Posts Made By: Owen Chin

Hi Don,

If you don't want electronics but just slow motion controls to mount your C8 and a Pronto, you should consider the Giro GR-2DX with the dual mount arms.(you probably seen the Cloudy Nights reviews of it. If you get it with the standard 3/8" thread, it will fit most tripods. I have mine modified with Losmandy GM-8 saddleplate/dovetail bars. See John Ford's web page for additional pictures and DYI modifications at:

http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/astropattern/

Mine is set up on the GM-8 tripod with extension pier. I mounted a 8" Dall Kirkham on one side and a refractor on the other with your old Borg mini 50 as the finderscope, (Thanks! everyone in my club was impressed with it BTW). It's very smooth and Doblike and can easily handle your payload no ptoblem. Heck I can pick my whole rig up and move it around myself. It's a lot easier than a GEM too.

Hope this helps.
Best Regards, Owen

Personally, I would avoid the temptation of entering the refractor world unless you plan to financially commit to an APO versus an Achro. I don't thing that you won't see any thing better with an Achro than what you could see in your 8" Dob. My first scope was a C102 HD Celestron on a CG-4 GEM. The color on lunar/planetary viewing bothered me and the GEM with the cheap aluminum legs drove me crazy. For DSOs the 8" of your dob will blow away anything a 4-5" refractor can pull in.

I nevertheless continued down the refractor road and got an 4" APO and a Losmandy GM-8...man, what a difference! The losmandy GM8, IMHO is the entry level GEM to get. The cost was staggering however and I found myself wasting precious viewing time setting up and especially tearing down and storing the GEM. (when it dews up in Fla, it really dews up) I have since went the way of a Giro GR-2 Alt-Az mount on a sturdy tripod.

The lesson to this is, unless you really plan to seriously photo/image (some swear by the Tak GEMs) or you really like pinpoint sharp contrasty images that a smaller aperture APO will render, save the money and get a Starmaster 11" f5.4 ELT. With the Zambuto mirror it will beat any APO in the 4-5" category.

Sorry for the rambling, but I thought you'd like to know from a strictly visual guy.

Regards, Owen

I had one a while back and wonder in retrospect why I ever let it go. Even though I don't wear glasses, it had great eye relief. The FOV increases as you zoom in and gave very spacious views at a higher mags. On my TMB 100 F8 I found it very sharp to the edge however, I can't say how it will be in a fast scope.

The downside is that it sits very close in on the foucus plane and may not come to focus in some scopes. The zoom mechanism on mine was a bit too stiff`and needed work. The cost for two Leica zoom eps is really getting expensive. There may also be a problem as there are no clickstops to set the a balanced magnification in each EP. Finally, the limitation of the IP distance may impact the use of them as bino EPs for some people.

This is not to say that this EP for single eye use is bad...to the contrary I found it quite impressive for a zoom. For further analysis, go to the reviews on Cloudy Nights. I based my purchase on those reviews.

Good Luck, Owen

The 9mm Type 1 sits farther back on the focus plane and has decent ER but not great for eyeglass wearers. I find it to work great with refractors and gives a great "spacewalk effect". They supposedly have very little coma in fast Dobs, but cannot comment as I don't have a Dob. If you have a 2" diagonal the 2" skirt on the 9T1 saves the use of a 1.25 adapter but is oversized in a 1.25 diagonal. Can't comment on the speers-waller but many swear by them as much as I swear by the 9T1. (I have a pair for binoviewing)

Regards, Owen

Hi Milton,

I have a 210 Mewlon and find that the TV 31mmT5 Nagler was made for that scope. Can just frame the Double Cluster and 5 galaxies in Virgo. I rarely change out to my 20mmT2. For lunar/planetary I use my 12T2 and 9T1 since I'm non-tracking on an alt-az mount and get great views. But I imagine with Orthos, Monos, and higher power Tak LEs or Type 6s on a tracking GEM would be killer.

Regards, Owen

Edward,

I had a C102 HD and even though it is very light, the length of the scope on a TV alt-az mount may be a bit shaky and pose a balance issue. But to answer your question My Stellarvue AT1010's tube rings did not fit inside the cradle of my TV Upswing, so I got an aluminum plate to space the rings outide the cradle and it worked fine. Simply get a 2.5" wide 3/8" thick and long enough to seperate the rings outside the cradle but close enough so you can move the OTA to balance it. Drill and tap 1/4x20 threads so you can bolt it to the mount and drill holes so you can bolt the rings to the plate. However, if your SP dovetail plate gives you enough seperation see if you can drill/tap a 1/4x20 hole in the dovetail plate so you won't have to disassemble the rings. I did that with my Losmandy GM-8 dovetail plate and it holds my Sky 90 in it's tube ring with one 1/4x20 knob just fine(just make sure it is bolted down properly}

Good Luck, Owen

Hi Paul,

Before I place a for sale or wanted ad, I always do an archive search on the itme over a two year time frame. The historical perspective will track the supply, demand and the commanding price past to present. I then price accordingly. On wanted ads I just ask for best shipped price. Perhaps I am lucky but I've never had a problem.

Sometimes I luck out on the archive search and will see a buyer or seller who has posted and reposted but has never shown a sold or found. I will respond to the ad and politely ask if the item has been bought or sold. Sometimes I get a response sometimes I don't, but I have lucked out in some instances and in other instances a person will take the time to respond and offer valuable info on things that I am buying sight unseen for possible use in various applications.

Take Care,
Owen

Jason,
FWIW,I think you made an excellent choice. I have a Mewlon 210 and TMB 100/800 which I have had mounted side by side on a Giro GR-2dx mount. The TMB is a real nice "finderscope" for the 8" and is much preferred for lunar/planetary standing alone for the quick cool down and ease of set up.

Regarding an observatory, I probably would use the money, sell the 4" and upgrade to a 5" APO. however, YMMV.

Good Luck, Owen

That's great Howard. I have mine on a nontracking TV Upswing, so I use the older 9mm, 7mm and 4.8mm Type 1 Naglers for the wider FOV. At times I also get great results without my Extender Q.

For nebulae I was wondering what narrowband filter would give you the best bank for the buck. The Meade or Orion. Or should I go the extra mile go for the Lumicon or Astromik. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Owen

Pierre,

I have a Sky 90II and have it mounted on TV Upswing and Davis&Sanford Pro Lift A tripod.
The tripod and head fit easily into the D&S nylon bag 36"x9" and fits diagonally in my rolling suitcase. The Sky 90 in it's tube ring fits in its Temba bag can be carried on a plane and you can double fist your EP/accessory case on board as well.

I hope this helps,
Owen