236 replies to this topic

[Daniel Mounsey]

You da man Lew

[kimballdog]

Joe and I were classmates at USC law school (Class of 1966). He invited several of us to dinner with him and his parents at his home (in the Wilshire district in LA) sometime in the 1960's and showed us the dome and telescope. I was not "into" astronomy then, but was amazed that there was an observatory dome on top of his house and amazed at the size of the telescope. My memory, vague after all these years, is that the scope had to be bigger than 6" in aperture, but I'm sure that's just a failure of memory.

I saw Joe again in the mid-1980's when he was in San Jose (where I had relocated) on business. We had dinner together, but we've had no contact since then.

It's tough to see the former Choate house looking so shabby.

[trainsktg]

Welcome, and thanks for the information. It is indeed a small world. How did you discover this particular thread, as I see this is your first post?

I hope to eventually see Mr. Choate himself here on CN telling his own personal stories with this telescope.

Keith

[kimballdog]

There was a reference to the thread in the Astromart forums. That the thread would refer to Joe Choate was a complete surprise.

I have posted rarely on Astromart, and never before here, even though I've browsed both sites frequently for several years.

What I think I remember about the scope was that it had a brass-like finish. Again, maybe a created memory. Also, that the scope was much bigger than six inches. In fact, my memory (imagination?) is that the finder scope must have been close to that big, with the main scope much bigger.

[JohnG]

I've been sitting here looking at the telescopes with admiration and awe. John Pons did an amazing job restoring the GOTO telescope. Even more amazing is how he obtained it. From the way it looks now John must have torn it down completely for the rebuild. A great accomplishment and a lot of history preserved. Let us hope that John and his fine telescopes will be around for a long time to come.

You guys living in Southern California are some of the most fortunate amateur astronomers in the world! By that I mean, it seems like that's where the majority of the old classics are located.

I can easily imagine a set-up like the Choate dome and the GOTO sitting on a mountain away from the lights and far above the smog and haze that marks so much of modern suburban living.

The only way I can end this is with a few words like...Astounding and Wonderful.

JohnG

[Dan /schechter]

It has been a blast following this thread. Please let me know when the next full moon star party is and if I am around, I would love to receive an invite. Dan

[Lew Chilton]

Here's a shot looking along the tube of John Pons' 10-inch Zeiss from his front yard. That's Jupiter to the left of the palm tree with Antares left below.

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[BHunt]

Know anybody who does palm tree removal?
Bill

[Glassthrower]

I can.

1 good climber with a harness and spikes.

1 good chainsaw.

1 good groundman.

1 hour.

[droid]

This is an excellant thread. I just found it during lunch at work.
I'm in love , eery time i see that telescope my heart goes pitter patter.....ok maybe its envy ...but in any case. more please.

[twhite]

I can.

1 good climber with a harness and spikes.

1 good chainsaw.

1 good groundman.

1 hour.

I'll be the groundman. Let's do it.

[Glassthrower]

I know a great climber. But I don't climb. I run the bobcat, chipper, stump grinder, and bucket truck. I chop, slice, dice, haul, lift and drive. But I don't climb higher than 10 feet into a tree!

I'll get on a roof, but I won't climb into a tree canopy.

There's a reason climbers get paid so much money.

[john D]

wow those are some great scopes!

[Ziggy943]

I know a great climber. But I don't climb. I run the bobcat, chipper, stump grinder, and bucket truck. I chop, slice, dice, haul, lift and drive. But I don't climb higher than 10 feet into a tree!

I'll get on a roof, but I won't climb into a tree canopy.

There's a reason climbers get paid so much money.

Not to worry. With a chain saw the tree will come to you

[BHunt]

Yep one came to my buddy. He has no more worries. Dangerous business.
Bill

[dbledsoe]

Lew,

This thread is incredible, no beautiful!. One of the finest I have ever read. You're like a walking history book of astronomy in So. Cal. I also note that you're featured in Robert Piekiel's E-Book, "Celestron The Early Years."

Thank you for sharing so much wonderful history and information with us here on CN Classics. We are indebted to you.

[Lew Chilton]

Here's a recent shot of John Pons with his 10-inch Zeiss. In 1979, John had Daystar custom build him a 0.42-inch aperture, 0.4 lamda 1/2-bandwith solar filter, seen here at the tailpiece.

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[Lew Chilton]

About 10 years ago, John cleaned and collimated the 30cm Carl Zeiss achromat at Griffth Observatory, a task he's done on a number of occasions over the years.

In this shot, you can see the tube straigtening rods behind the objective.

This telescope, built by Carl Zeiss Jena circa 1934 for the new Griffith Observatory being built in Los Angeles, almost didn't get delivered because of the Nazi government's export policies. Pons believes that the less than stellar performance of this achromat was intentional due to these policies.

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[Lew Chilton]

Here we see John replacing the 30cm Zeiss achromat after its cleaning and re-spacing. Note the dew shield on the stool in the background.

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[Lew Chilton]

Here we see John squaring the Carl Zeiss Jena 30cm f/16 achromat with an auto-collimator of his design.

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[Lew Chilton]

Saturday, September 15, 2007 found John Pons taking down his 10-inch Zeiss and 6-inch Goto refractors for the season and storing the components in his garage. And he did it by himself! (Now you know why he's so muscular.)

John says he's getting too old for this and wonders how long he can continue doing it. It's at times like these that he wonders if he should sell the Goto.

In the accompanying picture, John is getting ready to apply a coat of paste Wax to the powder coated tube.

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[BHunt]

Looks like John could do this for several more years.
Bill

[Bonco]

Lew, These pictures are priceless. Please pass on to Jon that he has tremendous respect from classic enthusiasts around the world. Bonco

[Lew Chilton]

Hi Bonco,

I think John (not Jon - I asked him) is enjoying the notoriety he's getting from my thread and the ones posted by Caveman. For all of John's tech-savviness, it's confined mostly to telescope design and construction, audio sound systems and electrical theory. (He rebuilt my old 1965 Fisher vacuum tube multiplex receiver to better than new condition. I ditched my solid state Technics receiver.)

Somehow, he's managed to steer clear of computers and won't have anything to do with them. He hadn't seen the pictures of himself or his telescopes on this forum until I brought him to my house about a month ago and showed them to him. I could tell he was really tickled about the publicity but insists that the facts be told accurately.

More to come!

Lew

[Bonco]

Thanks Lew, I hope John knows his preservation of these classics is appreciated. Likely he's doing it out of love and dedication and not too concerned about who's looking. Reguardless let him know he has become a hero for many of us interested in these wonderful scopes. He too is a "Classic". Bonco