GMS@psuvm.BITNET (07/03/85)
> >> ... I have noticed several light weight large >>aperture reflectors described in the pages of Sky and Telescope. Does >>anyone know about any commercial versions of these monsters, or do they >>only appear at Stellafane and Riverside? > >Coulter Optical Company makes humungeous "Dobson"-style altazimuth >Newtonian reflectors. They work and are good values. The thirteen-inch >Odyssey I is common at star parties in the San Francisco area,and widely >respected as a deep-sky instrument. It's about as large as one human >being can conveniently haul around and set up. The ten-inch version is >substantially more portable. > >(I have no financial interest in Coulter.) I have no financial interest in Coulter either, however you forgot to mention that they also make 17.5-inch and 29-inch models. These are really big, and although I've never used one myself I've been told that they are really good for deep-sky objects not requiring much magnification (with respect to the aperture, that is -- the classic problem with an RFT). Check out 'Sky & Telescope' or 'Astronomy' magazines for an ad and address. (I certainly wish *I* had one!!!!) Gerry Santoro Penn State University . . . !psuvax1!santoro (uucp) . . . !psuvax1!psuvm.bitnet!gms (uucp --> bitnet) gms @ psuvm (bitnet) santoro @ penn-state (csnet)
freeman@spar.UUCP (Jay Freeman) (07/08/85)
[<munch>] >>> ... I have noticed several light weight large >>>aperture reflectors described in the pages of Sky and Telescope. ... >>Coulter Optical Company makes humungeous "Dobson"-style altazimuth >>Newtonian reflectors. ... thirteen-inch ... ten-inch ... >... they also make 17.5-inch and 29-inch models ... And for that matter an eight-inch. I only mentioned the 13" and 10" because they are the only models I have actually observed with. Several people in the Bay Area have 17.5-inch optics mounted in their own mechanical assemblies -- the optics I have seen seem reasonable. Has any net reader any first-hand experience with either the 17.5, the 29 or the 8? -- Jay Reynolds Freeman (Schlumberger Palo Alto Research)(canonical disclaimer)