Posts Made By: Tom Lacovik

Thanks to all so far for sharing your experiences.

Mary F: I'm 34 now too and my prescription hasn't changed much (if at all) since I was 17 when I first got glasses. Temporary (even up to 1 year effects) don't really concern me. I just wouldn't want permanent effects like floaters (my birth-formed floaters already bug me, but that's life)

Ted S: Your comments are definitely the other side of the debate for me. That's the stuff I've told myself for years. One thing though is that it sounds like you have had serious eye issues. My vision is not very bad and I have read that the less 'correction' you need the less the side effects. Was it the cataract surgery and follow up surgery that left you with floaters? Has your observing time at the eyepiece gotten worse or better since your surgeries? I guess everything's relative because as you say, "if it ain't broke...." but to me my vision is broke even though my prescription isn't strong. Maybe problems you'd like to have, but grass is always greener eh? I look at people who don't wear glasses and think it's so much less hassle (i didn't grow up wearing them) and look better (i'm young enough to be vain about it), and truthfully I find it a pain in the A** at the eyepiece to put em on, point my dob (can't see stars without them), take em off, look in the EP to see if I am close, put em back on to look through the telrad and dial it in. Take em back off. Oops dropped and scratched them. Back to the EP, there's M13...nice! (too bad about all the back and forth switching you know).

Also I play sports which are also not compatible with glasses. True none of these are close to the problems you've had, but they are my reasons for wanting out, if it's not too dangerous. (is it??? still unsure???)

Anthony: other side of the coin, 180*. Good to know it's the best thing ever for you. And I'll file that, but I'm more interested in the 'against' side like Ted S for now because my gut is sold, but I need to really weigh it with some 'cons' too. Good 'pro' piece though. And I want to know more about loss of contrast you mention vis a vis DSO observing...

Bill, you and Anthony mention night vision and/or contrast. This is really what I'm interested in by asking observers here at astromart. That is the crux. I'm sure Lasik is great for regular folks, but we astronomers obsess about glass, reflectifvity, smoothness, astigmatism, and will pay through the nose for top notch optics. Well, our eyes are part of the chain, and if I loose too much contrast, what good is a small CO in my dob? or have "worse night vision" well what good is a big aperture? How does all this affect viewing galaxies? Are DSOs worse and you now all concentrate on planets and bright M objects? Mind you contrast is also important for planets...Anthony, can you still see the GRS for example?

Ted C: Thanks too! Looks like you made true BI-focals out of your 2 eyes! Very interesting anecdote!!!

Kip,
In general, an 8" dob without any technology attached is hard to beat as a 'First scope" they are quite managable in size, and don't require any cables or power of any kind and give you a lifetime worth of views for less money than a similar sized mirror with electronics attached. This price point is not compatible with (good) astrophotography, but you can dabble in it with any scope (or just a camera). If you later decide to get into it, you'll know more about what platform is best suited to you, but in general, just so you know, good astrophotography requires a good mount, great astrophotography requires a great mount. If you could get that out of the equation, an 8" dob is a good choice.

All the best.
Tom.

Well, I see that a single ring definitely requires a piece of baffle opposite the focuser (above AND below? or just above for the most part?)

Now what if I WANT a two ring structure, and wrap Kydex around the whole thing. I would do that if I knew I wouldn't need any additional baffling up there.

How tall would a TWO ring cage (minimally) need to be to pull that off?

Thanks.
Tom.

I take it you are saying fast because you want a short tube easy to transport, and APO because you don't like false color flaring and dark inky black backgrounds. If that's really your criteria, then perhaps a 6" MK67 may be the best apo, plus 50% more aperture, still under 10 pounds! Wink wink. Kidding but kind of not really. Have you considered a russian mak for your needs? Check out ITE or cloudynights.com

Well, if you like the LX200, there is a 16" one that's new for $15000, here on anacortes, but uh, that's nowhere near $10k now is it. However, I've seen it used for $10k on astrofieds, but now it seems that site is unreachable.
BUT, my own opinion though this is WAY out of my price range, would be for a Obsession 18. I have nearly wept at the eyepiece of my friends Obsession 20, and here's what I've come up with for your $10k:
Obsession 18: $5300
http://www.globaldialog.com/~obsessiontscp/18page.html

or Obsession 20: $6000
http://www.globaldialog.com/~obsessiontscp/20page.html

(breaks down into managable sizes for one person)
Plus they also offer to install Servo/Cat goto system for $2800 too:
http://www.globaldialog.com/~obsessiontscp/Servocat.html
That's $8100 for goto18 or $8800 for goto20 with $2000 (or 1200 if you're greedy) left over for shipping, Naglers, building your trailer, and taking your wife to a B&B and spa on the coast for a night to explain your purchases!
Tom.

first: wanted to buy a CHEAP scope. talked out of it and into binocs. still succummed and bought cheap binocs (10x50s with each eye pointed at a different angle!) got a refund (and escaped learning a lesson about cheap optics quickly and for free).

second: bought 10x50 Nikon Actions for $140 and now felt at 3x the price of the first ones that I got a BARGAIN, you know that feeling? they cost 3x as much and the views were 100x better. I fell in love with open clusters.

third: researched, asked here and there, and learned about good starter scopes (i hated that term, thinking i would only ever need one scope...wrong!) came down to a GS 8 or 10 (ie. XT8 or XT10). Chose the 8 for size/value after looking at jupiter through both (should have looked at M13 to tell the difference) saw no diff and got the 8.

happy i did because optics aside, i liked how easy it was to lug around in one piece. and I used it...a LOT...because of that. if the optics were crap I wouldn't have. if it were fussy to use or set up, I wouldn't have. It is neither and I miss it

fourth: bought a garage sale Nexstar 8 for CHEAP. Unimpressed by the soft views (collimated) I sold the ota (see how my tastes start to get more discriminating? Not saying C8s are soft, just my particular example didn't impress me). Replaced it with an Intes MK67 and my standards were higher now, and for good. Inky black skies, refractor like sharp stars and contrast. Mmmmm..

fifth: sold the xt8 and started building around a swayze 13.1 and nova secondary. I don't think this will go on, but I feel like i've been led to where my standards have been increased by slow and steady exposure to better optics (so yes, starting not TOO low and working up was good to me), nor are my desires unquenchable...I'm starting to settle in to my sweet spot, like audio or video gear at a certain point: it cost 10x more to get to the next step.

I've discovered I like sharp optics and contrasty views and also solid mountings/smooth feel to the instrument. I've also discovered I don't care about goto, and that EPs are just as important to giving me the views I myself now require. Pentax XL are my favourite 'keepers'.

Starting with any of this would have been wasted on me, but the lousy binos (refund) were a WASTE. Nothing after would I consider cheap. Inexpensive yes (XT8 is $300 used), but seriously, if I had to sell my Swayze and Intes, and Pentax EPs, and just look through an XT8 with the included plossls, I would miss the inky backgrounds and sharp optics of the others, but honestly, that scope really is "good enough" to look around forever. So I COULD live with one BUT my tastes now dictate I step up (happily so) for a little more money. Still, at some point I can't take the next $tep because it's logarithmic not linear.

You have to start small to know the difference I think, know what YOU like and then "value" can be found at any price point.

Tom.

Don't forget the Moonlite focuser either. It is lower profile and light weight, while being ulltrasmooth and super high quality. I had almost the same needs as you. And though I think the feathertouch is the best, after asking here, the opinions seemed to converge, but one sentence jumped out at me: "moonlite is probably second only to feathertouch, while everything else is a distant third". I bought a moonlite and now I can see why people rave about them. Almost feathertouch like (they have both dual and monorate focusers). low profile. Smooth as butter. Just keep that in mind as well. All the specs are on their website.

Tom

Of the 3 the XT6, is the right choice. If you can possilby spring for an 8" though I think it's a bigger jump in performance than it is in price. Used ones can often be had for $300. Note that Guan Sheng makes scopes no longer branded Orion. Those can be found at SeansAstronomyShop Hardin Antares and a number of other re-sellers. They all put their sticker on the asian Dobs, as does Orion, but Orion's sticker costs a little more (yes they have good customer service, but so do all of the above).
Enjoy.
Tom.

Okay Lee. I'll bite

I've recently finished my carbon fiber curved vanes ...

TomL

probably everyone does over at the yahoo nexstar group. wonder why you are doing that. I had a one-armed Nexstar 8 and sold the SCT OTA and put an Intes MK67 Mak on the Nexstar mount. But what else could go on the N11 mount besides an N11? I'm sure you have your reasons. Search or ask around on the yahoo group. They will know. Ask for Ray.
TomL