Posts Made By: Floyd Blue

Very nice Michael, a scope worthy of the Starstructure name.
I am sure the new owner will be as pleased as I am with the looks and workmanship.
Thanks for sharing the details of construction with us all.

Floyd

It seems lately that there have been many EPs introduced and"Improved" by several manufacturers.
With this many have been seduced into trying them. The only problem is that there is either a huge variation in production and quality or a big difference in the users sensitivity to problems found in these EPs.
Apparently you can have 5 people with identical EPs and yet no 3 of them seems to agree on the quality of the EP.
This make me think that many EPs are better suited for one scope than another scope. Not only size and speed of the scope but possilbly type is a part of the equation.
The one thing that I have found for sure it that faster scopes are harder to please than slower scopes.
The other is that certain manufaturers tend to make the most consistant quality product.
Seems to me that the only way to figure out if an EP will work for you is to actually try it in your scope.
This brings to mind an idea. That idea is this. We should arrange here for members to meet somewhere in their respective areas and exchange EPs during a nights observations. Between 5-10 people there could be a vast wealth of diversity in equipment. At the end of an evening one would have a good grasp of which EPs or equipment he or she might wish to purchase. This could work for scopes, collimators, EPs, Binos and a lot more. It would help many to lessen the cost of developing a good range of EPs and equipment. It might even make swaps or deals possible within the group.
The good weather is coming and there will be plenty of time for this kind of get together.
What do you think?
Floyd

Cool, I just bought the entire set of UO Orthos here on Astromart. 4,5,6,7,9,12.5,18,25mm! :^) All for $320 shipped. Not a bad deal! Astromart is #1 in my book.
I will have to decide whether I like them better than the Ultrascopics I guess.
Now I have to break out another one of my new cases I have in storage to hold the new EPs.
Floyd

Now why would some one take the Zambuto mirror out of a brand new Starmaster scope and sell the frame? That just doesn't make sense to me.
Floyd

In the news this morning it was stated that they are reassessing the Hubble mission due to public outcry!
Also they stated that Spirit is expected to make a full recovery after it is reprogramed!
This is really good news.
Floyd

Check the 2 small allen screws, they may be too tight. Not the big tension screw but the recessed ones on the knob bracket. They put the tension on the knob rod. Loosen them and then tighten until it does not go back in with a heavy EP in it.
Floyd

The atmosphere can be very picky on the power you can use. So it is nice to have a few EPs so you can choose what works for the conditions. So it is fine to have close mags, if you can afford to keep the EPs.
Floyd

I have a finder scope with a fixed dedicated EP but a removeable Diagonal. I would like to use a regular 1.25" Diagonal so I can change EPs when I wish. The problem is that I am just short on travel to get it to insert in far enough to allow me to focus an EP.
It looks like I could shorten the barrel of the Diagonal where you insert the EP by up to .25-.5" and it would work. This would leave me with plenty of travel to allow it to come to focus. The problem is that if I cut it, the barrel thickness would be quite thin and would have very few threads for the set screws. The barrel on the diagonal is sleeved at the end to double the thickness of the tube.
Any one have any ideas of how I could modify this and get it to all work?
Floyd

I have a chance to buy a 12.5" f/4.8 DOB made by the same person that made my scope. The optics are Meade and it is in good condition, used little and stored in a dry place. I have a 15" f/4.9 DOB now.
I am wondering if it would be worth buying it for a second DOB? I sometimes would like a DOB that I can stand flat footed and observe and this would achieve that goal.
Would a 12.5" give comparable views? I have only looked through two 12.5" DOBs and I must admit I did not pay enough attention to them to remember how the view was in them.
So, what is the opiinion of those that have used both these sizes.
I understand that my Swayze 15" mirror is probably a better mirror than the 12.5" Meade, so I am talking about aperture only.
Thanks,
Floyd

Good new is always welcome. :^)
I just had a person hit my motorhome out front of the house, they quickly left the scene. I called the Police and they basically said I was problbly out of luck and the car would be reported stolen. :^(
I worried about it for 4 hours until the wife came home. She saw the damage and was bummed out! We were sitting there trying to figure what to do, because we found out that our insurance did not cover "Hit and Run"!
Well a few minutes later the door bell rang and who whas there? The man who's grandaughter had hit out motor home with his Jeep! He had her apologize for taking off and having hit the home and then called his agent and had them arrange to take care of the damages! :^)
So, sometimes things do work out in the end.
Hope the baby is healthy, you become wealthy and you wife comes home quickly. :^)
Floyd