4343 replies to this topic

[Michael Covington]

 

 

p.s. Someone really needs to make a tool with the same characteristics of a finger nail (My hands hurt while I'm typing this). Maybe a hard nylon rounded scraper? 

 

Plastic spudger, used in cell phone repair.  Deliberately not hard enough to scratch things.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071JXDJWT
 

Wooden sticks used by people who paint fingernails.

[Augustus]

Got home and put the C8 on the triangle tripod and wedge. The setup is actually quite light now - moveable in one piece - unlike the old Wedgepod.

 

DEC drive arrives Tuesday and I still need one of those orange 50mm finderscopes.....

 

[clamchip]

I once weighed the difference between sand-cast and later die-cast:

 

Sand-cast tripod 11-1/2 lbs

''        "   telescope 25 lbs

 

Die-cast tripod 8-1/2 lbs

"        "    telescope 19-1/2 lbs

 

8-1/2 lb difference

 

Robert

[Augustus]

I once weighed the difference between sand-cast and later die-cast:

 

Sand-cast tripod 11-1/2 lbs

''        "   telescope 25 lbs

 

Die-cast tripod 8-1/2 lbs

"        "    telescope 19-1/2 lbs

 

8-1/2 lb difference

 

Robert

It's a die-cast tripod, but it seems stable enough and I don't know how long I'd be searching for a sandcast tripod. I'm happy.

[Vesper818]

How ya feeling, Zane?

[Augustus]

How ya feeling, Zane?

Better, although getting back home has been a nightmare.

[mic1970]

I broke down a broke 90mm Mak to salvage the mirror.  I'm new to ATM.  I thought I could use it for a newt, but found out I will have to grind it down.  That is ok, been wanting to try that out. 

 

PS.... anyone have a thread on taking the mirror off a blank?

[photoracer18]

Yeah I have owned 4 Losmandy mounts and I like them, but I have turned into a retro lover since I have gotten older. Simple and accurate is what I like now. I have owned three A-P mounts all pre-goto. I used to like looking at the AP706 Marty had under his 8" AP scope at Company 7 years ago.

Well finally found someone who wanted to sell me an Accutrack #2118A dual axis drive corrector. Should be the right one for the Schaefer mount as both have a kind of DIN type connector on the DEC cables. And while I am at it I decided to go ahead and start repairing the ones I can fix, depending on parts (mostly Vogel Digitraks).

Anyone with a single axis mount scope like an RV-6/8 or early smaller Meade RG mount scopes without the tangent arm DEC I have, I think, 3 single axis drive correctors that have Lunar, Solar, and sidereal rate switches plus fast/slow buttons that I can probably sell off. These correctors run off DC so they will allow the RA drive to work in the field off any DC power source. One also has an AC drive cable and a 2 button remote handset. One of these would have been perfect back in 1963 when I had an RV-6. I added a manual tangent arm DEC to mine but would have loved to have had a Lunar rate drive corrector in the RA when I was doing lunar imaging.

[Vesper818]

First rainless day in a month. I'm out in the sunshine, emptying rainwater out of pots, and pulling up old outdoor carpet in observatory area to make room for some improvements...

[Garyth64]

I broke down a broke 90mm Mak to salvage the mirror.  I'm new to ATM.  I thought I could use it for a newt, but found out I will have to grind it down.  That is ok, been wanting to try that out. 

 

PS.... anyone have a thread on taking the mirror off a blank?

Sure you could strip off the old coating, and change the fl. of the mirror, but for almost the same amount of energy and time, you could do a 4¼" or a 6" mirror.

[mic1970]

Yea... I'm torn.  I have scopes, so I just want a small long focal length newt for moon and planets; more fun then practical.  At F12-15, need to keep it short enough not to become a sail.  So debating mirror to length.  I got exited until I realized on another thread I was being a dumbarse thinking I could use this mirror.  Not a total loss, I have much better understanding of how a mak works.   

Sure you could strip off the old coating, and change the fl. of the mirror, but for almost the same amount of energy and time, you could do a 4¼" or a 6" mirror.

[CHASLX200]

I've always used a red-dot to get me in the neighborhood, and a RACI with a higher-than-normal mag EP - which of course means a smaller FOV - to find my target - and anything as bright as a Messier shows up at least a bit, so it puts me right in line for the big scope. 

The Telrad and finder work good together.

[Marc-Andre]

I received a Tower (early sears) #6335 in November 2016.  Finally started the clean-up yesterday.  This may take a while. I also have an extra set of the finder rings from a salvaged and parted 6339 OTA.  I experimented and discovered that they would hold my 1958 Monolux 40mm f20 OTA. 

 

Pieces cleaned.

 

 

2016 photos.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bomber Bob]

Lens Cleaning - Peroxide Soak

 

 

I'm working on the lens from a Tasco 7TE-5 that belongs to a fellow CN member.  It had spider mold on all 4 surfaces, so after the first wash, I'll soak it overnight in hydrogen peroxide.  It won't undo any etching to the coatings and/or glass, but it'll kill the wee leedle beasties, and stop them from spreading.  The red marks on the edge are where I mark the original spacer positions -- in case they come off in the bath!

 

Definitely a Royal lens:  It had an edge alignment mark similar to my Lafayette Galactic.

[Marc-Andre]

Lens Cleaning - Peroxide Soak

 

Tasco 7TE5 Lens S05 (Peroxide Soak).jpg

 

I'm working on the lens from a Tasco 7TE-5 that belongs to a fellow CN member.  It had spider mold on all 4 surfaces, so after the first wash, I'll soak it overnight in hydrogen peroxide.  It won't undo any etching to the coatings and/or glass, but it'll kill the wee leedle beasties, and stop them from spreading.  The red marks on the edge are where I mark the original spacer positions -- in case they come off in the bath!

 

Definitely a Royal lens:  It had an edge alignment mark similar to my Lafayette Galactic.

Are you using the 3% antiseptic?

[Bomber Bob]

It's the 6% solution, but I dilute it with water down to about 4%.

 

Just checked the tub.  After 2 hours, the organisms are gone; but, I can still see their "outlines" in the coatings.  Both inner faces (R2 & R3) were the worst, and that's where the shadows are...

Edited by Bomber Bob, 19 February 2019 - 10:07 PM.

[Bomber Bob]

After a rinse this morning, the ghosts are very faint, and shouldn't hurt the views.  No damage to the glass, and that's a good thing.

 

I plan on running the lens through my DPAC rig tomorrow night.  If it's like all the other Royal Astro achromats I've tested, I'll see thin, black, ramrod straight bars.

 

(It's tough to get decent pix of the mold & such, even when the elements are apart, and I have light reflecting off of each.)

[terraclarke]

A non-astro restoration hobby of mine is restoring vintage kerosene lamps, and an old toothbrush and some toothpaste cuts right through the crud.   The toothpaste is very mildly abrasive, and speeds the process along.  Baking powder works, too, and some comet-type tub and sink powder is even more abrasively powerful, but has some tendency to produce a mat finish instead of a shine.  All need a way to rinse them off, though, and usually I scrub while rinsing.
some hardware stores sell miniature wire brushes with brass bristles in a couple of stiffnesses, that get right into threads.
a set of cheap dentists' picks also usually has a couple of hook-things and a couple of flatter-blade scraper tools.  They are real handy for getting into tight corners.

And you’ll be all set when the big EMP hits around election time!

[licata]

I cleaned up the second of three Edmund Scientific mounts. Pic is yesterday's.

Topic Here:

https://www.cloudyni...museum-project/

 

Tony

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by licata, 20 February 2019 - 05:11 PM.

[roscoe]

And you’ll be all set when the big EMP hits around election time!

or next time there's a windstorm, like a few weeks ago, which took out power to most of the area for 9 hours here....

 

PS...for real fun, google 'starfish prime'   I, compliments of the USCG, spent 14 months on Sand Island, Johnston Atoll (LORAN navigational radio station) in 1969-70.

 

Read both the Wikipedia and Discover mag links.....

 

I can tell you lots more..... but not on a public forum.....  Maybe at Stellafane.....

Edited by roscoe, 20 February 2019 - 06:30 PM.

[Bomber Bob]

A clean Royal jewel:

 

 

Andy Warhol version to show a bit of the Newton Rings:

 

 

Like every other Royal Astro lens I've tested, this Tasco has a perfectly symmetrical pattern.

[Bomber Bob]

Goto + Edmund??

 

This weekend I'm gonna test the Goto 106 EQ on the Edmund 4's wood tripod:

 

 

My 451 has a fixed-height tripod, and I really like that set up for carrying heavy loads.  If it works, I'll redo the legs like the Eagle tripod I use with a Polaris -- same chrome chain, and same Minwax "Gunstock" stain:

 

 

Has anyone put waterproof tips on these Edmund tripods?  I'm gonna look into that to protect the 60+ year old wood.

Edited by Bomber Bob, 20 February 2019 - 08:43 PM.

[Kasmos]

I've been making objective dust caps.

The slightly smaller black one is for the cell when stored in the box.

The work in progress is obviously for the dew shield. 

One of my pet peeves are telescopes that store without their dew shields and no lens cap is provided.

Counting this one, I have four like that.

I'll explain my secret exotic composite technique sometime in the Soligor thread.

The Rustoleum semi-gloss black sprayed so nice it got me thinking of restoring a couple of the eyepieces from the Penncrest,

but now I might paint them different colors like the ones from Sears. 

I'll probably never use these, but I want the kit to be complete.

[mic1970]

I day dreamed about my desktop pipe mount while stuck in my cubical for 10 hours. 

[TOM KIEHL]

I've been making objective dust caps.

I'll explain my secret exotic composite technique sometime in the Soligor thread.