davidb59
member
Reged: 07/11/07
Posts: 82
Loc: Hopkinsville, Ky.
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I believe there have been similar posts, but here is my saga so far:
So I finally got my "Big Dob" and was disappointed at first with the views and where to point. Then... I got the collimation thing down pat, got some star charts and a Telrad. Then life was good and my Dob and I were one in the night (and in the back yard with the bugs).
But, with Jupiter and various things being seen more easily seen from the front porch I decided to move onto the front porch for some good views of the southern sky and a few less bugs(also convienient in regards to moving the scope since I keep the Dob in the unused front living room).
Well now, with all things considered... it's also much more tolerable for the wife to come get some views also. Not that I mind sharing my toys, but sharing has turned into an obsession of sorts for her.
Instead if hearing "You better come in, it's late and it's getting buggy and you have to work in the morning", I now hear "It's supposed to be clear tonight, but you don't HAVE to bring the scope out". Now, as I sit in one of the porch chairs(not my observing stool)I get a play by play:
"Hey! I just found the Milky Way. It looks just like a highway of stars".
"You should see how good I just got Jupiter, it looks so big!, I love this Telrad"
"I just found a red shiney star, any idea what that is?"
" Oooh! I think I found that cluster, how do I find that Tri thing Nebula? it's how far from the cluster?"
"This Telrad is really cool"
"You'd be surprised what you can find if you just scan with the 9mm eyepiece"
But maybe this has an upside... come Christmas time maybe I'll find some high end eyepieces under the tree. I'll just have to wait until she goes to bed to use them (and she hates the cold).
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GOLGO13
sage
Reged: 11/05/05
Posts: 361
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This is certainly something that a lot of fellow astronomers would love to have as a problem.
Most of us get a "that's cool"...but that's about it.
I'd love to have someone to share this stuff with more often 
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www.slooh.com (live online astronomy!)
Orion XT10i Dob
Celestron 4 inch f10 Refractor [2 speed Antares crayford][SVP Intelliscope]
William Optics Zenithstar FD 80mm APO [Vixen PortaMount]
Canon 10x30IS Binos
Celestron 15x70mm Binos
Nikon Action 7x50mm Binos
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azskies
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/29/07
Posts: 1190
Loc: Prescott, AZ
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That's a great story David! My wife comes outside from time to time to see what I'm looking at, but like your wife, not in the winter! NO WAY, NO HOW!
Jeff
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Meade 12" Deluxe Light Bridge
Meade series 4000 QX 26mm wide angle
Meade series 5000 20mm
Orion Stratus 13mm wide angle
Meade series 4000 15mm eyepiece
Thousand Oaks UHC Filter
Meade 2X Telenegative Amplifier
Howie Glatter 1 1/4 635nm single beam laser
The Blug!
Tectron Chesire and Site Tube Collimation eyepieces
AstroZap Light Shield
A cool looking eye patch!
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doug76
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/05/07
Posts: 2557
Loc: SE Louisiana
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You are a very fortunate man. Get her her own scope, and then the fun really begins. 
Doug
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Doug
The Truckstop Astronomer
Meade 12" Lightbridge/Dob Driver II
Celestron C6 SCT
Celestron C6R/Moonlight focuser
Celestron XLT150
Astro-Tech AT80EDT
Celestron CG5-ASGT, CG-4
Celestron Nexstar SE (large)
Meade SWA 34mm
Televue Panoptic 24mm
Pentax XW 10mm, 7mm
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Astro-Tech AT66ED
Celestron Nexstar SE (small)
Televue Plossl 32mm
Smart Astronomy Solar System 14.5mm
BO/TMB Planetary 9mm, 7mm, 5mm, 4mm, 3.2mm, 2.5mm
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SUBSTORM
sage
Reged: 11/18/07
Posts: 243
Loc: Boise, ID
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david:
forget the scope, time to get your own 16 inch dob.  
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chuck
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Orion XT8
Hyperion 24mm, 17mm, 8mm + ring
TV 2x Barlow
GSO 32mm
Eyepatch
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panhard
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/20/08
Posts: 2537
Loc: Markham Ont.
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It sounds like you have a keeper there. I looked into my crystal ball I see another scope in your future. 
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Orion xt10i
8 & 17mm Hyperion eye pieces
koning 32mm 25mm skywatcher eyepieces
lumicon 0111 & antares variable polarizing filters
12x50 binos
A love for this hobby
"What goes around comes around."
"She who must be obeyed."
Herb c
cloudy nights my # 1 site
43.53°n 79.17°w
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Mr Q
sage
Reged: 02/25/08
Posts: 351
Loc: N Central New Mexico
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Bet the flash from the camera did a wonder on her night vision   Mr Q
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What goes around, comes around, eventually.
Meade DS-10(10" newt)
10x50, 10x70 binos
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 2894
Loc: Cattaraugus Co., NY
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Quote:
Bet the flash from the camera did a wonder on her night vision Mr Q
If you ruined your wifes dark adaptation with that flash I'll bet you wear an eyepatch in the daytime to hide your "black" eye.  
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Ted
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edwincjones
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/10/04
Posts: 4360
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Since she took your scope, it is only fair that you get another-either go up to that 16", or get a smaller grab and go or larger binoculars on a tripod.
I also see your point about loss of privacy
edj
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n w arkansas
Binocular, Solar, General Amateur Astronomy
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coopman
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/23/06
Posts: 1205
Loc: South Louisiana
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You're a very lucky man, David. I wish I had that problem. It sounds like Santa needs to bring another scope to your house at Christmas.
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Regards,
Clay
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Psalms 19:1
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WNCAGC
sage
Reged: 06/25/08
Posts: 259
Loc: NC Mountains (God's country)
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David-
Your one of the lucky one's! My wife will view occasionaly but does not share the same love I do. She is more interested than I thought she would be at first.
So feel lucky that you share something common with her and enjoy.
I myself am working on it more with my wife and in fact once a clear night prevails on a Friday I am taking her atop Mt. Pisgah for a viewing session.
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CPC 1100 XLT "The Big Monster"
Power Tank 17
NexImager
2" Smart Astronomy 10:1 dual speed Crayford focuser
2" Smart Astronomy Dielectric diagonal
2" Smart Astronomy 2x Barlow
2" Baader SCOPOS 35 mm prototype EP
Baader Hyperion zoom EP 8-24mm
Celestron dew shield
Bob's Knobs
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coutleef
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 02/21/08
Posts: 806
Loc: Montreal and St-Donat, Québec,...
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Don't get your scope back, just get another one.
I wonder how will you share the eyepieces with two scopes??
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François
Nexstar 8 SE
50mm StellarVue finderscope, Astronomik UHC-E and Orion OIII filters
WO Swan 40mm; TV Pan 22mm; TV Nagler 9T6, 12T4, 17T4; TV Plossl 11mm and 15mm.
WO 2" dielectric diagonal retrofitted with Denk Power Switch (and now reach the zenith with the shorty adapter).
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NightMonkey
super member
Reged: 01/10/08
Posts: 184
Loc: Upstate, SC
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Man, you are a lucky man....At least you have a wife that is interested. I am lucky enough to have a conversation. She did get a wild hair once and come have a session with me...I can understand your frustration with a sharing though....Christmas is coming up and it might be a good time to invest in a nice GrabNGo scope.
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Meade DS-2114ATS-LNT
Meade 285
Celestron Eyepiece and Filter Set
Thousand Oaks Solar Filter
Quickcam Pro 5000
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 4643
Loc: Illinois, US
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Quote:
" Oooh! I think I found that cluster, how do I find that Tri thing Nebula? it's how far from the cluster?"
Ahh, yes, the tri-thing. So how, exactly, is this a problem?
Chris
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"To tread the sharp edge of a sword;
to run on smooth-frozen ice,
one needs no footsteps to follow..."
"Well, people sometimes ask me 'how did you get involved in astronomy?' I said 'I got born, what's your problem?'" -- John Dobson
"In discussing the large-scale structure of the cosmos, astronomers sometimes say that space is curved, or that the universe is finite but unbounded. Whatever are they talking about?" -- Carl Sagan
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Bill Weir
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 880
Loc: Metchosin (Victoria), Canada
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I was at a star party once where I saw an interesting scope a couple had built. It was co-jioned twin 10" dobs. They were on the same base and would be pointed at the same object. They just had the focusers on opposite sides of the OTAs. They had even staggered the lengths so that when pointed at the zenith the eyepieces were at the proper height for each of them. It was a very cool setup. They had also designed it so that with the removal of a single bar, each OTA could be removed and placed on separate single bases.
I think I see a second scope in your future.
Bill
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6'' Orion SkyQuest
12.5'' f/5 Custom Truss Dob
William Optics 80mm ZenithStar II ED Doublet
f/5 25" newtonian on a giant GEM, any time I want
Observing sessions grand total for 2007, 171.
So far in 2008, 111
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Protheus
Vaguely offended
Reged: 09/01/07
Posts: 4643
Loc: Illinois, US
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Quote:
I was at a star party once where I saw an interesting scope a couple had built. It was co-jioned twin 10" dobs. They were on the same base and would be pointed at the same object. They just had the focusers on opposite sides of the OTAs. They had even staggered the lengths so that when pointed at the zenith the eyepieces were at the proper height for each of them. It was a very cool setup. They had also designed it so that with the removal of a single bar, each OTA could be removed and placed on separate single bases.
Seems like overkill to me. I always thought a binoviewer and a set of parfocal eyepieces would do that job. 
Chris
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"To tread the sharp edge of a sword;
to run on smooth-frozen ice,
one needs no footsteps to follow..."
"Well, people sometimes ask me 'how did you get involved in astronomy?' I said 'I got born, what's your problem?'" -- John Dobson
"In discussing the large-scale structure of the cosmos, astronomers sometimes say that space is curved, or that the universe is finite but unbounded. Whatever are they talking about?" -- Carl Sagan
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 2894
Loc: Cattaraugus Co., NY
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Quote:
I was at a star party once where I saw an interesting scope a couple had built. It was co-jioned twin 10" dobs. They were on the same base and would be pointed at the same object. They just had the focusers on opposite sides of the OTAs. They had even staggered the lengths so that when pointed at the zenith the eyepieces were at the proper height for each of them. It was a very cool setup. They had also designed it so that with the removal of a single bar, each OTA could be removed and placed on separate single bases.
I think I see a second scope in your future.
Bill
You didn't say may I move to a different object! I beg your pardon but you weren't listening as usual I was too listening! 
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Ted
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Mike B
Starstruck
Reged: 04/06/05
Posts: 4443
Loc: shake, rattle, & roll, CA
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Quote:
I always thought a binoviewer and a set of parfocal eyepieces would do that job.
Agreed! With the obvious advantage being the cozy cheek-to-cheek time spent viewing with yer sweetie!  
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Just for giggles- Next time when the money comes out the ATM, scream "I Won!, I Won!"
* * 15" F4.55 Starsplitter Dob * *
 Pacheco State Park
 Fremont Peak
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tog
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/17/05
Posts: 1389
Loc: Front Yard
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Great story! I love reading these kind of stories. Hey David, just give her the scope and go buy yourself a bigger one.
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dgs©
Postmaster
Reged: 03/29/04
Posts: 13852
Loc: West Monroe, Louisiana
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Naughty woman! Stealing views that way... sounds like she needs a good spanking. 
Count yourself among the lucky. I'm like the rest who can coax the rest of the family out to see Saturn or Jupiter or something interesting on the moon, even Orion's Great Nebula, but past that, not much interest. 
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- david
8"Ø Newtonian on SVP, Moonlite CR2, Telrad
PST Oberwerk Ultra 15x70 Orion Ultraview 10×50
Hand-me-down Sears Refractor (Discoverer) 60mm×900mm
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world, remains and is immortal." --Albert Pike
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