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Posts Made By: Mark Salvetti

August 27, 2005 06:59 PM Forum: CCD Imaging and Processing/Solar System

K3CCD Avi Problem

Posted By Mark Salvetti
I don't use K3CCD much, and I made a mistake trying to stop an avi recording of Mars. I didn't use Esc or the right mouse button to stop the recording. K3CCD ended up crashing. Now I have a Mars avi that nothing will open. I've tried Handyavi, ImageJ, and Registax.

Any ideas, or is this a lost cause?

Thanks!

Mark Salvetti

December 8, 2010 03:37 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Re: Adding a guide scope to a Meade 10" LX90 SCT

Posted By Mark Salvetti
Your scope should already have holes - they likely have screws in them now. Check out Losmandy (http://www.losmandy.com/secondary.html#DM) or ADM (http://admaccessories.com/). Both make a whole host of products designed to mount to existing holes in your scope.

Mark

March 2, 2003 01:05 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

LXD55 AR5 vs. ETX-125

Posted By Mark Salvetti
Well, even with the new free tripod and hand controller offer on the ETX-125, you're still spending $900 for a small 5-inch scope.

Spend some time on the Yahoo LXD55 message board as I have, and you'll discover that the LXD55 mount quality hasn't been up to typical Meade standards. You'll also probably need to spend time and effort on the mount (readjustments, replace the grease, better tripod,...). The AR-5 optics sound great, although most people replace the diagonal right away.

Since your first choice was an 8" SCT, have you considered the Celestron Nexstar 8i? I decided I wanted this scope or the LX90. You can find some vendors out there that are still selling the N8i with a tripod and the upgraded computerized hand controller for $1200. This gets you the optical equivalent of the LX90 with UHTC ($1700), although mechanically the LX90 sounds like a better scope for photography.

Just some thoughts....

June 19, 2003 01:35 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

Upgrading a Tasco 11TR (for a good reason)

Posted By Mark Salvetti
Hmmm. Unless there's a sentimental attachment to the old scope, how about getting her a Nexstar 114GT? They will be on sale at Costco (with a coupon) in late August for $160. This price even includes the computerized hand controller, and I think a couple of eyepieces.

I think you'd spend close to that with your planned upgrades, plus the time involved. And you'd still probably end up with a scope that's a pain to use.

Mark Salvetti
Saugus, MA

October 9, 2003 09:25 PM Forum: Celestron

Flocking the inside of the tube

Posted By Mark Salvetti
This website shows how to flock a C11:
http://www.geocities.com/g_wuestenhagen/astro/flockingC11.htm

You can get the flocked paper from Protostar:
http://www.fpi-protostar.com/flocked.htm

The website mentions Edmund Scientific as a source too. I bought some there to flock an 8" Dob once, and it was not self-adhesive, but it was way cheaper than Protostar.

Hope this helps!

Mark Salvetti
Saugus, MA

August 31, 2004 11:50 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

Nexstar GPS or LX200 GPS

Posted By Mark Salvetti
One thing no one has mentioned yet is that the Celestron is much quieter than the Meade when slewing. All other things being pretty much equal, this issue was important enough to me that it would have been the deciding factor.

Mark Salvetti

October 9, 2005 02:39 AM Forum: Eyepieces

Preliminary results of zoom eyepiece test

Posted By Mark Salvetti
Jim, keep in mind that the current Apogee zoom is different from the earlier version that was so highly regarded.

Besides it being 7.3mm at the short end instead of the 7.4mm of the old version, the advertised field of view of the new zoom is less, and the focal length markings on the old zoom are not reversed as you found on the new one.

I don't know if there's any difference in optical quality, but there's definitely a mechanical difference.

Mark Salvetti
Saugus, MA

December 31, 2006 04:08 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

ORION's NEW STARSHOOT Camera any opinions?

Posted By Mark Salvetti
Well, unfortunately the Starshoot has been discontinued, so the only place you'll likely find one is here on Astromart. There's a pretty thorough review in Rod Mollise's latest Skywatch:
http://skywatch.brainiac.com/newsletter/skywatch.htm

Mark

July 4, 2007 11:06 PM Forum: Equipment Talk

All weather notebooks/paper?

Posted By Mark Salvetti
We use their bound books for environmental field work: http://www.riteintherain.com/ItemForm.aspx?item=390F&Category=34b04131-d550-4b7e-8f72-41bb817ff38f

Notice that their logo shows a pencil? In my experience, that's because ball points and Sharpies don't work well when the pages get wet. That's not good for my work purposes, as we can't use pencil in case we end up in court. But if you don't mind pencil, their products work well.

I haven't tried any of those pens that are advertised as being able to write in water. Those may work too.

Mark

November 19, 2007 04:01 AM Forum: Equipment Talk

The impossible screw

Posted By Mark Salvetti
Metric Screw & Tool has everything. Their website is a bit awkward, as they only show a scanned version of their catalog. But pull up the Table of Contents, and look under "F" for all their fine-thread hardware.

http://www.metricscrew-toolco.com/

Mark

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