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Douglas Rollain

Lion Nebula SH2-132 - RC71

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Posts Made By: James McSheehy

April 13, 2010 01:38 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Whats a good pier for a Paramount ME?

Posted By James McSheehy
Bisque sells a full line of piers. They are not cheap, but they are very well made with powder coated finish inside and out. All the surfaces are flat and parallel, and all the holes in the upper and lower plates are drilled/tapped -- they are ready to use with no additional work.

June 6, 2010 07:22 PM Forum: Digital SLR AstroPhotography

USB shutter control

Posted By James McSheehy
The Shoestring Astronomy web site has schematics for DIY cables and controls. Outside of the crappy display, most netbooks work fairly well for controlling an imaging system in the field.

June 20, 2010 03:33 PM Forum: Refractors

science behind focus of light

Posted By James McSheehy
thomas zukouski said:

light is traveling at 186,000mps, bouncing of everything you focus on a plant 50 ft. away behind it another plant less than 2 ft. you have to refocus to see this plant ! why? light lag is so small .

Yes, the time lag is small, but so is the wavelength. 8)

June 20, 2010 03:41 PM Forum: Refractors

Opinions on these

Posted By James McSheehy
Assuming good optics on all three, seems like the field flattener and focuser would determine which is better for narrowband AP.

June 22, 2010 03:11 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

GEM for TEC 160 ED (visual-only)?

Posted By James McSheehy
David Badrick said:

I'm interested in advice on what constitutes a suitable mount for a TEC 160 ED refractor which I expect to have delivered this summer.

I'd suggest you consider adding some kind of height adjustment to your visual-only setup, or get an extra-tall pier. Twenty inches of height adjustment is plenty, and your neck will thank you. It's easy to do in an observatory, not so much for portable gear.


August 7, 2010 01:13 AM Forum: Refractors

Size comparison Traveler vs. Eclipse

Posted By James McSheehy
One nice looking scope. How is the new TEC focuser?

August 8, 2010 02:15 PM Forum: Solar System Observing

Jupiter this morning

Posted By James McSheehy
Nice pic Tom. I used to live in Suwanee, and this is the hazy time of year when we'd get periods of excellent seeing.

August 10, 2010 04:18 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

"Shipping to CONUS only" Annoying (classifieds)

Posted By James McSheehy
It works the same as a domestic package -- except when it doesn't. Shipping internationally is expensive through UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. The Post Office is much cheaper, but their service is lacking. We shipped a $540 item to that primitive backwater of a country, Belgium ( 8) ), via USPS Global Priority Mail. The item disappeared somewhere in customs and it was never delivered. OK, it happens, time to file a claim. Several phone calls, online forms, faxes, and 90 days elapse, our claim is denied. WTF? This is what passes for customer service at the USPS these days, and it is why I am reluctant to ship outside the CONUS. If I do, the shipment must be handled by a carrier with end-to-end responsibility.

August 19, 2010 02:27 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Deep Sky

M8 M20 TEC180 at F5.25 now in colour

Posted By James McSheehy
Beautiful, stunning shot Greg. How is the Tak reducer attached to the FT focuser? Is Yuri's FF anywhere in the imaging train?

September 26, 2010 02:16 AM Forum: Reflectors

Can Aperture Replace Seeing?

Posted By James McSheehy
For visual use at high magnifications, the sweet spot for aperture is 20 to 30 cm. Larger apertures are usually seeing-limited at most locations.

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