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Posts Made By: john crilly

January 7, 2003 12:53 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Choose !

Posted By john crilly
Hi, Oz.

I can' address the two comparatively, but I can tell you that at F10 the GTO Promixa will not be a disappointment. It's the best moderately-priced widefield eyepiece I have ever used.

John

February 15, 2003 03:39 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

New Celestron Mounts

Posted By john crilly
Hi, Gary.

It does look as though they have corrected the weakest link - the tripod. I've used the LXD55 with a fairly heavy 6" refractor on a good tripod and it did a pretty good job.

John

May 20, 2003 03:57 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

What's a good battery?

Posted By john crilly
Most of these come with a "wall wart" transformer which will overcharge and damage the battery if left on too long. A very few of the jumpstart type batteries have a built-in charger which will switch itself off when the battery is fully charged. The only ones I have seen like this are sold by Harbor Freight Tools and I strongly recommend them. There;s a 17 amp-hour one with this feature on sale in the stores now for $40.

John

May 20, 2003 04:07 AM Forum: Meade

Meade LXD55 10" Newtonian compeditors

Posted By john crilly
An obvious competitor is the new Celestron ASC 10" reflector, which has a similar mount but a very good tripod and autoguide capabilities. The mount's still a little light but the real tripod will help a lot.

John

May 27, 2003 10:21 PM Forum: Home Observatories

Roll Off Roof Observatory from Pier-Tech?

Posted By john crilly
Hi, Dan.

Astromart ad #193085 offers plans - they are offered by the fellow who built mine.

John

June 4, 2003 02:36 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Easy-to-use GOTO GEM

Posted By john crilly
Hi, Ryan.

I like both Jake's and Luis's suggestions. I've seen and pushed on (but not used) the Celestron ASC and it looks like a big jump in stability over the LXD55. I had the EQ-6/SS2K combo and it was a beast; I had a 10: SCT and a 4" APO on it and it was rock-solid.

John

June 8, 2003 09:22 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Need Scope Advice

Posted By john crilly
Hi, Dan.

A permanent setup is a huge convenience and I have to support that option. If you will still be moving the instrument around to other sites another option would be the Nexstar 11GPS. This is MUCH easier to transport and set up than the 10" Meade, and won't involve losing any aperture.

John

July 18, 2003 12:31 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Meade LX200gps 14" vs. Celestrons CGE1400

Posted By john crilly
The difference in price is much less than $2000. The CGE14 is about $6300 delivered; the 14" Meade with comparable coatings is $4900 delivered. If you add a wedge to the Meade they get even closer in price.

The good news is that one can choose the system one prefers without being pushed toward one or the other by price.

John

July 24, 2003 10:11 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

New Starbright Coatings

Posted By john crilly
The back cover of the latest S&T is a Celestron ad which refers to "Starbright XLT" coatings and refers the reader to a page on their website which doesn't exist yet.

John

July 24, 2003 10:17 AM Forum: Home Observatories

Concrete pier top plates

Posted By john crilly
Another Astromart sponsor, www.backyardobservatories.com also offers one. I've seen it but not used it myself; looks pretty nice.

John

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