From: owner-utah-astronomy-digest@lists.xmission.com (utah-astronomy-digest) To: utah-astronomy-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: utah-astronomy-digest V1 #64 Reply-To: utah-astronomy-digest Sender: owner-utah-astronomy-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-utah-astronomy-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk utah-astronomy-digest Monday, October 15 2001 Volume 01 : Number 064 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 13 Oct 2001 21:51:22 -0600 From: "Larry Frisk" Subject: Re: (utah-astronomy) Aurora monitor Hay Chuck, What would happen if you left the wine in the bottle or replaced the wine with water or alcohol? Kind of a viscous dampening to reduce the sensitivity of unwanted movement. Would that kill the detector? Larry - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck Hards" To: Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2001 9:07 AM Subject: (utah-astronomy) Aurora monitor > The "Aurora Detector" is detailed in the October 89 > issue of Sky & Telescope. > > Basically it's just a simple magnetometer. I built a > quick-and-dirty version last night, and came up with > the following suggestions: > > 1: The author of the original article is Ron J. > Livesey, who was (and may still be) the head of the > BAA's aurora section. He recommends using a round, > glass jar with a plastic lid. I found an old > mayonnaise jar, which proved unsatisfactory due to too > much optical distortion when projecting the light beam > through the glass. Also the lid was made of steel, > which is unsatisfactory. Much better was a Corbet > Canyon (White Zinfandel) wine bottle, which has square > sides with much less optical distortion. I used a > spray-paint cap with a small hole drilled in the > center for the thread that the magnet is suspended > from. The slightly taller wine bottle allowed a > longer thread; the longer the thread, the less the > magnet has to fight torque resistance in-use. Short > of making a housing from clear plexiglass, I think the > wine bottle is good enough optically. > > 2: I used a very strong, small, rare-earth magnet, > with a first-surface mirror superglued to it's top. > The mirror is actually the aluminized hypoteneuse of a > small prism, about 20mm long. I glued it upright to > the magnet, then superglued the thread to the top of > the prism. When suspended, it hung level, so I must > have placed the thread close to the center of gravity > of the prism/magnet combination. The author suggests > nylon thread, but I used some very thin cotton thread, > red for visibility, and it seemed to work well, > although damping time after an adjustment took at > least 40 minutes. Rigging up a plastic rod that > steadies the assembly and can be dropped away easily > will reduce damping time. Perhaps thin nylon thread > would take less damping time, but it may reduce > sensitivity, too. Experiment. > > 3: Placing the entire jar on a pad of Sorbothane > seemed to reduce damping time by about ten minutes. > > 4: I used a mini-mag light for a light source, with > black tape fixed over the lens to form a slit. This > was aimed at the mirror, and the reflection was picked > up on a white card with repeating, periodic lines > drawn on it. A light source powered by house current > is better, since you must either leave the light on > for hours, or rig up a momentary switch that doesn't > touch the rest of the assembly. Any bumps, even the > slightest touch, sends the pendulum swinging again, > and you have to wait for it to dampen again. I think > a low-powered laser might be the best bet, since even > the bright maglight was dimmed considerably by the > double-pass through glass, the reflection, and the > slit. I had to view it in a darkened room. > > 5: You MUST set this up in a location where it can't > pick up vibration through floors. Also, set it up > away from metallic objects, unless those objects never > move in relation to the magnetometer. Magnetic fields > are much more pervasive than I thought; my magnet > collection eight feet away was enough to offset the > "zero" position of the device. > > 6: See the article for calibration instructions, and > how to chart your data. The author also touched on > photocells and ways to make your data digital. > > 7: This device is SENSITIVE! Just walking by it at a > distance of several feet, with nothing more than my > keys in my pocket, it began to move slightly. I am > positive that auroral activity will be detected. > > If I can make next weeks SLAS meeting, I'll bring my > humble prototype to show anyone interested. > > BTW, this thing works even in daylight, and will > detect changes in the earth's magnetic field that are > too weak to produce an aurora. My guess is that if I > had this thing working last spring when we saw the > "BIG SHOW", it would have been fairly spinning! > > More good news is that auroras tend to be more common > in the declining years after solar max, so maybe we > haven't seen nothin' yet! > > If anyone else makes one of these, please let us know > how it works, and how you made it. > > Chuck > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > NEW from Yahoo! GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting, just $8.95/month. > http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1 > > - > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. > - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 07:40:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Chuck Hards Subject: Re: (utah-astronomy) Aurora monitor Hi Larry: The unwanted movement is only a result of set-up. Once set-up correctly, and the damping dies down, it is no longer a problem. I'm not sure what the effect of leaving the liquid in the bottle would be. The key is to find a place that is free of artificial magnetic fields, and once set-up, leave it alone. I noticed a 3.5mm deflection Friday night, but there is a good chance that my daughter bumped it, so I still can't say for sure if I noticed any true activity. Chuck - --- Larry Frisk wrote: > Hay Chuck, > > What would happen if you left the wine in the bottle > or replaced the wine > with water or alcohol? > Kind of a viscous dampening to reduce the > sensitivity of unwanted movement. > Would that kill the detector? > > Larry > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Chuck Hards" > To: > Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2001 9:07 AM > Subject: (utah-astronomy) Aurora monitor > > > > The "Aurora Detector" is detailed in the October > 89 > > issue of Sky & Telescope. > > > > Basically it's just a simple magnetometer. I > built a > > quick-and-dirty version last night, and came up > with > > the following suggestions: > > > > 1: The author of the original article is Ron J. > > Livesey, who was (and may still be) the head of > the > > BAA's aurora section. He recommends using a > round, > > glass jar with a plastic lid. I found an old > > mayonnaise jar, which proved unsatisfactory due to > too > > much optical distortion when projecting the light > beam > > through the glass. Also the lid was made of > steel, > > which is unsatisfactory. Much better was a Corbet > > Canyon (White Zinfandel) wine bottle, which has > square > > sides with much less optical distortion. I used a > > spray-paint cap with a small hole drilled in the > > center for the thread that the magnet is suspended > > from. The slightly taller wine bottle allowed a > > longer thread; the longer the thread, the less the > > magnet has to fight torque resistance in-use. > Short > > of making a housing from clear plexiglass, I think > the > > wine bottle is good enough optically. > > > > 2: I used a very strong, small, rare-earth > magnet, > > with a first-surface mirror superglued to it's > top. > > The mirror is actually the aluminized hypoteneuse > of a > > small prism, about 20mm long. I glued it upright > to > > the magnet, then superglued the thread to the top > of > > the prism. When suspended, it hung level, so I > must > > have placed the thread close to the center of > gravity > > of the prism/magnet combination. The author > suggests > > nylon thread, but I used some very thin cotton > thread, > > red for visibility, and it seemed to work well, > > although damping time after an adjustment took at > > least 40 minutes. Rigging up a plastic rod that > > steadies the assembly and can be dropped away > easily > > will reduce damping time. Perhaps thin nylon > thread > > would take less damping time, but it may reduce > > sensitivity, too. Experiment. > > > > 3: Placing the entire jar on a pad of Sorbothane > > seemed to reduce damping time by about ten > minutes. > > > > 4: I used a mini-mag light for a light source, > with > > black tape fixed over the lens to form a slit. > This > > was aimed at the mirror, and the reflection was > picked > > up on a white card with repeating, periodic lines > > drawn on it. A light source powered by house > current > > is better, since you must either leave the light > on > > for hours, or rig up a momentary switch that > doesn't > > touch the rest of the assembly. Any bumps, even > the > > slightest touch, sends the pendulum swinging > again, > > and you have to wait for it to dampen again. I > think > > a low-powered laser might be the best bet, since > even > > the bright maglight was dimmed considerably by the > > double-pass through glass, the reflection, and the > > slit. I had to view it in a darkened room. > > > > 5: You MUST set this up in a location where it > can't > > pick up vibration through floors. Also, set it up > > away from metallic objects, unless those objects > never > > move in relation to the magnetometer. Magnetic > fields > > are much more pervasive than I thought; my magnet > > collection eight feet away was enough to offset > the > > "zero" position of the device. > > > > 6: See the article for calibration instructions, > and > > how to chart your data. The author also touched > on > > photocells and ways to make your data digital. > > > > 7: This device is SENSITIVE! Just walking by it > at a > > distance of several feet, with nothing more than > my > > keys in my pocket, it began to move slightly. I > am > > positive that auroral activity will be detected. > > > > If I can make next weeks SLAS meeting, I'll bring > my > > humble prototype to show anyone interested. > > > > BTW, this thing works even in daylight, and will > > detect changes in the earth's magnetic field that > are > > too weak to produce an aurora. My guess is that > if I > > had this thing working last spring when we saw the > > "BIG SHOW", it would have been fairly spinning! > > > > More good news is that auroras tend to be more > common > > in the declining years after solar max, so maybe > we > > haven't seen nothin' yet! > > > > If anyone else makes one of these, please let us > know > > how it works, and how you made it. > > > > Chuck > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > NEW from Yahoo! GeoCities - quick and easy web > site hosting, just > $8.95/month. > > http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1 > > > > - > > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > to > "majordomo@xmission.com" > > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > the message. > > > > > > - > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > to "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > the message. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 09:08:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Chuck Hards Subject: (utah-astronomy) 11 x 70's vs. 15 x 70's Friday night my wife, daughter and I drove up to Little Mountain for a little binocular astronomy, and milkshakes along the way. I brought along both the 15 x 70 & 11 x 70 binos for a showdown. It wasn't much of a battle. Both gave great images, bright and clear, however the 11x magnification was a bit low for most of the objects I looked at (I had been warned...). The apparent field is much smaller on the 11x binos, although the true field is a tad larger. I was able to knock down the objects with both models in rapid succession, M31, the Double cluster, M2, M15, M13, Pleiades, M11, M33, etc. While all were visible in the 11x binos (except perhaps M57, which was only a dot if you knew exactly where to look), they came alive in the 15x binos. M31 was magnificent. M33 was just a smudge in the 11x binos, but I detected a hint of spiral arms in the 15x. Contrast was much better in the 15x, and the eye relief was superior to the 11x binos. M2, M15, and M13 were little piles of diamonds in the 15x binos, mere fluffs in the 11x. After the inital comparisons, I found myself sticking with the 15x models for the rest of the session, and wishing I had a parallelogram mount with me, since my wife and daughter are both shorter than I, it would have saved me from having to re-aim for each observer. That said, the 11x models may have their place. The North American nebula was invisible in the 15x binos, but just detectable in the 11X. The award for the evening, though, has to go to the 15x "Bear" brand binos. For the price (~$90) they provided fantastic views. WIDE field, great eye relief, good contrast, no spurious color detected. The 11x binos are now officailly for sale. I'll take the first seventy bucks that comes along. If you are a young person with pupils that fully dilate, these would be better for you than me. We saw no hint of an aurora while there. Temperatures were not too bad, but the wind was incessant. A large instrument would have had the shakes. The binos were unaffected. Chuck __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 10:37:57 -0600 From: Joe Borgione Subject: Re: (utah-astronomy) 11 x 70's vs. 15 x 70's Chuck , et al- Thanks for the report; the 15 x 70's are still available for $89.97 under order # JX1M - 41249. Maybe it's high time I buy a pair. I bagged friday night for observing; it looked cloudy to me, but had a good night out at the gravel pit on Saturday night. Hoped for an aurora, but didn't see any; last October I saw the aurora from there. If this friday is clear, I'll be out somewhere.... Joe Borgione - ------------------- > Friday night my wife, daughter and I drove up to > Little Mountain for a little binocular astronomy, and > milkshakes along the way. I brought along both the 15 > x 70 & 11 x 70 binos for a showdown. > > It wasn't much of a battle. Both gave great images, > bright and clear, however the 11x magnification was a > bit low for most of the objects I looked at (I had > been warned...). The apparent field is much smaller > on the 11x binos, although the true field is a tad > larger. I was able to knock down the objects with > both models in rapid succession, M31, the Double > cluster, M2, M15, M13, Pleiades, M11, M33, etc. > > While all were visible in the 11x binos (except > perhaps M57, which was only a dot if you knew exactly > where to look), they came alive in the 15x binos. M31 > was magnificent. M33 was just a smudge in the 11x > binos, but I detected a hint of spiral arms in the > 15x. Contrast was much better in the 15x, and the eye > relief was superior to the 11x binos. M2, M15, and > M13 were little piles of diamonds in the 15x binos, > mere fluffs in the 11x. > > After the inital comparisons, I found myself sticking > with the 15x models for the rest of the session, and > wishing I had a parallelogram mount with me, since my > wife and daughter are both shorter than I, it would > have saved me from having to re-aim for each observer. > > That said, the 11x models may have their place. The > North American nebula was invisible in the 15x binos, > but just detectable in the 11X. > > The award for the evening, though, has to go to the > 15x "Bear" brand binos. For the price (~$90) they > provided fantastic views. WIDE field, great eye > relief, good contrast, no spurious color detected. > > The 11x binos are now officailly for sale. I'll take > the first seventy bucks that comes along. If you are > a young person with pupils that fully dilate, these > would be better for you than me. > > We saw no hint of an aurora while there. Temperatures > were not too bad, but the wind was incessant. A large > instrument would have had the shakes. The binos were > unaffected. > > Chuck > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. > http://personals.yahoo.com > > - > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. > - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 09:41:26 -0700 (PDT) From: Chuck Hards Subject: Re: (utah-astronomy) 11 x 70's vs. 15 x 70's Get 'em while you can, Joe. At least six locals have picked up these binos, and not one has expressed anything but satisfaction with them. Roger Butz, Bruce Grim, and I THINK Gary Liptrot bought them, as well as myself. Anybody who bought the 15 x 70's and used them, please post your impressions. C. - --- Joe Borgione wrote: > Chuck , et al- > > Thanks for the report; the 15 x 70's are still > available for $89.97 > under order # JX1M - 41249. Maybe it's high time I > buy a pair. > > I bagged friday night for observing; it looked > cloudy to me, but had a > good night out at the gravel pit on Saturday night. > Hoped for an > aurora, but didn't see any; last October I saw the > aurora from there. > > If this friday is clear, I'll be out somewhere.... > > Joe Borgione > > ------------------- > > Friday night my wife, daughter and I drove up to > > Little Mountain for a little binocular astronomy, > and > > milkshakes along the way. I brought along both > the 15 > > x 70 & 11 x 70 binos for a showdown. > > > > It wasn't much of a battle. Both gave great > images, > > bright and clear, however the 11x magnification > was a > > bit low for most of the objects I looked at (I had > > been warned...). The apparent field is much > smaller > > on the 11x binos, although the true field is a tad > > larger. I was able to knock down the objects with > > both models in rapid succession, M31, the Double > > cluster, M2, M15, M13, Pleiades, M11, M33, etc. > > > > While all were visible in the 11x binos (except > > perhaps M57, which was only a dot if you knew > exactly > > where to look), they came alive in the 15x binos. > M31 > > was magnificent. M33 was just a smudge in the 11x > > binos, but I detected a hint of spiral arms in the > > 15x. Contrast was much better in the 15x, and the > eye > > relief was superior to the 11x binos. M2, M15, > and > > M13 were little piles of diamonds in the 15x > binos, > > mere fluffs in the 11x. > > > > After the inital comparisons, I found myself > sticking > > with the 15x models for the rest of the session, > and > > wishing I had a parallelogram mount with me, since > my > > wife and daughter are both shorter than I, it > would > > have saved me from having to re-aim for each > observer. > > > > That said, the 11x models may have their place. > The > > North American nebula was invisible in the 15x > binos, > > but just detectable in the 11X. > > > > The award for the evening, though, has to go to > the > > 15x "Bear" brand binos. For the price (~$90) they > > provided fantastic views. WIDE field, great eye > > relief, good contrast, no spurious color detected. > > > > The 11x binos are now officailly for sale. I'll > take > > the first seventy bucks that comes along. If you > are > > a young person with pupils that fully dilate, > these > > would be better for you than me. > > > > We saw no hint of an aurora while there. > Temperatures > > were not too bad, but the wind was incessant. A > large > > instrument would have had the shakes. The binos > were > > unaffected. > > > > Chuck > > > > __________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. > > http://personals.yahoo.com > > > > - > > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > to > "majordomo@xmission.com" > > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > the message. > > > > - > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > to "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > the message. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 11:43:01 -0600 From: Patrick Wiggins Subject: (utah-astronomy) Re: 15 x 70's Hi Chuck, Are the 15x70s built such that they could be divided into two monoculars? I'm thinking finder scopes. Patrick :-) Chuck Hards wrote: > > Friday night my wife, daughter and I drove up to > Little Mountain for a little binocular astronomy, and > milkshakes along the way. I brought along both the 15 > x 70 & 11 x 70 binos for a showdown. - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 10:59:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Chuck Hards Subject: Re: (utah-astronomy) Re: 15 x 70's Yes and no. They CAN be separated, but since it is a center-focus (CF) bino, when split, the eyepiece on the left side would no longer have a focusing mechanism. Only Individual Focus (IF) binos can be split into 2 working monoculars. Chuck - --- Patrick Wiggins wrote: > Hi Chuck, > > Are the 15x70s built such that they could be divided > into two monoculars? I'm > thinking finder scopes. > > Patrick :-) > > Chuck Hards wrote: > > > > Friday night my wife, daughter and I drove up to > > Little Mountain for a little binocular astronomy, > and > > milkshakes along the way. I brought along both > the 15 > > x 70 & 11 x 70 binos for a showdown. > > - > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > to "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > the message. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 12:21:22 -0600 From: Joe Borgione Subject: Re: (utah-astronomy) 11 x 70's vs. 15 x 70's I just ordered a pair of the 15 x 70's. As luck would have it though they are on back order until Nov 1, so the guy taking the order sez I should have them about 2 weeks after that. Maybe just in time for the November new moon! The good news is that they are only listed at the $89.97 price instead of the $99.00 price that was around a couple of weeks ago... Joe Borgione - ------------------- > Get 'em while you can, Joe. At least six locals have > picked up these binos, and not one has expressed > anything but satisfaction with them. > > Roger Butz, Bruce Grim, and I THINK Gary Liptrot > bought them, as well as myself. > > Anybody who bought the 15 x 70's and used them, please > post your impressions. > > C. > - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 12:33:34 -0700 (PDT) From: Jim Stitley Subject: Re: (utah-astronomy) 11 x 70's vs. 15 x 70's I bought a pair and am VERY pleased with the quality for the price. With the rubberized coating and the hinge close to the nose, if you hold then near the onjectives, you will be surprised at how steady the image is at 15X. the view of M-42 was GREAT! Can't beat thme for the price. Jim - --- Chuck Hards wrote: > Get 'em while you can, Joe. At least six locals have > picked up these binos, and not one has expressed > anything but satisfaction with them. > > Roger Butz, Bruce Grim, and I THINK Gary Liptrot > bought them, as well as myself. > > Anybody who bought the 15 x 70's and used them, please > post your impressions. > > C. > > > --- Joe Borgione wrote: > > Chuck , et al- > > > > Thanks for the report; the 15 x 70's are still > > available for $89.97 > > under order # JX1M - 41249. Maybe it's high time I > > buy a pair. > > > > I bagged friday night for observing; it looked > > cloudy to me, but had a > > good night out at the gravel pit on Saturday night. > > Hoped for an > > aurora, but didn't see any; last October I saw the > > aurora from there. > > > > If this friday is clear, I'll be out somewhere.... > > > > Joe Borgione > > > > ------------------- > > > Friday night my wife, daughter and I drove up to > > > Little Mountain for a little binocular astronomy, > > and > > > milkshakes along the way. I brought along both > > the 15 > > > x 70 & 11 x 70 binos for a showdown. > > > > > > It wasn't much of a battle. Both gave great > > images, > > > bright and clear, however the 11x magnification > > was a > > > bit low for most of the objects I looked at (I had > > > been warned...). The apparent field is much > > smaller > > > on the 11x binos, although the true field is a tad > > > larger. I was able to knock down the objects with > > > both models in rapid succession, M31, the Double > > > cluster, M2, M15, M13, Pleiades, M11, M33, etc. > > > > > > While all were visible in the 11x binos (except > > > perhaps M57, which was only a dot if you knew > > exactly > > > where to look), they came alive in the 15x binos. > > M31 > > > was magnificent. M33 was just a smudge in the 11x > > > binos, but I detected a hint of spiral arms in the > > > 15x. Contrast was much better in the 15x, and the > > eye > > > relief was superior to the 11x binos. M2, M15, > > and > > > M13 were little piles of diamonds in the 15x > > binos, > > > mere fluffs in the 11x. > > > > > > After the inital comparisons, I found myself > > sticking > > > with the 15x models for the rest of the session, > > and > > > wishing I had a parallelogram mount with me, since > > my > > > wife and daughter are both shorter than I, it > > would > > > have saved me from having to re-aim for each > > observer. > > > > > > That said, the 11x models may have their place. > > The > > > North American nebula was invisible in the 15x > > binos, > > > but just detectable in the 11X. > > > > > > The award for the evening, though, has to go to > > the > > > 15x "Bear" brand binos. For the price (~$90) they > > > provided fantastic views. WIDE field, great eye > > > relief, good contrast, no spurious color detected. > > > > > > The 11x binos are now officailly for sale. I'll > > take > > > the first seventy bucks that comes along. If you > > are > > > a young person with pupils that fully dilate, > > these > > > would be better for you than me. > > > > > > We saw no hint of an aurora while there. > > Temperatures > > > were not too bad, but the wind was incessant. A > > large > > > instrument would have had the shakes. The binos > > were > > > unaffected. > > > > > > Chuck > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. > > > http://personals.yahoo.com > > > > > > - > > > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > > > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > > > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > > to > > "majordomo@xmission.com" > > > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > > the message. > > > > > > > - > > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > > to "majordomo@xmission.com" > > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > > the message. > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. > http://personals.yahoo.com > > - > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to > "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 13:38:07 -0600 From: David Dunn Subject: RE: (utah-astronomy) 11 x 70's vs. 15 x 70's I bought 6 pairs of them for myself and 5 other OAS members. Everyone seems to be enjoying them. I built sun filters for them and used them last Christmas for the eclipse. - -----Original Message----- From: Jim Stitley [mailto:sitf2000@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, October 15, 2001 1:34 PM To: utah-astronomy@lists.xmission.com Subject: Re: (utah-astronomy) 11 x 70's vs. 15 x 70's I bought a pair and am VERY pleased with the quality for the price. With the rubberized coating and the hinge close to the nose, if you hold then near the onjectives, you will be surprised at how steady the image is at 15X. the view of M-42 was GREAT! Can't beat thme for the price. Jim - --- Chuck Hards wrote: > Get 'em while you can, Joe. At least six locals have > picked up these binos, and not one has expressed > anything but satisfaction with them. > > Roger Butz, Bruce Grim, and I THINK Gary Liptrot > bought them, as well as myself. > > Anybody who bought the 15 x 70's and used them, please > post your impressions. > > C. > > > --- Joe Borgione wrote: > > Chuck , et al- > > > > Thanks for the report; the 15 x 70's are still > > available for $89.97 > > under order # JX1M - 41249. Maybe it's high time I > > buy a pair. > > > > I bagged friday night for observing; it looked > > cloudy to me, but had a > > good night out at the gravel pit on Saturday night. > > Hoped for an > > aurora, but didn't see any; last October I saw the > > aurora from there. > > > > If this friday is clear, I'll be out somewhere.... > > > > Joe Borgione > > > > ------------------- > > > Friday night my wife, daughter and I drove up to > > > Little Mountain for a little binocular astronomy, > > and > > > milkshakes along the way. I brought along both > > the 15 > > > x 70 & 11 x 70 binos for a showdown. > > > > > > It wasn't much of a battle. Both gave great > > images, > > > bright and clear, however the 11x magnification > > was a > > > bit low for most of the objects I looked at (I had > > > been warned...). The apparent field is much > > smaller > > > on the 11x binos, although the true field is a tad > > > larger. I was able to knock down the objects with > > > both models in rapid succession, M31, the Double > > > cluster, M2, M15, M13, Pleiades, M11, M33, etc. > > > > > > While all were visible in the 11x binos (except > > > perhaps M57, which was only a dot if you knew > > exactly > > > where to look), they came alive in the 15x binos. > > M31 > > > was magnificent. M33 was just a smudge in the 11x > > > binos, but I detected a hint of spiral arms in the > > > 15x. Contrast was much better in the 15x, and the > > eye > > > relief was superior to the 11x binos. M2, M15, > > and > > > M13 were little piles of diamonds in the 15x > > binos, > > > mere fluffs in the 11x. > > > > > > After the inital comparisons, I found myself > > sticking > > > with the 15x models for the rest of the session, > > and > > > wishing I had a parallelogram mount with me, since > > my > > > wife and daughter are both shorter than I, it > > would > > > have saved me from having to re-aim for each > > observer. > > > > > > That said, the 11x models may have their place. > > The > > > North American nebula was invisible in the 15x > > binos, > > > but just detectable in the 11X. > > > > > > The award for the evening, though, has to go to > > the > > > 15x "Bear" brand binos. For the price (~$90) they > > > provided fantastic views. WIDE field, great eye > > > relief, good contrast, no spurious color detected. > > > > > > The 11x binos are now officailly for sale. I'll > > take > > > the first seventy bucks that comes along. If you > > are > > > a young person with pupils that fully dilate, > > these > > > would be better for you than me. > > > > > > We saw no hint of an aurora while there. > > Temperatures > > > were not too bad, but the wind was incessant. A > > large > > > instrument would have had the shakes. The binos > > were > > > unaffected. > > > > > > Chuck > > > > > > __________________________________________________ > > > Do You Yahoo!? > > > Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. > > > http://personals.yahoo.com > > > > > > - > > > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > > > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > > > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > > to > > "majordomo@xmission.com" > > > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > > the message. > > > > > > > - > > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email > > to "majordomo@xmission.com" > > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of > > the message. > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. > http://personals.yahoo.com > > - > Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: > http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy > To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to > "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 20:35:57 -0600 From: Joe Borgione Subject: (utah-astronomy) Dobs Mount Problem I'm experiencing a problem with my dobs mount, and I wonder if someone can shed some light on it. My trusty 8" Celestron is very sticky between the two platters, and I can't seem to find a remedy. Despite several cleanings it's been getting worse through the summer, and this past week end it was just unbearable; instead of the mount spinning as it should, the whole thing spun on the gravel. Fine adjustments turn into shoving matches; I can't track and object to save my life! As mentioned, I've taken it apart and cleaned all the surfaces, which has taken care of the problem when it's happened before. Yesterday I put three plastic milk bottle shims between the two platters at the pivot bolt, but that dosen't seem to help either. Maybe I need more? I've also noticed that the bushing that holds the pivot bolt in place is considerably longer than the platter is thick. Consequently, in tightening the bolt down, the bushing has left a slight depression in the surface material of the lower platter. I was hoping the shims would take of that, but they don't provide any appreciable effect. A year or two ago, I replaced the bearings with some new teflon (Chuck, the material I bought it from you...) and now I wonder if maybe that is what I ought to do again. I 'milled' down the teflon to about 1/8" thick; is there an optimal thickness I should try? Any advice is appreciated; it's new moon week, and a guy just shouldn't be without his telescope... Thanks- Joe Borgione - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 20:42:22 -0600 From: Patrick Wiggins Subject: (utah-astronomy) Orion eyepieces Our new bookstore manager is still wanting to stock eyepieces. After a recent discussion on the subject here I tried contacting Hands On Optical about selling their eyepieces. No reply. So, since they don't seem to want us as a dealer and since we are an Orion dealer, would anyone here have an opinion on the Orion eyepieces? Are there any Orion offers that Hansen Planetarium should be selling? Cheers! Patrick :-) - - Visit the Utah Astronomy Message Board: http://pub61.ezboard.com/butahastronomy To unsubscribe from utah-astronomy, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe utah-astronomy" in the body of the message. ------------------------------ End of utah-astronomy-digest V1 #64 *********************************** - To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe $LIST" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.