI. I was thinking about maybe using a Celestron SE series goto mount if I could find one without its OTA. Any other ideas? A CG5 seems like overkill. I have a budget and need to keep it close to the $500 range. Thanks.

Yeah, I know a CG5 seems like overkill...but...I think if imaging is your goal that's a better choice. I've often used a 66mm APO on the CG5 for CCDing. Yeah, looks a little minisucle riding up there all by its lonesome, but the results are very nice indeed.

8)

December 22, 2007 04:34 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Nexstar 8SE: Having Trouble Aligning

Posted By Rod Mollise
Some folks do have trouble with SkyAlign. Often it's because the RULE has not been followed:

Make sure the 3rd star is NOT on a line connecting the first two (make sure the first two are widely separated, too).

Anyhoo, if you don't like SkyAlign, or SkyAlign does not like you, try the two star align option.

8)

December 24, 2007 05:04 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Good Questar 7 vs Astro-Physics EDF130 f/6

Posted By Rod Mollise
Erik Bakker said:

Does anyone have some experience on the difference in visual performance between these two on the planets? I have the AP130 and want to get a used Q7 (pyrex + broadband coatings) for a step-up in visual performance.

Thanks, Erik

Apples and oranges in my book... but there's no doubt both can produce outstanding planetary images. I do appreciate the aperture advantage of the 7. The cooldown for the Q? That's another matter.

8)

December 24, 2007 05:06 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Fifty Years of Progress

Posted By Rod Mollise
Alan French said:

Comet Arend-Roland was one of my first experiences with enjoying the night sky. It is a bit frightening to realize that was fifty years ago, but it also got me thinking how much the world of amateur astronomy has changed since then. There are so many things we have today that were not available back in 1957.

1. Large, relatively portable Newtonians with quality optics.

Uh...dude...you left out THE SCHMIDT CASSEGRAIN TELESCOPE. Love 'em or hate 'em, I don't think anybody can dispute this design's tremendous impact on amateurs! IMHO, that's your "number one" rat there.

8)

December 24, 2007 05:15 PM Forum: Eyepieces

EP's for Starblast?

Posted By Rod Mollise
Linton Rohr said:

Hi folks.
My niece will be unwrapping a Starblast on Christmas morning grin ,
and I'd like to get her a couple better EP's sometime soon.
The f/4 450mm f.l. scope comes with a 6mm and 17mm Explorer II eyepieces.
I'm wondering if anyone can recommend anything economical in a wide field format.
I don't think she's quite ready for a set of Naglers just yet. wink
I have a couple ideas from searching the archives,
but any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Linton

Hi:

Use what I often use with the Little Feller...Orion's cheap "Expanse" eyepieces...these are from Synta and can also be purchased from Adorama as Pro Optics. Stay away from the 20mm, maybe...the stars at the edge are purty icky in the SB...but the 15mm is VERY good with the Green Goblin.

8)

December 24, 2007 05:21 PM Forum: DVDs and Music and Books That You Recommend

Star Trek TOS on HD-DVD

Posted By Rod Mollise
Doug Peterson said:

Okay I must be insane to spend $150 on the boxed set of year 1 of the original series, but it was worth it.
Remember, the series was shot in 35mm film, the same stuff you watched the last time you went to the theater.


Not for me. I don't want new digital effects nor HD nor nuttin' else. My perfect viewing experience for TOS? A 25-inch round-tube Sears color TV set with a three-element 6-meter beam fillin' in as an antenna. That's how I watched it back in '66 and how I want to remember it.

8)


December 25, 2007 03:22 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Help needed --Pixcel St237A telescope cable

Posted By Rod Mollise
You're taking about the autoguide cable? AFAIK, nothing has changed with this cable; it's the same now as it was when the 237 was bein' sold. You can buy one or make one easily. If you want to make, take a look at the SBIG manuals...those for any of the cameras will be applicable cable-wise, and will give construction details.

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