Posts Made By: Andy Sedlacek

I got mine last week...I totally forgot about these! They are VERY nice. My thanks Herb as well and it likes the k-cup coffee machine. Zooooom!!!!

What model is this eyepiece? There are some REAL DOG oculars out there.

Don't know. I do know of a few people out there who actually don't know a thing or two about digital cameras, so they post the old-fashioned style.

I will buy from fellows who have no photo, but they have to have LOTS of good ratings.

I did take a slight "gamble" on recently buying a Tele Vue 40mm Widefield, which was posted with no photo. It came a tad dirty, but after an hour of deep cleaning, IT WAS WORTH IT BABY!!

Still, no picture is a coin toss...

All the best

Here's a photo of the pouch.

I have made lifelong friends this year on A-mart. A few of you (myself included) sent each other Christmas cards. The lovely people of this site have helped me reshape my knowledge on classic equipment, helped me locate extremely difficult parts, while others will simply and cheerfully, give me a call on their cell...some conversations lasting over an hour!

Here's a glass of 20-year Tawny Porto; a toast to all of you who I consider my brothers and sisters in astronomy. May this family grow even larger in 2014.

Always the best

WOW! I just read about that and after having sold two telescope making books that he wrote. I'm glad I read them before I let them go. He REALLY knew all that he wrote.

All the best,

Are those satellites or faint meteor streaks I see? Very nice presentation!

Cool stuff!!

The leap from a 60mm to an 80mm is HUGE! My 60mm Jason can see two distinct fuzzy belts on Jupiter. That's it! With the 80mm Vixen refractor, you can actually see the GRS on a great night without eye strain. And from an 80mm to a 100mm refractor is an astounding difference. Now you can look directly at the GRS (seeing permitting). The capabilities of planetary study, for instance, on a 100mm is big enough to allow for a lifetime of pleasure. The bulk of my Jupiter and Saturn cruises still commence with my FC-100N.

However, when you graduate to a 125-130mm refractor, you now can begin a literal "relationship" with the bulk of the Solar System. Now Jupiter, for instance, will show you festoon changes, color variances from week to week, and the definition of shadow projection from Io is clearly and unmistakably evident even to a new observer.

I think a 150mm refractor is the gold spot for observing. When I had my 6-inch Tak refractor teamed next to an AP-178, planetary images on Saturn and Mars were so close I wouldn't be able to really judge a brightness difference. I mean, at that point, the optical qualities of these refractors, combined with special eyepieces and ultra-sturdy mounts meant we should have seen who lost at over 600x. But the odds that you have ANY scope able to display a steady image night after night above 400x is highly unlikely. The darn air we breath and rely on for life is an optical barrier at the same time.

A 200mm refractor will need a gargantuan mount. And being that it will need to be a special triplet design in order to get rid of that purple and yellow ring of doom around everything bright means Bently-leather prices. I remember seeing a D&G 8" f/15 up at TMSP a few years ago. Glad I didn't have to haul it around!

All the best.

I had a Starfinder 16 from 1996 that had a VERY acceptable figure. Could do some planetary work, but collimation had to be very precise to pull it off. If the mirror had been on a Novak 9-point cell or better, this would not have been such an issue. Deep sky observation was a pleasure and it was the first time ever I was able to begin resolving stars in NGC-2158 by M35.

The problem really, however, was like what Ed Ting wrote about; sticky side bearings, balancing issues, and the Indiana Jones and The Tube Of Doom scenario....How ON EARTH could one move that tube all by themselves into a 7-inch lifted truck? No, not me. And in the end, I sold it in parts because it could not be a loner's-scope.

I have used a few of the 6-inch models and liked them very much, but they are NOT as sharp as the fabled 6600 or even the Cave-like "6 series" from the late '70s. I have not seen a good 8-inch mirror yet from them UNLESS it was in a 8800 optical tube.

I would say the older, USA ones are worth seeking out. A 12.5 in a closed tube is a beast, but a manageable beast.