Posts Made By: Floyd Blue

I promised to post a picture of the dew shield I made with rubber padding for placing under a sleeping bag. I can not remember which forum I was on at the time so I am posting in a couple.
The shield is covered in cloth to dampen out light and has cuts to clear the fork mount and finders and jcounter weights.
I used a steel ring to hold the proper shape on the front and velcro to retain it and hold it together.
Floyd

I am amazed that we can see the expanding universe with such ease.
I am amazed that I am able to purchase equipment so fine for such a small sum.
I am astonished by the things that my equipment reveals to my tired eyes.
I am astonished that all the universe is real and wonderfully rich in beauty.
Mostly I am amazed and astonished that I am alive in a time that this is all a reality.
Floyd

I have a question. I have recently played around with a method of aligning the secondary to the focuser and I would like to hear what your thoughts are concerning what I am doing.
I have discovered that by using the LaserMax collimating lasers hologrid. I can use the reflected projection from the diag onto the ceiling as a guide to alignment. I feel that when the projected image is symetrical , equal on all sides, that the optical center of the secondary has been found. (See attached photo Fig. 1 showing the projected grid pattern reflected off the secondary mirror onto the ceiling))
I have had a discussion concerning this idea on another forum with one other person. He feels that the divergence of the laser would cause the hologrid to not fall on the optical center.
I feel that based on the diagram (See picture Fig. 2 showing a laser beam and the primary mirrror cone sharing the same central point and reaching the edges of the mirror from two different distances due to difference in f-ration divergence)
that the divergence of the laser beam does not effect the center focal spot. It seems to me that the hologrid pattern, if symetrical, would indicate that the central point of the grid was indeed falling on the optical center point on the diag mirror. I would think that the grid being equal on each of the 4 sides would be an indicator of the focuser being directly aligned with the diag mirror.
Do you agree or am I missing something in the theory here?
Thanks for looking and any responses would be greatly appreciated.
Floyd

I am off to Mt. Pinos for 4 days starting Friday the 19th. I am taking my motorhome up to the parking lot and setting up both my scopes for 4 nights of observation. I hope to maybe see a few of you there. Look for my NS8GPS and my 15" DOB and a 25' white Diplomat II motorhome. I would love to see your scopes and show you mine. I am going in luxury this trip and will have all the comforts of home. I even have an extra bed for someone if needed. I am hoping to do a little astrophotography and a lot of viewing. Come if you can. I don't drink but I can offer a coke or some cold water! :^)
The parking lot has been repaved and is much larger in usable area now. Still a little soft, but very nice. Moon should be late in rising and Mars is still close so viewing might be pretty good.
Hoping to see you there.
Floyd

I was wondering if some one could clear something up for me.
If when focusing a DOB and it is out of focus, you see ghost images that merge (or nearly) when focused, does this mean the mirror is pinched. I have seen this in one DOB and the mirror is held tightly in the mirror cell, no play in mirror at all. The mirror is tight becuase the 3 clip posts that hold the mirror actually touch the sides of the mirror not because it is glued in place. There are 3 ghost images, so I figured that this was the likely problem.
I would like to find the source of this aberation and correct it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Floyd

Well, I got out to the mountain and tried out the new Sky Commander I got here on Astromart.
It worked like a champ with easy installation and operation. The accuracy was very good and the display I liked a lot as it was easy to read.
Found objects that had escaped me before with the DOB. A friend had me find a Planetary Neb that he had tried to see for several years without luck and we found it first try!
I would say this is a very nice addition for any DOB or non Go-To scope. The quality seems very good and the unit is small and well thought out. Easy 1 or 2 star alignment and your ready to go! No "Warp" to worry about as with the Lumicon Sky Vector. Not as much discription of objects available as the Lumicon though. But the operation is some what simpler so it is a good trade off in the end.
I got my primary mirror repositioned to eliminate the pinch and and glad to say that the view was "Excellent"! I got several comments about how free of astigmitism the scope was compared to their DOBs. It has been a long haul trying to get the bugs out of the scope after I purchased it from a fellow club member.It always gave good views but it needed a good tune-up. Now after much work and sweat I feel it is top notch. I am very picky however and most people thought the scope was flawless, but I could see that it lacked a little in the collimation and mirror cell. :^) I now consider this the best telescope buy I ever made! My friend that sold it is now suffering serious sellers remorse! :^0
Weather was good and skies were dark and clear. Not a bad night and I was the last to go home. Die Hard! ;^)
Floyd

Well, I got out to the mountain and tried out the new Sky Commander I got here on Astromart.
It worked like a champ with easy installation and operation. The accuracy was very good and the display I liked a lot as it was easy to read.
Found objects that had escaped me before with the DOB. A friend had me find a Planetary Neb that he had tried to see for several years without luck and we found it first try!
I would say this is a very nice addition for any DOB or non Go-To scope. The quality seems very good and the unit is small and well thought out. Easy 1 or 2 star alignment and your ready to go! No "Warp" to worry about as with the Lumicon Sky Vector. Not as much discription of objects available as the Lumicon though. But the operation is some what simpler so it is a good trade off in the end.
Weather was good and skies were dark and clear. Not a bad night and I was the last to go home. Die Hard! ;^)
Floyd

I understand that the Paracorr add 15% to the mag power of an EP. Is this due to a Barlow type effect or just what?
Also, does it really make that much difference in the view with a 31mm, 20mm Nagler in a f/4.9 DOB?
I am considering getting one, but have yet to get to try one out to see if it makes any real improvemnet or not.
Floyd

I just sold a TV 24 WideField and now am ready to buy that focuser.
I just sent a querry to Moonlite about a few concerns of mine.
Difficult choice but I am leaning toward the Moonlite Dual Rate focuser. Not exactly cheap, but compared the the Feather Touch it is.
I thought about the other types of focusers, but I like the Crayford design a lot.
Now I just have to decide what tube length to buy and whether to drill new holes or buy a mounting plate adapter. I hate thinking about drilling more holes in the focuser board. The holes would be rather close to the old ones.
Well, so many choices and so little time and money to spend on them! ;^)
I appreciate all the input on my querry about Dual Rate focusers.
Floyd

I want to thank those who answered my question about the ghost images I was getting. I am happy to say I have cured the problem. The primary mirror mounting and the clips were too tight. After adjustments the ghosting is completely eliminated. The veiws are now crisp, clear and ghost free.
Thanks all,
Floyd