Posts Made By: Linton Rohr

I must recommend this great book on finishing.
Understanding Wood Finishes by Bob Flexner. Published by Rodale.
He simplifies much of this stuff and puts it into easy-to-understand, no-nonsense terms.
One of his primary goals is to unveil the finishing materials, so you know what you're actually dealing with.
Most of the manufacturers want you to believe they have some kind of secret formula. Many myths are debunked.
I went to one of his seminars once.
It's been a big help to me.
Linton

Thanks for the testing and the report, Floyd.
It takes a lot of dedication and focus to look at the same thing
all night long, through one eypiece, then another, then another, then another...
We appreciate it!
Linton

Christopher.
With the plossls to use for planetary, I'd recommend either the 20mm T5 Nagler,
or as others have said, the 17mm T4. Later, you can add the 12mm T4.
Once you get a taste of the wide Nagler FOV, you'll yearn for a 31mm, too.
Shop on Astromart to stretch your dollars.
And enjoy your DSO's!
Linton

Hmm. Sounds tempting gentlemen.
I might be able to make it on Friday.
Just got back from south central Utah,
where it was cold and windy.
But damn, talk about dark skies!
Linton

Hello Paul, and welcome to the hobby.
I, and many others, think that Dickenson's "Nightwatch" is about the best beginners book around.
Follow that with Dickenson and Dyer's "Backyard Astronomer's Guide".
I started out with a LX-90 myself, and a set of plossls.
Still use the scope sometimes, but seldom use the plossls anymore.
After a little reading and learning, I added the 14mm and 8.8mm UWA's. The 14mm was always useful, but the sky conditions often precluded use of the 8.8mm. You should be able to find a series 4000 14mm UWA on Astromart for a decent price.
You'll want a nice medium power EP too. For me, the 27mm Panoptic fit the bill. That's assuming you don't want to plop down the bigger bucks for a 20mm Nagler. The 19mm Panoptic is great too, but the field of view is not much greater than the 14mm UWA. If you're limited to 1 1/4' EP's, perhaps the 24mm Panoptic would be appropriate.
If you do have a 2" diagonal, you'll want a wider field EP at some point, so you can fit some of the larger objects into your view, such as Andromeda, the Pleiades, the double cluster, etc. A 35mm or 41mm Panoptic would be ideal here, or the 40mm Meade SWA. You can find all of these in the classifieds, to make your hard-earned dollars go farther.
Don't rush into all this. Take your time and HAVE FUN!
Linton

Hi Rod. Glad you got some more time in later. I started to pack it up at about 11:00, but within a few minutes it cleared up drastically. I almost woke you up, but thought bettern of it. We ended up leaving around 2:00, after catching an early (low) view of Saturn. Had a nice night, overall.
Thanks for the EP report.
Linton

Got off to a decent start Craig, not great, but then high clouds started drifting through around 8:00 or 9:00. I was just starting to pack up at 11:00, when it started clearing up drastically. Ended up being pretty nice the rest of the night, at least until I left at 2:00. The sky clock looks better for tonight, but tomorrow looks much better. Figures, Sunday night.
Linton

Hey Todd, that's a pretty good line up, I'd say.
The 20mm T5 is one of my most used EP's too.
The 14mm UWA is a very good EP, but I would not sell the 12mm T4 to get one.
Since I got my 12 T4, the 14 UWA has seen much less use.
If you're lacking anything, it's in the wide field department.
The 26mm T5 is great, but if I could only have one,
I'd go for the 31mm, just to have the maximum FOV.
Linton

Well alright, Joe. I've got one.
I bought my Zero-Stat way back in the 70's.
Works quite well for the intended purpose,
though I haven't worked it into my astro activities yet.
I've still got about 12 linear feet of vinyl on the shelf, too.
At least they're not 78's!
Linton

Hmm, interesting lunar observing notes, Bill.
I may have experienced that a couple times, without really making as much sense of it all.
Your explanation, in terms of contrast makes sense now.
I'm still trying to hit the moon on a really good night of seeing, though.
Linton - recovering DSO addict 8)