Posts Made By: Anthony Miller

The standard focuser that came on my XT10 is terrible. Fine focusing is almost impossible and collimation with a laser is impossible. What is a good replacement for this focuser? Model number? Thanks for any advice. My head hurts from banging it on the wall in frustration.

I've almost decided on Denkmeier. Just the Standard unit. With OCS. Are any of you Denkmeier owners thinking of switching to the Premium unit, or going for the factory retrofit? Or are you happy with your current Standard? If the reviews are all about the Standard, won't I be happy with that? Improvements to products are usually small after a certain level of expertise is reached. Large improvements can render the original product obsolete, and unwanted. ISTMIMHOBWDIK (It seems to me in my humble opinon but what do I know)

I thought I might try and get some opinions before buying pairs and learn from your experiences. I sold a UO 4mm Ortho to a person in Canada that was using 4mm with his bino. He says he has no problems. How about anybody else? It wasn't really comfortable to view through one for me, much less two. And...what are your favorite eps for viewing planets in a bino? I have a 10" dob for the record.

I had an XT10 focuser problem that was fixed by advice on this forum. Thanks! After the problem was fixed, the focuser was stiff and the stock plastic knobs started showing their teeth. So I ordered a set of replacement knobs. Heavy brass ones. They came with a hex wrench and an extra set screw. I put them on and they worked great. But, then I noticed the way they were made. I could place the knobs way out on the end of the shaft. Now they are out past the focuser base plate and my fingers do not get caught between the knob and base. Excellent product, excellent upgrade!

I used to have one of these. Sold it cause it hurt. Lesions have healed and I would like another one. Too many clouds this year, cant' take it anymore. I can deal with the pain from this amazing (but painful) device, better than the pain I get from any cloud. They don't make this anymore (thanks alot R. Nader). This picture is from a '70's magazine I think. I believe the company changed it's name after they discontinued it (again, thanks alot, R. Nader).

I have used my new Denkmeier Multi-Standard for two nights now with an Orion 10" dob. I'm using Apogee 20mm Widescan 70's. The plain truth is.....why didn't someone slap me when I was shelling out cash ($570) on a used Paracorr and Nagler 22 for a view that is 10% as good as a couple of decent $80 eps and this binoviewer. The view and viewing experience is just that good. Being able to stare with both eyes at M5 for over half an hour, picking out tiny details that seem to pop out, with NO eye fatigue is amazing to me. NO MORE SQUINTING!! (Sorry, didn't mean to yell) My wife looked at the Orion Nebula and remarked "it's blue!". She's always seen it as white using single eps, and I never knew it! I'll post more things I have found out if anybody cares. And if you are thinking of getting a binoviewer, and can't decide, do it, get one now. I wish I had a long time ago!

Can I use the Autostar 497 with my ETX 70AT? It of course came with a 494, but I got a great deal on a 497 controller. When I try to align the scope, it slews till it points straight up and turns all the way around twice, then stops. From everything I have read, the 497 should work. I can't find much on Weasner's site about this. Thanks for any help.

So I'm outside looking at Mars. 10" dob. I was using a bino with either 20mm or 20mm barlowed eps, I don't remember. Anyway, I defocused until I had a somewhat large image of the primary, and for some reason I reached out and held my hand about 12" in front of the scope. I could see the outline of my hand, but I could also see heat radiating off of my hand like pluming smoke. When I took my hand away, the heat lingered and dissipated in about a second and a half. It looked like a transparent black and white thermal image. It got me wondering though....how much might my entire body heat be affecting the scope. I use the bottom lip of the dob to move it. The heat from my hand would go right into the front of the light path. How about when someone stands in front of the scope, not obstructing it, but just off to the side. The heat radiated might really be degrading the image. I couldn't believe I could see the heat radiating like that. Imagine what sun heated concrete, buildings, etc. can do to image quality. I've heard they can, now add a misplaced hand to the list. Anyway...just an equipment observation. Maybe it's not as bad as it looks.

Just received two Konig II 16mm eps used from two different people for my bino. Naturally they are different. I thought I might get lucky but nooooo. I'm not familiar with Konig II's, thought I might try them out. So what is the difference, or which is newer? One has UO lettering near the top, the other has UO lettering in the middle. Both look in great shape and appear very new. They seem to merge, but I have not been out at night yet. Thanks in advance!

I have a green laser. It works great as a hand pointer, and I also attach it to my finder scope. It does not like cold temps. Anything under 45 degress f. and the power diminishes. Colder it is, the worse it works. Bought my first one from a popular company that takes them apart and modifies them. It went out in 10 minutes. Second one was $80 cheaper and just as bright. I have a lot of fun with mine besides astronomy. Chandelier light shows, foggy weather light sabres, beamsplitting, stuff like that. Mine uses 2 AAA batteries, I'm on my second pair in 2 months. Hope that helps you out!