Posts Made By: Paul Gustafson

When I had my G-11 and 155 f/7 I found a couple of things made setup faster and easier. When not in use I kept the G-11 legs stored in the extended position (they fit in a Tamrac tripod bag just fine). Also, I used the AP rings with a Losmandy plate on both top and bottom of the rings, kept the rings/plates on the scope and just slid it into the dovetail on the mount. The plate on the top of the rings serves a dual purpose -- you can mount a guide scope on it, and it makes a very secure handle when mounting and unmounting the scope. Marking your balance points saves time, also, as you have found.

>>people don't search for things they want or to see if there is someone who needs their item before posting<<

At the risk of belaboring the obvious, as a seller there is a huge difference between posting a For Sale ad and answering a Wanted ad. With the For Sale ad the seller can state his price and, if it is above the current market price and he gets no takers, can pick through the other responses and look for the best offer and decide if it is worth it to him to sell at that price. He can pick and choose and is in charge of the process. When a seller answers a Wanted ad, he is one of presumably many, and the buyer is in control of the process. Certainly, the seller can still decide if he wants to sell at the price the poster is willing to pay, but you can see the difference here.

Perhaps my experience is different than others, but a fairly high percentage of the Wanted ads to which I've responded have been from people who were just fishing for an ultra low price and either weren't really serious or weren't willing or able to pay a reasonable going rate for the item. Now, more power to them if their Wanted ad flushes an item out at a price far below the typical used price. But I am very careful about answering all ad replies and following up, and hate to waste days of correspondence only to get a "my wife won't let me buy it and, anyway, I was just looking."

So at this point, if I have an item to sell I won't answer any Wanted ads unless the ad is from someone I know well.

There's a little hare on your primary...

Try:

http://www.astrobuffet.com/

I have a pair of the 5 Radians and a pair of the 5 Naglers. In both mono and binocular viewing, there is no apppreciable difference in the quality of the image. You can make your decision based on weight, FOV, and eye relief.

For another data point, see:

http://www.company7.com/library/televue/orrtv5mmN.html

Cool. Very detailed -- you can even see the lines between the states...

You have to be a member to view that site. Can you quote it here?

I use them binoviewing in a variety of scopes, no problems with eye relief (but I don't wear glasses to observe). It's a very handy focal length. They do have a different feel than the type 6's.

I've used the Daystar Ca-K filter, and the images taken through it are impressive. It is primarily designed for imaging since our eyes aren't very sensitive at that wavelength.

The two are compared here:

http://www.company7.com/library/televue/orrtv5mmN.html

I have a pair of each, and it is a trade off between fov and eye relief. Optically the Nagler is every bit as good as the Radian.