Posts Made By: Larry Nelson

I want a decent used refractor for white light and h-alpha solar observation. I don't need anything special, I'm just wondering what the best aperture and f/ratio would be? I like the idea of a 80-100mm @ f/10-15 that I could use for double stars and planets at night but maybe a widefield would be better like a 60-70mm f/5-8. Any thoughts?

Got a question:
I recently purchased a Meade 8.8mm UWA lens off of Astromart. It's a real beauty but when I tried it out for the first time I noticed a noise in the EP. If I move the EP from side to side I hear what sounds like a loose internal lens. Has anyone had the same experience with this EP I thought maybe this is no cause for concern and just the way the EP is put together. Anyone else notice this?

I have a 15-20 year old SPC-102 that I really love nice contrasty views with very little false color. I recently tried to put a JMI motofocus on this scope and found that the motor didn't have enough power to turn the focus knob (brand new 9v battery installed). The focuser didn't seem that stiff to me when used by hand but maybe I just got use to it. Has anyone tried to lubricate the rack and pinion on a C-102, any problems trying to do it? Any recommendations are welcome.
Thanks

Hey Gang
Anyone ever have a problem with the inter pupil distance on their binoviewer? I have a Denkmeier Standard I just bought off astromart that saw first light today viewing the sun in white light with my C-102. I used a pair of 30mm Ultima's and was just able to get the images to converge after adjusting the inter pupil distance as close together as possible. I removed the OCS and just used the S-piece with increased magnification I couldn't get the image to converge :C I tried a pair of 19mm GRO SWA's which would not converge at all and a pair of 12.5mm Ultima's that had the same problem.
I never thought my eyes were that close together until I checked out my binoculars and noticed that they are adjusted almost all the way in :S
Are there any pairs of eyepieces that will help me with this problem? I really love the binoviewer and after just a few seconds of viewing with the 30mm Ultima's I'm hooked
I just hate the thought of not being able to use higher magnification with the binoviewer.

Hi Folks
I purchased a Unistar Basic (older Model) here on Astromart with the dovetail that has four tapped 1/4"-20 screws holes in it. I'm trying to figure out the best way to attach my C-102 refractor and C-8 SCT to the dovetail. If anyone has a suggestion please let me know I don't want to start spending lots of money on a saddle & mounting plates that won't work well.
Thanks

Saturn was wonderful last night from my location in South Jersy 16:30-18:00 UT
I used my ETX90 mounted on a JMI Megapod with Televue 19mm Panoptic, and Meade 8.8 UWA EPs. I also used my Celestron C-102(Vixen)Refractor mounted on a UA Unistar which sits on top of a Bogen 3068 tripod. I used the 19mm Panoptic, Edscorp (Circle T) 12.5mm Orthoscopic and a Ultima 2X barlow.
Both instruments gave me wonderful views, great contrast in both but I liked the view in the C-102 the best was with the 19mm Panoptic, pin point stars to the edge of field and the moons were pin points as well. I've really come to enjoy wide field views as I get older. The EXT90 views were best with my recently acquired 8.8mm UWA wonderful contrast with a wide field view. A real surprise was the Edscorp 12.5mm Ortho that 25 year old EP gave me very nice, bright views with good contrast. Cassini division was sharper and more defined then I've ever seen it in my C-8, however I don't remember how close to opposition the planet was from earth when I last viewed it with the C-8. The color contrast between the planets disk and rings was amazing. The banding on the disk was most amazing because it was clear and well defined, it appeared light whiskey brown to me. I was able to observe at least 5 moon's in my C-102.
I almost didn't observe last night because I got home late but decided to take out the ETX90 which was already set up and the C-102 which is easy to mount on the Unitar boy am I glad I did.
An important lesson to be learned is that if you have a good Alt/Az mount which is easy to set up chances are you'll observe! I always hated setting up my fork mounted C-8, with wedge and tripod then polar aligning etc... I'll take a small scope easy to set up to a larger instrument any day if it means I'll get out an observe!!! It's nice to talk astronomy and have great equipment but even more fun to do it. After all that's what our hobby is all about. I'm going to run out now to do some Solar viewing with my Nighthawk and PST see ya later
Clear Skies

Has anyone tried the Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Mark IV Zoom Eyepiece with the Pentax 80ED Spotting Scope? Previous versions of this eyepiece weren't able to reach focus at infinity without modification. According to advertising the new Mark IV Zoom Eyepiece has added 4 mm of additional back focus to rectify this issue for certain named spotting scopes but they do not name the Pentax Spotting Scope is one of them. I've questioned the suppliers but they are unwilling to state that the eyepiece will reach focus with the Pentax scope. I would buy an older Pentax XL Zoom EP but they're as rare as hens teeth according to some reviews the newer ones don't seem to be quite as good.
My fixed Pentax XL 10.5mm, 14mm and Televue 19mm Panoptic are, as one might expect, excellent performers with this scope but I really want a zoom lens to reduce the amount of equipment I'll have to take into the field for birding. I also need something that's gentle on my tired old vision corrected eyes with the best exit pupil and eye relief and won't empty my bank account. 
Thanks
Larry