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Posts Made By: Joplin Motisher-Chittenden

June 30, 2008 02:17 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Meade Lightbridge Truss Clamp Mod

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I got tired of having two of the truss poles on my 16" lighbridge slip out of place every time I used a heavy eyepiece. It's due to a bad design with a notched hole on the clamp block and a small tightening knob. I spent a $1.50 on clamp levers at a local thrift store that has some old stock hardware parts. I re-bored and tapped (3/8 X16) the top ring on the lower tube assembly and filed the clamp blocks to fit the larger clamp levers. Worked great, now the clamps are easy to lock down and they don't shift at all. Equivalent parts are available from McMaster if anyone is interested.

July 16, 2008 10:14 PM Forum: Eyepieces

William Optics 28mm UWAN

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
Noticed a nice article on the William Optics UWAN 28mm:

http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=666

I was thinking about writing an article about this eyepiece but Rod beat me to it wink

My experience with this eyepiece is very similar to his. I use it when I want a wide field with my 16" lightbridge. It is a very heavy eyepiece (measured it at 2lbs 1.9 oz. with my digital scale). I use mine with a baader MPCC coma corrector which only contributes about 5 oz. of weight. Nice pinpoint stars right out to the edge of the fov. I'm always surprised by the excellent contrast I get with this eyepiece. Also, the WO spec for the effective field stop is incorrect - I arrived at a figure of 39.3 mm - still very large.

Joplin

November 3, 2008 10:28 PM Forum: Landscape Photography

Courthouse Creek Falls

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I visited my favorite waterfall on Sunday, the falls on Courthouse Creek in NC. Took quite a few images, this one came out nice. Canon 20D , 17-40mm @26mm 1/3 sec. @ 100 ISO.

Joplin

November 10, 2008 11:07 PM Forum: After Dark

Documentary about Palomar on PBS

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
Noticed that there is a documentary on PBS tonight (10:00pm eastern in my area) about Palomar observatory. Looks like it might be pretty interesting.

http://www.journeytopalomar.org/

Joplin

February 2, 2009 06:18 PM Forum: Telescope Making

DSC / Encoder mounting for Discovery 17.5"

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I recently picked up a Discovery 17.5" Truss dob and I'd like to mount a pair of encoders on it to use with a Sky Comander XP4. The azimuth looks easy enough since it already has a pivot bolt drilled for an encoder. I'll just have to watch the clearance so the mirror box doesn't hit the encoder. I think I'll have to make or order another part to hold the altitude encoder though. The alt bearing has a half round shaped recess where the encoder would fit. I'm guessing I'll have to find the right size bushing to to fit the recess and the encoder shaft and tap it for a set screw to hold the encoder shaft in place then attach the bushing to the alt bearing (perfectly centered, of course). I already have the plastic arm to hold the alt. encoder housing in place. Am I on the right track with this ? A couple pictures of alt. encoder installations would help.

Joplin

July 15, 2009 02:35 PM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

Eastern Hercules Beetle

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I've come across 2 of these Eastern Hercules Beetles, I think they must be attracted to the exterior lights where I work. Let this one go in the woods behind by backyard. This one was about 2" long, the last one we found was closer to 3" long.

Joplin

June 17, 2010 10:15 PM Forum: Insects - Flowers and Other Small Stuff - Photos

Dragonfly

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
Went in search of dragonflies last weekend with my new Panasonic ZS6 camera. This was one of the best shots (cropped down a bit to eliminate some of the background clutter). Taken at Lake Conestee Nature Park in Greenville, SC. Quite a lot of interesting flora and fauna there including Great Blue Herons, Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Egrets, Green Herons, Red-shouldered hawks, Osprey, White Tail Deer, and many others. It's basically a swamp like environment (lots of frogs too but they are very tough to spot- hear them singing all the time though).

June 22, 2002 03:23 PM Forum: Eyepieces

Radian 8mm vs. Nagler 9mm

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
I don't have a 8" F 6 but I do have a 6" F 8, which has the same focal length. Having viewed through a 9mm Nagler, I would say that it would be fantastic for globulars and the moon with your scope. For the planets though I don't think the 9 would be quite enough power (I have a 9 for my scope and I always want a bit more power on the planets). I'd go with a 7mm U.O. or equivalent ortho or a Takahashi 7.5mm LE or a Pentax XL 7mm for the planets. I'd also add a good 2x 3 element shorty barlow for use with the 10mm when the seeing is exceptional. If you wear glasses when observing then Radians or Pentax XL eyepieces would be a better choice.

June 24, 2002 03:32 AM Forum: Film Astrophotography - Imaging and Processing

Nikon Focus Screen

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
First we need to know what model Nikon camera you are using since most the screens are specific to one model.

Clear Skies,

Joplin

June 30, 2002 06:17 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Local Store in New Jersey

Posted By Joplin Motisher-Chittenden
Viperbob -
Did you ever recieve the TAL 4" refractor you ordered? (just curious)

Joplin

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