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RICHARD COFER

VdB 141 Ghost Nebula

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Posts Made By: Walter Hamler

August 22, 2003 03:16 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Finished my new scope!

Posted By Walter Hamler
2 to 3 pounds??!! That is amazing. I made a 5.5" tube about 24" long from red oak, 3/16 thick, and it was almost 10 pounds.
Beautiful setup!!

Walt

August 27, 2003 06:58 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

Mars From Winter Springs, FL

Posted By Walter Hamler
Looking good, Alvaro!!
Our astronomy club has been out at the UCF observatory the past two nights and about 400 to 500 folks showed up each night!!! The CBS affiliate was there last night and tonight Fox news is coming.
I have been setting up the club 8" Celestron and surprisingly the views are pretty good.
Keep up the good work!

Walt

September 1, 2003 07:04 PM Forum: Solar System Observing

Mars at BFSP! part II

Posted By Walter Hamler
Wow Doug, that is very nice indeed. I compared the drawings with the Mars Previewer images and they were spot on! I was observing the same evening and the night before and the images looked just like you have depicted them! Well done!

Walt

September 1, 2003 09:19 PM Forum: Telescope Making

silicone on my secondary : (

Posted By Walter Hamler
Alcohol and Q-tips. Rinse in soapy water and rinse with distilled water. Dry with hair dryer.

Walt

September 5, 2003 08:16 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Grinding an 8" Lens for Refractor

Posted By Walter Hamler
Back in '77 I was at the Riverside Telescope Makers conference. This young kid of maybe 18 or 20 drove up with an 11" refractor strapped to the top of his Ford Galaxy and towing this massive GEM on a trailer behind. I believe his name is Jeff Schroder. A pic of him and his scope was just posted recently here on Astromart, only it is on a Volvo now, and his hair is a little longer! He made the optics and it was his first attempt at optics of any kind. So, I guess the short answer is "yes", but I would recommend a "lot of determination" as well!

Walt

September 10, 2003 07:45 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Equipment you most regretted selling.....

Posted By Walter Hamler
The "most missed" of all the astro stuff is the 8" f/5 astro rig I built back in the 70's. It had 2" shafts, an 8.2" RA drive, Bradford-West controller, custom "everything", and really worked great. Then, I got transferred back overseas in 82 and was way over my weight allowamce, and "stuff" had to go. By the time I got back to the states the family had grown to 4 and daddyhood was the priority of my life. Now, the kids are grown and I have the time, but I doubt I could ever build one of them monsters again!!

Walt

September 16, 2003 12:05 AM Forum: Pictures of Me and My Telescope and........

Seneca Rocks W.Va.

Posted By Walter Hamler
Hey Dale, are you going to be in Chiefland in November?

Walt

September 22, 2003 11:25 PM Forum: Telescope Making

HDPE for Telescope Tubes?

Posted By Walter Hamler
How heavy is it? Most of the pvc type tubing that I have seen in the larger sizes is pretty heavy stuff.

Walt

September 23, 2003 08:50 PM Forum: Telescope Making

Pinched mirror

Posted By Walter Hamler
Floyd, not sure I full understand what you are describing but it could be a pinched mirror. How thick and what diameter is the mirror?
I had an 8" f/6 that was glued to a plywood mirror cell with silicon rtv. It had performed flawlessly for over a year then one night the star images looked like "-".
Just a line. I took the mirror off the cell and remounted with clips and rubber pads. Back to normal.
You could easily lighten up on the clip pressure and should be able to see immediately if that helped.

Walt

September 23, 2003 09:15 PM Forum: Deep Sky Observing

Andromeda looks like a cotton ball?

Posted By Walter Hamler
The problen with a long focal length instrument, ie, C-14, is that your lowest powers will still most likely give a fov of 3/4 degree or less. That basically IS the nucleus of M-31, and that's what it looks like in almost any instrument, a fuzz ball.
With a larger dob type scope with a fov approaching 2* you will see a dust lane or two. The absolute most stunning view of M-31 I ever had was from Mt. Pinos with a homemade 5" f/5 refractor and wide field erfle eyepiece. The actual fov was over 5* and the galaxy almost filled the field to the edge. There were at least 3 dust lanes and the HII regions were bright little knots strewn throught the spiral arms. Not quite a photo but real close!

Walt

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