Posts Made By: Mark Mittlesteadt

Does anyone know where I can get a 2" visual back for my Meade 8" SCT?

I already have a 2" diagonal that I use on my refractor and I would like to use it on my SCT as well, so I don't need a 2" diagonal for SCT's (the kind that screw on the back)...just a 2" visual back that screws on and accepts standard (non SCT) diagonals.

I can't seem to find them anywhere...I did see a televue one...but I'm not sure if that's what I need.

OK...for years I've used Meade stock Plossls and also the stock Plossls from Orion.

I've come to the conclusion that my view for the past 10 years has basically sucked because of my cheap eyepieces. My Meade Plossls were alright I guess...nothing to brag about, but usable (I sold them off along with a ton of other accessories), a mistake on my part, as my current stock Orion Plossls are downright terrible.

I've got a wide field scope and an 8" SCT. I feel they are both decent scopes but since the OTA itself is meant for collecting light, the "business" end of the scope (the EP's) seem to be the one place where one should not scrimp on quality.

I feel that the EP's are where I should really be sticking my money so I'm wondering...If I could have only 2 EP's and only two (with a barlow)...Which ones are the BEST EP's one could get for around $100-$150 each?

I'm mainly looking into getting one around 25mm and one around 10mm. With a Barlow (and what would be the best barlow as well???) I would effectively be getting 4 quality EP's (25mm, 12.5mm, 10mm, and 5mm).

What are the best two EP's on the market for around $100-$150 each? I'm tired of my view suffering from "average" EP's.

I've looked into Televues...and I've seen the Televue Plossl's for around $100. I can't afford the Panoptics or the Radians (although I'd love to have them).

If you could only have two, which ones are "must have"???

Who makes 2" high power EP's?

Specifically in the range of 10mm-15mm? I'm thinking of going with 2" EP's and getting either a 32mm or 40mm and a 25mm along with a 2" barlow.

But I can't seem to find any higher power 2" EP's. Do they even make them at those powers?

Does anyone here use 2" EP's exclusively?

I have not been out viewing with my telescope since last October.

I live in Wisconsin. I've got a permanent mount set up in my back yard, in the only place surrounding light does not kill my view. My neighborhood is in a horrendously, light polluted part of town.

This winter has really been terrible with the snow and bitter cold. Even tonight (March 21) it is supposed to be only 7 degrees with winds up to 20 miles per hour.

I don't go out when it is so cold out...it is just too uncomfortable to enjoy the views. At my old house, I had a nice blacktop driveway and could at least get out with either my Astroview 120 or my Meade 8" SCT for quick views when cold. My new place has an uneven snow filled, gravel driveway in front of an old, barely usable garage that is 50 feet away from the house. The permanent mount is great...but it's location is about 20 feet away from any place that is cleared of snow. I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of trudging through snowbanks with a 50 pound scope.

But this year has been a torment for me. No place to set up and too cold to bother with it. I've been reading alot...but I am anxious to get out with my scope(s) again.

Anyone else despise the cold winter so much that you basically wait out winter and don't get out much, if at all until spring?

I really need to move to a warmer climate!!!

I will be getting an ETX105 and I'm curious as to those who are ETX owners, what is your preference for mounting, Alt-Az or EQ (Polar)?

I have an Autostar...and the main reason for getting the ETX is portability and convenience. I don't have alot of time for viewing, so I don't really have alot of time for setup or star hopping either.

Which do you prefer, and what type of viewing do you do (casual, quick looks or long nights at the EP)?

Does the Autostar make a difference in your decision? And what's your preference for alignment?

I'm anxious to get it and to hear what others are doing.

Thanks.

I just recently acquired an ETX 105.

I had it out with the new autostar last night and while it took me a while to figure out how to set it up properly, the "go to" feature is excellent. It placed the objects in the FOV every time.

The finderscope (even the RA one for the 105) is truly a piece of crap. The ETX105 allows for easy removal of the holder, so I threw the finder away and mounted a 6X30 straight through (an Orion model on a tall bracket). Excellent, easy alignment on the Orion finders.

The optics are excellent. In my 20mm Expanse EP, I could clearly make out 5 cloud bands on Jupiter, with great contrast...and the moons were perfectly round dots. The 9mm Expanse still showed only 5, but with much greater clarity. This was even while Jupiter was getting closer to the horizon.

I can understand why some people dismiss the ETX line, but I needed an "ultra portable, easy to haul out and setup scope". While smaller refractors may be "grab'n'go", you still have to haul out the tripod and mount as well.

The ETX is the easiest scope to pick up and use. For all the bad press about it from "experts", I have yet to find a better solution for my limited time to view. I had a small scope that was supposedly grab'n'go, but the mount was a pain to haul out along with the scope. Plus, I have come to find I despise EQ mounts and the constant adjustments. The ETX has it all in one little unit. Simply take it out and put it on any level surface and in less than 5 minutes I'm viewing. Plus I can take it anywhere with me and enjoy the night sky, even without a tripod.

I will grant that the mount itself, and the plastic gears, etc. leave one wondering about quality. But the optics themselves are first rate. I own an 8" SCT and the 105 gives me sharper images. Great little scope. It's got me back out enjoying the night sky again...which is the whole purpose of having a scope in the first place.

The ETX105 is the perfect "sweet spot" between viewing and portability. I should've purchased one a long time ago. I can see where my 8" SCT will not be used much anymore and I'm even considering selling it.


PS - Thanks again Dan. It's just what I needed!!!

OK, all of you reflector owners...

I have a friend who is new to astronomy and I offered to help him get a cheap short tube EQ reflector fixed up and collimated.

It's been years since I owned a reflector. I’ve had refractors, SCT’s and MCT’s and it’s been a while since I’ve had to collimate a scope. The SCT only needs the secondary mirror tweaked and I can’t recall which comes first, the chicken or the egg? I mean should I start with the secondary and square that up or start with the primary mirror?

It’s an off brand reflector…a 105mm and 1400mm focal length. It has a very cheap focuser with a built in Barlow. I was thinking of removing the mirrors, cleaning them up and try to get the primary so that it is sitting in its cell so it’s even on all three points. Then try to square up the secondary as best I can before attempting to collimate.

I was wondering about replacing the cheap focuser…but I can’t find one with a built in Barlow. Would it be worthwhile to replace it with a focuser that has no Barlow? I’m assuming the Barlow is giving it the long focal length. It’s a slow scope now at f/13. Would changing the focuser to a non Barlow change it to something like an f/6 or f/7…assuming the Barlow is a 2X? Would that even work or be worthwhile? They would be using it as a general purpose scope. I noticed, while attempting collimation that an out of focus star revealed the three clips of the primary. Would adding a baffle be helpful and if so, how and where does one go about putting one in?

It needs a lot of work…the scope right now, at best, only gives a slightly out of focus view of the moon and Jupiter is a white smear. It is so badly out of collimation right now that an out of focus star shows the secondary way off to one side…but interestingly enough when I move the axis of the EQ mount the secondary moves with it, (as the entire out-of-focus star moves from one side of the opening to the other as the mount is moved in either DEC or RA, the secondary moves within it, from one side of the primary to the other).

I’m not quite sure where to start. I tried to get the secondary lined up with the focuser as best I could by eye-balling it and the moon then could achieve a better focus, though not perfect by any means…but any attempt to collimate the primary afterwards does nothing to improve the focus.

Ah, the frustrations of collimation. Granted I didn’t take a lot of time with it last night, but I can see where there is some work to be done to improve this scope.

Any suggestions as to where to start with collimating it and any modifications (i.e.- replacing the focuser, baffling or anything else you can think of) would be of great help.

Thanks

A while back I asked for advice on collimating a reflector. It was a project I was doing for a friend.

I have gotten the scope as collimated as I can. Everything is lined up dead center, however nothing comes to sharp focus. Also, the focus seems sharpest (if you can call it that) when the object is dead center in the EP. The focus is worse when the object gets to any edge of the FOV. This happens even when I use my EP's that have good edge of field sharpness when used in my Mak.

When the object is out of focus, you can see the shadow of the secondary and the three spider vanes. Everything is centered when the out-of-focus image is in the center of the EP. When the object is in the center of the FOV, it is perfectly collimated. But when the object is at the edge of the FOV, I notice that the shadow of the secondary moves from one side to the other (depending on which edge of the FOV the object is moved to).

Even with a high quality EP that I know gives good views, no matter how much I try to focus, the object will still not come into perfect focus. What causes such a major shift in the location of the secondary's shadow (when out of of focus) just by moving the object so slightly in the EP FOV?

I did notice after I took the scope completely apart, cleaned it and replaced everything, that there is a bit of glue showing on the edge of the barlow/corrector lens in the focuser. Could the focuser (and/or the barlow/corrector lens) be of such lousy quality that no matter how collimated I get it, it will never come into focus?

I have seen scopes that are out of collimation, where the secondary's shadow is off center...but it usually stays off center in the same direction (placement relation to the edge of field of the out of focus star) no matter where the object is placed in the EP FOV. It doesn't shift it's location off center when moved about in the FOV...but this scope does.

How on earth could one ever get it collimated if on one side of the FOV the secondary is off in one direction, but when moved to the other side of the FOV, it's off in the other direction?

Any ideas? Can I replace the focuser? Any suggestions would be appreciated. This is a simple Newt reflector. Even if the mirrors were of low quality, I should be able to get somewhat decent focus if it's collimated shouldn't I?

Does anyone know where you can buy sheets (1/8 thick or thicker), or small blocks (1" X 1" or 2" X various lengths), of aluminum for small machining projects?

Any online links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Does anybody know (even a guess-timate) about how many ETX's have been sold to date?

I'm curous as to how many ETX owners there are out there world-wide.

I've tried to find figures on the web, but I've come up with nothing so far.

Anyone with information, or ideas as to where to get that information, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.