Posts Made By: James Siska

Check this out, this is Vixen North America's welcome page:

http://www.vixenamerica.com/StartPage/

Is Vixen going to stop supplying North American dealers?

Jim

I'd spend time searching the classifieds for like new previously owned scope. Because of todays light polution being so prominent, I'd look for a scope that I can use with either CCD or viedo (eg. Mallincam Hyper) so that I can amplify live images of the astro objects to the point that they can be seen well through the light polution. I prefer to go this route since I think it is easier to roll out the telescope from the garage and use it at home rather than always needing to depend on traveling long distances to find dark skies.
For CCD I'd look for a 4" Apo to use on a Vixen GP-DX mount. For Video I'd look for a 8" F/6, or a 10" f/4.5 to f/5.0 reflector on a heavier GEM.

Having the two options of either using CCD, or video would allow me more opportunity to find a used scope faster. Finding an older scope would save money; however, it would have to be a well respected (in the astro community) model in excellent condition and have the capability to be updated as the needs dictate and as my astro equipment savings improved.

P.S., I'm suggesting live immages on a TV or computer, not capturing immages for later processing.

Jim

When I tried shutting off a street light with a red lasser attached to a camera tripod the hardest thing I found to do was to aim the lasser at the sensor which was on top to the light fixture. The glare from the light was overwhelming. It took about 3-4 minutes to actually locate it and I wasn't sure until the light turned off.

Jim

Just wondering why did some of the older GEMs like the Astrophysics 800, and the Meade Research Grade/DS-16 mounts use tangent arms on the DEC axis instead of using a worm gear? Either way, it seems like the machining would not be any harder - just different. The old Star-Liner corporation, and others at the same time and earlier used worm gears for the DEC axis on their GEMs. I suspect that the mount manufactures who incorporated the tangent arm would have also considered a worm gear in there design, so if so is there any advantage at all to using a tangent arm over a worm gear on the DEC axis?

Jim

I have a C102F and luckily have had no problems with it. But wouldn't it be nice if an skilled optician set up shop for problems like this. I know someone will come back with, "it would not be economically feasable" or something on that order. I wonder if

the Arkansas Sky Observatory - the Super Charge could rectify someting like this?

http://www.arksky.org/supercharge.htm

Jim

I've read in other posts that using an astrograph under light polluted skies doesn't work very well and that it is better to use a slower focal ratio under those conditions. What is the sweet spot in terms of focal ratio for CCD imaging under skies that are approximately 4.5 magnitude?

Jim

From my expierence TelVue repairs out of warranty eyepieces. Meade won't even look at an out of warranty eyepiece. I have a Meade Ultrawide with a splotch on it that I was unable to get off, and was told over the phone by a representative in customer service to send it in. I was more than willing to pay for the repair. A few weeks later I got the eyepiece back with the splotch still on it and with a letter stating that Meade does not service out of warranty eyepieces. I then called TelVue and Al Nagler answered the phone. I told Mr. Nagler my delima and he expressed that he felt my pain. He told me that at TelVue they will always repair an out of warranty TelVue eyepiece. With that experience I think the diference between Meade's Ultrawide vs. Nagler is caring for the customer (Customer Service).

Jim

Darrel,

That's okay except don't try this on Halloween night. You may have to replace the EPROM chip in the Go-To computer if you cannot find anybody qualified to preform the proper exorcism after your mount refuses to respond properly.

Jim

1. Make a kitty condo (vertical maze) with internal shelves for a cat to climb and windows to look out.

2. A Giant Estes model rocket.

Jim

I once tried a carpenter's level red laser on the sensor of the street light that the village that I live in installed across the street from my house a few years ago. I attached the laser to a camera tripod. It took 45 seconds to hear a slight pop then the light slowly dimmed to off. After a few minutes I turned off the laser and about fifteen seconds later I heard another slight pop and the street light slowly brightened to full on. I did this as an experiment to see if it would work; however, even though it worked, I was always afraid of the liability and never used this method for observing. I once read about some teenagers who had stollen a stop sign after which a fatal automobile crash occured at that same intersection and the teenagers were later charged with third degree murder.

It doesn't matter any more because last winter my neighbor across the street had an electrical contractor install an outdoor lighting system with (as I calculate) at least 2,500 WATTS of lights shinning on his house and the whole neighborhood.

Jim