my equipment

Telrad

2010-01-30T18:52:00.000-08:00

I just got my Telrad Reflex Finder scope a few days ago. Haven't been able to test it out since we have 8 inches of snow on the ground, but I did attached it to my telescope with the double sided tape. It wasn't hard to attach. And it feels really secure.

The finder i previously had on wasn't working out to well it was a little 8x20 finder. It really was a piece of crap. I'm glad i got this. I was going to get different finder, but the telrad has a good name and was a little cheaper than the other.

I'll post some pictures. Its kinda funny its almost the same size as my telescope. This should make finding stuff alot easier

meade mysky plus.

2009-10-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

When i went outside two nights ago to image Jupiter i decided to take out the Meade Mysky. It was really easy to get started and was pretty cool. i wish it had the names of the stars next to each dot on the map. that would be nice. but its pretty cool.

I was reading and read that i could buy a cable to hook it to my mount and control my telescope with the meade mysky. The cable is only $24.00. I think that would be pretty cool. And it says you can turn a non GPS telescope into a GPS with the Meade MySky. Once you have the telescope aligned you can use the Mysky to direct the telescope. That's cool.

The Meade Mysky has gotten pretty cheap lately i got mine for cheap off ebay the only thing was it was broken i had to do some work on it to get it working, so be careful where you buy it.

Well, i thought the meade mysky was pretty cool.

CS!

8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece

2009-09-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago when i went outside i used the 8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece. normally i didn't use it because i wanted to image, but windows xp wasn't working so i took the 8mm out. I viewed Jupiter and it looked great. I put my barlow 2x and it looked even better than i put the 3x and it was so cool looking. This eyepiece is really good. I think next time i go out i'm just going to observe and not image because i really haven't been looking trough the eyepiece and really looking at the object..

here is a photo i took holding the camera to the 8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece

click on image to enlarge

meade mysky- my thoughts.

2009-08-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

hey, I have had a chance to use the meade mysky a few times, and its pretty cool. Its easy to turn on and to operate. It shows a map of the sky and tells you where to go to find an object, also cool.

It tells you information about the object. tells you how far away it is and a bunch more info. you can have a video play and a person tells you all about it and shows pictures. you can aso click on a info button and that tells you even more. Just a list of the information.

When you point to the sky it shows all the constellations and connects them together with a red line. When you click the shoot button it loads and tells you what you are aiming at, (doesn't take long to load) and some options come up for you to learn more about the object. You can play a info video and so on. You can also find an object in its database. It has a list from just Stars, DSO, and planets. you can choose what you want, and it will tell you where to find it using a arrow on the screen. when you get close you will see a circle and you target is in the middle.

its easy to use and very educational. Great for all ages. Great learning tool. Great for navigating the skies. and Pretty darn cool.

CS!

NEW ADDITION!

2009-07-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

I just got a Meade MySky. I had some problems when i first got it. i had to do some work on it. the on and off button didn't work i had to take it apart and fix it. it seems to be working but wont know until i take it out.

i'm hoping i will be able to see some stars tonight just to see if it works. its been cloudy. ounce i use i will will share my thoughts on it.

CS!

GSO 1.25" 0.5x Focal Reducer

2009-04-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is a review of my new GSO 1.25" 0.5x Focal Reducer. Last night was my first night out using it. I used it with my phillips spc900nc webcam. It screw right onto the webcam threads, so no need to buy anything else. It can also screw onto a threads on a eyepiece.

what a focal reducer is suppose to do is cut the focal focal ratio in half, and that results in a wider FOV ( field of view) so this focal reducer will convert a f/10 telescope into a f/5 telescope. which is better for astrophotography.

Last night I tested the focal reducer. the object was Saturn. The FOV seemed wider to me. Imaging seemed easier the picture seemed clearer, and i got alot better results.
I like that i can just screw the focal reducer onto the webcam. I bought another focal reducer and i would have had to buy a few adapters to make it work with my telescope. With this it worked great.

for the price its great and unbeatable at the price. i do recommend getting this focal reducer.

get it here free shipping. good company!

crosshair eyepiece-Review-

2009-04-05T13:35:00.001-07:00

last night i was able to test out the crosshair eyepiece i made a few days ago. I used it on Saturn when i used the webcam and it was dead on, i mean dead on. I switched to the webcam and saturn was right there. You have no clue how nice it is to have it right there, and not have to search al over the place for it. The crosshair eyepiece was very, very helpful. I'm very glad I tried to make one.

Its very easy to make.You can use almost anything for the hair. One guy accutally used a hair. So anything will work. The twise tie is working fine. I do like it!

CS!

Power Cord

2009-04-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

I bought a new Power cord for my mount. my last one (Meade #607 DC) got messed up because i pulled the cord when i tried to unplug from the power supply, because the cigarette lighter plug was so slick, and was very hard at times to unplug.Well I ended up messing it up. The wires got loose and now it doesn't work right. So I bought a new one from scopestuff
This one has a grip on the cigarette lighter plug, so its really, really easy to unplug.

Now the one from scopestuff is only 5 feet long, while the #607 is 25 Feet. 5 feet is just fine for me because i keep my power supply under my mount. Having the grip on the cigarette lighter plug is very nice.

CS!

Homemade crosshair eyepiece

2009-04-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm making a homemade Crosshair eyepiece. never done this before, and no directions! but thought i would give it a try. Here are the things you will need. i'm also attaching some photos to go along.

1.ruler
2.compass
3.eyepiece
4.i'm using some twist ties you can use something else.
4.glue
5.scissors

ok first i unscrewed the bottom of the eyepiece off (i'm using a 25mm sirrus plossl from orion).
Used the compass to draw a circle on my paper and put two lines through it in the center. I then took the plastics off the twist ties. cut them to the right size and centered them with the lines on the paper. put some glue on the end of the wire (I used shoe glue its very strong and dies fast), then i put the wire inside the eyepiece. lined them up and done. its not prefect but it did saved me $60.00! Pictures below. I used no directions no nothing! hope this helps you out!

(Note --> I still can use a filter with this eyepiece. The wire is in the middle of the eyepiece)

click image to enlarge!

Meade Telescopes

2009-01-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

This place called Weasner's might Etx site, is a great place to find anything on Meade products. Their telescope and mounts tons of information. This place is a wonderful site. I have gone to the site many times to find answers about my Meade telescope and mount. Its a great place to get information and a great person running it. Mike Weasner is a great guy. Gets back to you with questions right away, very kind! A wonderful place!

Check it out! you will be glad you did!

Weasner's might Etx site

2009-01-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

I haven't Bought anything lately. But I really do like my Meade Etx-125 and my Lxd55 mount. If you are looking to buy a telescope i would highly recommend this telescope. Its a great telescope gives some really nice views. Its really easy to use. Nothing difficult about it. great for astrophotography. You will get some really nice views on the planets and the moon. Gosh the moon. The craters just jump out at you, its amazing. Meade did a good job making this telescope. Its a wonderful telescope. Many things to explore with it!

Clear skies!

Plano Protector Four Pistol Case

2008-11-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

The Plano Protector Four Pistol Case are now back in stock, at most stores. This is a seasonal item and its back! I was at wal-mart the over day and saw them. Had quite a few in-stock.

These are great cases. Very nice and work well for your astronomy accessories. I have one and might grab one more soon. they are cheaper if you just got the store.

seymour solar filter-REVIEW

2008-10-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hey, as you may know today was well my first light with the Seymour thin film solar filter. I had always been interested in doing solar observing since getting into the hobby of astronomy. So when i saw this filter i asked around, and figured this would be a good place to start. It is in my price range. So i thought what the heck.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I new i would only be able to see sun-spots, but just looking at the sun should be pretty cool. For the money spent on this filter, its really nice. Works absolutely great.

I got my telescope set let it equalize waited about 20 minutes. and started observing. My finder scope wasn't aligned with the eyepiece, so i got that all situated , and after that i got the sun centered in the eyepiece. Right now there are no sun-spots. But the sun did look cool. The filter works great. It was not at all bright, it was very comfortable viewing the sun. I was very impressed with this filter. Works like a charm. It gave a very nice view of the sun. eventually i'm going to get a h-alpha filter. That's a whole other story! Yes i do recommend this filter to anyone! Its a great filter for just starting out with solar observing, and WONT break the bank!

I haven't used any other solar filter, so i can't compare it to any other filter. But for my first filter i would have to say it was well worth the money.

How much did this filter cost? $48.00 USD. Brand new from Seymour filters. And for $48.00 it was well worth it!

Click on image to enlarge

Used a 32mm eyepiece and held a digital camera to the eyepiece to take that photo.
NO! That's not a sun-spot that's some dirt that got on the lens

seymour solar filter

2008-10-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

hey, i got the filter today. It was pretty cloudy and by the time it cleared it was behind the trees. I did get to see the sun but it was behind the trees and i could only see the outer of the sun. it looked good!

The filter works great. And for its price it was well worth it! Tomorrow it will be clear. i will be doing some imaging! will post!

To hold you off until then!

A whole new door opened!

2008-10-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Today I took the first step of SOLAR OBSERVING!

Just bought a solar filter for my ETX-125. its a great filter and was at a really good price! I should have it hopefully by Friday. I will post pictures and first light report! I will use the webcam and try to get some sunspots!

Meade LXD55 mount

2008-10-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hey, Just wanted to tell you about this wonderful Mount i have! Last night was great. got to see many new objects. and didn't take me but 30 seconds to find it! The mounts GOTO system is awesome! It is so accurate i was blown away! I could just sit back and know it would go to the object! It was dead on to every object. I really enjoyed it last night! This is a great mount! I would recommend this mount to anyone!

Its Great!

Meade LXD55 Mount

2008-09-24T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hey, I was having some Problem with my LXD55 with its accuracy. I bought it used from someone in Ohio. One of the first things I did was change the location to where i live, and made sure i had the time right, daylight savings, and date, but still had the problem.

I did some reading, asked some questions on cloudynights . I decided I should reset my meade autostar 497. I reset my autostar to the factory settings. Then I put my location in time, date, daylight savings all in. I then trained the drives. You need to do this on a land object. I did it on my neighbors chimney. they say pick a top of a power line or tower but don't have one viable near me. And I calibrated the motors.

This was all done around 3:30 a.m. I brought my mount and telescope inside. and decided to try to point to some stars in my room. just to see if it would be close, and WOW what a difference. It seemed like it was going to the stars. I had starry night out to see if it was close.

what a difference. just resetting the autostar 497 training the drives that's all i did. and it worked that night i went outside. alignment was good, tracked good. And got this picture!

if you are having trouble with your goto mount try this! or at least just try training the drives!

First real light report (etx-125)

2008-09-20T19:13:00.001-07:00

hey, tonight was a decent night. it was clear. or as clear as it is going to get around here. i got my dovetail, so i put my etx-125 on my lxd55 mount.

i had a huge problem with alignment. i pointed north got it leveled. thought everything was good. started the alignment and it was going to the wrong part of the sky. something that's in south went to the north. didn't get it. i corrected it by moving over to the right star. then went to the next alignment went to the wrong one. i went to the right star centered it.

i had it goto Jupiter in the south. it went to Jupiter in the North. if Jupiter was in the north it would have gone right to it. LOL, to bad its in the south. i slewed over to Jupiter in the south one thing that made me start talking to the mount (arguing with it) i was trying to center Jupiter but the mount would just start moving. I once again didn't get it finally got in centered. i synced it. but it wouldn't track Jupiter. so i used the arrows to follow it. my dad and some brothers and sisters came out and check Jupiter out. it was nice. It was a big difference compared to the Orion 90mm mak-cass. I used my 32mm super plossl and my 8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece. The views in the 32mm were great. i could see alot of moons. had a very nice wide FOV. it was great. i really like the JMI. it was soo easy to focus with that. With the built in flip mirror i just flipped to the 8mm BO/TMB. i had to move the telescope a bit to get it in the 8mm BO/TMB FOV. The views in the 8mm were really nice. the Bands on Jupiter came out nicely. I tried to do some imaging but it was over exposed and was moving into the trees. so no images tonight. Jupiter was the only thing i viewed because the alignment issue. I did however just move through the sky. I put my 32mm eyepiece on and just used the arrow to go up milky way lane. didn't see ONE DSO. just a ton of stars which was really cool. i saw alot more stars in the telescope then i could ever see with the naked eye.

i really really like the etx-125. it was a great jump from my little Orion 90mm mak.

removing the meade ETX-125 from its mount.

2008-09-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Removing the optical tube from the mount is pretty easy. Once you know what you are doing at least!

first you need to unscrew the four screws. two on each side of the telescope. to do this you will need a large allen key. my telescope didn't come with it, so i just went in my tool box and found on that worked. After you remove the four screws from the telescope. you will need to loosen the DC knob. pull the mount that way <- and -> then you will be able to remove the etx-125 from the mount. Its pretty basic.

Mike weasner has directions on taking a Meade etx-90 off the mount. its the same as the etx-125. going all the way down the page at weasner's page. he will walk you through it. but i think i pretty much covered it. he has pictures so it might help!

Clear skies people!

tiny first light report

2008-09-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

tonight I went outside with my new Meade ETX-125. I put the meade etx-125 on a table and used it. I didn't have a lot of time to view because the clouds were coming in. i tried the moon but to many trees in the ways, but Jupiter popped out of the trees. even with the clouds kind of covering it it was a great view. I didn't have enough time to get the webcam out, so I just used the eyepieces, its really nice having a built in flip mirror really nice, I had a 32mm plossl in the top and a 8mm BO/TMB on a 2x barlow.
The view of Jupiter were great. I could see about 4 moons and the bands looked great. the detail was just fantastic. even with the 32mm on this scope it seemed big (talking about Jupiter) compared to my 90mm mak. it was a great upgrade from the 90mm to the 125.

hopefully soon I will have a better report on this telescope soon. but from what i saw tonight this telescope is awesome!

new equipment!

2008-09-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hey, i just got some new equipment! I upgraded my telescope to a Meade ETX-125. its a wonderful telescope. I will be getting a first light report soon. And I got a Meade LXD55 mount. its a goto mount and is awesome! i will be able to do a lot more AP (astrophotography) the views will be great! i can't wait to use these two new additions!

Vixen flip mirror - review.

2008-08-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hey, last night I used the Vixen flip mirror for the first time. Lets call it a success!
It is built pretty good, not cheap material. Easy to use. Just flip it to the eyepiece and then the camera, or what i did first is have a 32mm on the top and a 8mm on the end. Centered it with the 32mm and turned it to the 8mm and sure enough the object was there.

last night i went out looking at Jupiter. i don't have but a 40min window for jupiter. there is a clearing in the trees and it goes past that, so i got the mount and the 90mm mak on it and waited from it to get in the clearing. when i was able to see it i centered it in with the 32mm eyepiece then flipped it too the webcam. it was there but wasn't focused. i got it focused and went to a 2x barlow and the camera. this time it was a little harder. why? it was just a big glow of light and was hard to see where it was. but after awhile i got it (just need some practice) took some pictures and a video with the 2x on it. i wanted to see if i could use the 3x barlow. That was the hardest part. trying to find it even though it was right there!i played with the focus moving it all over. after a little while i found it. the pictures didn't come out to well. and only got a few. by the time i got the the 3x barlow it was already heading into the trees again.

Overall the Vixen flip mirror help a ton. it was worth buying. it was so annoying before when i didn't have the flip mirror. putting on the eyepiece centering it taking it off putting the webcam on. i got pretty fast at doing it but it gets moved around. not the best way. with the flip mirror. just flip it to the eyepiece center it then back to the camera. it doesn't get knocked and only takes a second!

5 stars!

90mm mak-cass

2008-07-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

hey, while I was searching for a telescope last June I found some reviews. thought I would share them with you readers. its just the telescope not the mount.
The review can be found here it was submitted by Ed Conley. Enjoy the review! it was very helpful to me and I hope to you!

vixen flip mirror

2008-07-22T05:01:00.001-07:00

hey, got a vixen flip mirror! it should help me alot with AP ( Astrophotography). you can put a eypiece in the top and the camera in the bottom. then you can flip to the eyepiece and flip back to the camera. whats the point? HELPS CENTER THE OBJECT! i always have a hard time finding the object, with this is should be alot easier! i will be testing it out soon!

you can get the flip mirror here and i highly recommend getting one. it will save you alot of trouble.

Baader UV/IR-Filters

2008-07-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

This filter is good for the webcam using it for AP. i bought this awhile ago and use it every night i use the webcam! its not really expansive. I got it for $54.00 at telescopes.com free shipping.its a great filter and is great for AP. if you don't have it buy it soon!

Keith's image stacker

2008-04-18T15:21:00.001-07:00

Hey, last night i found this Keith's image stacking software that works on a mac. very nice. i haven't stacked a good photo yet but going to soon!

you can get it here: keith's image stacker

5mm Baader Planetarium Hyperion Modular Eyepiece

2008-04-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

This eyepiece is great! I used it a few nights ago. It was pretty clear a few clouds here and there. I went to Saturn first and looked at it for awhile. it was pretty cool. I could see about four moons Saturn looked great. the 68 FOV is really nice it would stay in the eyepiece a little longer. the one thing that was annoying is the mount was pretty shaky at high mag it wasn't to fun. So after Saturn I went to the moon. The crater blew up in the eyepiece. very nice. the craters were huge. I went around on the moon then went to mars to see if I could see anything, i didn't.

great eyepiece
FOV 68 degrees
nice relief! love this eyepiece!

32MM GSO SUPER PLOSSL EYEPIECE -report-

2008-04-08T16:34:00.001-07:00

I have used this eyepiece about 3 times. Its been cloudy lately what can I say! I really like it has a nice FOV of 52 degrees and ER (eye relief) is 22mm which is pretty nice. The night i went out i was really hoping to find a new object nebula galaxy or anything! but didn't find anything. But while scanning through the sky i noticed how nice this eyepiece was. great FOV. very nice. couldn't find anything that i didn't like. For the price i got it at used it was worth it.

Garrett Optical Multiple Reticle Reflex Finder -report-

2008-04-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Garrett Optical Multiple Reticle Reflex Finder Has a few options to chose from unlike the RDF (red dot finder) as shown here--

at first i didn't think i was going to like it after using it in my room with some light, but out in the dark its really nice. you can tell with the circle and the dot that there is a dot in the middle. the red light doesn't interfere with it at all. all the settings are nice. you can adjust the brightness. its pretty solid not flimsy. A great finder. and small! I have to say i like it better then just the normal RDF. I guess because it has options to choose from. It was easy to align. one thing i didn't like---- you have to use a tool to move left to right up and down. In the dark its not too easy to do that. soo thats not fun! but its great I do recommend it.

You can buy it here

new stuff

2008-04-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

hey, got some new stuff. a new finder scope Garrett Optical Multiple Reticle Reflex Finder. Found here-- Garrett finder

and got a eyepiece from a friend 5mm Baader Planetarium Hyperion Modular Eyepiece. a very nice 68 AFOV (true field of view) haven't been able to use the eyepiece well actually i just got it today!

newest member

2008-03-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

32mm GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) super plossl eyepiece. haven't used it yet but will soon. I will have a report on it when it is used!

Philips SPC900NC webcam

2008-03-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hey, This webcam is so great! I have only used it twice but wow! i have some pictures of saturn and the moon in "my photos"

because I have a mac computer I had to get a driver for mac. I got macam. The best settings i got to work best is 15 fps ( frames per second) and 680 x 480 resolution. 5 FPS let to much light in and was not a good picture 10 fps was better but still too much light 20-25-20 fps didn't let enough light in and I could only 320x240 resolution. Just in case you are wondering or don't know the difference between the 680 x 480 resolution and 320x240 resolution is 640x480 is a bigger picture then 320x240. overall this webcam is very nice and worth every penny. cheap way to get into astrophotography.

30 fps 320x240 resolution

15 fps 680 x 480 resolution

click on photo to see difference!
see the difference??

Baader moon and skyglow filter.

2008-03-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

The Baader moon and skyglow filter. A great filter to have. I know I have written stuff about this filter but thought I would say some more.

I pretty much use this filter every time I go out. It really makes a big difference on different objects. Lately i have only been viewing Saturn but I want to start looking at other things. I have used this filter on Saturn and yes it does help a bit, but on stuff like nebula's and galaxy's it helps quite a bit. Its a wonderful filter that helps a lot. Nice addition to anyones case!

8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece mini report pt2

2008-03-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, a few nights ago I went out and used the 8mm a little more to get a nice feel of the eyepiece. and well i got a great feel! ;-) Its a wonderful eyepiece. Saturn looks soo cool looking at it through this eyepiece. Very clear sharp image. Its like looking at a really cool photo on Saturn. Not blurry just right! The rings were very cool you could see the color in them! GOSH! This is a great eyepiece. I'm very glad I got this eyepiece very happy with the results I have gotten with this.

Blue planet where i got this wonderful eyepiece is out of stock at the moment but i'm guessing it will be back soon so just keep an eye on it. $59.00 free shipping can't bet it!

blue planet

30mm eyepiece on 2x barlow on 3x barlow on Diagonal on telescope!

2008-03-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

Okay! that was fun! last night after i used the 8mm i used the. 30mm on 2x on 3x. which makes it a 6x? it made it bigger and was still a nice view! on Saturn. i got some pictures. gosh i think thats it. I can't think of anything to say about it!

well enjoy the shots! The camera i used wasn't the same camera i normally use. It didn't take the best shots but the look okay! it was a camcorder.

8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece mini report

2008-03-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

Hey, last night i was able to use the 8mm eyepiece. I used it on Saturn and Mars. I didn't see any detail on Mars ( no surprise there) but was pretty cool. Then i went over to Saturn. It showed some nice detail. it was nice to look though the eyepiece didn't bother my eye. It has a nice FOV ( Field of view) and the ER (eye relief) was pretty nice! I didn't use the eyepiece to long because i wanted to get some shots of saturn. But i like it and i think it was worth the 59$ i paid for! I will use it more another night and get into it more!

here is where i got this little dude: blue planet

8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece

2008-02-29T12:08:00.000-08:00

Hey, I got the 8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece a few days ago. Haven't used it yet. I will probably use it tomorrow night. I will get a report on it when I use it!

3x barlow with 30mm eyepiece

2008-02-26T18:30:00.001-08:00

Here is the picture of saturn with the 3x barlow and 30mm eyepiece..didn't turn out that well. I did lots of editing to get it to look like this to look this good so yeah it wasn't a nice shot!

3x barlow little reportish

2008-02-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

Hey, Well last night was clear and not clear and clear and you know not clear. Okay! you understand what i'm saying...

I went out there around umm 11:30 p.m. with my mak camera and all, all ready for shot of saturn. When i first got out there a few clouds not too bad. after i'm ready to shot the clouds got heavier and then down gill from there. :( but i got to use the 3x barlow with the 30mm eyepiece and the 25mm eyepiece. great views for the conditions i had. nice picture. none of the pictures of saturn turned out that well. i had the shacks last night. my scope was all over the place so i'm going to have to fix that before i get the webcam and start some really shotting!!!

great 3x barlow! worked well can't wait for the clouds to move on!

and the 8mm eyepiece the very nice one is going to be here tomorrow!!!!!!!

3x barlow

2008-02-24T17:22:00.000-08:00

Got the Garrett Optical FMC 1.25" 3x ED Premium Barlow a few days ago. Now if the clouds would just move on i could use it!!

and I should get the 8mmm eyepiece soon! maybe tomorrow!

new stuff!

2008-02-19T13:34:00.001-08:00

just bought! 8mm BO/TMB Planetary eyepiece and a Garrett Optical FMC 1.25" 3x ED Premium Barlow

mount!

2008-01-28T18:37:00.001-08:00

Hey, tonight was my first night with the black and decker jump starter as my power supply for my Celeston Nexstar goto mount.before I used 8 AA batteries.

i always use the same stars for the alignment. and normally it isn't accurate. pretty darn off the obect i want to goto. well tonight with the B&D it went to the object. centered in the eyepiece!

soo it really helps using an ac adapter or dc with good power! more accurate!

I thought I would share!!!

meade Electronic Eyepiece

2008-01-21T16:25:00.000-08:00

hey guys! I got a Meade Electronic Eyepiece! its really nice! I used it last night on the Moon, Mars, Saturn and a few stars! Its a black and white picture. It hooks up to a TV or camera that has the right jacks!

the new mount

2008-01-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

hey, I was able to get my orion mak on the new mount!!!

all my stuff!!

2008-01-05T16:02:00.000-08:00

thanks to todd for the stuff he has giving me and letting me be able to buy that wonderful/beautiful Celestron Nexstar 60GT 60mm Go-To Refractor telescope!!

new mount and scope!

2008-01-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

Celestron Nexstar 60GT 60mm Go-To Refractor telescope!

Red Dot Finder!

2008-01-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

Last night I went outside and used my new celestron nexstar 60mm gt telescopes. and with it was a red dot finder. Looks like the Orion or Scopestuff finder. Okay! If you don't have one yet and you still have a magnification one that came with your scope you should really think about getting this!

The finder I had before was the finder that came with my orion 90mm mak-cass which i think is a 6x20 Finder Scopes. the one thing that was really annoying was i would hit it with my head and it would get out of place. last night I used the red dot finer.
it was really nice. it was very easy to align with the scope and it would stay in place no matter if you touched it which is nice. the red dot was nice and was alot easier to find stuff with this finder compared to the other finder.

alot of people say get a telrad finder and i would have but my scope is almost the same length my orion mak. but why do you need to get a telrad when the red dot finder rocks!!! it was sooo easy to find stuff!

its a great piece of equipment. i love it! its very easy to use and align to your scope!

here is a link to scopestuff its just like orions but cheaper!! http://www.scopestuff.com/ss_rdp1.htm

if you don't have a red dot finder or a telrad you have to check this out!!! it saved my a lot of time!

Baader moon and skyglow filter.

2007-12-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

Hey, I have used this filter a few times and really like it. When I viewed mars it didn't seem to do a whole lot. But on something like the Orion nebula, it sure did do something. I first was looking at the Orion nebula with the filter and decided to take it off and see how much it really does. I brightened the object. When i took the filter off it was hard to see the Orion nebula. But with the filter it was pretty easy to see. Its a nice filter. I didn't see as much of Orion as i wanted to the moon was almost full and took most of it out.

great filter!

Baader moon and skyglow filter.

updated pictures soon!!!

Oops

2007-12-29T18:00:00.000-08:00

I was trying to hook my mount to the jump starter I got. I had to go to radio shake and by a part so I could attach my dc adapter to my mount. Yesterday i got a PP3 and a little peace to hook to the dc adapter. The man at radio shake told me what to do. When i got home i did the soldering. Then I plugged it in the jump starter and nothing happened then POP. smoke started coming out. I unplugged everything and now the meade ds2000 mount is no longer working! :( I emailed the company where I got it from to see what I could do and will probably hear more on monday. But gosh this kills me. If i can't get this replaced or repeated at a low price, this will bring me back to the stone age! and i just got out of the stone age when i got this mount!

Word from me! If you aren't sure what you are doing, Don't do it!! save yourself the pain. Specially if the thing cost lots of money!!! like my meade ds2000 mount!

The mount

2007-12-28T12:19:00.000-08:00

Hey, I have been doing some viewing with some good success. The mount has been more accurate since I train the drive. It has been off a little bit, but no a lot. Its pretty nice when you go to something and its pretty darn close! I'm going to keep working on it and hoping I will get even closer to the object I go to!

Updates

2007-12-28T11:22:00.001-08:00

Hey, I received the black and decker jump starter today! Big surprise!! And Opt shipped out the filter on the 18th and its already in Maryland!Another big surprise! I should have it soon! I wont be able to use the black and decker battery until I get an DC adapter for it!

Trianing the drivers!

2007-12-28T11:21:00.003-08:00

Hey, Not to long ago I bought a Meade DS2000 goto mount. I have been doing some reading and its important you train the drivers. From what I have read, it looks pretty easy! I'm going to try it tomorrow. But you basically go into the hand control go to set-up then press enter. Go to the set-up telescope comes up then press enter. Then go up or down until you see train drive push enter. You can do it on the AZ and the ALT. So chose a object something thats not moving like a telephone pole or a tower. After you have chosen the AZ or ALT it will ask you to point it to the object. Press enter when you have gone to the object you have chosen. Make sure the object is centered in the eyepiece view. After the object is centered in the eyepiece you push enter. The telescope will then move. It will tell you to go left, right, up, or down depending on if you are doing the AZ or ALT training. IF YOU GO PAST THE OBJECT YOU CAN'T GO BACK YOU HAVE TO START OVER. Meaning if you our going right and you went a little past the object when trying to center it you CAN'T push left. You most push mode and start that part over!

This video goes over the whole thing if you still need a little help! http://www.meade.com/educational/ds%20videos/qt_chap13.html

Hope this helps you out!

black and decker!

2007-12-28T11:21:00.001-08:00

Hey, I bought the black and decker power supply (jump starter) for my mount. It said it should be here 18-21 somewhere around that time! I went to walmart but had some problems! But I like amazon!

Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-VEC010BD-Start-Starter/dp/B000E1HAIK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1197588998&sr=8-2

OMGosh!

2007-12-28T11:20:00.002-08:00

Is it just me or have I just gone in a huge circle? I bought eight eneloop batteries first. Then a week ago I bought a AC adapter. Now I'm buying a DC adapter and a Black & Decker 12 Volt Jump Starter! Man O man! I wish I knew about this black and decker before I went out and spent all this money on this stuff!

here is the link to the black and decker: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5679655

Here is the link to the DC adapter:
http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=439-735-238-241-697

Meade ma 17.5mm report

2007-12-28T11:20:00.001-08:00

Hey, this is the report/review on the Meade ma 17.5mm eyepiece. Last night I went outside to do some viewing. It was suppose to be cloudy, but was clear for the time I was out. Mars was out when I went outside. I didn't align the mount I just went to mars and then pushed Align when I found it. Its faster that way (IMO). I had the 25mm on first then put the 17.5mm on. The view was clear and nice I'm kind of getting more and more detail on mars each time I go out! Its a nice eyepiece. I put the barlow with the 17.5mm and it was still clear I could get some detail, but not a whole lot. I used all my eyepiece on mars. when I used the 9mm I couldn't focus on it. Later that night my sister and I viewed the seven sisters in the scope. I didn't view anything else. I did want to see M31 but didn't for some reason!

Its a great eyepiece.hoping to get a nice view of mars one of these days!

Meade MA 17.5mm

2007-12-28T11:19:00.001-08:00

Hey, This is the newest piece of equipment. It was donated from a good friend!
Its a Meade MA 17.5mm.

Thanks Todd!

diagonal report

2007-12-28T11:18:00.002-08:00

Here is the report on the diagonal!

Last night I went out around 6:40 p.m. It was clear when I first went out, so I got the scope set-up and the clouds moved in. So I went inside and left the scope out until Mars was high enough in the sky. It did clear up by the time Mars was high enough in the sky to see, which was 8:30 p.m (I think). I turned the mount on and got started. Mars was the only thing I looked at last night.I found Mars. It was a better view clearer and sharper image. But I could really see much detail. I could see some detail but not a whole lot. I used all my eyepiece 25mm, 15mm, 9mm and 25mm and 2x barlow and 15mm and barlow. And still wasn't much detail to see. But it was more detail then I have seen yet! But I'm hoping to get a nicer view one of these days!It was a sharper image! Nice diagonal, I will write another report when I see some other stuff like M31 and other stuff!

diagonal

2007-12-28T11:17:00.002-08:00

Hey, I got the diagonal today! I was surprised when the tracker said it was here in VA. I was just outside and the clouds moved in. I left the scope out and hopping it will clear so I can see Mars later tonight. I will let you know how it goes!

The diagonal is very nice looking. And was packed very nice in a nice box with foam. I hope I like it!

still..

2007-12-28T11:17:00.001-08:00

Waiting for my diagonal to be SHIPPED! They still haven't shipped it! I will let you know when it gets here if it ever gets here!

Ordered the...

2007-12-28T11:16:00.002-08:00

Hey, my dad ordered the Baader Planetarium - Moon and SkyGlow Filter. It should be here soon but I can't use it until Christmas! but I'm very excited!

here is what it should help me with. It says it darkens the background of the sky. And it suppose to help with mars and other stuff soo I'm happy

This is where I got it: http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=105-156-823-1043-8911

AC adapter

2007-12-28T11:16:00.001-08:00

Hey, The AC adapter arrived today. I will give a report on it when I will be able to get outside. It's really windy out there. I did use it in my room and it worked great. It seemed to be quieter. So be expecting a report!

The telescope!

2007-12-28T11:15:00.002-08:00

The one thing I did not tell about, or write a review on. Sorry!

This telescope the Orion 90mm Mak-Cass is a really nice scope. It's my first scope so I don't have anything to compare it to and haven't used any other scope yet. It as really nice clear views. As you can see from all the things I have seen with this scope and have liked what I saw. It focuses really nicely. Very light weight. Its a nice grab and go scope weighing only 3 lbs. It has been really nice. One thing that I'm now just replacing is the Diagonal. The one I have is the one that came with the scope which is not letting the scope preform at full potential. So if you decided to get this telescope look into getting a new Diagonal.

This is the one I'm getting which I have heard will bring my telescope to a 90mm. And i have heard good things about the Diagonal.

Here is the link: http://www.astronomics.com/main/Astronomy-Technologies-1.25-Reflectivity-Dielectric-Mirror-Diagonal.asp/catalog_name/Astronomics/category_name/9SN077GJ5E4N8K3P1NDHS1AME4/product_id/AT1D

I'm not getting it from there I'm getting it from blue planet, but that has more info on it!

If you wish to ask me any question, feel free to email me! My email is on this Blog you can find it!

going up?!?!?!

2007-12-28T11:15:00.001-08:00

The Meade DS2000 goto mount is taking the camera on a ride up! Enjoy!

Ordered the AC Adapter & Astro-Tech Dielectric Diagonal

2007-12-28T11:14:00.003-08:00

Should be here soon. The Diagonal should bring my scope back to a 90mm. Right now its not. And the AC adapter will help power the mount when I'm using it around the back yard!So i can save my rechargeable batteries for when I'm not at the house!

http://www.blueplanetoptics.com/AstroTech/Astrotech.htm

http://www.optcorp.com/product.aspx?pid=439-735-238-239-1823

These are the two thing I bought

Report on the Meade DS2000 Mount.

2007-12-28T11:14:00.001-08:00

Hi, Last night was the first night out with the Meade DS2000 mount. It was a great night out! The alignment was successful.I had to do it a couple of times to get it exact, but worked well.The first alignment star was Vega and the other I forget! After I had it aligned I went to M31. I track it for about 30 minutes and it did a great job.It didn't vibrate much at all, that I could notice. I saw M32 and M33 they were both cool!I kept the 25mm on most of the night. It was about 7:00 p.m. when I went inside to wait for Mars and to warm up! I brought the scope and mount inside. then went back out at 9:00 P.M. I aligned it aligned and it worked. pushed goto Mars and it did.It was kind of jumpy when I had it track Mars. so I told it to stop tracking and used the arrows to keep it in the eyepiece. Later that night I went to Cat Eye Nebula. Then I waited for the moon to come up. I played with the Meade Autostar 494 until it came up. One thing I want to say is The 494 responds fast to the commands I give it. The moon finally got high enough in the sky to see. And then I went to the seven sisters. The one thing i really like about the mount is that it can go up to 90 degrees. which before I could only go up to 60 degrees. The batteries worked very well. I used eight Eneloop batteries.I just bought an AC adapter that i will use when I view around the house. I will save to batteries for when I got somewhere!

The only Vibration that I noticed was when I was tracking Mars, but it was fine! And this mount is very very sturdy!

The mount goto system is very good and for its price it was definitely worth the money! I'm very glad I bought this mount!

got it from here! telescope warehouse

The mount!

2007-12-28T11:13:00.000-08:00

This is another video of the mount. you can see the mount in this video going to the MOON. But for some odd reason I couldn't see the moon when I looked through the eyepiece..

The mount in action.

2007-12-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

like the title says. The camera is on the mount moving around in my room! Enjoy!

The bracket!

2007-12-28T11:11:00.002-08:00

Hello. I had to make a bracket for my new mount and I will tell you how!

First I went to Lowe's and got 6" corner brace/zinc plat. I could have gotten a smaller one, but got this one instead. I got two of them and each cost $2.58 and both cost $5.16. I got home and had to drill some holes in it. The holes it had were not in the right place. I got a drill bit that could drill through metal. Made my holes messed up.It didn't look to pretty but who cares. I made the holes bigger, so I had to use washers. works fine very strong metal. Not to heavy for the mount to carry. Here are the pictures!

I put the two plates side by side and used tape to hold them together, until I find a better way!

If you have any questions concerning how I made the bracket give me a email: cjonesrocks10@hotmail.com

pictures of the new mount!

2007-12-28T11:11:00.001-08:00

The mount is great! here is a few pictures of it! i just haven't been able to take it outside. been cloudy :(

ordered it!

2007-12-28T11:10:00.002-08:00

I ordered the mount today! I will give a full report when it arrives! Meade DS2000 Goto mount!

okay!

2007-12-28T11:10:00.001-08:00

I finally got the money for the mount a Meade DS2000 goto mount and almost risked my life for it! looooong story! but work finally came and the neighbor, still is pounding me with more work (thank YOU God). Its been a very slow year with work but it's coming in pretty fast now!

I'll give a report soon. I'm hoping to order it on Tuesday-November 13, 2007.

And thank you to all our veterans out there!!!!!

color filter part 2

2007-12-28T11:09:00.002-08:00

Filters #82A #ND13 #56 #12. The last time I wrote a report on this I only used them on the moon and Jupiter. I didn't get into them much so I'm going to expand a little bit! I really only talked about the #56 and ND13. I have used the #12 filter on Saturn a few times very early in the morning. The filter did help with the detail When I was viewing it, it was near the trees so I didn't have much time to play around with it! but overall it worked great! Venus well Venus is Venus I used the #82A on it when viewing Venus I really can't see anything on it. All the times I have viewed it, it has been like a crescent moon ( I think thats correct). Mars I have only seen a couple of times. I have put on all the different color filters and eyepieces and still haven't seen anything on it (detail wise). I have heard its going to be at its largest at Christmas time! I'll write part three on the filters when that happens. I didn't spend a whole lot of money of these filters so I'm not disappointed with the quality. They get the job done, they do what they are suppose to do!

A little report on the DS2000 mount

2007-12-28T11:09:00.001-08:00

Hello. I have been playing around with the mount and been having some great fun. I haven't been able to take it outside because the weather is no good. The mount is very sturdy. Does not vibrate like some people have said, but I guess I will really find out when I take it outside. The hand control is very nice (Meade autostar 494). The one thing I found out is when I say goto something you have to change the speed to max for the arrows to work. I thought something was wrong when it wouldn't move. I really like this mount and hope to have great successes outside with it!

Bigger and Better report when the clouds move away!!!!!!!!!

update on the 15mm and the 2x barlow

2007-12-28T11:08:00.001-08:00

I was just reading over my posts here on the Blog and noticed that i never told if the views got better with the 15MM and the 2x barlow! Well the answer is yes! I use the 15mm with the barlow all the time! On almost everything! I just wanted to update all on this. didn't want to keep you hanging : )

Meade MH9mm part 2

2007-12-28T11:07:00.002-08:00

hey, I viewed Venus and Saturn about a week or two ago. I got up at 5:30am got the scope ready and started found it with the 25mm first, then put the Meade MH9mm eyepiece on. The views were clear! nice detail on venus. when i went to saturn it was very yellowy. it was still cool and clear.the filters did help! great little eyepiece!

Accessory Case

2007-12-28T11:07:00.001-08:00

hey, you can get Accessory Case from orion, meade, & Celestron but why? you can spend up to $60.00 on them! well i got mine for $8.00 from wal-mart! Its a Plano Protector Four Pistol Case (gun case) it works really well, a lot cheaper than orion same size case! and others. and is probably as good as the orion cases too! its a hard cases just to let you know!

dew sheild!!

2007-12-28T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hey, From some help from my friend Todd, I made myself a $3.00 dew shield. That saved me about $20.00! I will tell you how to make it. Its very easy! I got all the materials at Wal-mart. In the arts and crafts department. materials you need-Foamies about two sheets they are 30 cents a piece (not bad) black or dark blue! Then you need to get some Velcro. I got mine for about $2.00. I put the Foamies around the scope and marked it and then cut off the rest of the foamies. put the Velcro on the Foamies and there you go a dew shield for about $3.oo! The scope I used the dew shield for a 90mm mak-cass. You might need more Foamies or less depending on the circumference of your scope!
This is just one way to make a dew shield. But its pretty nice!

color filters

2007-12-28T11:05:00.002-08:00

Hey, I recently purchased four color filters from knight owl. The filters #82A #ND13 #56 #12. They are really great! I got them at a good price they work well for me. The only thing I used them on so far is the moon and Jupiter. Lets first start with the moon, I used the ND13 (Neutral Density) filter. It helped a little bit, but it was still pretty bright. But definitely helped. I used the other filters just to have some fun and it was cool. The #56 filter did help with the brightness a bit. When I viewed Jupiter it was cool could see a little more detail it helped with the glow. I think I got my moneys worth. they are all great!

The scopes

2007-12-28T11:05:00.001-08:00

There are different kinds of telescopes!

Here they are!

Refractor- Use lenses in order to form an image and magnify it.

Reflector -Use mirrors to form an image. However, it is still magnified by a lense.

Cassegrian- have primary and secondary mirrors that direct light out the back of the telescope and into the eyepiece.

soon to be....

2007-12-28T11:04:00.003-08:00

This will be my mount in about a month!!! It's a Meade DS2000 Goto mount!

Meade MH9mm

2007-12-28T11:04:00.001-08:00

This report is on the Meade MH9mm eyepiece I used a Apex 90mm Min-EQ Mak-Cass telescope. I just finished looking at Jupiter. It was nice it didn't hurt my eyes. I don't know the FOV or eye relief for this eyepiece, but it must be pretty nice because it was nice to look through.It was great I could see the bands and some pretty nice detail on Jupiter.But didn't see the red spot. This eyepiece is really neat. Pretty clear views! Its a great eyepiece!! I like it!

WHERE

2007-12-28T11:03:00.003-08:00

I got the knight owl eyepiece and barlow at owl astronomy

they are a good company. I do recommend them!

knight owl review 2

2007-12-28T11:03:00.001-08:00

Hey, I just came inside after having a great night under the stars and the HOT weather. I saw Jupiter with the 25mm and the barlow and wow was that a lot cooler. It was clearer tonight than when i wrote the first review I could see Jupiter a lot better, but with the 15mm and the barlow it was kinda blurry still, but I'm going to keep trying. Then I went to the MOON, wow, it was so cool! I had the 25mm and the barlow ,wow, I could see so much detail it was magnificent.Then i used the 15mm and the barlow and it just got cooler!! I was going to try to take some pictures through the eyepiece but was unable. but it was very cool! I'm so glad i got into astronomy!!!! I'll try to use the camera some other night.hopefully it cools down because it was HOT out there..

knight owl review

2007-12-28T11:02:00.002-08:00

This review is on the knight owl 2x shorty barlow and the knight owl 15mm super plossl eyepiece. Ok i just finished looking through the knight owl 2x barlow and the knight owl 15mm eyepiece with my Apex 90mm Min-EQ Mak-Cass telescope.I first had the barlow and the orion 25mm Sirius Plossl looking at Jupiter it was pretty clear i could definitely see the difference than when i just had the orion 25mm Sirius Plossl, it was pretty nice with the barlow and 25mm.When i had the barlow and the 15mm eyepiece it kinda got blurry, but i still could see Jupiter and some of the brown stuff on the planet(im not sure if it was just the condition or to much magnification) .When i just had the 15mm it was clear and pretty nice i could see Jupiter very very clear .i was kinda hoping for more, but for only spending $47.15 (including shipping) for the barlow and the eyepiece it got the job done AKA (works good). I don't regret buying it!