Posts Made By: Tom Mengel

Wow - let me know when you go again - I'll bring my little "junky" LX-10 (I bought it before the LX-90 came out - I'd go for that now BTW). I also have the Meade 2" SCT diagonal that seems is always panned (crappy coatings, don't mount any TV "glass grenades" on it, it will bend, etc.) but it seems rock solid (all metal and heavy, seemed at least as "beefy" as other units) and the views were fine even at 400X. I also have a pile of lowly Mixed-breed plossels and while the TV WF "glass grenades" were really nice I will be happy to stay with the lighter simplicity of smaller EPs (with the reduced fields, and (thankfully) costs).

I DID see some VERY nice scopes mind you (C11's, Tak 120s, TV's, nice DOBs etc.) at a local star party but guess what? About 1/3 of the scopes seemed to be MEADE SCT's!! Funny how even some of the "big hitters" seem to have one packed away somewhere ... might it be the "cost effectiveness" factor? And after seeing (and looking through) the "better" scopes nothing there made me want to dump my "trash" MEADE (except maybe an 8" PortaBall ... smile). While some of the views were better for a 8 inch SCT it was doing just fine, thank you.

Glad to hear others think down the same lines... hope you keep getting joy out of your rig.

Tom

That's what I do - hold 'em up more towards the objective end. I also spread my fingers out along the body a bit, but I also have larger hands than most folks.

It can also help if you use a slightly modified Video Camera "chestpod" with a hunk of foam or a airline style pillow between your chest and the end of the chestpod. With 12X60s (my compromise as to size, light pollution and "hand hold ability") it works pretty well and it's almost like not having a "helper" there at all. But I admit to being lazy and many times I just haul them out as is and hand hold them.

Also, up to a point at least, it seems the more you use the larger size binos the easier it gets to hold them steady - at least that's how it works out for me. One reason I don't use any "aids" with them these days.

Michael is right on about GOOD EQs being $$. Personally I'll wait until I have the bucks for something like a G-11 before I try an EQ again.

Also consider that if you are just starting out in the hobby the DOB mount should be a much more "comfortable" system for two reasons. 1. on Newts an EQ mounts will end up with the EP in weird angles as you aim at different parts of the sky unless you have equipped the OTA with tube rotating rings, and good ones will cost you even more $$ when included in the mount system. Refractors are not so bad but it can still be a problem. And 2. balancing a DOB (even with adding weights for heavy EPs) is much easier that a EQ mount because you are really dealing with only one axis vs. two on a EQ. Also, I wish I had 10 cents for every time I've run into a blinking counter weight sticking out in the dark - but that may just be me ;^).

Also, some DOBs break down so the rocker box becomes part of the scope storage case, making for a neat "all in one" compact package when storing and transporting the scope. With an EQ you will always have two parts to move and deal with.

And BTW you can track with a DOB mount. While not cheap (unless you happen to be handy and want to try building it yourself) there are tracking tables for DOBs that will track an object for well over an hour and even have all-axis motorized slewing and DSCs if you want to get really fancy (but for more $$, of course!). The nice thing here is you can upgrade your system later if you really like the way it works.

My 2 cents - dark skies.

Tom (Mengel)

German tank binoculars sound like nice units (Ziess?). If so DON'T crap them up!!!

First off you are going to have a huge problem with just getting the thing to focus. Most exchangeable EPs have a field-stop (focal points) that will be well behind your original EP focus point. To modify the binoculars to take interchangeable EPs would likely be a MAJOR rebuild of the unit (as in cutting the tubes to shorten them). Modifying the EP MAY work but you still have to mess up the bino body to mount them. Since everything in those binos are mounted firmly and balanced and optimized for the existing design parameters (spacing between the objectives and erecting prisms and EPs, exact positioning of EPs for a small but well defined focus travel range, smooth interocular adjustments that will preserve all the other things, etc.) messing with it will probably end up with a unit that would never come close to what you would want it to do (as in never focus worth a da*m, always slipping out a alignment, etc.).

For the price and ease of use newer binos are incredibly complex optical units that are real bargains at the price. As such there are just too many things (in one package) to mess up unless you are a master optical worker (IMHO). Save yourself a mess of frustration and just buy new ones, as even cheapie TASCOs will do better than tearing into a good pair that may well never work again.

FWIW

I hear you on this one. My eye are getting very weird as I age and I ended up with contacts because the correction with glasses would not work any more (I'm 52 myself).

SCUBA divers can have Rx masks made, but that take into account the water too, and don't think that's what you want.

I'd go down to one hour optical with my Rx and ask if they could make the lenses and cut a 2 inch (or whatever) plugs out. Then you can mount them like slip over filters and put them over the bino EPs. But with astigmatism you might have problems with the EPs twisting to focus, as the X/Y orientation with your eye has to stay the same. I guess you could "twist 'em till they look good" but that one more operation to do... You could also get a cheap pair made and then just rig up a dual EP slip-over arrangement after removing the earpieces to maintain interocular spacing and lens alignment.

FWIW

Humm - your questions are covering a LOT of territory there! Sat pixs and comet hunting are two very different things, and what equipment you use and how you use it will be vastly different.

Comet hunting can be photographic but I hear most comet hunters still use a their eyes with a fairly large scope or binoculars and a LOT of time and repetition to nail them down. There are LOTS of comet hunters and the competition can be keen if you want to be the first to see one (and get it named after you). I think maybe you could compare comet hunting to long distance running - a very solitary pursuit that requires both skill and long, long lonely hours. Dark skies and a very forgiving spouse (or none at all) for all those long cold nights out slowly scanning the skies are a must. My wife would kill me so I'm not a comet hunter (plus I don't think I have the tenacity to pull it off, anyway).

If you just want to take pictures of LEOs (Low Earth orbit) satellite trails they can be seen all the time with just your eyes under dark skies, so it should not be a big problem. I almost always run into these guys when I'm out, and think of them more as moving point light pollution when they invade the field of what I'm looking at. I would think a fairly fast lens on a 35mm camera and ASA 1600 or better film would do it fine. Even better, a good CCD camera (with adjustable shutter settings) so you can see what you're doing right away and play around a bit.

You might also want to get acquainted with one of the satellite tracking programs (like "Log Sat" or many others) and the NASA/NORAD satellite database to get the current orbital information for any specific targets you want to go after. Then you will know exactly where and when a satellite will pass over your location and can set up before hand. (BTW - the data must be current because satellites drift, so these data sets are being tweaked all the time).

On the other hand, if you want to take pictures that show what the bird itself looks like that is several strata above a simple light trail. A Meade LX-200 SCT and other "GOTO" scopes can be programmed to track (in theory) almost any satellite but actually getting a usable image would be a real challenge. I've seen the International Space Station taken with a 8 inch SCT but it's just an outline of the major modules (your not going to be looking into any port-holes!) Any geo-synchronous satellites (23000 mile away) will probably only show points of light to all but the biggest scopes. And then there are the high inclinations birds that come in fast and low and then go way out again. Lots of possibilities if you want to get into it. Any of these satellites will need the *current* orbital elements from a web database to be able to program the scope to track the chosen satellite correctly.

Sorry for the long post - hope this helps….

Tom Mengel

I did it - but beware that if you use an EP that has too much "front end" you will have to chop off so much finder body it will not fit in the std. rings anymore. That said:

Get a good WA EP (20mm is standard) from an old bino pair (TASCO WA 7X35s worked for me). Rig a 1 1/4 inch tube (a old film can will work) as a EP body so it will fir in the diagonal. As an additional step mount a cross-hair in the EP (I like NOT having one myself - but your mileage may very...)

Select an old 90 or a 45 deg. 1 1/4 inch "correcting" diagonal (I used the latter myself - it will take more "body sawing" than the 90 deg. but the views are correct and at low powers the 45 deg. diagonal works fine).

Get a PVC tube coupling that is 2 inch or a bit less OD and about 1.5 ID (most hardare places will have it - bring your finder body and 1 1/4 inch diagonal along to check it out).

On the inside of the PVC coupler line it with black "loopy" gender self-sticking VELCRO tape so the diagonal will snugly fit (but can still slide back and forth a bit to focus).

Chop off a little LESS that you think it will take from the finder body.

Use black PVC tape (a.k.a. "electrician's tape") to (very) sung-fit the pvc into the EP end of the finder body.

Star test the assembled finder - you will probably not come to focus the first time.

Cut of a bit more finder body (1/16 inch at a time when you get close to focus) until you can reach infinitive focus. You may also want to use a steel square on a flat surface to be sure you are sawing off the finder body at a 90 deg. angle all the way around.

Retest until you get a star to focus.

Use a flat-black poster marker to darken the finder body tube end and PVC adaptor.

Re-mount the finder in it's rings and go for it.

I did this - it has an old "Meade" diagonal mated to my 8X50 Meade finder so it really looks "stock" and the 45 deg. diagonal is a LOT better that either the straight through or the 90 deg. setups IMHO.

FWIW....

TM

Hey Maurice, could be worse. You could still be down in OZ and contending with all the smoke around Sydney...

Just like we here in Denver did this summer with the Hayman fire (but H2O vapor is sure a LOT easier to breath!).

TM

Peter,

Borge has some but their units are not particularly cheap... about 70 or 90 bucks with and without a scale on the barrel to let you know your focus offset. The only thing the scale would be good for IMHO is star testing if you wanted to know deltas off the in-focus point to compare with each other.

I was thinking along the same lines for my SCT - getting a 2 inch to 1 1/4 fine helical focuser adaptor for that "last little touch-up" with short FL EPs when viewing planets. I have since put a "$0.02 focus aid" on the standard SCT knob (i.e. a 2 ½ inch peanut butter jar lid made to press fit). It helps enough if there is a only small amount if image shift so I don't really need the more $$ rig (but I cheap anyway - smile).

FWIW

TM

I have a home made "look-down" mount for my 12X60s I made from a surplus M-39 mirror (same as used in the commercial mounts I believe) and it works very well for the neck position. You do have to get used to the inverse image (like in any mirror), aiming the binos (think "45 degrees" a lot), and be sure to mount the binos so they align with the mirror correctly.

My $0.02