BrianFitz
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/17/08
Posts: 1803
Loc: Northern California
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Hey All,
I've been hanging out in the CCD forum for a few years now, and it's funny how different the dynamic is here in "Refractors". You guys are a bunch of fun folks as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for the welcome and as asked, here are a few pictures of my newly aquired 152ED and Mount.
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Fitz
Meade LX200R 10" F/10
Meade 152ED APO
Stellarvue Raptor 80ED
Celestron CGE
Various EP's / Televue diagonals
QHY8 / QHY5 / Philips SPC 900 / Canon Xsi
20X80 Celestron / 7X50 Meade Binos
“Lots of "Dreams”
“The Skillful Illusionist Makes the Best Image" ~ Tony Hallas
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BrianFitz
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/17/08
Posts: 1803
Loc: Northern California
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OK, Number 2
Edited by BrianFitz (11/01/09 08:07 PM)
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BrianFitz
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/17/08
Posts: 1803
Loc: Northern California
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#3
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Fitz
Meade LX200R 10" F/10
Meade 152ED APO
Stellarvue Raptor 80ED
Celestron CGE
Various EP's / Televue diagonals
QHY8 / QHY5 / Philips SPC 900 / Canon Xsi
20X80 Celestron / 7X50 Meade Binos
“Lots of "Dreams”
“The Skillful Illusionist Makes the Best Image" ~ Tony Hallas
Edited by BrianFitz (11/01/09 08:08 PM)
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BrianFitz
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/17/08
Posts: 1803
Loc: Northern California
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What's this I found? Could it be a Strehl reading?? I don't know - can someone tell. It was the one little treasure that was with the scope. Looks like 95.5....
Edited by BrianFitz (11/01/09 08:14 PM)
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TomN
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/14/09
Posts: 510
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Niiiice!
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Amateur Astronomer since 1962.
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BrianFitz
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/17/08
Posts: 1803
Loc: Northern California
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My colletion. My wife asked me; "how many telescopes is enough"? Answer; "I won't know until I have enough--I guess". Ugh!
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Fitz
Meade LX200R 10" F/10
Meade 152ED APO
Stellarvue Raptor 80ED
Celestron CGE
Various EP's / Televue diagonals
QHY8 / QHY5 / Philips SPC 900 / Canon Xsi
20X80 Celestron / 7X50 Meade Binos
“Lots of "Dreams”
“The Skillful Illusionist Makes the Best Image" ~ Tony Hallas
Edited by BrianFitz (11/01/09 08:18 PM)
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Newfie Ninja
super member
Reged: 06/27/08
Posts: 128
Loc: Newfoundland, Canada
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Congrats Brian, Beautiful setup, looks good as new. Man that mount is huge, should b a fine match for the scope. Look forward to first light.
Cheers
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CPC 11 Starbright XLT
WO FLT 98 Aluminum Tube
Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro Synscan
WO EZ Touch Mount
Ethos,Uwan, & Swan sets,a Nagler, & a 2x Powermate
A couple of cases of other stuff
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o1d_dude
o1der than dirt
Reged: 10/03/07
Posts: 2274
Loc: The TV/SV Wolfpack
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Echoing what the Newfie Ninja said, that mount is freaking HYOOOGE!
Hard to tell from the angle of the photo but it looks like the objective lens is about 7' above the garage floor even at that shallow elevation angle.
I think you're going to need a bigger scope buggy, BTW.
Have you first lighted it yet?
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Kit
'Don’t worry about what telescope you own, or its quality. Just get out under the night sky, and enjoy God’s wondrous universe.' - Thomas M Back
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letimotif
No Complaints
Reged: 05/20/07
Posts: 2439
Loc: No Idea, but I know my speed!
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Quote:
I think you're going to need a bigger scope buggy, BTW.
Bigger garage, too. 
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Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a Heaven for?
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starrancher
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 06/09/09
Posts: 1304
Loc: Northern Arizona
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I only see two so far ! Room for more !
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LXD75 AR5
LXD75 SN8
Series 4000 Plossls
Misc. other stuff
Fort Rock , Az .
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SteveC
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 06/15/06
Posts: 1927
Loc: The Garden State
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Hi Brian,
Beautiful set up, good luck with it!.
BTW, you need to send your photo with scope to The Price Is Right! You missed your calling.
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SteveC
TEC 140
Intes Micro 715 deluxe
TEC 110 (on order)
SolarMax 40
Losmandy G-11 w/Gemini, DM-6 w/Sky Commander on SV wood tripod, Vixen Skypod
TEC EP Turret, TMB Supermonos, ZAO II, Naglers, 32mm Konig, 24mm Panoptics, 14mm Meade UWA
Edited by SteveC (11/01/09 09:15 PM)
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stevew
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/03/06
Posts: 1353
Loc: Vancouver
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Brian, it looks great.
Congratulations.
I have the 127ED and it's a great scope.
Let us know how first light goes.
Steve
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So long, and thanks for all the fish....
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BrianFitz
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/17/08
Posts: 1803
Loc: Northern California
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Does anyone know what the graph is?
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Fitz
Meade LX200R 10" F/10
Meade 152ED APO
Stellarvue Raptor 80ED
Celestron CGE
Various EP's / Televue diagonals
QHY8 / QHY5 / Philips SPC 900 / Canon Xsi
20X80 Celestron / 7X50 Meade Binos
“Lots of "Dreams”
“The Skillful Illusionist Makes the Best Image" ~ Tony Hallas
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Clive Gibbons
Mostly Harmless
Reged: 05/26/05
Posts: 14139
Loc: Oort Cloud
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Quote:
What's this I found? Could it be a Strehl reading?? I don't know - can someone tell. It was the one little treasure that was with the scope. Looks like 95.5....
Hi Brian.
That looks like a transmission graph for a Hitachi nebula filter.
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A few telescopes of dubious value.
Understanding wife, two curious cats and one sadly departed.
"Semper ubi sub ubi"
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Jared
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/11/05
Posts: 2919
Loc: Piedmont, California, U.S.
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Not certain how you know it's Hitachi... The HI at the top, or have you seen them before? I didn't even know they made astronomical filters. Just curious.
I certainly agree that it's a graph showing the blocking/transmission properties of a nebula filter--looks like it passes red, blue, violet, and teal but blocks green, orange, and yellow. That will leave SII, H-alpha, OIII, and H-beta all undisturbed while rejecting low pressure sodium (in particular). Looks like it's roughly the equivalent of a Lumicon Deep Sky filter as opposed to UHC filters) since it isn't blocking reds.
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- Jared Willson
- A few refractors
- A couple of GEM's
- One camera
- Two eyeballs
- Some heavily light polluted skies
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LLEEGE
Running out of Oxygen
Reged: 03/03/05
Posts: 9775
Loc: Cloud-chester,NY
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Looks great, Brian!
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"Okay! You draw the straws. I'm-a taking the parachute."
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Steve Fisher
"Curmudgeon in Training"
Reged: 08/12/06
Posts: 1894
Loc: Utah
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Brian:
She looks like a beauty. Congratulations. I'm glad to hear that you have found that us refractor guys aren't all that bad.
Looking forward to first light reports.
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Steve
8" f/12 D&G Achromat Refractor Delivered 08/27/09
6" D&G f/12 Achromat Refractor
66mm f/6.1 William Optics Petzval
6" f/8 Celestron Starhopper
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"Never try to teach a pig to sing, It wastes your time and it annoys the pig". (Robert Heinlein)
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David Pavlich
Postmaster
Reged: 05/18/05
Posts: 9688
Loc: Mandeville, LA USA 30.22 X 90....
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Nice hardware, Brian! That thing does take up a lot of space.
David
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Proud Member; PAS NOLA,
"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be called research..."
A. Einstein
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m9x18
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 10/12/07
Posts: 890
Loc: Abilene, Texas
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Wow Brian! That's one beautiful refractor! You did real good on that one!
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Robert
All that is complex is not useful and all that is useful is simple. -- Mikhail Kalashnikov
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Clive Gibbons
Mostly Harmless
Reged: 05/26/05
Posts: 14139
Loc: Oort Cloud
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Quote:
Not certain how you know it's Hitachi... The HI at the top, or have you seen them before? I didn't even know they made astronomical filters. Just curious.
Hi Jared.
I've seen Hitachi astro filters in the past and am aware of their logo.
Link.
Looks to match up.
P.s. to Brian Fitz;
does the lens cell have radial adjustment screws? 
(if you could take a picture of the side of the cell and post it, that would indicate one way or the other.)
It's a great looking scope, whatever the case. 
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A few telescopes of dubious value.
Understanding wife, two curious cats and one sadly departed.
"Semper ubi sub ubi"
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crazyqban
sage
Reged: 12/16/08
Posts: 349
Loc: Miami, Florida
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Very nice Brian. Now get out there and enjoy it!!!
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16" F4 Starstructure with Zambuto mirror (on order)
Takahashi Sky 90 II / PST-DS
Takahashi EM-200 USDII / Takahashi Teegul Alt-Az
Zeiss Abbe II's pair / AP/Baader Mark V
41mm Panoptic / Two 24mm Panoptics
Two Nagler 16mm T5 / 8, 13, 21 Ethos
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CharlieB
sage
Reged: 12/11/07
Posts: 303
Loc: Southern NH
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You will love that mount. I replaced the capacitors in the hand controller and main boards that have a propensity to blow (mine is a 650, but the electronics are the same). You might want to talk to the gentleman at the Astronomy-Shoppe about it. I just picked up a spare controller for mine and there was a source for spare controller keypad membranes. There is also a LXD750 Yahoo Group, although it is not very active lately. You want to keep that mount going as long as you can. I am envious of the scope and even more so of the mount.
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Charlie
Coulter 10", Discovery 8", Orion Apex 127 Mak, Orion Starblast 6", C6-R, Apogee Widestar 5", Apogee Widestar 4", C4-R, Apogee 90mm, 66SD, Burgess 65ED Backpacker, Tasco 2TE
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belgrade
super member
Reged: 10/05/07
Posts: 139
Loc: San Antonio, TX, USA
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Congrats!! Both set ups are great but, as a fan of refractors, I like the 6" scope/mount one (even) better. It's a wonderful ED/APO scope and the mount rocks!  Why in the world Meade doesn't redesign it and modernize it and sell it again?? It could be a thing that would help them get out of that ditch that they ran themselves into...
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Astronomy Technologies Astro-Tech AT80ED 80mm f/7 ED doublet refractor
Meade LXD75 AR6-AT achromatic refractor 152mm/F8
Meade Adventure Pack 10x50 binoculars
Meade Series 4000 Super Plossl EPs
OPT 2" Quartz Dielectric Diagonal
OPT 2" ED 2X Barlow
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Starman27
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/29/06
Posts: 717
Loc: Illinois, Iowa
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Brian,
You will love this scope. I've had the 178ED and LXD750 and still have a 102ED 650 LXD. Good scopes and the prices are right. You did good. Now sit back and enjoy it.
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Enjoy the dark,
Herman
Meade
14 LX200 GPS SMT
12 LX200 GPS
7 LX200 Maksutov
ETX 125
TAK FS128 NSV
Sky 90II
Lunt LS60ThaDS BF1200
Canon 5D Mark II
Illinois
Iowa
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Joselo
sage
Reged: 02/26/08
Posts: 450
Loc: Texas
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Brian,
welcome to the refractors Forum, congrats on the new baby ...
Personally I love refractors... especially TAKs, 
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deSitter
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/09/04
Posts: 3332
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Man that scope has a wider stance than Senator Craig!
What a beauty! I'm looking forward to owning the 152 or 178 eventually. Congrats!
-drl
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rick rian
Re-Peter
Reged: 08/03/04
Posts: 23056
Loc: Upper Midwest
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Congratz, Brian, she's a real keeper! You've done very well for yourself. 
Now enjoy the views!
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Rickster
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KerryR
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 1420
Loc: SW Michigan
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Is this the one with the broken radial adjustment ring?
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Kerry
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Trever
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/18/03
Posts: 3007
Loc: North Alabama
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The scope looks wonderful!
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Trever
Celestron Edge HD 8 inch SCT ASGT
Stellarvue SV110ED
Lunt LS35T/DS Solar Scope
Nikon 8x42 Trailblazer Binos
Stellarvue M1 mount
Celestron ASGT mount
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Erik Bakker
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/10/06
Posts: 691
Loc: Haren, The Netherlands, Europe
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Quote:
My colletion. My wife asked me; "how many telescopes is enough"? Answer; "I won't know until I have enough--I guess". Ugh!
Hi Brian,
Superb 7" you got here. Is the 10" SCT going to retire?
Clear skies,
Erik
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Visual astronomer, main instruments:
Fully mounted Questar 7 P-BB
Vixen FL 70S f/8 fluorite
on Gitzo 224 / Manfrotto 501
Sets of Brandon, TeleVue, Celestron and Zeiss eyepieces
Leica 8x32 Trinovid
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Scott Beith
SRF
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 37963
Loc: Frederick, MD
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That is a big doggone scope!
I like it!
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   SLAP Observer (TMB130SS, SV102V{LOMO Lens}, SV80ED)
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
"The measure of a man’s greatness is not determined by what he accomplishes for himself, but by what he accomplishes for others.” -- Some Bald Guy
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Eddgie
Post Laureate
Reged: 02/01/06
Posts: 3270
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See what I was telling you (I think it was you) in a previous thread about the spread of the legs on the mount being like the Lunar Lander? And when you extend the legs to get the eyepiece up higer for viewing at Zenith, it gets even BIGGER!. Took up 1/3rd of my patio.
Again, a good mod is to replace the threded rod with a longer one to lower the top spreader, and replace the bottorm spreader rods with shorter ones.
This raises the saddle making int less necessary to extend the legs, and it brings the leg ends closer together making it much easier to navigate around the mount in the dark.
Also, it makes if FAR less likely that the scope will contact a leg when viewing at zenith. In fact, you will find that the hand controller won't even allow you to VEIW very close to Zenith because of this. If yours is like mine though, after you change the tripod spread, you can use the "Pier" option and the scope will then point at zenith.
Easy mod to make. Took me an about 1.5 hours to make 3 spreaders and to cut the rod and file the space for the "C" clip.
Meade 152ED is a great telescope. I hope you enjoy yours.
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Celestron C14, CGE (Big Al)
Astro-Physics 6" f/8 (Buffy)
Celestron EdgeHD C8 (Lil' Eddgie)
Celestron C5 (Tiny Tiger)
Vixen Ed100sf
The night sky is my mistress. She seduces me away from all other lovers.
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TomN
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/14/09
Posts: 510
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Quote:
My wife asked me; "how many telescopes is enough"? Answer; "I won't know until I have enough--I guess".
Only three?? You have a long way to go, my friend! HAHAHA! Welcome to the wonderful world of refractors! 
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Amateur Astronomer since 1962.
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deSitter
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/09/04
Posts: 3332
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I would just use this tripod for my SCT and put the head on a Berlebach tripod.
-drl
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deSitter
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/09/04
Posts: 3332
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That's a really nice modification.
-drl
Quote:
See what I was telling you (I think it was you) in a previous thread about the spread of the legs on the mount being like the Lunar Lander? And when you extend the legs to get the eyepiece up higer for viewing at Zenith, it gets even BIGGER!. Took up 1/3rd of my patio.
Again, a good mod is to replace the threded rod with a longer one to lower the top spreader, and replace the bottorm spreader rods with shorter ones.
This raises the saddle making int less necessary to extend the legs, and it brings the leg ends closer together making it much easier to navigate around the mount in the dark.
Also, it makes if FAR less likely that the scope will contact a leg when viewing at zenith. In fact, you will find that the hand controller won't even allow you to VEIW very close to Zenith because of this. If yours is like mine though, after you change the tripod spread, you can use the "Pier" option and the scope will then point at zenith.
Easy mod to make. Took me an about 1.5 hours to make 3 spreaders and to cut the rod and file the space for the "C" clip.
Meade 152ED is a great telescope. I hope you enjoy yours.
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Freddy WILLEMS
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 11/13/05
Posts: 2927
Loc: Hawaii, Honolulu
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Hi Fitz, Looks great !
I have the 127mm and did some collimation on it and now it performs great. The older type still has all the adjustment screws in it, so lots of room for corrections if needed.
Love to see images taken with the 152mm.
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Freddy
Meade 14" LX200 GPS UHTC GPS on permanent pier
Celestron C 14" Peltier cooled for planetary imaging.
Meade 10" LX200 & TITAN 50:1 mount Gemini 'go to'
Meade 127 mm f/9 APO & TITAN 50:1 mount Gemini 'go to'
W/O 102 mm f/7 APO doublet
Orion 80 mm f/7 ED
DFK 21AU04.AS
ToUcam 840 II pro
Canon 10D Unmoddified
Canon 40D Hutech moddified
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Ziggy943
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/11/06
Posts: 1868
Loc: Utah
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Quote:
My colletion. My wife asked me; "how many telescopes is enough"? Answer; "I won't know until I have enough--I guess". Ugh!
Beautiful scope.
Yep, you'll know when you have enough. You can tell her that you don't have enough yet.
Let us know when you get out of the hospital.
Edited by Ziggy943 (11/16/09 11:03 AM)
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Ziggy943
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/11/06
Posts: 1868
Loc: Utah
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Quote:
Man that scope has a wider stance than Senator Craig!
What a beauty! I'm looking forward to owning the 152 or 178 eventually. Congrats!
-drl
Ouch 
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May your skies always be clear,
Ziggy
www.slas.us
4" Mak
#1, 160mm F8 TEC (born 1-18-2007, 27 lbs, 45.5" long), on AP900
6" F17.5 (D&G lens) (first light 6-7-2008)
9" F/14.9 Alvan Clark (1915), on Byers 812
14.25 F/5.5 Newt in a roll off observatory
Others, that have come and gone
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Svezda
sage
Reged: 06/01/07
Posts: 362
Loc: Texas
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That is a transmission vs. wavelength graph for an LPR filter, obviously, as people have said but the only thing Hitachi about the filter is the graph paper for the plotter used to print the graph (there may be an old Hitachi plotter though I haven't seen one). Hitachi makes a lot of different stuff from bulldozers to semiconductors but no filters or other optics. Used to work for Hitachi 1989-1997.
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nightowl
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/02/04
Posts: 538
Loc: los angeles, ca
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Hi Brian, those are great scopes. They are personal observatory material, that's for sure. Congrats on the Meade.
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"I saw the universe and I saw its secret designs, and now laying in darkness, I allow the days to forget me." -- Jorge Luis Borges
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jshalpha
member
Reged: 04/30/05
Posts: 83
Loc: SF Bay Area
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Brian, Nice additional to your scope family. You already look like your enjoying the new scope. Hope to see you again at GSSP next summer so I can try it out :-)
Jim S.
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http://www.pbase.com/jshuder/astrophotography
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