Posts Made By: Floyd Blue

"Herbert Highstone is sorry to report that his Astromart membership will be inactivated until further notice due to a technical difficulty in verifying a change in his e-mail address. Herb hopes to resolve this problem soon, and looks forward to rejoining the Astromart world."

Thanks very much for the favor-- Herb H.

Hi,
I was given a name of a place that makes custom cases for scope or anything for a very reasonable price compared to the ones I have checked in the past. They even give an instant online estimate! I don't know if it would be right to post it here as they are not a sponsor, but if you are interested contact me by private message.
I found that I could get a case made for the 127mm F/9 for $173 without foam lining and $209 for 1/2" foam lining. 1" added about $25 to that. Very cool!

Hi James,
The atmosphere will limit magnification more than the optics themselves. On any given night the disturbance caused by the air will limit the effective maximum or usable magnification.
Whether a scope is cooled to equilibrium will also have an effect on this.
Collimation and optical alignment also contribute to this as does the quality of the eyepieces and the optics themselves.
There is certainly a limit to any optic as far as usable magnification though. This is sometimes called the 50x per inch rule. This does not imply that more than 50x per inch is unusable, but that it is empty magnification on the whole. But under extraordinary conditions it is possible to use much higher power. These nights are rare in most places and are quite a treat if present.

Tonight the sky is clear and the Moon is up for viewing. So I will finally get a chance to try out the piggyback set up with the 80mm and 127mm. Hoping all works well and the alignment of the two scopes is good. I did set it up during the day to align the tubes to each other with an object on a mountain about 25 miles distant.

Well, first light was great with the piggyback 127ED and 80mm APO.
I did some testing at the same magnification to see how one faired against the other. Amazingly the 127ED was almost as color free as the APO. On the Moon the limb was totally clean with both scopes. I did notice that some EPs did add color in the same amount when used in either scope and others were totally color free. That is strange, I did not notice color with them in reflectors, so it must have to do with the lens curves or something.
But Sirius did look more blue in the 127ED, but it did not really have a ring around it of blue, just made it appear to have a lot more blue color than the 80mm APO.
I did some testing with several EPs, Zeiss, Vixen, Jena, Nikon, Pentax, TMB/BO at 9mm doing a split of Rigel and its 9.4" separated double. I can say the 127ED does a better job on this, but with the extra light grasp, I would expect it. However, they both clearly split Rigel. I evened up the power at 160x (3mm Radian for 80mm and 7mm TMB/BO for the 127ED) and the split was very wide and well defined in both scopes. The 127ED did show a better image however, but again the 2.5x light grasp certainly would explain that.
Star tests were excellent on both scopes with the atmosphere steady enough that the rings were like pictures.
Amazingly, the TMB/BO did as well as the Zeiss and other high end Orthos.

I really don't care who is at fault for the non delivery of my EPs, I just want them. It doesn't matter whether a Chinese factory misquoted a time or Burgess misquoted the Chinese factory or maybe a shipment was hijacked. The EPs are not here after 6 months of waiting. Not my fault, that is for sure, probably not Astronomics fault either since they just sell what is sent to them. But the fact remains that again it has been leaked that the EPs are at Burgess Optical awaiting shipment or maybe approval by TMB. Are they here or are they in China, I have no idea and no one else has any idea.
Now, should I ask for a refund? Well, I would like to have the EPs not a refund.
Should I wait another few months? Not sure, but I don't want to wait for a full year before delivery.
I have never waited for a prepaid item for 6 months before so this is new to me. But I must say that he 3 for 2 sale that allowed you to buy EPs that were not in stock or even available was not a proper way to handle this. It was a way to sell off stock on hand, perhaps to put together enough to pay for the new shipment of EPs. It is also possible that the sale did not produce enough capital and he can not take delivery. I have no way of knowing.
The only thing I know is that I will never order an item on pre delivery status again, I will wait for the product to appear on the shelf. Yes, the carrot was hung out well and the price was right, but a good price on vapor is still a poor deal. 8)

Well, my new Wyoroc focuser is finished and will ship on Monday.
Carolyn sent me a picture without the 1.25" adapter. It will be a recessed type that fits flush with the end of the draw tube, parfocal he calls it. The draw tube will have a recess machined into it, but the one in this picture did not have it, they are changing out the drawtube and then boxing it up.
It is a rotating type too and will be tensioned for 3.5 lb and that is also adjustable. Pretty nice for the price, excellent deal.
The focuser looks great, can not wait to try it out.
I will do a review on it when it is installed and I can check it out.

Hi,
Does anyone here have any experience with having your mount Hyper-tuned? Was it worth the cost? Did it really change the way the mount worked?
Thanks,

Ok, I said that when the scope case arrived I would post, so here it is.
The case is really nice. Not too heavy and quite solid. Good hardware and the military type latches are a very secure closure. Hinges are substantial and the protective corners and all are very nice.
Here is a picture with the scope in its cradle. The finder is under the foam you see below the diagonal. So it all fits in the case together.
I am quite happy with the case and the price was excellent.
The inside is 9"x9"x51" with about 3/4" of foam on the inside, so it is about 10"x10"x52" outside dimensions.
What do you think?

Hi,
I wanted to show the new hard case I got for the 127ED. It is 9"x9"x51" inside dimensions and has about 3/4" of foam inside. Nice military type catches and a substantial handle. Great corner and edge protection too. ABS is the main structure. Cost was very reasonable. $207 plus $33 shipping and it was finished and delivered in 13 days from placing the order. That is pretty fast!
The finder is under the foam that is seen under the diagonal, so it all fits together in the case.