Quote:
Originally Posted by Kunama
Glen, these labours of love do not return the hours or dollars spent unfortunately. Why not use your skills and build a Dobsonian base for it, making it your visual scope while the other stuff is imaging.
A 10" F5 Newt is not everyone's cuppa... but as a Dob.... maybe
My 18" scope was bought by a friend who had been able to test it out at a dark site ( I also had two other offers to buy it ). My current build 18"F3.54 has so many 'hidden costs' that I think I will have to keep it forever.
I hope my wife never finds out how much a 0.5mm custom made blue kevlar/grey carbon baffle sheet costs.....  |
Glen,
I am the friend who bought Matt's scope. As an old ATM myself, and then having a chance to field test it and see the build quality and ease of use, I had no hesitation in buying Matt's beautiful scope. There wasn't any negotiation. Matt set what I thought was a very fair price, I didn't try to haggle him down or low ball. I had for some years been considering the purchase of a 16-18 inch class scope for some time so I was in the right place to purchase. The scope is a little longer in focal length(2500mm) than I would prefer. I don't like being up a ladder in the dark but the views are fantastic and no coma corrector required for visual.
Your scope looked great and were I in the market for that sized/type instrument, I would have considered purchasing it.
I have a completely hand made 6" f7 reflector made over 18 months when i was a tennager. Hand ground and polished mirror, almost all the mount and OTA the parts were cast from aluminium at an ATM club foundry. I don't use it a lot but I could never sell it and wouldn't expect to get more than $150 if I did.
Joe