What have you been up to lately?

[notFritzArgelander]

I've been dithering. Since I am retired I can no longer afford to throw money at problems or fun without very careful consideration. Gone are the days when I could buy a set of Naglers and sell them off because I didn't like the 82 degree fields and then go through the exercise a second time just because I doubted my first impressions.

So the trade offs I've been dithering about are:

1) the desire for a larger refractor in an ED doublet
2) the need to repair and/or remodel the Z12 to fix the focuser and possibly make more compact (it gave me a hernia) perhaps following the advice of @SkyHiker in viewtopic.php?t=19182&hilit=Z12
3) the desire for a heavier capacity goto GEM, maybe, if i decide i want a larger Cat.

my recent semi annual exams indicate, the hernia seems to have spontaneously healed itself and that i no longer have the pupil dilation advantages that i had enjoyed until recently. so with this information in hand....

1) get the frac: https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... ublet.html
2) i've decided to leave the Z12 as is but fix the focuser, keeping the low cost mods above in mind. the decreasing dilation means that aperture is looking more kingly to me than in the past.
3) after having a recent scare about the CG5 but have recovered it, defer the heavier mount

[Lady Fraktor]

The AT125 specification looks like it would be a top refractor nFA.
Good to hear about the better medical result as well.

[notFritzArgelander]

The AT125 specification looks like it would be a top refractor nFA.
Good to hear about the better medical result as well.

My order has been shipped. So I'm expecting the weather to turn ugly.

BTW I'm writing up two observing reports involving the Starbase eps, the MK66 and the AWB. More scattered light on planetary but I'm really liking the Kellner's for stellar DSOs, nebular contrast is not as good on fuzzies as the KKs which are a tad behind (but brighter than the BCOs). More details soon.

[Lady Fraktor]

The AT125 specification looks like it would be a top refractor nFA.
Good to hear about the better medical result as well.

My order has been shipped. So I'm expecting the weather to turn ugly.

BTW I'm writing up two observing reports involving the Starbase eps, the MK66 and the AWB. More scattered light on planetary but I'm really liking the Kellner's for stellar DSOs, nebular contrast is not as good on fuzzies as the KKs which are a tad behind (but brighter than the BCOs). More details soon.

That sounds great, I am just finishing my last motocycle testing weekend of the year at the moment and afterwards will have extra time to write up something about the 105mm.
The new Brandon should be here Monday as well.

[SkyHiker]

1) get the frac: https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... ublet.html
2) i've decided to leave the Z12 as is but fix the focuser, keeping the low cost mods above in mind. the decreasing dilation means that aperture is looking more kingly to me than in the past.
3) after having a recent scare about the CG5 but have recovered it, defer the heavier mount

That is a nice-looking refractor at an affordable price. I am sure you will like it.

The Z12 mod won't make it much lighter just more transportable. If you just use it at home and don't intend to take it elsewhere there is no point in cutting it up into a collapsible. This weekend I'll take it to an SBAU (my local astronomy club) all weekend campout at Lake Cachuma. Bringing a Dob is more social than doing high stress AP in some remote corner while everybody else is drinking and having fun.

If you have trouble moving the Z12 I recommend to either ditch it or try using a sling to walk it around. The trick is to keep the Z12 as close as possible to the body in an upright position yet walk hands free with it. I used an old judo belt wrapped around the Alt bearings and my shoulder, keeping the Z12 right up against my belly. Keep the body straight up and walk hands free. See if you can find a sling of about 2 to 3 meters long and try it.

But still, the balance between aperture and weight of a Z12 is a negative compared to a 10" Dob like the ole Coulter Odyssey that I gave away recently. Skywatcher has a nice collapsible 10" Dob for not too much money. A 10" is so much easier to deal with than a Z12, you should consider it.

I noticed though that my 20x80 SkyMasters are not much worse than my old 10" Dob. So how about replacing the Z12 with some nice 90 degree ED Apo binos? Should be super easy to move around for the long term, lots of light too. One time I looked though some large 45 degree Fujinons at the RTMC, it was the best viewing experience of all. If you can sell that Z12 maybe something to consider. In the long run the Z12 is a losing proposition unless you have a permanent setup.

If your CG5 is still working, it should be fine for your new frac.

[notFritzArgelander]

1) get the frac: https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... ublet.html
2) i've decided to leave the Z12 as is but fix the focuser, keeping the low cost mods above in mind. the decreasing dilation means that aperture is looking more kingly to me than in the past.
3) after having a recent scare about the CG5 but have recovered it, defer the heavier mount

That is a nice-looking refractor at an affordable price. I am sure you will like it.

The Z12 mod won't make it much lighter just more transportable. If you just use it at home and don't intend to take it elsewhere there is no point in cutting it up into a collapsible. This weekend I'll take it to an SBAU (my local astronomy club) all weekend campout at Lake Cachuma. Bringing a Dob is more social than doing high stress AP in some remote corner while everybody else is drinking and having fun.

If you have trouble moving the Z12 I recommend to either ditch it or try using a sling to walk it around. The trick is to keep the Z12 as close as possible to the body in an upright position yet walk hands free with it. I used an old judo belt wrapped around the Alt bearings and my shoulder, keeping the Z12 right up against my belly. Keep the body straight up and walk hands free. See if you can find a sling of about 2 to 3 meters long and try it.

But still, the balance between aperture and weight of a Z12 is a negative compared to a 10" Dob like the ole Coulter Odyssey that I gave away recently. Skywatcher has a nice collapsible 10" Dob for not too much money. A 10" is so much easier to deal with than a Z12, you should consider it.

I noticed though that my 20x80 SkyMasters are not much worse than my old 10" Dob. So how about replacing the Z12 with some nice 90 degree ED Apo binos? Should be super easy to move around for the long term, lots of light too. One time I looked though some large 45 degree Fujinons at the RTMC, it was the best viewing experience of all. If you can sell that Z12 maybe something to consider. In the long run the Z12 is a losing proposition unless you have a permanent setup.

If your CG5 is still working, it should be fine for your new frac.

I’m thinking of moving the repaired Z12 as is to my grandsons place and maybe a collapsible 10” longer term so we’re in agreement. The temporary CG5 issue is solved so that’s all good for now. I’ve been looking for the longest time at binocular telescopes with changeable oculars and I suspect that at some point I’ll give into it.

Thanks again for the useful info.

[pakarinen]

Going to test out the stability of my 102ED with AZ5 on the RT90C tonight or tomorrow morning. Might try to catch some Orionids with my phone. Getting some buyers possibly interested in my TW-1 tripod. That's going to be pricy to ship though.

[GCoyote]

Caught a few Orionids last night while relaxed in a lounge chair and wrapped in a sleeping bag (temps were in the upper 30s last night)

One nice discovery, since I got new bifocals last month, I can pick out more objects without an instrument. It was the first time I've seen the Pleiades without binoculars in years.

[Ylem]

Going to test out the stability of my 102ED with AZ5 on the RT90C tonight or tomorrow morning. Might try to catch some Orionids with my phone. Getting some buyers possibly interested in my TW-1 tripod. That's going to be pricy to ship though.

Tripods and other long box items can be very pricey to ship.
About 15 years ago I sold an EQ2 for about $25, it cost me $38 to ship it.

It think it was UPS, they told me it was the shape of the box that added to the cost.

[pakarinen]

Tripods and other long box items can be very pricey to ship.
About 15 years ago I sold an EQ2 for about $25, it cost me $38 to ship it.

It think it was UPS, they told me it was the shape of the box that added to the cost.

Yeah, I encountered that when I shipped my 475B tripod. It was estimated at about $25 by weight, which went up to about $50 b/c of the size of the box. I could sell it locally but it might take awhile to find a buyer - my old C8 languished for a couple of years. Or I could just donate it to my astro club's annual auction.

[SkyHiker]

Just got back from a weekend campout of the SBAU (Astronomical Unit) at Lake Cachuma. I figured AP would just put me in a desolate corner while the rest is all viewing, drinking and having fun, I decided to bring my collapsible-made Z12. Driving up on the hills the views were pretty hazy. Coming down on the other side I can't remember but in the end the skies were fantastic. When I noticed that there were two 18" Obsessions I decided there was no point in setting up a pitiful 12" and later on a 20" came in so I decided to not set up (a mistake!). Also, at first the weather did not look good, but it changed on a whim. The Milky Way was almost as good as the Bortle 0 at the Kaibab Lodge! Surprisingly, a simple 8" Orion Dob turned out very good views. Wider field than the 18" and 20" but very sharp and very nice. While everyone was coming in late and setting up in the dark, I enjoyed looking through other people's scopes so much that I did not set up myself.

The next day was to be spent either by taking the Lake Cachuma boat ride or, question mark. I had done that boat ride decades ago, so I opted for the Tequepis Trail that takes you up to the Camino Cielo ridge from where one can look down on the Pacific. This was an interesting trail that winds around a hilltop such that it shows views of the tremendous mountains on both sides, quite interesting, while leading to the top, and also fantastic views of Lake Cachuma. A beautiful trail that I will definitely do again at any future Lake Cahuma astro party. So, daytime boredom solved.

On Saturday night we had the partly catered potluck with the SBAU bigwigs just visiting for the night and dining with the Lake Cachuma naturalists. Very nice, it's meant to be a community experience and we did quite well between us and the frisbee golfers (I had never heard of that, but they are a bunch of freeloaders declaring our campsite a part of a world class competition course). It made it difficult to navigate through the "closed" signs for us and them, as the camp kiosks were closed while leaving up signs imploring all sorts of penalties if we would drive on. Oh well the only reasonable choice is to ignore authority and just drive on to get to the destination. Where it was declared that authorities don't check anything anymore, so anything goes.

Getting back to astronomy, I decided to set up despite the clouds. The views of the hills seemed very clear so there was a chance that things would clear up. I had some trouble but eventually managed to get everything right. Then I looked up and the clouds were all over. No surprise. They came and went all night until we got tired of it and packed up. Meanwhile I was struggling a bit with my DIY setting circles until I noticed that my cell phone Skeye had the location set to "Kaibab Lodge", which was the last place where I used it. After fixing that, finding objects improved quite a bit. But the clouds came and went so I did not get much beyond Jupiter (crystal clear), Saturn, M31, M45, M20. I tried the double cluster but that's where the clouds came in. Nicely, the clouds looked black against the sky, which is always a good sign. I have to say that the Z12 showed tremendously crisp views of the stars, so it is a great telescope. Next time I will set up ASAP because this is fun. The SBAU organizes this at least once a year.

Sunday morning, I made my own breakfast and did not wait for the cooks to wake up and get me the delicious pancake, eggs and bacon breakfast they fed me the day before (kudos to them). Those breakfasts are nice, but they can easily last until 11:30. So I went home to read the newspaper and watch Formula 1.

[OzEclipse]

Tripods and other long box items can be very pricey to ship.
About 15 years ago I sold an EQ2 for about $25, it cost me $38 to ship it.

It think it was UPS, they told me it was the shape of the box that added to the cost.

Yeah, I encountered that when I shipped my 475B tripod. It was estimated at about $25 by weight, which went up to about $50 b/c of the size of the box. I could sell it locally but it might take awhile to find a buyer - my old C8 languished for a couple of years. Or I could just donate it to my astro club's annual auction.

I'm going to have my 475B buried with me.
Best thing I've ever bought, solid as a rock.
Joe

[notFritzArgelander]

I've been dithering. Since I am retired I can no longer afford to throw money at problems or fun without very careful consideration. Gone are the days when I could buy a set of Naglers and sell them off because I didn't like the 82 degree fields and then go through the exercise a second time just because I doubted my first impressions.

So the trade offs I've been dithering about are:

1) the desire for a larger refractor in an ED doublet
2) the need to repair and/or remodel the Z12 to fix the focuser and possibly make more compact (it gave me a hernia) perhaps following the advice of @SkyHiker in viewtopic.php?t=19182&hilit=Z12
3) the desire for a heavier capacity goto GEM, maybe, if i decide i want a larger Cat.

my recent semi annual exams indicate, the hernia seems to have spontaneously healed itself and that i no longer have the pupil dilation advantages that i had enjoyed until recently. so with this information in hand....

1) get the frac: https://www.astronomics.com/astro-tech- ... ublet.html
2) i've decided to leave the Z12 as is but fix the focuser, keeping the low cost mods above in mind. the decreasing dilation means that aperture is looking more kingly to me than in the past.
3) after having a recent scare about the CG5 but have recovered it, defer the heavier mount

Delivery of the scope has happened. More later.

[pakarinen]

Ordered a WO RACI with helical focuser to experiment with.

[GCoyote]

Got the cover on the pool thus marking the non-official end of summer here.

[pakarinen]

I just ordered a Stellarvue M2C mount. I'm a little leery b/c it doesn't have slo-mo, but all the comments I've read say slo-mo is not needed on this puppy. And there's an encoder kit available for it. Oh well, the money was just sitting in my PayPal with nowhere to go, so why not?
Now to sell my AZ5 and my ScopeTech Zero and ...

[a100171]

Spent more than a little time fixing the backhoe. Among learning how to rebuild hydraulic cylinders, and messing with diesel fuel systems, and learning how to weld, I managed to get the beast running well and got a "thumb" mounted so that I could more effectively move/stack tree trunks and boulders.

I was ready to really rock and get the back yard all cleared and ready to put my observatory in (finally) when the reverser (transmission) went on me. Spent more than a few weeks getting it removed, rebuilt, and reinstalled. This is a full-sized industrial backhoe, not a typical home machine. Not easy when you have little upper-body strength and a bum shoulder. Being officially ancient now, things do not work as well as they used to.

Managed to get a few more stumps out today, and a few boulders moved to the perimeter. And now I am spent!

Trying to figure out the exact location to put the observatory so I can dig the underground utilities and pour the pier before winter sets in. It is looking like I need to land a couple more 100-footers (pine trees) to be safe, and I am hoping to get a few loads of fill delivered so that I can at least have the observatory area all set. Everything now (hopefully) is about time.The race is on!

Very jealous of the observatory projects I have seen.

[Nakedgun]

Spent more than a little time fixing the backhoe. Among learning how to rebuild hydraulic cylinders, and messing with diesel fuel systems, and learning how to weld, I managed to get the beast running well and got a "thumb" mounted so that I could more effectively move/stack tree trunks and boulders.

I was ready to really rock and get the back yard all cleared and ready to put my observatory in (finally) when the reverser (transmission) went on me. Spent more than a few weeks getting it removed, rebuilt, and reinstalled. This is a full-sized industrial backhoe, not a typical home machine. Not easy when you have little upper-body strength and a bum shoulder. Being officially ancient now, things do not work as well as they used to.

Managed to get a few more stumps out today, and a few boulders moved to the perimeter. And now I am spent!

Trying to figure out the exact location to put the observatory so I can dig the underground utilities and pour the pier before winter sets in. It is looking like I need to land a couple more 100-footers (pine trees) to be safe, and I am hoping to get a few loads of fill delivered so that I can at least have the observatory area all set. Everything now (hopefully) is about time.The race is on!

Very jealous of the observatory projects I have seen.

~
Project photos would be a welcome addition to your posts.


.

[KingNothing13]

My eye-doc gave me a reminder that I am getting old - pushing 50 and I am now wearing bi-focal glasses.

He also decided to under-correct one of my contact lenses to help compensate there, as bi-focal contacts are - not good from what I understand.

The glasses are tough to get used to.

[Ylem]

Cleaning up the fish tank, and picked up a few Plecos (Algae eaters) to help keep it clean.

Itching to do some solar, but still raining