Meade Infinity 102

[Ray of LIght]

Or, as you would say, the eye relief on the 9mm Omni would be pants, lol! What does that mean exactly? I just know I like it ?! You really like the Baader adaptor? Tell you what, it is a great upgrade, very nice. I am very happy with Baader and the service from Agena Astro. I feel a bit more comfortable with the weight issues and it appears that both set screws are doing their job! I hope the WO diagonal is as competent.

 

[Ray of LIght]

I really am turnng my 102 into something special! Let me know how I am doing Mak!

[Mak the Night]

16 hours ago, Ray1103 said:

Or, as you would say, the eye relief on the 9mm Omni would be pants, lol! What does that mean exactly? I just know I like it ?! You really like the Baader adaptor? Tell you what, it is a great upgrade, very nice. I am very happy with Baader and the service from Agena Astro. I feel a bit more comfortable with the weight issues and it appears that both set screws are doing their job! I hope the WO diagonal is as competent.

 

'Pants' in British English is usually a reference to underwear as opposed to trousers. Calling something 'pants' is a way of politely denigrating it. We have a lot of odd idiomatic expressions that seem to confuse Americans.

Baader stuff always seems well designed/made. I have never been disappointed with any of their gear, wherever it's actually made. Agena Astro look like a good dealer with excellent customer service. FLO are very good as well. I think good customer service makes all the difference, especially buying online. Maybe it's just me but everything I own that has two set screws works, but I'm convinced one of the screws is never as tight as the first one tightened. It must be me lol. The WO diagonal is very well made, I know you won't be disappointed with that. 

I may experimentally set up my 130M in daylight one day this week. That way I can judge how well I'll be able to cope with it for the Opposition. I have made huge progress in physiotherapy since last year. The 130M OTA seems much more manageable than this time last year. Your 102mm Meade is looking really good. You just need some good weather. I count myself lucky in getting 90 mins tonight. That little tabletop Mak has been worth every penny. Portability or size, you just can't have both.

[Ray of LIght]

Yep, weather has been pants on Long Island, lol! I have a doctor appointment every other day until middle of next week. After that I will camp outside if I have to until I can see something worthwhile. I'm glad you like what I am doing to the 102. Got to see the BC once it is up and running. Talk in a bit ✨

[Mak the Night]

Well, I hope the weather isn't pants for the opposition. With any luck I should be ready at 00:30 BST.

00:30 British Summer Time: Mars ~ azimuth 351.1° south, altitude 15.5°, distance from Sun 1.52 AU, Scorpio (Transit 01:06 BST).

Mars (inverted view).

Saturn (inverted view). Titan, Dione, Tethys and Rhea should be visible. The Moon will be Waning Gibbous at 99.8% illumination. You'll have to plan the time for where you are to get that customised 102mm Meade into action! lol

[Dave In Vermont]

Almost a full Moon will be an easy marker for this. Thankfully even that can't ruin views of the planets! Currently it's overcast here in Podunk - but improvement is in the forecast.

To good weather all -

Dave

[Ray of LIght]

Thanks guys! So it is May 20th (before midnight)? We are on the same time Dave. Weather says partly cloudy for Friday night, of course. I may have this confused. Like you mentioned Mak, Mars will be good for awhile after the opposition. I have a cardiologist appointment this morning, I will check in later. Yes, my customized 102 is turning out pretty good! How did the Crayford turn out after the whacking stopped Dave ?? Will the opposition be first light for the BC Mak?

[Mak the Night]

The BC won't get first light for a while. There is a lot more for me to figure out. Most of it is slowly falling into place but the sheer physicality of it has to be taken into account when you are disabled. Assembling it and being able to operate the GOTO are only the first things. I need to familiarise myself with the handset and any problems encountered as I need to be able to perform all of this in the dark. I've waited nearly a year and spent the equivalent of over 2800 USD to finally acquire the Big Cat. The universe isn't going anywhere soon lol. It will still be there when I'm up and running with the Big Cat! Meanwhile I've been checking out the 130M OTA as a prelude to some daylight testing feasibility studies. Basically I want to see if I can reach the slo mo controls whilst observing. I'm pretty sure the Opposition is on the 22nd. A good time for me to observe would be around 23:00 21/5/16 to 01:30 22/5/16 I think. The Sky-Watcher Explorer will give me a 5.1" (13 cm) aperture which will be preferable to the 102mm of my Mak for Mars. You've probably got an advantage having a refractor, as I'm fairly convinced a 4" 'frac' is virtually as good as a 5" reflector for light gathering/resolution ability.

Dust and cobwebs removed from the Explorer finally!

It still looks impressive and it's simple and less prone to dew problems.

Seen here with TS Optics 'NATO' style reflex sight and TV 3x Barlow. The TV Barlow is so sturdy it can act as an impromptu handle of sorts to help orient the OTA.

Mars, Moon and Earth at around the Opposition.

Earth from Mars at around Opposition.

[Ray of LIght]

That is cool Mak! Since I am losing my marbles, what mount did you say the Explorer was going on? Nice illustrations of the opposition, thanks! I have basically that same sight on my S&W 357 Magnum. Good sight. Mine has red and green and different reticules to select from. Waiting at doctor office, to be continued.

 

[Mak the Night]

The mount is the problem lol! It is an EQ 2, which the Explorer just about gets away with. Now I've got some movement and range back in my right arm I am going to have to practice using the slo mo if I can operate them. If I get it relatively well polar aligned it should make manual 'in frame' tracking fairly easy. I've never totally trusted the motor drive and I don't think it will be necessary at all. I rarely used it before.

This is the size of the tripod for the Big Cat, you can see my Swiss Army Knife by it for size comparison. I amazed myself last night when I held the tripod horizontally in its centre of gravity with my right hand. Six months ago I couldn't have done that. You can see from the size of that tripod though why I'm going to buy a garden trolley to transport it to the bottom of the garden lol.

The reflex site is a TS RDAC and is great for planets in the plane of the ecliptic, magnum handguns and bazookas, but not too hot if you want to locate something near the zenith. Good luck at the doctor's office.

[Ray of LIght]

You are doing really good judging by the size of that tripod! I thought my 102's tripod was beefy, lol! It's a baby compared to that, sounds like you will have it under control though. I may order the WO diagonal  tomorrow and try for the TV 3x for Father's Day. I am liking that Baader adaptor more and more. Very nice piece. Check in later.

 

[Mak the Night]

That tripod even has a built in spirit level. There is an accessory tray to add to it that seems like it could be used as military armour plating lol. The TV3x is well worth the money.

[Ray of LIght]

Those accessary trays act as supports too, but I am pretty sure yours can support a small building! There was a level on my Sky Prodigy also, came in handy. Just too bad it didnt work out for me but I seem to be a "frac"'guy, as you would say, and the weight to power ratio is right for me so all is well. I have some money into that scope now and by the time I get done I expect to have almost a grand into it. Since I will never have more than one or two that is ok with me. I actually have a Celestron 70AZ I am trying to sell on line but sometimes I think I should keep it. I don't know. Will probably never use it I guess. 

[Mak the Night]

I don't know, the Celestron 70AZ may come in handy some day. Depends how portable it is I suppose. There's been astro stuff I was considering selling, but later the stuff came into its own with another scope or something. You often sell stuff then regret it.

[Ray of LIght]

You are right, I do it all the time. That little scope is very light and I have it boxed up nice so I may just keep it around. I have sold  many things I have later regretted letting go.

[Mak the Night]

I came close to selling the 10mm Luminos.

I still have the original box and everything. Although 340 grammes in weight, being a bit squat in shape it does quite well on the end of the TV 3x on the Explorer. Whereas the Delos 10mm I have is longer and heavier. The Luminos has an 82° FOV and a 17mm field stop. Just right for keeping Mars at 270x in frame on the Explorer.

[Ray of LIght]

Geez, it looks like my Starguider. Is that posdible?

[Ray of LIght]

Possible, lol!

[Mak the Night]

Who knows? I've often wondered what it's like deshrouded. The original Axiom series were twice the price but something happened between the OEM and Celestron apparently. The Luminos are very solidly built and ostensibly nice pieces. They don't suit faster scopes though and can have tendency to glare and whiteout. For planetary and sometimes on lunar targets (depending on phase) they are quite decent.

This looks crazy though, right? lol

 

[Ray of LIght]

I am sure it is not the same but they are close to my eye.

[Mak the Night]

Maybe Barsta made the Luminos for Celestron after the demise of the Axiom series. They must have some similarities, although most Nagler-esque EP's must have.

I nearly gave this away once, it's since turned out to be one of the most useful things I own.

La Perouse 'ghost crater' F at Terminator, 22/5/2016 @ 00:20 BST (Inverted View).

Position of La Perouse 'Correct Image View' at same time.

[Dave In Vermont]

Hiya folks -

It is soon to be May 22nd. which is the peak of the opposition for Mars.

As to your query, Ray - yes all is well on my Crayford swap for my 5" refractor. At the request of AgenaAstro, which is who I was as the first buyer/installer for their brand-new adapter* from Antares up North in Canada. So my tale is now posted in AgenaAstro's sponsored forum. And you might like to take a look at the newest astro-forum on the web - AstronomyConnect. PM me for further info on this MTN.

So Ray, I have taken some photos - but not one of me going at it with my 2-pound rubber sledge-hammer! Tom of Agena fame was a bit disappointed I didn't have that on film-pixels either. But based on my review of 'How-To' install the adapter, he wrote to say it was something he himself wouldn't dare attempt. And he'd keep my review on file for passing onto would-be buyers. Seems he truly cares about his customers. Like it seems FLO does for the UK-Euro folks.

* http://agenaastro.com/antares-m120-crayford-focuser-adapter.html

So here's 2 images of the old stock focuser that came with the Meade AR5 - and one of the new Crayford all installed and ready to fly. However it will be my new Maksutov that I'll be piloting for Mars in a few days/nights. As well as my slew of filters - including my Mars 2003 filter from Sirius Optics. Let's all hope Mars' doesn't decide to have a full-planetary dust-storm as happened back then.

Onwards & upwards,

Dave

 

 

[Ray of LIght]

That's some wild focuser Dave! Good luck! As I mentioned to Mak, after all is said and done I will have about $1000 into my telescope in upgrades so I am going to order the WO helical focusr/diagonal and do the best I can with it. Between that and the TV 3x Barlow (and a couple more TV eyepieces), I should be good to go. My Meade 102 is not in the same class as your AR5 so I have probably improved the 102 to its max. Anyway, on beautiful Long Island, the weather forcast has changed from mostly clear to cloudy with a chance of showers ?. After that rain for a few days. If I smashed my telescope to bits I'm sure the skies would clear that very same day, lol! What do you think Mak? 

[Mak the Night]

21 minutes ago, Ray1103 said:

 If I smashed my telescope to bits I'm sure the skies would clear that very same day, lol! What do you think Mak? 

I think that's known as 'Sod's Law' here in the UK lol.

[Ray of LIght]

Sounds biblical. I taught religion for seven years. So who or what is "Sod"? Is if like Murphy's Law? My wife is Irish, I get a lot of that ?!