Cliff Dweller
super member
Reged: 05/11/07
Posts: 100
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Hi Everyone,
The police report has been sent to Meade!
I guess we will have to wait and see what happens.
Dark Sky’s: Cliff Dweller 
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Stan Slonkosky
newbie
Reged: 10/13/07
Posts: 2
Loc: Southern California
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The main train tracks between Los Angeles and San Diego run past Meade headquarters and a someone on either an Amtrak or Metrolink train saw some Meade engineers testing out Myskys and called the Irvine police, who came out to investigate. I think they all had a good laugh. (Irvine was recently declared the safest large city in the US.)
Personally, I like the gun-shaped design; I think it's kind of cool. The first time I saw one was on Astronomy Day and I decided then and there to buy one. I have a SkyScout (which I should really put on Astromart) and I can scarcely read the display (due to problems with my retinas. The MySky is much easier for me to use. It doesn't look any more dangerous to me than the toy "ray gun" I got for Christmas back in 1958 when I was 6.
I carried a Mysky with me at Chapman University in Orange last evening and it didn't attract any attention at all.
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cpsTN
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/26/07
Posts: 2387
Loc: Rutherford Co, TN
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It isn't surpirsing to me that My Sky is gun-shaped. Obviously, the people at Meade did not sit down and say, "We need a gun-like object that people can use at night!"
When you think about it, you have to hold it and point in toward objects. With those parameters, its not surprising to me that it ended up gun-like. Was it somewhat non-thinking of them? YES, but not surprising. Hopefully this is an isolated incident.
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Charles Sands
Observing since 12/29/86
12" f/5 Apertura AD12 Dobsonian
90mm f/13.9 Sky Watcher Mak Cass
70mm f/5 refractor, Orion GoScope
10x50 binos (Bushnell Falcon)
7x35 binos (Sears Discoverer)
Orion StarShoot Solar System Imager IV
Sky & Telescope's POCKET SKY ATLAS
CyberSky 4.0 astronomy software
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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups - Lewis Grizzard (1946-1994)
Edited by cpsTN (10/14/07 06:32 AM)
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Daniel
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/16/05
Posts: 998
Loc: Roscoe,IL
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All I can say about all this is it was bound to happen sooner or later. When I saw the My Sky... that was MY FIRST THOUGHT... it looked like a gun.
Words should have been said like an earlier post to avoid all of this. "Wanna see Jupiter? Wanna see Andromeda Galaxy? This is a teaching tool not a gun thank you!!!!
I know thats what I would have said. Some Police officers are to quick to jump... even though they did do their job... obviously an improper asessment of the situation was done.IMO!!
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Looking for a big ol Dobsonian..12-16"
ETX 70mm,F5
Bushnell 7-21x40 bino's
Barska 20x80mm Binos
Meade Video Eyepiece
Canon A-E1 SLR,Canon EOS ElanII
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cpsTN
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/26/07
Posts: 2387
Loc: Rutherford Co, TN
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The police approaching someone in the dark who has a gun or what is thought to be a gun are obviously going to respond in a "secure the area" way. I agree with you; perhaps the "suspect" should have been put on the ground but whether the object was a gun or not should have been accessed BEFORE handcuffs were used.
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Charles Sands
Observing since 12/29/86
12" f/5 Apertura AD12 Dobsonian
90mm f/13.9 Sky Watcher Mak Cass
70mm f/5 refractor, Orion GoScope
10x50 binos (Bushnell Falcon)
7x35 binos (Sears Discoverer)
Orion StarShoot Solar System Imager IV
Sky & Telescope's POCKET SKY ATLAS
CyberSky 4.0 astronomy software
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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups - Lewis Grizzard (1946-1994)
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ccs_hello
Postmaster
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 5224
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A camcorder-like device with a flip-out LCD screen would be safer.
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
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cpsTN
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/26/07
Posts: 2387
Loc: Rutherford Co, TN
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it would be but unless there is enough people pushing for a change or if Meade deems it necessary, there won't be a reason for Meade to spend the money to change the design.
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Charles Sands
Observing since 12/29/86
12" f/5 Apertura AD12 Dobsonian
90mm f/13.9 Sky Watcher Mak Cass
70mm f/5 refractor, Orion GoScope
10x50 binos (Bushnell Falcon)
7x35 binos (Sears Discoverer)
Orion StarShoot Solar System Imager IV
Sky & Telescope's POCKET SKY ATLAS
CyberSky 4.0 astronomy software
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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups - Lewis Grizzard (1946-1994)
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John Fitzgerald
In Focus
Reged: 01/04/04
Posts: 2709
Loc: AR
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I will not observe or have my equipment set up on public property unless it is a well known and sanctioned event. Too many idiots around!
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cpsTN
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/26/07
Posts: 2387
Loc: Rutherford Co, TN
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That is one of the better ideas ever expoused on CN.
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Charles Sands
Observing since 12/29/86
12" f/5 Apertura AD12 Dobsonian
90mm f/13.9 Sky Watcher Mak Cass
70mm f/5 refractor, Orion GoScope
10x50 binos (Bushnell Falcon)
7x35 binos (Sears Discoverer)
Orion StarShoot Solar System Imager IV
Sky & Telescope's POCKET SKY ATLAS
CyberSky 4.0 astronomy software
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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups - Lewis Grizzard (1946-1994)
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mikeff
newbie
Reged: 10/13/07
Posts: 4
Loc: PA
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I'll say one thing, and that is I will never wear my MySky in a holster. 
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jrw11
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/07
Posts: 550
Loc: unknown
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I have a Skyscout. One time when I was trying it outside, a couple of good looking girls came out of a truck. saw it and wanted me to film them! I had to explain it wasn't a camcorder! Glad no one was harmed from the police incident.
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Celestron C6n -HD Reflector
dual axis drive motors added
Orion 80mm Short tube refractor
Skyscout
Early 70's Pentax 7x50
Garrett Optical 12x60
Garrett Optical 15x70
Oberwerk 20x80 Standards
Canon Rebel Ti (film)
6 Minolta Srt cameras
Mamiya RB67 Pro-s
Mamiya Universal Press
Mamiya Twin Lens
Mamiya M645 Pro
Cambo SCII 4x5 view camera
over 50 other film cameras
several eyepieces
too much stuff
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Sam Sayers
member
Reged: 05/28/07
Posts: 21
Loc: Just beyond Saturn
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You explained it wasn't a camcorder? Man, I still be standing there pointing it at them.
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Sam
"Midnight", my Celestron CPC-800 with piggybacked Celestron 80ED
Celestron NexImage
Oberwerk 20x80mm Deluxe II binocular
Celestron OptiView 10x50mm LPR binocular
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Mike28
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/21/03
Posts: 3069
Loc: Morris County,NJ
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Maybe it would be safer to use the Sky Scout. Doesnt look like a gun.... 
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Mike
'The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” Albert Einstein
NS11GPS/Sky align
Orion SkyQuest XX14g GoTo Truss Tube Dobsonian Telescope
Celestron 80ED
TV Pronto
Coronado Ha PST
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abe
member
Reged: 07/23/05
Posts: 70
Loc: Madison, Wisconsin
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I'm not surprised. To the police, most anything outside of watching TV qualifies and strange and suspicious behavior.
When I am out with my scope (public parks, front yard etc.), I frequently have to explain it to police. I've gotten used to it. When I am asked what I'm doing, I resist the urge to say "what does it look like I'm doing?" and politely explain that I'm doing some stargazing. They usually look at you quizically/suspiciously at that point and you watch the gears turn as they decide that you are a benign quack rather than a malicious one. Almost all of them have been civil and most are actually nice. Some occasionally even ask for a look through the scope.
Once as a teenager, I had to do some quick explaining to a group of police detectives who were responding to a call about a terrorist trying to take out a Jewish synagogue with a bazooka or some kind of a mortar (I'm half Egyptian). Of course, it was just me and my 8" Schmidt Cassegrain (I grew up across the street from a synagogue). I had them peer inside to see the mirrors etc. and everything was fine after a few tense moments.
A Schmidt Cassegrain certainly doesn't seem to look much like a weapon to me, but I guess if you've never seen a telescope other than a traditional skinny white refractor then you wouldn't know.
I'm just glad I didn't have a 16" Dobsonian. Then I would have been in real trouble!
-abe.
Abe Megahed
CTO, Hypercosm
megaheda@hypercosm.com
www.abe-n-doren.com/abe/astronomy/
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johnfdean
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/04/06
Posts: 1104
Loc: southern tip of Illinois
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Years ago when in high school I got reported for "Window Peeping". That goodness that was in the days I had my Dynascope. The lowest powered EP I had at the time was 61X. I had the cop look though the scope and he got the point....I was no threat to the house sitting 90 feet away.
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Celestron C6 f/5 by Vixen with Polaris GEM
14" Tscope dob f/4.7 with Argo Navis
80mm Nighthawk on Eq 2
Celestron C-4 f/10
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Achernar
Postmaster
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 7805
Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA
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Yeah, to non-astronomers a large Dob could look like the mother of all yard cannons.......
Taras
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15-inch F/4.5 Homebuilt truss-tube Dob with Sky Commander digital setting circles.
10-inch F/4.5 Discovery Dob with JMI digital setting circles.
6-inch F/8 Homebuilt Dob
24, 18, 14, 11, 8.8, 6.7, 4.7mm ES 82 degree eyepieces.
21, 13, 8, 5 and 3.5mm Orion Stratus eyepieces.
Two Televue T-1 Paracorrs with tunable tops
Orion and Lumincon Deepsky, Ultrablock, O-III and H-beta nebula filters.
Three curious and needful cats
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dbledsoe
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/09/06
Posts: 972
Loc: Boise, Idaho USA
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I run a rifle and pistol range in Boise Idaho. I am also an astronomy junkie. From the moment I saw the ad for the Meade "My Sky" my first thought was, "How long is it going to take for some cop to mistake this thing for a pistol in the dark?" Not a very good design! And on top of that they made it silver, even more resembling a stainless steel handgun in less than ideal light conditions.
Thank God, and some thinking cops, things didn't turn out worse.
I am sorry to say but in today's climate the folks at Meade should have given more thought to their design form.
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dbledsoe
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/09/06
Posts: 972
Loc: Boise, Idaho USA
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Quote:
To me, I would think the police would be thinking more along the lines that someone was clocking them on radar, rather than pointing a gun at them. The MySky looks infinitely much more like a radar gun than a shooting bullets gun! My first thought when I saw one was that I could slow down traffic on the main road nearby just by standing out there pointing it at oncoming traffic!! 
Wes,
Get real. I know a lot of cops and I know what they face on a day to day basis. It is scary, very scary. If you doubt me call your local PD or sheriff sometime and ask to participate in a citizen ride along, and do so for several nights. There are a lot of bad people out there and the cops too often have a fraction of a second to assess a situation that is truly life threatening to them. The Meade My Sky looks like a handgun under those circumstances. A hand held radar detector will look like a hand gun under those circumstances too.
The Meade My Sky is a potential serious accident waiting to happen. For God's sake if anyone finds their self in a similar situation, throw the thing down as directed! It costs what, $400? Is anyone here's life worth only $400? That's chump change when dead is dead over a stupid mistake.
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"Head" proprietor of the Toilet Observatory.
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Olivier Biot
Amused
Reged: 04/25/05
Posts: 24589
Loc: 51°N (Belgium)
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Folks,
Just a friendly reminder to stay away from bashing and trolling. Maybe we can think about ways to improve the MySky product to address the valid points that have been posted in this thread?
Cheers!
Olivier Biot
Cloudy Nights Moderator - SkyScout/MySky Forum
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I think you're worth a double serving of happiness!
Tal-200K (#199) with JMI NGF-Mini2M focuser on GEM3 • Astro-Tech AT80ED • Orion Sirius EQ-G with wireless EQDIRECT • Astro-Tech Voyager • Celestron Regal LX 10x42 • Helios 15x70
ATM projects: 14" f/5 truss Dobson: first light Jul 1, 2011 - currently in 'tweak & widget' mode
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astrasouth
member
Reged: 07/11/07
Posts: 17
Loc: NC
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my apologies folks on my Meade comments. I will refrain in the future doing that.
mark 
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15" Discovery Truss Dobsonian (f/5)
****
Chapel Hill Astronomical & Observation Society
Raleigh Astronomy Club
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