On April 2004 I took delivery of a Starmaster (SM) 14.5" f/4.3 reflector. I have owned large reflectors in the past, including a 12.5" f/6 reflector on a German equatorial mount, and a 20" f/5 reflector on a Dobsonian-style mount. However the 12.5" was quite large and bulky making it difficult to set up, and the 20" required a ladder to reach the eyepiece. While it provided stunning views when the transparency and seeing conditions permitted, I found that after a while I did not look forward to climbing a ladder to observe. Then by chance I saw a Starmaster at a star party and ... More..........
Backyard Voyager
Telescope Reviews
Saturn's tilt in upcoming years
For those who thought they had seen all that Saturn had to offer:
2008
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The Losmandy HGM Titan Mount by Florent Poiget
I researched a mount to support a 12" SCT OTA with all the CCD accessories, an adequate price for my budget, accurate, with a GOTO system. We can find several High End mounts on the market : AP-900GTO, AP-1200GTO, Paramount ME, Takahashi NJP..But the price were good for my budget and I heard a lot of good things about their products. My first choice, the G-11, is not sufficient for a 12" SCT OTA with all the CCD accessories. The next step after the G-11 was the new heavy Losmandy mount : the HGM TITAN. More.........
TMB 175mm f/8 Refractor by Eric Jamison
On May 2004 I took delivery of a TMB Optical 175mm (7") f/8 refractor. This is the first telescope I have purchased from TMB Optical. To provide some background information on these telescopes Thomas Back designs the Air Spaced SD Triplet lenses, which are then manufactured, multicoated and tested using an interferometer by LZOS, a Zeiss subcontractor, in Russia. The lenses are and shipped to APM Markus Ludes in Germany. Markus tests the lenses, and has the lens cells, optical tube assembly (OTA), CNC focuser's, and CNC mounting rings manufactured.
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Oberwerk 22x100mm Binoculars by Eric Jamison
After owning and enjoying my 11x70mm Oberwerk binoculars for a year I wished there was a larger aperture pair available at a reasonable price. By chance when attending an astronomy convention I came across the BigBinoculars.com booth and saw the new 22x100mm Oberwerk binoculars. They looked very nice at and with an introductory price of $395.00 (retail price of $499.95) including case and sliding mounting bar seemed very reasonable. So I ordered a pair. More...
The Synta EQ-6 / Skywatcher HDT Mount by Gregory Wuestenhagen
The EQ-6 mount head weighs about 38lbs, the tripod about 17. It is supplied with two counterweights, which look
like CG5 counterweights, but the bore is smaller, to fit the retractable counterweight shaft on the HDT. The HDT
counterweight shaft is about 1/8" less in diameter than that of the CG5 / GP series mounts. The major 'knock' that I have against this mount is the (in my opinion) too short, too small (diameter) More...
Anteres Right Angle Correct Image Finders by Eric Jamison
I recently was looking to replace my old 8 x 50mm right angle correct image finder, which had become worn out after years of service. One finder that caught my eye was the Antares 7 x 50mm finder which is available from Astronomics.
I first began using a 8 x 50mm right angle correct image finder back in 1980 when I owned a C8 . Correct image finders use an Amici prism diagonal that provide images that are right side up and non-reversed, which made it easier for me to locate deep-sky objects rather than finders that provide images that are upside down and reversed. More...
Oberwerk 11x70mm Binoculars by Eric Jamison
A few months ago a pair of 9x63mm binoculars that I had for a number of years were broken. I debated getting them repaired as it would cost more to repair them than they were worth. Then a friend of mine showed me a pair of 8x56mm Oberwerk binoculars he had recently purchased. I was impressed after trying them out as they were lightweight and seemed very good optically, with surprisingly good sharpness, light transmission, and contrast. Plus they were relatively inexpensive. I asked if Oberwerk made larger binoculars in the 70mm range and he said they did. So I decided to check into the 70mm pair to replace my broken 9x63mm pair. More...
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