Binopalooza Scheduled!
OK, ladies and gentlemen, the premier binocular-astronomy event of the season has been scheduled for the evening of Thursday, June 13th at the Lakeside site. Hopefully this is enough notice for working stiffs (like me) to schedule the next day off. The summer Milky Way will be straddling the meridian, with Autumn objects coming into view later in the evening. A waxing crescent moon will set just about the time that all traces of summer twilight vanish. Thursday night should also mean less traffic on I-80 than a weekend night (better driving conditions, less automobile light-pollution from the highway.) Bring your binocular observing set-ups, we will be taking pictures for inclusion in various resource venues and newsletters. Telescopes are welcome, but for this night, binoculars will be center-stage. Club officers, please let your respective memberships know about this gathering! Weather permitting, of course. Rain before the event will turn the Lakeside site into an impossible mudhole. Be there or be square! (er, parallelogram...) Chuck __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
Hey Chuck, Here is a pair to review. i am sure Oberwerk would (might) donate a pair to you to test!? "What's up with those big Fujinons- $16,500? Are you kidding? The Fujinon 25x150mm EM-SX binocular really does list for $16,500- and that doesn't include the mount and tripod! Like any other product that is simply the very best that you can buy, the cost can be much higher than competitor's products, simply because it is the best. Of course we offer big discounts on Fujinon- the 25x150's start at well under $6000 for the MT-SX model. If you are seriously in the market for one of the big Fujinons, we don't have to sell you on them." Straight from their Q&A. Maybe a bake sale and car wash, Chuck Jim Stitley --- Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote:
OK, ladies and gentlemen, the premier binocular-astronomy event of the season has been scheduled for the evening of Thursday, June 13th at the Lakeside site.
Hopefully this is enough notice for working stiffs (like me) to schedule the next day off.
The summer Milky Way will be straddling the meridian, with Autumn objects coming into view later in the evening. A waxing crescent moon will set just about the time that all traces of summer twilight vanish.
Thursday night should also mean less traffic on I-80 than a weekend night (better driving conditions, less automobile light-pollution from the highway.)
Bring your binocular observing set-ups, we will be taking pictures for inclusion in various resource venues and newsletters.
Telescopes are welcome, but for this night, binoculars will be center-stage.
Club officers, please let your respective memberships know about this gathering!
Weather permitting, of course. Rain before the event will turn the Lakeside site into an impossible mudhole.
Be there or be square! (er, parallelogram...)
Chuck
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
Jim Stitley wrote:
Hey Chuck,
"What's up with those big Fujinons- $16,500? Are you kidding?
OOF! These are obviously for people with more money than brains! Unless the objectives are Flourite triplets, this is clealy a case of All The Traffic Will Bear. They must make them one at a time, by Gnomes in the Black Forest! You could build a Newtonian binocular with much better high-magnification imagery, twice the aperture, better color, and for 1/10th the cost! While I'm sure a market exists for such things (aside from battleships), I'd have to win the lottery before I even looked at the ad! Chuck __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
Chuck, While I was on the USS Constellation (Aircraft Carrier)last fall traveling from Pearl Harbor to Hawaii, I noticed they had several pair of 4" binoculars on Vultutre' Row. Now my opinion is that binoculars are a waste of money - no use paying for the extra set of optics for redundancy, I decided to try them out one clear evening. To my amazement they did not work very well. I had a very difficult time finding even the brightest things such as M6 and M7. When I did find them they were VERY dim. Even looking at the other ships in the convoy, I couldn't see them very well at night. The next day I looked carefully at them. They had partially aluminized objectives! I am still wrestling with why they would want big binos like that and then cut the light gathering power down by partially aluminizing the lenses. BTW, I always wait for folks to get their binos out of alignment. They suddenly become very inexpensive to purchase, and once I cut them in half, they perform well (for my purposes) without the extra weight of the other half. I am interested in attending Binopaloza. Are you going to publish a map or instructions for the site? Brent --- Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote:
Jim Stitley wrote:
Hey Chuck,
"What's up with those big Fujinons- $16,500? Are you kidding?
OOF! These are obviously for people with more money than brains!
Unless the objectives are Flourite triplets, this is clealy a case of All The Traffic Will Bear. They must make them one at a time, by Gnomes in the Black Forest!
You could build a Newtonian binocular with much better high-magnification imagery, twice the aperture, better color, and for 1/10th the cost!
While I'm sure a market exists for such things (aside from battleships), I'd have to win the lottery before I even looked at the ad!
Chuck
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
Hi Brent: Interesting comments. Let me respond one by one:
Now my opinion is that binoculars are a waste of money - no use paying for the extra set of optics for redundancy,
I shared your opinion for years. Now, I feel that they have their niche, especially since I obtained a 70mm unit. Objects just barely visible in my 70mm and 80mm "finders" were much more easily seen the binocular, objects not detectable at all in the mono-scopes were seen in the bino. Even stars themselves: I detect a fraction of a magnitude gain in the binocular. Of course, a slightly larger-aperture telescope would accomplish the same thing, but it's nice to not have to close one eye, wear an eyepatch, or mentally ignore the other eye's input if left open. And it's been fun to observe all the same objects in a new way. I really have ignored the binocular since my formative years, so there's a bit of "freshness" to the experience.
The next day I looked carefully at them. They had partially aluminized objectives! I am still wrestling with why they would want big binos like that and then cut the light gathering power down by partially aluminizing the lenses.
I don't know the answer for sure; the man to ask would be Bill Cook (formerly ATMJ editor), who is a retired Navy Opticalman. But I would guess that the large aperture is for resolving power (ID of distant ship's registration numbers or names), while the partial aluminization is because ship's binoculars are mostly intended for looking at targets at or near the horizontal, and solar glare off the water's surface could interfere with the observation, or be downright dangerous if the solar angle is extremely low. My 2 cents.
BTW, I always wait for folks to get their binos out of alignment. They suddenly become very inexpensive to purchase, and once I cut them in half, they perform well (for my purposes) without the extra weight of the other half.
That is the best reason to learn how to service your binocular. I've had units lose alignment over the years, and it's really a simple matter to re-collimate them; a collimator isn't required. There are even several popular books on the subject, though I learned the hard way. You don't sell your car for scrap when it needs a tune-up, do you? You know how to collimate your telescope, right? Why is a binocular any different? It isn't! Funny thing, but the cheapest units are usually the toughest to collimate...prisms cemented in place, cases glued-shut. Those truly ARE throw-away units, and wasted money. But like you, I love an inexpensive source of finderscope and spotter optics. These last ten years, I've even discarded the case itself, and re-mounted the optics in proper, homemade 1.25" eyepiece barrels, and homemade objective cells turned on the mini-lathe. If you like, I can bring some of those for you to look at at Binopalooza. Some people have called me a liar when I told them they are home-made! (I love it!)
I am interested in attending Binopaloza. Are you going to publish a map or instructions for the site?
Although I know how to get there, I can't recall the exit, or mileage from same. If I could prevail upon Joe Bauman, our resident wordsmith, to repeat his most excellent description here on the list, I'd sure appreciate it! Incredibly easy to find site. Looking forward to seeing you there, Brent. It's been far too long since I've joined you under the stars. Chuck __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
Chuck, Binoculaars are a waste of time for those of us who have monocular vision. No amount of colimation can help that. That said, people tell me that there are advantages, and the arguements are logical, but I prefer to think that it is all in one's mind - my personal experience tells me that! hehehe! I have looked through binoculars up to 20 inch aperture. I can never tell the difference between them and just a regular scope (duh!). None the less, I am sure that the rest of you have succommed to the optical illusion of binocular vision. Brent (with tongue planted firmly in cheek) --- Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi Brent:
Interesting comments. Let me respond one by one:
Now my opinion is that binoculars are a waste of money - no use paying for the extra set of optics for redundancy,
I shared your opinion for years. Now, I feel that they have their niche, especially since I obtained a 70mm unit. Objects just barely visible in my 70mm and 80mm "finders" were much more easily seen the binocular, objects not detectable at all in the mono-scopes were seen in the bino. Even stars themselves: I detect a fraction of a magnitude gain in the binocular.
Of course, a slightly larger-aperture telescope would accomplish the same thing, but it's nice to not have to close one eye, wear an eyepatch, or mentally ignore the other eye's input if left open.
And it's been fun to observe all the same objects in a new way. I really have ignored the binocular since my formative years, so there's a bit of "freshness" to the experience.
The next day I looked carefully at them. They had partially aluminized objectives! I am still wrestling with why they would want big binos like that and then cut the light gathering power down by partially aluminizing the lenses.
I don't know the answer for sure; the man to ask would be Bill Cook (formerly ATMJ editor), who is a retired Navy Opticalman.
But I would guess that the large aperture is for resolving power (ID of distant ship's registration numbers or names), while the partial aluminization is because ship's binoculars are mostly intended for looking at targets at or near the horizontal, and solar glare off the water's surface could interfere with the observation, or be downright dangerous if the solar angle is extremely low. My 2 cents.
BTW, I always wait for folks to get their binos out of alignment. They suddenly become very inexpensive to purchase, and once I cut them in half, they perform well (for my purposes) without the extra weight of the other half.
That is the best reason to learn how to service your binocular. I've had units lose alignment over the years, and it's really a simple matter to re-collimate them; a collimator isn't required. There are even several popular books on the subject, though I learned the hard way. You don't sell your car for scrap when it needs a tune-up, do you? You know how to collimate your telescope, right? Why is a binocular any different? It isn't! Funny thing, but the cheapest units are usually the toughest to collimate...prisms cemented in place, cases glued-shut. Those truly ARE throw-away units, and wasted money.
But like you, I love an inexpensive source of finderscope and spotter optics. These last ten years, I've even discarded the case itself, and re-mounted the optics in proper, homemade 1.25" eyepiece barrels, and homemade objective cells turned on the mini-lathe.
If you like, I can bring some of those for you to look at at Binopalooza. Some people have called me a liar when I told them they are home-made! (I love it!)
I am interested in attending Binopaloza. Are you going to publish a map or instructions for the site?
Although I know how to get there, I can't recall the exit, or mileage from same.
If I could prevail upon Joe Bauman, our resident wordsmith, to repeat his most excellent description here on the list, I'd sure appreciate it!
Incredibly easy to find site.
Looking forward to seeing you there, Brent. It's been far too long since I've joined you under the stars.
Chuck
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com
http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
--- Brent Watson <brentjwatson@yahoo.com> wrote:
Chuck,
Binoculaars are a waste of time for those of us who have monocular vision.
Brent, are you telling me that you have only one fully-functional eye? I am reminded of the old Firesign Theater routine: Sandy Duncan for the GAF Viewmaster: "What's the deal? I don't get it! Does this thing work?" Chuck __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
I am reminded of the old Firesign Theater routine:
Sandy Duncan for the GAF Viewmaster: "What's the deal? I don't get it! Does this thing work?"
I always wondered the same thing as a kid. It was just a pretty picture. Should there be more? I think anything else would be an optical illusion! ;) Brent __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience http://launch.yahoo.com
participants (3)
-
Brent Watson -
Chuck Hards -
Jim Stitley