Posts Made By: Bob Young

...to advertise gun sights (rifle or pistol scopes primarily) in the "Sporting Goods (No Guns)" classified section?

How about other shooting accessories...holsters, reloading dies, etc.?

Your site...your rules...no problem.
Bob

What I'm asking is whether the CG5 Advanced Series GoTo version can track objects and be slewed from object to object under manual control from the hand controller without doing a star alignment. (I would, of course, aim the polar axis of the mount at Polaris.) I hope this is clear.

When mounted on its wedge, my ETX125 permits me to do both of these things and its a favorite way to observe. The RA drive ticks away and tracks the object while scope movements from object to object are performed by the motors as directed by the operator from the hand controller. It's been years since I've used Autostar or GoTo. I'm wondering if the new CG5 will do the same. Perhaps someone familiar with both the ETX and the CG5 GoTo can comment.

Also, has the CG5 GoTo made it through its teething period? Ed Allen's customer review on the ATWB site tells a sorry tale.

Thanks.
Bob

Did anyone visually observe the impact last night using optical means (or was I the only one that missed it)?

If so, what were you using and what impression did it make?
Bob

I've been away from Astromart for awhile and, on returning, see that the refractor market has changed. It appears, from watching the classifieds, that APO doublets are no longer the rage. TV102s and FS128s appear infrequently and languish on the listing when they do. When they do sell, they go for well below what was paid. All the attention & activity now seems directed toward triplet and Petzval designs.

Is this because the doublets are now a known quantity to the 'observer' part of the astro community and the curiousity basis for buying is gone or is it because the 'trader' part of the community has moved on to the latest and greatest? Whichever is true, it seems the real demand for these scopes is (and possibly always was) rather shallow.

I'm aware the doublets will show color if not perfectly focused. I've seen a small amount from time to time with my TV102, even less in my FS78; still the doublets are light and easily managed compared to such scopes as the TOA130.

A 5" APO would be the next logical step for me, but not if it means buying a G11 to support it....the GM8 is enough of a hassle. A minty FS128 would be ideal, but they rarely appear anymore. And then there's the hit involved with selling the TV102....

It seems that an APO as an investment is somewhat like stocks or playing poker...you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em.
Bob

I have an 8" f6 Discovery Dob. The Primary is off center in the tube by about 3/8ths of an inch. The Discovery cell doesn't provide any means of precisely centering the mirror in the tube.

The UO mirror cell appears to provide centering adjustments by means of its mounting screws. Can anyone confirm whether this is true? Also, the cell retains the mirror with rubberized (?) metal clips. Will the clips cause distortion of the image created by the mirror? Would like to hear from anyone using these cells.

The mirror is attached to its backing plate in the current cell with adhesive of some type; possibly RTV. What's the best way of seperating the mirror from its plate?

This scope has never collimated the way it should and performs rather poorly on close double stars. I'm hoping to correct these problems by centering the mirror in the tube and re-collimating. Is this reasonable, or should I look elsewhere?

Thanks.
Bob

I'm kicking around the idea of getting either a GoTo scope, a GoTo GEM for an existing scope, or an Orion Intelliscope Dob for use at home. Due to buildings and trees, I'm restricted to a little more than the Southeast quadrant of the sky. I can go a little past the zenith into the Southwestern quadrant, but not far....maybe 5 degrees reliably. Other positions in the yard give me a little more sky but expose me to the lights from passing cars, porch lights, etc.

Besides the Intelliscope dob, I'm considering a Celestron CPC, Meade LX90, Celestron AS-GT GEM, and an Orion Skyview Pro GoTo GEM. Can any of these be aligned for reliable GoTo (or Push To) operation using stars in only one quadrant of the sky? What are the requirements for choosing alignment stars with the present computerized mounts?
Bob

I've been comparing the Celestron AS-GT GEM with the Orion Skyview Pro GoTo. Just noticed that the AS-GT drive motors are DC servos with encoders while the SVP has stepper motors.

What are the relative advantages/disadvantages of these drive systems?

Do the encoders allow the AS-GT axes to be unlocked and slewed by hand while maintaining star alignment?
Bob

Posted this in the Refractor forum in the Orion 102ED f/7 thread. Probably the wrong place, so asking here:

With everybody and his brother selling 4" ED doublets and 4" triplets becoming more and more common, does Televue sell any new TV102s to speak of? It seems like that design has been thoroughly undercut by comparable scopes from the Far East and elsewhere. With all the low cost competition, I'm surprised TV still carries it in their lineup.

Still, Al Nagler's an astute businessman. He must be selling them or he wouldn't still list them.

Or am I missing something? I know they're well built; but is that worth another $1K?

---FWIW I've had a TV102 since 2001 and find it more than adequate. Doubt if I could justify the cost of a new one with the competition in that size...but I haven't looked through the competition either.
Bob

Looking at a used Celestron AS-GT mount. The seller reports the Hand Controller firmware version is 4.00 while the Motor Controller versions are both 5.07

How far behind the current versions are these? I notice the Celestron site includes a manual .pdf for Hand Controller version 4.10; which I would assume (??) is current. If someone with a spanking new AS-GT could fire it up and go menus>utilities>version, it should show what's current.

Any info on what features this older version lacks compared to current would also be appreciated. Trying to decide whether I'd be better off buying new. I realize they're flash upgradeable, but the hardware needed for doing the upgrade costs $$ too.

Thanks.
Bob

What currently produced mounts (GEM) use the Vixen type dovetail? Does the Celestron AS-GT? The Orion Skyview Pro? The LXD75?

Losmandy now makes a Vixen compatible dovetail (V-series). Wondering if it works with any of the above. I thought some were referred to as Vixen GP clones at one time.
Bob