Louis D

Is it possible to observe while seated using this setup? It seems like it would need a really tall observing chair.

And that farmer's probably dead by now, so no help there getting more history on it.

It would help immensely if you had any provenance papers for it.

I looked it up, and now I want one if I can find one for cheap. It turns out TOMYTEC still owns Borg:

I think this might be the part you need: Baader 2" ClickLock M56i Clamp (Takahashi) Check with FLO, they'll probably be able to help you decide.

When I saw the radiator clamp, I knew you had to be an American. I've got one holding together some splitting wood on my Adirondack rocker. It can be added to the list of duct (duck) tape and baling wiring for fixing anything.

It always surprised me I never got challenged for carrying my "rifle" (tripod in a long soft case) into school auditoriums for performances. I guess everybody knew I was the guy with the large video tripod. I also always had a large still and video camera case over the other shoulder.

Does anyone know why the UK has a £39 personal importation limit compared the US's $800 daily limit? It's such a huge disparity that it's hard to believe it exists.

Yeah, there seems to be a general aversion to them on SGL as compared to CN. I love my cheapo ebay laser sights. One is permanently mounted on a Picatinny rail on my Dob while another is on a Vixen/Synta finder foot to Picatinny rail adapter for use on the refractors. I even have one permanently mounted on my DSV-1 mount's handle via the barrel adapter that comes with them. I still keep a Telrad or Rigel mounted for when the rechargeable battery goes south during an observing session. Lasers are great for those of us with neck and back injuries. They also rule for use near zenith. There's also no debate about using them with one eye or two eyes open.

In digital electronics, we generally refer to this as the slew rate. The higher the slew rate, the steeper the curve transitioning from 0 to 1 or 1 to 0.

And an improperly cleaned mirror with added microscratches on the surface is worse for scattering than some random dust and sap that doesn't redirect light nearly as well as scratches. Ever looked at the clear coat on a car washed regularly versus one infrequently cleaned? Up close (get out a loupe), there's lots of fine scratches in the clear coat finish of the regularly washed car. The infrequently washed finish will have much fewer microscratches in comparison. It may have etching from acidic bird doo left on it too long, but it will have much less fine scratching. That's why claying fine car finishes is popular because it lifts the crud off straight up reducing the opportunity for scratching.

I think I'll leave mine be as an "unrestored" collector's piece and just use the 14mm Morpheus day to day instead. No amount of blackening will fix the SAEP, uncoated lenses, and slightly tighter eye relief. I just get a kick out of looking through it and marveling at what was accomplished nearly 40 years ago with that eyepiece.

Not surprising. Dielectric coatings are known to have a certain surface roughness absent in prisms and even silver coatings. I wonder if the BBHS dielectric protective overcoat ruins the smoothness of silver.

23 years, and I've yet to deem my Dob's mirror dirty enough to need cleaned. It's always been stored with tight caps at both ends and just the center hole in the Rigel Aline cap in the focuser to allow a bit of air in and out. It's always been stored at the back of a coat closet that is rarely opened (don't need heavy coats in Texas very often). The enhanced mirror coatings look fine as well.

What about for silicone glued primaries? Is it worth cutting the factory glue, cleaning it all off both the mirror and cell, and then trying to reglue it with hopefully the same type of silicone glue?

Here's an effort of mine from nearly 20 years ago with a 2002 Olympus C4000, a 14mm Pentax XL, and my 8" Dob: And here's a Mercury transit with a DSLR at prime focus with a GSO CC and the same scope: So, if you're just interested in solar and lunar, you can get pretty decent shots with really basic, nontracking equipment.

If EQ mounts didn't require counterweights and were as rock stable pound for pound as Dobsonian mounts, I would agree. I did try to build my own EQ platform years ago, but it introduced too much flex for my liking.

As I've reported elsewhere, the original smooth sided Meade 4000 UWA 14mm is very well corrected across the field. Really remarkably well considering it's nearly 40 years old. However, it's control of stray light is abysmal. As the moon is panned around the field, there are all sorts of glares and reflections that are completely absent in the 14mm Morpheus and 14mm Pentax XL. I'll have to have a look through the top and bottom lenses with a bright light to see what's going on inside.

Red has been the go to star party color for years, and you would be hard pressed to convince the powers that be that any other color would be better. I just prefer an incredibly dim white light when observing alone because it causes less eye strain. Under my Bortle 5/6 skies, it's not like it's pitch dark out anyway.

I picked up a 90mm TS APO FPL-53 triplet in 2019 just to see what they're like. I was shocked to find out it takes about 30 minutes to cool down or warm up just 10 degrees F. That's as slow as my very open 8" Dob! Mars views were very sad compared to the 8" Dob as well, to say nothing of resolving GCs. Aperture is king. I'd spend the money on an 8" or 10" Newt with a mirror hand figured to 1/20th wave (think Zambuto or similar) if you want the finest planetary details.

I've never gotten hit with handling fees importing into the US because I've stayed under the $800 limit. I've heard UPS and other private shippers charge a usurious percentage of value "brokerage" fee to clear customs, so I tend to avoid them on international shipping.

Old thread resurrected. OP is long gone from this thread.

At least that's cheaper than US duties on optics of 8% for valuations over $800.

Let us know if you get hit with VAT and import duties. I think the US decided that the cost of the bureaucracy it would take to check every last package entering the US would far outweigh the revenues collected. That, and individual states would have to figure out how to collect sales tax since the federal government is not responsible for collecting state taxes.

I don't know how the reverse works, but I like buying from the UK because the retailers don't collect the appropriate state sales tax like US retailers do, and they don't charge UK VAT against me. That, and as long as the value is under $800, there's no import tariffs. Plus, the USD has been fairly strong against the GBP for the last few years. Shipping on small items like eyepieces isn't too bad from the UK to the US, either.