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Orion Binocular Viewer
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Are you ready to let your other eye come out and play too?
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Most of us are "one-eyed jacks". We stand over our instruments doing the best we can to adhere to the conventional wisdom of leaving both eyes open - even though the image we really want to see is being piped into one. How long would anyone put up with music heard in only one ear? How long are you going to deprive your other half of the wonders of the Night Sky?
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Double Star Observing: Virtual Six Incher Comparo
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Four 'best of breed' scopes go virtual on a variety of doubles...
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If all you had were double stars to observe there would only be one aperture
for you - six-inches. However, which type? Although APO's have their views
they don't come cheap! Meanwhile an F8 6 inch Newtonian of comparable optical
refinement only suffers from being a bit 'long-in-the-tube'. Then of course
there's the Mak-attak. Take a peek through
dblCalc
and take your pic...
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Orion V-Block Filter
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Is bad color worse than no color?
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Jeff first read about "Minus-Violet" filters while surfing the
web. The concept of getting rid of moderate "color fringe" in
the F5 ST80 Pup achromat and light fringe in the F10 C102-HD
intrigued. Later, Orion introduced it's "V-Block" so why not
give it a shot?
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Otto's ST80 Tuneup Guide
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Jeff's not the only one...
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Otto Piechowski had an MK-67 when jeff first connected with him.
Now he's got an ST80. Just like jeff - Otto was unwilling to leave "good
enough" alone. Learn how Otto turned his ST80 into a "star" performer.
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Lumicon Deep Sky Light Pollution Filter
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Christmas 2004 Came Early...
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Jeff don't get out much anymore in Backyard Boulder Creek. Why?
Well for one thing he likes ebony-black background skies and pinprick
stellar images. Will El Marko's gift of a Lumicon Deep-Sky filter
make any difference?
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DeepSky: Televue TV85 APO & Orion XT4.5 Dob-Newt
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Dollars be Damned...
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Observing Buddies El Marko and son Dylan had the scopes.
Meanwhile, a new moon and 6.0 ZULM late-summer skies beckoned
- so why not? Can an optically superb Three and change APO
refractor "hang" with a Four and a half incher Newtonian on deepsky?
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Otto Piechowski's Review of the Meade ETX90-RA
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For Otto "Less is More".
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Fellow AstroTalker Otto Piechowski takes pleasure in small
things. Consider if you will, how often an 18 inch Obscession
Dobsonian would be setup in the backyard - compared to that ST-80
or ETX-90. Is it possible that a three incher really sucks in
more photons?
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Aperture Rules: An Optophile Relents
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So OK I admit it, six inches may be enough for most things - but not for
galaxies.
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It all began with this obvious admission and the next thing you know
theAstronomer was shipping jeff an Orion SVD8 to try out. Will another
.8 magnitudes of reach make any real difference?
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Getting New Astro-Stuff
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So what's an observer to do with a couple hundred dollars?
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Spending money in these hard economic times makes as much sense
as patching a roof on a rainy day. But somebody's got to try
and keep the economy-boat afloat...
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Astro-Rubinar 106mm Compound Scope Review
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Where would you go from an MK-67?
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There are as many reason's to buy a new scope as you can dream up
to rationalize spending the money. But would you give up your old
one too? Well Otto did, and he had his reasons.
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Tube Currents: Cause and Effect
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All that air in motion effects light
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That air inside your scope is a "refractory medium". Just like the air
between your scope and the heaven's, it can adversely effect "seeing".
Get a handle on just how much effect it can have, and what to do about it!
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The Quest for Optical Excellence
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Jeff's original discussion on AstroTalk updated...
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A lot has been said about "quality optics". What is quality?
And how is it achieved? Are you getting the most out of your
scope? What "price" are you willing to "pay" for quality?
When is good enough, "good enough"?
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Eyepiece Comparo: UO MK-70 and Orion Sirius Plossl
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Astro.Geekjoy's first eyepiece comparison.
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Otto Piechowski wants one degree fields of view through his F13 MK-67 MCT.
Will 40mm focal lengths fit the bill of materials? And, if so,
what 40mm eyepiece best meets the need?
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Mount Review: Orion Skyview Deluxe / EQ3 / CG4
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Any small bore scopist instrument is worthy
of a SkyView Deluxe - at least.
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Not everybody can afford a thousand dollar Vixen, or Losmandy mount.
Sure, such a ride is desirable - but is it necessary? Well, would
you rather put your 6 inch Mak or 4 inch refractor on an altazimuth?
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Scope Comparison: Celestron C102-HD, Takahashi FS-102 & Intes MK-67 MCT
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Otto told jeff about "Vicki". theAstronomer tested her, layed down the
cold hard cash for Vicki's deliverance and brought her to Hotel California.
Now jeff gets to do the "fun part".
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Ever wonder how a well-crafted achromat compares with a fine apochromat
of equal aperture costing 5 to 6 times as much? Ever give much thought to
the effect a two inch central obstruction has on the way things appear
through a six inch maksutov-cassegrain? Well, in this article jeff
scratches the surface...
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Otto Piechowski's Intes Micro and Orion Shorty Barlow Comparison
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Otto give's us a look at and through two barlow lenses
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Not all barlow lenses are the same. In fact, it is
unlikely that that 2x barlow you are using really
boosts image scale by a factor of 2.
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Otto Piechowski's Intes MK67 / Orion Argonaut 150 Scope Review
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Otto Knows MK67's...
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Think Champagne. Think Beer. Think 50 dollars for Champagne.
Think 10 dollars for beer. Think 10 dollars for Champagne.
Now you get it... The ultimate scope for under 1 grand.
How good is it? Hey, why not read the report. Everything
you've heard about it could be true!
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Collimating the INTES MK67 / ORION ARGONAUT 150
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Otto Piechowski wanted to get the most out of his MK67...
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The all-spherical Maksutov-Cassegrain-Rumak telescope archetecture is so
easy to make well that virtually every Maksutov-Cassegrain in the field is
capable of the highest levels of optical performance. However, there is a
catch - the scope must be properly collimated! Now, Master-MCT Tuner
Otto Piechowski tells you how. (Did you hear that Argo, Otto's let the "cat" out
of the bag!)
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Argo, the Pup and the World
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Numerous nights under the stars, and lots of visits to star parties teaches a lot about scope performance. Here's what Jeff learned...
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We all tend to think in boxes. Some boxes are bigger - and must, therefore, be better. Other boxes are smaller, and they are certainly finely crafted. The truth is that the sky rules and no matter what your scope, its quality and its aperture, you only get to see what the sky allows you.
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Fixer-Upper: From H**l to Infinity
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Here's what happens when you have a sax-playing buddy who decides to pick up a used scope at a yard sale...
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Tony didn't know it, but he opened a can of worms for Jeff by dropping off that Celestron 114mm Newtonian for some "much-differed" maintenance. Unlike the Pup, the little newt has far more adjustments than you can shake a screwdriver at - and Jeff tweaked all of them!
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Sky Training the Pup
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The Pup started off a super-modest "rich field" 80mm achromatic refractor, but now splits Dawesian doubles and disparate pairs with joyous abandon.
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No, the Pup will never grow up to be Argo. There's only so much that can be done with crown and flint glass - especially at F5. BUT the Pup can be "all that it can be". All the Pup needs now is a good "doggy collar" - one that will align and hold that lens cell assembly firmly in place...
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Argo's Perilous Journey
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Read how Mk-67/Orion Argonaut "Argo" came into Jeff's hands and what lengths Jeff went to to "see the right stuff".
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Argo isn't the best 6 inch telescope around. In fact, others - even of lesser aperture - may actually give finer views. But Argo is a good scope and has opened Jeff's eyes to a new world of photonic possibilities...
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