I will never complain about setting up after seeing this setup.

[Den]

Interesting project.

http://www.narrowbandimaging.com/cc18_page.htm

Den

[FlashDrive]

WOW....:eyepop:

[ZeroID]

Geez, it's collapsible as well !!
Nice piece of work but a bloody nightmare of wiring and connections.

[Lee]

A beefy setup, my back aches thinking about carting that sucker around..... Given the expense it came at, I'd hope the pics improve after the first light pics shown on his page though??

[Astro_Bot]

How does he/she get it in or out of the car without scratching the leather seats, seat backs or door handle/panels?

[Den]

May be Hydraulic suspension tilt the car to one side and slip her out.:D
"Watch out for your toes":eyepop:

[Lee]

An 18" scope on a GEM - surely an observatory would be higher on the list?? :)
He must need a few mates to help set up.....

[Terry B]

I wonder whether is was used much. It was quite a few years ago.

[Lee]

I probably would have sold my G11 for a big dob if I didn't build an obs.....

[icytailmark]

i setup a C14 and a G11 all by myself. Thats why i decided to build a pier. Im saving for an observatory or a shed with a roll off roof. Im only 32 so its not such a big deal LOL

[Lee]

The setup isn't the killer, it's the pulldown after 20 minutes when clouds roll-over..... :)

[tlgerdes]

Does anyone think anything strange about the first picture? almost looks like the scope has been "photpshopped" into the garden.

Maybe it is just my eyesight.

[FlashDrive]

Possible ... when you look at where the Scope is mounted ....look at it long enough and it seems as if the Scope has been ' placed ' on the mount via Photo Shop.

I'm not saying that's the case ...just a curious thought ......

[tlgerdes]

I see the orientation of the equipment to the ground being wrong and there seems to be shadows around the cables that are inconistent to the distance to the ground.

[brian nordstrom]

Its a beautiful piece of work tho , just so well made .
It deserves the AP mount .
brian.

[MrB]

Looks ok to me, looks stretched to bring out the dark background from the flash fill. Tho the shadows from the flash are offset slightly above the subject, suggesting the flash was located just below the lens, which is kinda weird :shrug:

[LewisM]

I must say though,the images taken through it are, well, ordinary, to put it mildly. Hope it improved for him!

Must say, he REALLY needs to clean the CD's chip platen - there's motes in every darned image :)

[Octane]

That guy was a member here. Was.

I think he was banned for his rudeness; anything that wasn't made by FLI was unworthy. He really had it in for both SBIG and Apogee.

H

[brian nordstrom]

:shrug: 1st light with a home made scope here Lewis , pretty damm good mate , I challenge you to do better with something YOU made ! .
Brian.

[LewisM]

Oh, I am sorry, I forgot we cannot call a spade a spade anymore in this sensitive world.

Hey, look, I am the first to admit (as I have done so), my images are CRAP, but at least I am not pretending they aren't. I'd MUCH rather someone criticise and pick apart something (like my mate Richard does :) ) than telling me it's all beer and skittles.

I admire the guy for making the scope - wish I could, but I know I cannot and nor could I afford it. BUT, and big but, the rig has a lot more work needed to bring it up to par, because, as it is when the shots were taken, it has a lot of issues that need addressing. He built a capable scope, and the first couple or more of the images are iffy - anyone care to deny it? Can HOPEFULLY only improve from there, and I sincerely hope he has.

No one had a fainting spell from what Lee said several posts before.... and yet the Dieing Divas having conniptions about me saying essentially the same thing.

Whatever. Please, do go live in the sheltered rose coloured world where everything is perfect, and criticism is not allowed.

Hey, the images are SOFT and washy, and his CCD has a ton of motes. It's the truth. OUCH, yes, I KNOW it hurts...

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: with you on this one here Steve ( scope snobbery sux ) .
Brian.

[brian nordstrom]

:shrug: But its a "SHOVEL" mate .
Brian.

[LewisM]

Brian, no snobbery at all - not even remotely jealous or envious of such a beast - I wouldn't know how to use it :)

I just call the shots as I see them. I appreciate it when others do to my images - how else can we learn if everyone says "Great shot" when the image OBVIOUSLY is flawed in many ways?

The scope intrigues me - having a mirror THAT open would worry me, especially since I live in the flightpath of squadrons of cockatoos, magpies, seagulls and crows... one bombs away = hours of cleaning fun. I'd at least wrap the thing in a dark cloth after it had reached ambient.

Still, the scope is an interesting design! Looks reminiscent of a scifi Pulse Cannon :) If he mounted a powerful laser in the eyepiece holder, he could shoot down spy satellites :)

[multiweb]

:lol: Lewis on Richard Crisp. :confuse3:. Gotta do a bit more reading Lewis and dig some info about the man. You might learn something. :thumbsup:

[LewisM]

Yes, I know and understand who he is and what he does. Did a lot of reading here well before I posted anything on this site all those moons ago. I did not restart my interest in astroimaging blindly - I read EVERYTHING I could.

His credentials don't take away the facts. Or is someone like this supposedly untouchable? :shrug:

He does some interesting narrowband work - not discrediting that. I merely pointed out the 2 astro images he showed with the skeleton Newt-Cassegrain - I went NO further.

The man knows more than I will in a THOUSAND lifetimes, but again, he is NOT perfect, and nor are his images or projects. No ones are, especially mine, and I am the first to admit that.

Starting the count down NOW until he appears here after being let known... maximum bet from me is 7 hours from...NOW (11:09am EST on 3 March 2013)

[multiweb]

Just a light joke that's all. :) I thought your comment about dust motes on his CCD were funny. He actually wrote a paper and did the math on noise in flat fielding and he's an authority in CCD technology.

To put it in your own words, it's a bit like telling CHUCK NORRIS to work on his UPPERCUT no? ;)


He pretty much pioneered amateur NB tri-color imaging.

[Den]

:eyepop:Is that a garbage bin for secondary cover!!

http://www.cruxis.com/scope/scope1070.htm

[multiweb]

I hear he uses a BBQ for the secondary dew heater. :P
Actually looking at this picture again I totally understand why the guy owns a bike.

[Den]

"Wow, this is heavy"!

"Now, which way do we go"?

[FlashDrive]

Imagine the ' Light Grasp ' with that mirror.:eyepop:
I notice he's using 'Bino's ' on that monster....what a view that would pull....and very comfortable using both eyes.

My kinda Scope if I had the room and the clear weather to use it. ;)

Flash ..!!

[Den]

Do people really set up their scopes in dust and dirt without using a tarp to keep the dust down.
Link: http://www.bbastrodesigns.com/osp07/DanBakken3.jpg

Den

[Lee]

Imagine the 'Cloud Grasp' with that setup procedure.... he must have some big tarps to cover it with....