My Astro Techs

Comment

Comment by John O'Neal on February 14, 2011 at 2:48pm

Hi, Luc, thanks. Wayne Parker is a true friend of Amateur Astronomers like me. He designed a portable observatory that can be permanently installed 3 steps outside my backdoor. Or it can be disassembled and moved to a new location in a matter of hours. All this for about 2K....
And now he's working on a 12'diameter PODMAX.
Hmmm....

Comment by John O'Neal on February 14, 2011 at 2:41pm

Hi, Mark, before I bought the AT8IN I owned the Orion 8" Newt. It arrived with a huge scratch in the tube. The focuser was shoddy so I replaced it with Orion's dual speed Crayford, which, unfortunately, was still shoddy. The Rings on the Orion crushed the tube when I tightened them down. Needless to say I was upset with Orion.
My next move was the AT8IN. Good stock focuser. Sturdy tube w/out scratches and the rings don't crush it. And optically,there's not even a comparison there.
I don't mean to sound like I'm bashing Orion. I have lots of stuff from them and I love their customer service. They have always treated me good. They are a good company. I just don't like their 8" Newt...

Comment by Luc Delisle on February 14, 2011 at 8:52am

Very nice set-up, and I like this skyshed Pod too!

Comment by John O'Neal on February 13, 2011 at 12:43am

Sorry, Steve I just checked back and got your reply 6 hours later. I'll try to catch you next time around...

Comment by Steve Coates on February 12, 2011 at 6:16pm

I sure did. M1 was the first image I shot with the RCT. If you don't mind go to the chat area, I want to pick your brain on the G-11.

Comment by John O'Neal on February 12, 2011 at 6:05pm

Same here, Steve, I got mine shortly after Christmas. So far I've only shot the moon through it.It's totally great on the Moon. I can't wait to try Planets and small stuff like M57 and M01. I've had the AT8IN for several months and HIGHLY recommend it. I got the G-11 in 2007 w/out GOTO and it is an AWESOME mount.

I like your images,also, thanks. Did you shoot your M01 with the AT6RC?

Comment by Steve Coates on February 12, 2011 at 5:49pm

This is my goal...How do you like the AT6RC? I got mine about a month ago for a steal. I am heavily researching the G-11 but no plans on pulling the trigger any time soon. My 5 year plan is the G-11 and a SkyShed POD. By the way, you also have a nice collection of images.