Posts Made By: Bill Meyers

The new 11 inch Starmaster Hybrid. Superb Zambuto Optics, sets up in a couple of minutes, cost $2999. I'd get the DSCs and the Feathertouch focuser but not the goto plus track.
Certainly my slightly older SM 11 ELT has worked out great for me.
Bill Meyers

[QUOTE]Kay Buchburger said:

How did this 6" dob that looked so HUGE when we first took it out of the box suddenly become so small? I mean, it seriously seems to be getting smaller every day.

I just keep repeating to myself, "Portability, portability, portability..."

Another question: do y'all have binoculars as well? Are they truly a "must-have" astonomy item?

I'm sensing that there could be no end to the $$$ one might put into this little hobby. 8O

Hi,
With your 6 inch, see how many of the objects in Steve Gottlieb's Orion Telescope Company's Deep Map 600 you can find. Use Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas.
An 8 inch Dob will show you somewhat more, but a jump to 10 inches will bring a very dramatic and worthwhile increase.
If you go as large as 10, consider a truss tube version rather than a solid tube, if you can find one. You will want to cut down on weight in order to have easy setup and easy portability. Stick to Dobsonians.
Don't go larger if stairs are involved in getting the scope out to observe.
If you have a garage, consider putting an 8 or 10 on a four wheel platform and roll it out.
If you can afford top quality in a portable Dob, consider the Starmaster 11 Hybrid.
Hope this helps,
Bill Meyers

Great report, literate, intelligent, perceptive.
I would mount the scope on a WO Easy Touch if it will handle the weight (ask WO) or on a Giro 2, or best of all, on a Disc Mount 4. Use the equatorial only for imaging, not for visual.
Good luck,
Bill Meyers

I own an 11 Starmaster and love it.
From what I can tell, woodworking on the Starmaster is excellent and is even better on the Obsession.
The Obsession moves on its axes with a lighter touch, just one finger will do it, but the Starmaster also moves very well on its axes and is more resistant to losing the object when you change eyepieces.
I don't care for the mirror sling that Obsesson uses. No on else seems to use it.
To me the ability to remove mirror and cell to lighten the mirror box for transport is very important and I would insist on that if I went to a larger scope.
Obsession sells more scopes than Starmaster.
Starmaster has superb, indeed unmatched, support after purchase. Better than any other scope in my opinion.
Rich Singmaster star tests each telescope against a known comparative telescope under the stars before he will ship it.
Zambuto mirrors are famous for their superb quality, no exceptions.
Obsession ships the mirror to you separately directly from the mirror maker so Obsession has never seen your mirror, I am told.
Starmasters are a bit ovrebuilt, sturdier than they need to be, because their builder used to design bridges. The builder of Obsessions is a dentist and his woodworking skills are even better than the fine woodworking of Starmasters, I am told.
Obsession hints at invidious comparisons to other telescopes, including SCTs and Dobs other than Obsessions. Starmaster does not.
Both are top quality scopes. I have never heard of a disappointed user of either.
Since the truss tubes are attached to the outside, rather than the inside, of the mirror box, the Starmster mirror box and rocker box are a bit larger than the Obsession, but the Focuser assembly stacks easily within the rocker box, saving space for transport.
I think the mirror box on Starmaster is probably heavier than that of Obsession if you leave the mirror in, but considerably lighter if you take the mirror and cell out (easily removable) and put it in the mirror storage box that you can keep in your car.
All this is what I have been able to figure out, plus some personal experience with 18 inch Obsessions, and of course with
the Starmaster I own.
Two excellent scopes. I don't think you can go wrong with either.
I am sure other posters will be quick to correct any errors of fact I have made.
I hope this will be helpful to you.
Bill Meyers

Hi, Bernard,
There have been a few posts on this thread recently, arguing that we should not have an extended discussion of the merits of competing premium dobsonians.
I disagree.
It is easy to take cheap shots at a thread like this and say "Okay, lets reach for the popcorn and enjoy the fray!'
But this is short-signted in my opinion These telescopes cost thousands, and therefore prospective purchasers have a right to as extended a discussion as they can find about the pros and cons before spending thousands on what they hope will be a lifetime instrument.
If those who already own premium telescopes find this discussion repetitive, they are free to not read this thread, instead of posting sarcastic gibes at the discussants.
Good luck with your decision. Both scopes are excellent so it will likely be an intuitive decision made after reading what people have posted. I hope we have been helpful to you.
Bill Meyers

Jon Isaacs said:

Hi:

I am wondering what to do with the remains of a 16inch Meade Starfinder DOB I have stripped and converted into a strut scope. I can't imagine anyone has any interest in this but I thought I would try it on Craiglist.

Some possible uses:

1. A temporary culvert

2. A toy cannon

3. A fake water heater for a stage prop.

4. A look out post for a bank guard...

5.???

I think it is headed for the dump :-(

Jon

Hello, Jon,
I always enjoy your posts. I find your judgment very good and I hope people listen to you.
You may be interested to know that Guilford, the eminent testing psychologist, has as one of his tests of creativity, inventing unusual uses (hence the name of the test, Unusual Uses) for everyday objects such as a brick or a spare tire.
You seem to be doing quite well by this criterion.
Bill Meyers

Hello, Dave,
Thanks for the June top ten list. I am sure advanced observers have seen all of the top ten DSOs for June, but I notice that apart from the three Messiers, none of the others appears in the list of NGC objects at the back of the Pocket Sky Atlas. I will have to look for them in SA2KR, and NSOG, where I am sure they will appear.
Bill Meyers

Dave Mitsky said:

Here are my DSO lists for this month.

Dave Mitsky

Fifty deep-sky objects for June: NGC 5466, NGC 5676, NGC 5689 (Bootes); M102 (NGC 5866), NGC 5678, NGC 5879, NGC 5905, NGC 5907, NGC 5908, NGC 5949, NGC 5963, NGC 5965, NGC 5982, NGC 5985, NGC 6015 (Draco); NGC 5694 (Hydra); NGC 5728, NGC 5791, NGC 5796, NGC 5812, NGC 5861, NGC 5878, NGC 5897 (Libra); M5, NGC 5921, NGC 5957, NGC 5962, NGC 5970, NGC 5984 (Serpens Caput); M101, NGC 5473, NGC 5474, NGC 5485, NGC 5585, NGC 5631 (Ursa Major); NGC 5566, NGC 5634, NGC 5701, NGC 5713, NGC 5746, NGC 5750, NGC 5775, NGC 5806, NGC 5813, NGC 5831, NGC 5838, NGC 5846, NGC 5850, NGC 5854, NGC 5864 (Virgo)

Top ten deep-sky objects for June: M5, M101, M102, NGC 5566, NGC 5585, NGC 5689, NGC 5746, NGC 5813, NGC 5838, NGC 5907

Challenge deep-sky object for June: Abell 2065

Actually, there is some sexism evident here. If the speller is a woman, the correct usage is "spellchick."
Bill Meyers

John Theodossy said:

Hi all,

It seems that things have been pretty quiet on the "new thing" front for awhile. Yea I know there are always some new gadgets coming out, but no "revolutionary" things for awhile. A few years ago the GOTO scopes had a big impact, and more recently the low cost ccd imaging devices surged. For awhile I thought binoviewers might become the new hot items, but these seem to be more of a smoldering item rather than setting things on fire.

So what does everyone think will be the next truly HUGE thing?

I would hope that the next big thing might be ultralight Dobs, so that amateurs could more easily transport significant aperture to dark sites without so much fear of back problems. Back problems seem to be rife among amateur astronomers.
Bill Meyers

I own a 10 inch CPT Newtonian Dob. It is perhaps the best designed Dob out there. It is certainly one of the most beautiful.

I have a 10 inch f6.4 Wessling mirror in it but other makes are available too.

The First Base collapsable Dob base is very rigid, really the best Dob base. Teton Telescopes uses it with one of their Mak Newts.

Google Compact Prescison Telescopes, go to the web site, which is very informative, and email Mark Wagner, who makes them, for more information.

Mark is a very classy and trustworhty guy, well known on the West Coast as founder of the TAC, a group of very accomplished Callifornia observers. He is easy to reach by phone as well.

I use a Kydex light baffle Mark provided. I have noticed no dew problems even is southern Ohio. Mark will provide a shroud if you wish.

You can customize it, in focal ratio etc. I have Sky Commander with mine, for example. And a Feathertouch focuser.

I don't use a cooling fan, i find it;s not necessary with a 10 inch mirror. But one can be rigged up if you want; Floyd Blue, an AM moderator, sells them for mosts scopes I believe.

The collapsable tube arrangement works well and makes the scope very compact and portable. it seems to hold collmation well since the tube never is disassembled between uses.

Hope this helps.

Bill Meyers

Joseph McInnis said:

I saw one of the Compact Precision Telescopes (CPT) for sale earlier this week and was quite impressed with these scopes:

http://astronomy-mall.com/regular/products/cpt/

Did some searching but did not find much in the way of reviews or user information about the CPT. So, to those of you who may own one or to those who are knowledgeable about the CPT, I have a few questions:

1. Overall, how pleased are you with your scope? I am interested only from a visual use perspective.

2. What are the pros and cons of this design that you have come to experience?

3. Being this is an open cell/open frame design, does dew ever become a serious concern? How do you cope with dew? I ask because I live in a generally humid climate.

4. I notice some users use Kydex shields for light suppression. Is there any possible way or need for using some type of shroud?

5. These scopes cool down faster since they are an open cell/open frame design. How does the mirror track with the ambient temperature since it relies soley on passive cooling? Has anyone decided to use a cooling fan or are these really not necessary or practical on this design? If you use a fan, how did you rig it up?

Thanks for any information any might share, and if you have any other pointers about these scopes, please chime in!