Posts Made By: Alex McConahay

When are you coming?

The Riverside Astronomical Society (and several others in the area) have monthly star parties at dark sites in the desert. You are always welcome.

As for other astronomical sites--There is a mountain near my house--Box Springs Mountain, to be exact. It is only a little mountain--about 2000 feet maybe. But from its top you can see the observatory sites (Mt. Wilson and Mt. Palomar--one is fifty miles in one direction, the other thirty miles in another) where they had the world's largest telescopes for most of the last century, where they determined what a galaxy is, where they discovered the "red shift," where Mikkelson and Morley proved the speed of light (using mirrors set up on another nearby mountain)----well, we could go on.

Alex

Folks, we've pretty much been through this over the last five days........I don't think I'm going to convince anybody that digital imaging is generally the way to go, and that Film is gradually being phased out.

I do respect your arguments that Film photography is still alive and capable of taking wonderful images. (And I especially want to say that I appreciate that everybody has been respectful of each other during this discussion.)

But everything I've heard from folks (Film is cheaper, has more resolution, can be easily upgraded by improving the film,has a better "feel") sounds more and more like people recalling the good old days, rather than independently looking at the situation. Vinyl is better than CD. A 56 Chevy is better than the new Camaro.

Now, I am not one to say that the way the people are doing things is necessarily the right way, or that the crowd always knows best. (I, for instance prefer backpacking to NASCAR, and staying in a hostel to a Five Star Hotel.) However, I have to note: in the five days this discussion has been going on down here in the film astrophotography forum, we have had about three postings of film photos. In the Digital imaging Forums (Deep Sky and Solar System), we have had about 30 or so. Granted at least half a dozen of those were from the same guy. But most of their photos were at least as good as what I saw in these Film photos--some better, some not so good. If film is so great, why are so many of the good photographers using digital? If film is so superior, why aren't the pictures we see from it superior?

By the way, don't answer those questions, at least for me......For my money, I think it is time to let the whole discussion lie. I'll still look in here in Film, because I like the pictures and the discussion. But, I don't think we are getting anywhere.

Alex

Look in your instruction manual for something called "adjusting the worm gears." On most mounts there is some kind of adjustment capability so that the teeth of one gear mate the other better. This is usually the source of this kind of play.

(Although I am a bit confused by--"noticeable wobble at high speed"--How is it you can see it wobble at high speeds?) Are you talking about through the eyepiece?

Alex

How does one calculate where the transits are going to be and when? I can imagine several ways, using Sky and orbital elements of the space shuttle, etc......But there has to be an easier way!

Alex

I just asked a similar question--LPI and G-11--down in Losmandy forum, and have gotten no response--so I am eager to see what you get.

Alex

Ido,

I myself do not do this kind of work, but I have some friends who do, I shall see what they tell me and pass it on to you.

(By the way, have you Googled "Photometry" or "Astrometry")

Alex

I have experience with them, and will agree with those that say they are relatively quiet--However, I would add--"very quiet for a generator."

As one other poster has said--the decibel rating says it runs about as loud as an average conversation.

Well how many of us would like to be set up within a few feet of somebody constantly talking at two or three o'clock in the morning....or even early in the evening as we are simply obserrving?

I have set up next to these things, and I do not like them.

An RV battery can pretty well run everything you have to run for a couple of nights. Just stay with it.

Alex

Most importantly--match what your pier has, and go deep.

Alex

Of the White Light filters, I generally like the Baader solar filter material the best for sharpness. It is also the least expensive, as long as you make the filter holder yourself.

However, for visual use, I prefer the glass filters made by thousand Oaks and Orion. I just like the color better!

Alex

If you don't need an observatory, but just a permanently mounted scope, you can just build a roll off shelter--the whole shelter rolls off. Mine is about four feet long, two feet wide, and eight feet tall--just enough to hold the pier and scope. When I want to use it, I open the door, and roll it off.

When I want to observe or photograph, I have to carry out my eyepieces, camera, computer. And I am out in the open with the scope, rather than behind some walls. I still have to plug in the computer/scope electronics--a step I could avoid if I had a regular observatory. Otherwise I have the advantages of a permanently mounted, aligned, scope, no cool down worries (due to the walls of the observatory), and a minimum of space and materials devoted to the operation.

Alex