Posts Made By: Floyd Blue

Ok, I got the new spider in from 1800 Destiny and it is installed. Here is a picture of the 10" and 14.5" scopes with the spiders.

I stand corrected. I think that there is a lot of picking apart of the wording and not the intent going on in these past threads. Not sure why that so much is being made of it, but it has become clear to me that doing these reports is a big waste of my time and effort.
I for one will discontinue my EP reviews on this forum. I am becoming increasing tired of having to defend my every statement and having to try to get points across. It is really difficult to make everyone happy. It is also to much trouble to try to cover every possible scenario when these tests are performed. Plus the picking apart of every statement for meaning or implication is just too much!
So, I yeld to the experts and all of those that wish to take to exception to each oversight or mistake in comunication.
I have decided to let you guys do all the reviewing from now on and just keep my opinions to myself. After all, it is up to each person to make decisions and determinations concerning any purchase.
I stated before that I am not an expert. I am just a person that has an opinion. We all have one and I respect yours.
Please, feel free to purchase sets of any EP that you would like to review and use what ever type of scope that you see fit and post your opinions here. I will not try to impart any thing more than my duties as moderator.
Thanks
Floyd

I have thought about this a lot today. I think that I did feel a little bit of a personal jab with the comments about my methodology and lack of depth. Perhaps it was deserved, perhaps it was only another's opinion?

We are all sensitive at times to criticism, that is the nature of us all. Some tend to overlook the obvious and pursue the shadows that lie between the lines. More important is what is meant within the lines. It is not wrong to look for fault, but if fault is found it must be enlightened with fact, not just vague statements that do not bring enlightenment, but rather confusion. Anyone can be mistaken in their assumptions and to correct them should be a courtesy.

I am quite willing to admit that I do not know all their is to know about optics and related subjects. I have never made and eyepiece or ground a mirror. I have read books and listened to people and bought and sold equipment in an attempt to gain some perspective on out hobby. I bow to those who have the ability to do what I can not and I respect their knowledge. If I am ignorant in some ways it is not because I have not tried to learn, it is because it takes many years to absorb all that is available.

Please accept my apologies for being thin skinned and perhaps a little vain. My intentions were honorable and meant to add to the quality of the forum. In some ways I perhaps induced a little friction instead of harmony. I may have given opinions that others took exception to and felt they needed to reply to make their thoughts known, which I took in a way that they did not intend?

I would love to see others come forward and give their reports to enrich this forum and spread knowledge openly and equally. This is the Eyepiece Forum, it is an Open Forum and very much an Equal Forum. Post your views, make your thoughts known, give your information, but most of all, respect each other's opinions so that no one feels insecure about posting theirs.

Hi all,
I just thought I would post my latest addition to my Stardust Chair. I made a folding EP Rack for the back so I could just reach around and grab an EP without getting up.
It folds upward when the chair is folded up and takes up little extra space when packing up.

Right now William Paolini and I (mostly Bill) are woking on a form for testing EPs that would give a standard form for this purpose. Bill's work in Excel is looking very nice so far. I think that this could make EP rating much easier. You would just fill in the blanks with an x and the spreadsheet computes the score. Really cool!
Hope I am not letting the cat out of the bag!

Ok, say a person wanted to see real time images on a laptop with a camera in the scope, what would be the best camera for the job. Color would be nice, but I would like to hear about black and white too.
Cost vs. performance would be nice to hear. I am wanting good images that would be sharp and detailed.
If it also would save images to the laptop, this is a plus.
What are the advantages or disadvantages?

Well, the postman just brought me my Mallincam Color II Camera. It is much smaller than I thought, which is a nice thing. 8) I have everything needed to use it, so soon I will give it a try. Hopefully it is user friendly and easy to set up and see images. Let everyone know how things work out as soon as I get the chance.

Last night at a club star party I finally got the chance to try a friends Meade 5000 UWA 30mm EP.
The thing is enormous! Yes, it is much bigger than the 31mm Nagler.
But, it is well corrected even in a f/4.3 Dob. The view was excellent, the edge was sharp and it seemed as bright as my 31mm Nagler.
The only drawback was the size and weight. The size made it difficult for you to get your face in position and the weight made some scope fall through without serious counter weights.
However, the EP performed much better than I would have predicted and I would say that it is very comparable to the 31mm Nagler.
Just be sure your scope can handle the weight issue and that your face will fit the Eye cup.

I just got a Mogg focal reducer that I bought for a camera. Funny thing, it looks just like an OCA. :S
It even screws right on to m WO Binos and is the same length as my Siebert OCA. I have no idea if it will work, but I will try it Saturday night and find out.

I have a set and find them satisfactory and not a bad deal. Others have gotten pairs that are not as good they say.