Posts Made By: Tony Miller

I was wondering if anyone has tested the little takahashi orthos against the Zeiss ones in the .965" or even 1.25" barrels. Used prices seem about the same as does the frequency in which neither turns up .

I have a set of the Taks but wondered about the others.

Tony Miller

Has anyone here tried the new all metal Oberwerk 20x80 deluxe binoculars? They look quite substantial at 17" long and 7.7 pounds.
Thanks,
Tony Miller

Hello,
I recently sold a meade ETX-90Ra to a fellow list member and he is reporting drive problems that I did not notice. Does anyone here have any familiarity with this scope and any fixes that one can try or is this a best effort by Meade and it does not get any better? He reports that it skips when the drive is engaged and therefore will not track properly. Any suggestions? Whether he keeps it or sends it back it performs well optically and I would like to get it fixed.
Thanks,
Tony

Sal,
I hope it was not my wanted ad you responded to. People have lives other than A'mart and things come up. I personally have spent most of the last 4 days in the ER with my Mom. I apologize to those I was lax or tardy in responding to and would personally offer to kick the ass of any that would leave me bad feedback for it.

Take a sedative, get a life. After your Tak misadventures maybe people are simply afraid to deal with you.

Tony Miller

Okay, who is getting a new scope for Xmas and why did you pick the one you did (how will this affect your observing)? A cool accessory counts too.


Tony Miller

Okay, here is my bad ride. It's the latest in a long string of old Rovers I have owned starting with a 1958. This is a 1963 88" Land Rover with a pickup cab. My Rovers, including this little beast have been my daily drivers for the past 11 years. Typical British workmanship.
Land Rover, the worlds most reliable, unreliable vehicle. Whether going to K-Mart or Katmandu you will have to stop and fix something BUT you will get there.
Thanks for looking,
Tony Miller

I am selling a rather expensive (non-astronmy related) item and although a US buyer is most likely I have had requests from other countries. With all the recent International money order issue how would you request payment? This seller would send a cashiers check in USA funds for the exact amount + bank fees. Is there any length of time in clearing that would assure me that the funds will really be in my bank AND stay there?

I am probably best if I just pass and wait for a USA buyer. At least on the astronmy related item I usually know who I am dealing with.

Thanks,
Tony Miller

Hmmm, I think I would quickly put my money somewhere else. With you account number and bank name anything is possible.


Tony Miller

P.S.--I'm especially interested in failure of those old eyepiece filters. I'd never use one again, even if I found one, but did anybody ever actually see one fail?

I doubt it, the users seeing would fail at exactly the same instant the filter would . Hmm, I guess you meant did a bystander ever see one fail.

My worries are with long term damage that is not seen for years. Solar filter saftey is based on what we think a safe level of transmission is. Only long term use would tell what the actual safe limit of transmitted UV and IR radiation is. For many this is not a concern but for other with hereditary eye conditions this might. Macular degeneration seems to be passed on from one generation to another and both UV and IR wil contribute greatly to it's manifestation in those already predisposed.

Best,
Tony Miller

Tim,
Interesting question. To me the answer is, well, yes and no.

When I did not have a digital camera I saved photos of each item I bought from the original ad and used them again if I resold the item at a later date. It was though always a photo of the actual item I had so was an honest representation of the item for sale. From a photographers point of view though every photograph carries a copyright of sorts whether expressed or not, and really one should ask first before using.

I would not suggest taking a photo of an item seller "A" currently has listed and using it for your own ad though simply because it is the same kind or brand of item.

What is fairly common on that auction site we are not allowed to mention is that someone will use a catalog photo from the manufacturers website. To me that's a bit more accepatbale but in all honesty reusing anyones photo without their permission is a no-no.

Best,
Tony Miller