Telescope Reviews: The one product intro that got you excited

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MikeBOKC
Post Laureate

Reged: 05/10/10

Loc: Oklahoma City, OK

The one product intro that got you excited
#5181379 - 04/20/12 08:36 AM

All the hoo-hah about the new Meade scopes and mounts, with threads here running into the dozens of pages, reminds me of other product roll-outs in the past that stirred folks up. There are literally eons of combined astronomy experience here on CN. Looking back, what announcements or debuts of new astro-gear or products got you the most excited in the past? I would have to say the introduction and refinement fo go-to technology did it for me.

Post Extras:

amicus sidera
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/14/11

Loc: East of the Sun, West of the M...

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5181397 - 04/20/12 08:56 AM

Excellent thread idea, Mike!

The introduction of gas-hypersensitization kits and off-axis guiders from Lumicon circa 1980 really stoked my fire for astrophotography... seeing that one could get photos that rivaled professional observatory shots using super-fine-grain 2415 emulsion was very exciting in its day.

Edmund Scientific's introduction of their fork-mounted reflectors in the late 1970's was on the same level for me... excellent visual and photographic platforms, which dovetailed later with Lumicon's emergence (unhypered Tri-X film was king before 2415).

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Eddgie
Postmaster

Reged: 02/01/06

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5181433 - 04/20/12 09:32 AM

I would say the all time biggest product roll-out (not limited to a specific brand but rather a new technology) was Digital Setting Cricles.

My observing productivity skyrocketed and observing became far more about looking though the telescope than about trying to find things.

Second to that was the EdgeHD telescope design. It brought the venerable SCT into the 21st Century. The telescope of the future, and the future is now.

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zawijava
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 10/06/07

Loc: Wells, Maine 04090

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5181477 - 04/20/12 09:57 AM

Telrad

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csa/montana
Den Mama

Reged: 05/14/05

Loc: montana

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5181509 - 04/20/12 10:21 AM

Mike, excellent question!! Since I've only been observing (with equipment) since 2005, I would have to say the 16" dobs that hit the market, making it easier for us to get into large aperture, without mortgaging your life!

And yes, the Telrad!

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Brian L
professor emeritus

Reged: 11/17/08

Loc: The garden paradise of Pittsbu...

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: csa/montana]
#5181629 - 04/20/12 11:54 AM

The scopebuggy ranks up there for me...

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mikey cee
Postmaster

Reged: 01/18/07

Loc: bellevue ne.

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Brian L]
#5181634 - 04/20/12 12:00 PM

I'd say the large lenses from ISTAR at a price that a commoner could justify!! Also not dying of old age before delivery too!!

Mike

Post Extras:

Pod
member

Reged: 04/17/12

Loc: An American abroad

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: mikey cee]
#5181672 - 04/20/12 12:24 PM

Affordable ccds and associated software that made quality imaging within the realms of the everyday astronomer. Even now the fact I can set up my old lpi and bang out some more than passable planetary images still amazes me.

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Mark9473
Postmaster

Reged: 07/21/05

Loc: 51°N 4°E

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Pod]
#5181770 - 04/20/12 01:20 PM

Cheap short FPL-53 doublet apo's.

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Traveler
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 08/19/07

Loc: The Netherlands

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Mark9473]
#5181791 - 04/20/12 01:46 PM

Sbig ST-4

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Lorence
professor emeritus

Reged: 09/15/08

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5181877 - 04/20/12 02:34 PM Attachment (37 downloads)

Mallincam Xtreme. I've had more enjoyment in a few years use with those cameras than I did in the fifty + years of observing before them.

The equipment necessary to remotely control the observatory has to be mentioned as well.

Here's a screen snapshot of M 106. That's a single 40 second exposure. No Photoshop or any sort of processing. What you see is what you get. I was sitting on the living room couch while I took the photo. I have to admit that I do suffer some discomfort while observing. The tip of my finger gets a little sore from clicking the mouse.

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Doug Culbertson
Post Laureate

Reged: 01/06/05

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Lorence]
#5181903 - 04/20/12 02:47 PM

The Erfle eyepiece; finally a nice wide field of view...

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DrOxygen
member

Reged: 12/30/10

Loc: New Jersey

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Doug Culbertson]
#5181910 - 04/20/12 02:53 PM

As a newbie I loved the Meade LS-6. Once the bugs got worked out it's goto's were spot on. I still use it for a quickie now and then.

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johnnyha
Postmaster

Reged: 11/12/06

Loc: Sherman Oaks, CA

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: DrOxygen]
#5182112 - 04/20/12 05:14 PM

Televue barrel undercuts!

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Mark Costello
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 03/08/05

Loc: Matthews, NC, USA

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: MikeBOKC]
#5182120 - 04/20/12 05:17 PM

Well, it's always nice to see a new refractor get rolled out, particularly ones by Istar and - ahem - Explore Scientific.

I'd have to say that the one that turned my head this year was the LX80 rigs, particular, the mount and SCT (although it'd be nice to offer rigs with ACFs riding the mounts).

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CounterWeight
Postmaster

Reged: 10/05/08

Loc: Cloudyopolis, OR.

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new

[Re: Mark Costello]
#5182133 - 04/20/12 05:24 PM

Everything imaging related, goto, autoguiding(SSAG

), CCD/DSLR, mono and filter wheels, flat field astrographs.... you name it in that arena and I'm excited... until I read prices... then I'm just enthusiastic.

The 70-82* mid-widefield ep's also do it for me...

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Phil Cowell
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 05/24/07

Loc: Southern Tier NY

Re: The one product intro that got you excited new