jjohnson3803

Any Bresser short tube 102 owners who'd care to share their opinion of it? I have F5 120mm and 80mm refractors, so I really need to fill the gap, right? I've seen some posts here, but they're a few years old. Thanks!

I really like the look of the paver stones compared to a plain concrete slab. Gives it a bit of an established look.

I once worked for a state university that had a teaching obsy on top of a four story building. I never investigated the construction, but it obviously worked ok for them. Big difference between a large office building and a small, concrete bunker though.

Yes, my 475B has a standard 3/8-in bolt. My Benro tripod does also.

Unfortunately my questions have become academic - it's now showing as under contract. 🙁 But it's helped me get a better idea of what I'd like in a remote site. And there's still rural Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin within a 3-hour drive.

Thanks for the replies. There is some land that comes with it, but I'm not sure about the topography so the roof might give slightly better horizons. The odds of somebody coming by are low, I think, but I don't like leaving gear sitting out so that's also why I was wondering about the roof. Wind isn't an ongoing problem, but planting and harvest time can raise large dust clouds. As far as I know, it's completely above ground. Definitely food for thought... For whatever reason, I like the design of old (?) Middle Eastern houses - a masonry house with steps up to a walled rooftop garden. Or observatory. 😁

There are some people using Wyze cameras for all sky / meteor watch cams who've posted pics and videos to the Net. I'm considering getting a wireless one from Amazon for a cloud monitor. If I can get decent all sky pics with it, all the better.

I don't know the AZ4, but my SkyWatcher AZ5 goes onto my 475B without an adapter. It's not elegant looking, but it's fine mechanically.

The building is in central rural Illinois, surrounded by corn and soybean fields. It can get up to 90F or a bit higher occasionally in summer and down to -10F (rarely) in winter. No noticeable vegetation aside from some low brush here and there. It apparently was a small military radio installation so while it has a couple of windows, the walls are relatively thick. I don't think it was built to be bomb proof, but can probably withstand a lot more than an ordinary building could. It's intriguing because it's not that far of a drive (far enough to stay overnight though), has electric service onsite, and I'd think it could be quite secure because of location and construction. Any kind of remote control would be difficult if even possible - internet and mobile service in that area is not the best.

Unusual, but a small, solid concrete building in a dark sky area has come onto the market. It has concrete walls with a flat concrete roof. I'm wondering if it would be feasible to observe from the roof or if rising heat currents and such would cause too many potential problems. Could it be worse than observing from a concrete patio or the top of a parking structure? Thoughts? Thanks!

I use a Manfrotto 475B with SkyWatcher AZ5 and Twilight 1 mounts. Too big to fit in a backpack though. I put a 5kg ST120 on those configurations. I also have a Benro TAD72A which can at least handle my 2kg ST80 and AZ5. I might buy a good quality fluid head for the ST80 / Benro combo to go as light weight and small as possible for travel.

The imaging is not necessarily that difficult but can be pricey. (See slooh.com for example.) The learning curve is more in the data processing. That is a fantastically well done shot of the Trifid, quite possibly the best I've seen.

"Dark SIde of the Moon"?

Keeping a weather log would probably just depress me. 😏 However, I have been considering getting some kind of wireless cam to monitor cloud cover. Normally I'd have to stumble over to a window or out onto my back deck in the middle of the night to check conditions, but it always took a few minutes to wake up. I've switched to a very near real time weather phone app so now I check conditions without getting up, but it really doesn't replace eyes on the skies. A sky cam display on my phone might be the best of all worlds.

Another common complaint on camping forums is the fiberglass tent rods / poles break relatively easily. Many people buy replacement aluminum poles. The more I think about it, the more likely I am to buy a cheap camping tent and cut out a portion of the mesh roof. The included rainfly would be protection against bad weather. I also wonder if cutting out a section of the floor would be feasible - set the tripod in the hole then lift and rotate the tent like a dome if necessary. Some of the tents I've looked at have certainly been light weight enough. Might be awkward though.

Looks like the Omegon (or a clone). I've been considering that one as well - quite affordable.

I use SkySafari when observing, either with push-to encoders or to get alt and az when using just a Wixey. Since I use it on an iPhone 7, the screen size leaves a lot to be desired, but I really don't want to carry around a tablet as well. For planning, I use the Cambridge Atlas, Jumbo Pocket Atlas, or my field edition Atlas 2000. I'm in heavy light pollution so the 2000 goes a lot deeper than what I need at home. I've downloaded a number of the free online atlases, but I always end up printing out the charts which is not that convenient either. The Jumbo is probably the best compromise for me. If I could find a suitable mount, I'd probably go back to using RA and Dec circles like when I started in this hobby decades ago. Otherwise, I'll keep searching for the sweetspot among atlas, etc.

Yes, probably not unlike my last plumbing adventure:

None. I'm in such bad light pollution that I can only see three stars in all of Ursa Minor, much less anything in the pan of UMa. ☹️

"How Cosmologists Explain the Universe to Friends and Family". Not the best book in my opinion, but not bad. "Cosmology" by Sten Odenwald. I really like this one for a non-mathematical (or minimal math) book. He does talk about particle physics, etc. since it's a big part of modern cosmology. There's also an Oxford series "<topic> - A very Short Introduction". I have the Stars book and it does have a bit of math in it. I don't have Galaxies or Cosmology yet, so I don't know how deep the cosmo book goes.

I've been considering one of these for quite awhile, but haven't bought one. Many people complain that the pop-ups are difficult to collapse, contrary to the manufacturers' claims, so I'd probably get one with poles that sets up like a regular tent. My other concern is the amount of floor space inside since I'd also want to use it for blocking stray light. Not sure how well it would work if I had to sit inside with the end of my OTA sticking out of it. But if one goes on sale locally, I might buy one just to try one out.

I like the looks of that. I use SkySafari when observing, but this looks like it could a nice addition to the "armamentarium". Is the app available for iOS / Apple?

Not a scope tent, but I use a round Weber charcoal grill cover. If the weather is really dicey, I put my scope(s) and mount back in my car. Two black polyester shower curtains on a PVC frame serve as a lightblock when needed. Somebody wrote about partially cutting out the roof screen of an inexpensive camping tent and adding zippers. I've not heard of the Coleman Blackout tents - I'll have to check them out although I already have three general camping tents.

In addition to position in the case, I put a small piece of masking tape on the side of some EPs. Works well as a tactile guide in the dark since they're the same outward physical design. I've also considered a dot of silicone caulk or similar, but the tape has worked well so far.