Re: I'm want to beat this XT-12 vs. Lightbridge-12 horse a little longer.
- From: "Jan Owen" <janowen1z@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:54:29 -0700
--
Jan Owen
To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address...
Latitude: 33.6
Longitude: -112.3
http://community.webshots.com/user/janowen21
"Starboard" <errol_winn@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1167517687.032706.244820@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jan, thanks for your response. I have added a few new
questions/remarks. If you would be so kind....
I don't know about the primary cell springs on the XT-12. But,
if it's a LightBridge, once you have the strong springs in the primary
cell,
you have the option to eliminate the *locking* screws...
Great idea. I found out early on that the "locking" screws can distort
the mirror shape. Every time I had the mirror collimated, I would lock
it down only to find that it was out again. I only "gently" tighten
them now and it seems to be OK. I will take your advise on this for
sure.
It holds collimation quite well week
after week, with little or no adjustment necessary to hole even VERY
tight
collimation via the autocollimator...
Autocollimator????
These things are superb... Take your pick...
http://www.catseyecollimation.com/ceyeflr1.html
http://www.amateurastronomy.com/tools.html
If you take the OTA structure apart for transporting it to another site,
mark your trusses, so that you put them back in the same position every
time...
Makes good sense.....
Get yourself a good set of collimation tools... CatsEye or Tectron have
excellent tools... I have a laser collimator, too, but I mostly use the
Tectron tools I already have, though I've been eyeing the new CatsEye 2"
set..
I am still collimating with the little cheap cap that comes w/the
scope. It seems to work very well in well lit environments. Not worth a
crap for night time collimating. I bought several laser collimators and
none were collimated themselves. I returned all of them. I would like
to have a good one though. Regardless, I do final collimation tweaking
by starlight.
That's the best way to do it... But a good sight tube, Cheshire, and
autocollimator can get you very close, without the requirement for seeing
good enough to allow the high magnification necessary for a good star
test...
As far as the other tools you mentioned, I have no experience with any
of them. I will check into them later on today.
This is not a serious issue, and is a good thing, if you like your
movement
in both axes to be smooth and easy...
I remember when I went through my "get the bearings as slick as I can"
trip. I was on the hunt for a good lubricant. You advised me to stay
away from lubricants and if I must do something, go to virgin Teflon
bearings. Phil joked that once I had the bearings infinitely slick that
next I would be complaining about the scope not holding position. Well
I found dry Teflon lubricant and you guy's were right. I was in a
constant battle between lubes and counterweights. I leave it alone now.
I find that I like SOME friction... Just had to learn how to tap it
just right, that's all.
A scope that moves smoothly in both axes is something that has to be
experienced to be believed... I'm not a real fan of roller bearings, or of
smooth aluminum running on felt... But they work surprisingly well. I have
a lifetime supply of Teflon, but finally decided that the LightBridge
bearings are good enough as they come from the factory, and left them
alone... And, if you knew me well, you would know that THAT's probably a
FIRST for me...
but the LightBridge became one of the all-time favorites right away...
I know you have some very nice scopes. You sent me a few pix early in
the year of an white 8" scope w/Spooner mirror. You seem to know about
mirrors. Are there any principle differences between ORION and MEADE
optics? MEADE brags diffraction limited. This means nothing to me
without knowing what the limits actually are. ORION's optics are
diffraction limited too (I would imagine); although they don't say so.
I think you will like the optics in EITHER scope... I was somewhat
skeptical at first, too... Not any more... Again, these aren't Spooner or
Zambuto or Royce mirrors, but they are surprisingly good. My LB has given
me images of the moon like I would NEVER have expected (though, in truth,
DSO's are where it's at for me, so others may be a bit more discriminating
about lunar images, but STILL, I am VERY picky about telescope optics, and
these have proven better than I expected).
Thankx..
Errol
PASNOLA
.
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