Quote:

---

One of the advantages of the SCT over the dobsonian is that it is easier to get GoTo and tracking with an SCT. That said, there are a variety of 'push to' systems being developed. If I was strictly interested in visual, I'd probably go with ...

---

Although that might be true to a point, there are still many problems inherent in the Meade Go-To system.

If the person doing the goto setup did not train the drives, enter all the perfectly accurate information, and perfectly align the scope and alignment stars, the GoTo will be far from on point.

There are many little tweaks one can do to improve meade goto functionality, and these are all posted up by Dr. Clay sherrod at weazners etx website.

http://www.weasner.com/etx/techtips/etx_tuneup3.html

Now, say I was a beginner with the same scope and did not know of the weazner/dr clay website...i would be hopelessly lost as to why my goto isnt accurate. Most likely, people blame meade for a broken goto system, when in fact it is their own inexperience and lack of knowledge that is making the goto system not work. That lack of information, mixed with meade's notoriously bad instruction manual, leads to potential bad news.

Make no mistake, when i first received my telescope the goto was completely off. It took many weeks of reading, learning, and tweaking to finally get the scope in near perfect working order.

I think that once this technology is given a good few years to really evolve, we will see very nice goto systems right out of the box that last for decades without maintenance.

--------------------
Meade 8.25"(209.55mm) LX-90 EMC (SCT)

Albert Einstein =>
“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”

Post Extras:

Quote:

---

..........
All pictures made by astrophotograhy are more or less very similar to one another, that is why this is an exception to the rule. A picture taken in 1999 by some random person, is going to look almost the same as the picture taken in 2008 by a different person, even if the two pictures were taking with completely different gear and telescopes. Sure the brightness or contrast might vary a bit, but the picture itself will be identical (except for the angle of course).
............

---

Once you get into the hobby you see it a different way. You may catch something that interest just you. It's a great accomplishment personally. I really love seeing the shock waves around Holmes and the disturbances around the comet itself. This was only visible this one time. Likely never to be exactly this way ever again. You couldn't see that with the naked eye (no camera) using any commercial scope. Events like this are constantly going on. It's why I love the effort.

Oh, this is with my favorite Celestron scope. A C-11 XLT on an NJP at the time of the photo.

--------------------
Jerry
LX200ACF 14", Tak FS 152 & TOA 150
AP-1200 & Mach1

Post Extras:

Quote:

---

All pictures made by astrophotograhy are more or less very similar to one another, that is why this is an exception to the rule. A picture taken in 1999 by some random person, is going to look almost the same as the picture taken in 2008 by a different person, even if the two pictures were taking with completely different gear and telescopes. Sure the brightness or contrast might vary a bit, but the picture itself will be identical (except for the angle of course).

---

Post Extras:

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

All pictures made by astrophotograhy are more or less very similar to one another, that is why this is an exception to the rule. A picture taken in 1999 by some random person, is going to look almost the same as the picture taken in 2008 by a different person, even if the two pictures were taking with completely different gear and telescopes. Sure the brightness or contrast might vary a bit, but the picture itself will be identical (except for the angle of course).

---

The same can be said for tourist photos of the Grand Canyon or other natural wonders that have been there for generations and likely will remain for a few more generations.

Part of the draw is that the photo becomes mine. I did it, with my gear, and my skill. The sense of ownership of the effort involved is what drives some people. In my case, it is hard to share my viewing with family who live far enough away it isn't feasible to sit them in front of the eyepiece. So I am learning so I can take shots of objects I am observing to share with them.

---

Besides, all you see from others is really great astrophotos. If you want to see lousy ones, you pretty much have to do them yourself.

--------------------
Tim S
C6-RGT
13.1" Truss Dob
Osypowski dual-axis Eq. Platform
15x70 Obies
NP-101
Gibraltar tripod/mount
Losmandy G-11 w/Gemini


I'm headin for Galt's Gulch

Post Extras:

Quote:

---

Events like this are constantly going on. It's why I love the effort.

---

Yeah I don't think I'll be around for the next Hayles Comet (year 2061), wish I'd had a scope back in 1986 (was it that long ago?), but all I had was a camcorder

--------------------
Hioptic 152mm f12.5 Maksutov
Celestron Advanced CG5-GT Mount (Mr Noisy!)
Meade 4000 Super Plossl Set
Casio QV-2900UX
Got fed up of waiting for Meade ETX-150 so put this together for £500/$1000

Edited by sang33ta (08/18/08 07:01 PM)

Post Extras: