Posts Made By: Larry Stedman

Larry, thanks for the barlow/planet observation. I have been depending on a Vixen 8-24mm zoom with a baffled Orion barlow for planet views (almost as good as those through the RKEs, equal to orthos in my climate). But I'll have to start trying the XL/XWs barlowed again. A little bit of weight, but I'm using dobs, so that should work.

Greg, thanks for the personal history. Gosh, you have the 7mm XL and barlow it... and still got the 3.5 XW ! They really are some eyepieces! Glad for the second confirmation about the barlowing. That could save me some $.

As you note, there is something magical about good nights with special equipment. I share your sense of good glass and OK, although sometimes there I'm surprised by how well the "OK" glass does. But I'm always pleased with the Pentaxes.

What's been your reaction to the field curvature on the 20mm?

I have a 21mm and 14mm XL, which are notorious for it, but really like the views. I think seeing conditions & my eyeglasses prescription may have more to do with the focusing imperfections I sometimes have than the eyepiece! I suppose I really should try an eyepiece with a really flat field sometime. I tried a 22mm Panoptic years ago and preferred the Pentax.

Brian, there is an Astroscan group on yahoo. It's fairly dormant, but the moderator is helpful. Also, feel free to e-mail me for the more detailed version of what follows...

Cleaning

Per Astroscan manual on p. 6.

"To clean the outside of the optical window, use a camel hair brush to clear away dust and dirt particles. If further cleaning is needed, wipe the optical window gently with regular lens cleaning tissue of cloth. These are available at most camera shops."

After that, I'd suggest a damp, lint-free cloth for stubborn smudges.

Collimation

You can certainly do some star testing or use some collimation tools to check on the alignment (a little tricky without a center spot on the mirror). But I think you've applied the right test. If you're getting good views, simply enjoy the scope!

Strap holes

I put small black rectangles of electrical tape over mine! I hadn't thought about dust, but was worried about condensation-- warm house air getting in there when I bring it in from cold weather observing.

Eyepieces

You chose well. With many 2x barlows being really 2.2x, you have about 16x, 35x, 50x, and 110x. That's a good spacing for the scope. At some point, you may want a shorter focal length eyepiece so that, barlowed, you can cruise the Moon (or look at Jupiter and Saturn) at higher power. Those 8-24mm zooms work well, too, as you can dial in the best magnification for the atmospheric conditions. Often, star clusters that are barely there come in to their own when you tune in the right mag.

Let experience be your guide... after a while, you'll learn whether you need even lower power or something in between.

Congrats on getting a 'Scan and joining the red ball wonder club!

Greg, thanks for the details on the Pentax mechanism.

By contrast, I've noticed that the 26mm Meade Series 5000 leaves a greasy residue when the eyecup is rotated up. I did one day wipe off what was visible and momentarily thought I had created a skip spot in the mechanism. It seems to have diminished or gone away--and may have been there to begin with.

I presume one should leave the residue on the barrel and not wipe it off?

Good question!

Key thing is to block those lights... set up a tarp, wear a hood, etc. And give yourself a good half hour to dark adapt-- you'll be amazed at how much more you'll see!

What kind of scope? Do you have a Telrad? Have you tried a guidebook such as Turn Left at Orion or Nightwatch? All those will help you find things to view.

Hard to tell for sure what you were looking at w/o booting up my software or getting out a planisphere. If you don't have lots of sky and good viewing, it's easy to mistake other star arrangements for the Hercules keystone. But once you've located it, M13 is readily found on the one side, and could even be swept up.

Let us know how you fare on the next excursion. And your enthusiasm is infectious!

try cloudy nights... lots of posts, lots of great positive reactions and feedback

check out the cloudy nights eyepiece forums... lots of stuff on the stratus and hyperions-- and even some radian comments.

the biggest difference I see, without having looked through the H, is that H stands for HUGE! The Radian is truly an elegant ergonomic masterpiece, the S and H, well, check out the weight and size specs somewhere.

someone should post a picture of one next to the other to show what I'm talking about.

What happens with it in your other scopes? Maybe a different scope will help you trouble-shoot it.

I've used all sorts of 2x and 3x barlows in a 'Scan and had no trouble... I'll try them in the StarBlast next time I'm out with it. Maybe on the Moon.

Great first scope report! Enjoyed the background and your reaction. Your sentiment about seeing things directly is spot on!

We'll look forward to more reports in the future!

Great ideas and nice report, Bill! I see that your rich field telescope adventures are continuing!

I, too, picked up a StarBlast, though I think if I were to try a handheld or laptop viewing session I'd use my little red ball wonder, the Astroscan. The round surface should make it easier to move around--although being shorter it could require more bending over and neck ache. For regular viewing, I have to mount the SB on something higher than a small plastic end table-- strains the neck too much.

I'll have to try a 22mm LVW in these 4-4.5" gems--right now I'm using a 26mm Meade Series 5000 Plossl, which works quite well (in larger dobs, too).

I still haven't yet gotten a 6" f/5--the type of scope that you used and reported on so well for years!