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Messages - Ed McDonough

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Re: ButNow, Prices Go Up In January
« on: December 29, 2021, 11:00:02 PM »
Joe, that's something you would have to buy on line from an internet dealer. I always recommend High Point or B&H Photo. That's a long lead time Joe. You might wait as long as a year to get one, and only then if you place your order and get in line.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Re: ButNow, Prices Go Up In January
« on: December 29, 2021, 10:18:56 PM »
Hi Joe. The old fashioned way. You have to go to their gift shop which is inside the Museum main entrance. If you are going to the gift shop you don't need to pay any admission fee. They will sell you the telescope right there and off you go. They do carry a few nice models under $500. I'm told they sold out of their 6" Dobs last week. The best sellers are their Starsense Explorer models.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Re: Buy Now Prices Go Up In January
« on: December 28, 2021, 11:24:05 PM »
Whoops, hit the post button too soon. Whopping price increases are coming next month as inflation comes to our little corner of the economy.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / ButNow, Prices Go Up In January
« on: December 28, 2021, 11:19:01 PM »
If you didn't get that telescope you wanted for Christmas, be sure to buy before early January. Either locally at the Bishop Gift Shop or on line at your favorite retailer,

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / 6" Dobs On Sale At The Bishop Museum Gift Shop
« on: December 17, 2021, 01:31:58 PM »
In stock at our local telescope store, The Bishop Museum Gift Shop:

https://www.skywatcherusa.com/collections/classic-dobsonians/products/sky-watcher-classic-150p

Get 'em now before the next round of inflationary price increases hit next month.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Re: Celestron 9.25 dirty/stained collector lens
« on: December 15, 2021, 04:07:59 PM »
Ray:
Did these spots "just show up" recently or have they been there the whole time? How long ago did you notice these as I know you've had the scope for a while.

Send me an E mail and I'll see if I can pull any strings to defray costs. No promises. emcdonough@celestron.com.

Ed McDonough

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Re: We Have A Local Telescope Store
« on: October 08, 2021, 09:23:43 PM »
Hi Wolf. The teaching is done either by myself or Howard, the planetarium manager. Anything up to but not including any imaging techniques. Mostly basic stuff to get folks up and running.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / We Have A Local Telescope Store
« on: October 06, 2021, 09:36:22 AM »
The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature is now an authorized telescope dealer. They are one of just two in the entire state of Florida. They carry a very nice selection of telescopes under $500 and binoculars as well. Wolf will be happy to hear that they just received a shipment of SkyWatcher 6" Dobs. If you buy there they will also teach you how to use it. They sell at the regular street prices too, no price gouging. Check it out...support the local business.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Re: help collimating 8" Newtonian
« on: February 25, 2021, 08:58:17 AM »
I also found this article on the Celestron website. I'm sure it would apply to Orion Newtonians as well.

https://www.celestron.com/blogs/knowledgebase/how-do-i-collimate-my-newtonian-aligning-the-mirrors-in-daylight

Looks like this tool is helpful and is part of the process:

https://www.celestron.com/products/collimation-eyepiece-125in


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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Re: Sidewalk Astronomy for 29 February---IT'S A "GO!"
« on: March 01, 2020, 05:52:38 PM »
That was quite a turnout last night. In addition to the big crowds we always get at Celery Fields, it seemed we had more telescopes than parking spots to accommodate them. There had to be close to 20 telescopes up and running. I've only been in the club 3 years but I'm pretty certain that's the most telescopes I've seen at one of our sidewalk events. Tremendous weather as well.

All in all, a wonderful evening.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Myakka State Park Event
« on: January 26, 2020, 03:41:59 PM »
I thought that was a great event last night at Myakka State Park. Perhaps the best skies ever for an LGDSO event. The combination of the venue and the skies made this a memorable night indeed.

12
Equipment for Sale/Trade / Re: CRAZY-GOOD DEAL on an 8" SCT!
« on: January 26, 2020, 03:35:52 PM »
Holy crap that's a great deal. Regular price is $2K.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Fundamentals of Astrophotography Think and Drink - SOLD OUT!!!
« on: January 09, 2020, 11:23:41 AM »
I would say that the Fundamentals of Astrophotography Think and Drink last night at the Bishop Planetarium was a rip roaring success. It was totally sold out and folks were actually turned away. Jim Mack did a masterful presentation supported by the usual suspects - Sean, Dave, Andy H, George and Wolf. The Bishop Planetarium folks were overwhelmed and very pleased at the turnout and the presentation.

It was interesting that in the crowd of 115, only 5 or 6 had telescopes. So it became evident that just the topic piqued enough interest to draw that big of a crowd. Folks came away with a very clear idea of what's needed to get started in this very intricate phase of our beloved hobby. The folks from Johnson Camera in Bradenton were in attendance and Jim gave them a shout out as they are starting to carry some of the needed equipment.

It was a wonderful evening!!!

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / Re: Anyone have opinions on Telrad and Rigel Quick Finders on SCT
« on: December 04, 2019, 03:05:31 PM »
Hi Allen. I've never used either of these but in my opinion nothing beats an 8x50 right angle finderscope, properly aligned to the main telescope optics.

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Astronomy Questions and more for LGDSO members and visitors alike! / SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Trackers at Johnson PhotoImaging
« on: November 25, 2019, 11:42:35 AM »
I just received word that Johnson PhotoImaging on SR 70 near I 75 Bradenton will shortly be offering the SkyWatcher Star Adventurer Trackers for sale. It's taken a fair amount of effort to persuade them to try this product. As a SkyWatcher dealer they will also be able to special order any SkyWatcher or Celestron product.

Please support your local retailer!!!

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