I'm a new member at the forum.
My name is Hakan, but in US it’s more easy whit 'Hank'.
I’m from Sweden, and located some hours north of Stockholm at latitude 60.
I'm rather new in astronomy and actually started just some years ago.
I had no clue what astronomy was when I got into it but for some reson I did know direct I wanted a big telescope.
After I heard the word ‘Deep-Sky’ I’ll just know that direct as well that it was my deal !
It started actually on the night of 26 December 2013 in the Guatemala jungle on 6 days trek to a ancient Mayan site in Petén.
I has been into motorsport for 30 years but I had a archaeological interest since many years and been doing travel to many sites around the world.
I had read on the stars in the religion myth on Egypt, Sumer, Maya etc but never actually looked astronomy up.
In Guatemala someone in the group said ; ‘look up at the SKY’
I had a amazing wiev ( almost religious and it striked me hard ) and I had never seen anything like it before !
It was clear some hours but next night it was foggy and the guide said normally it is few nights clear here but it happens.
After I came home and it went to next fall untill I called a Sweden company that sold telescopes and asked ”what astronomy was” and they explained refractor or reflector and Messier objects.
I then contacted a astro club some hours south from me and they showed me Andromeda in a 80 mm bino, and after that we was in their 45 cm Newton telescope to see the moon and ‘eskimo nebula’.
( it was January and really cold and my first thought was - gee, how will I stand this hobby to be out...but we soon went in for coffee )
As I wanted a large telescope I searched the web and saw Mike Lockwood’s website and called him and asked him on a 50 incher, as he could do that..
But I thought they was so ‘heavy’, as I wanted it to be portable.
Price was high but all ok if I wanted to go for it.
I did math on glass and found out that honeycomb design will be way lighter. ( could I cast one myself maybe ..? )
I then saw thinner big ones as ex Russ Genet’s was into that and read on names as Bartels, Gray and Banish etc involved into his projects
I called Genet up but he said to call Mel Bartels instead.
Mel answered me as good as he could but I had no clue what I was asking about and the field is huge to grip ( hat off for Mel for to still hanging on .. )
-Lockwood got pretty tired rather soon as 'just talk' and no sell..
But who can do a purchase in the position I was - as each day I saw & learned something new !
I then did call Al Nagler up as I read on Tele Vue ( as Mel talked about the Ethos ) as I needed to ask questions on eyepieces & tech.
-Remember here I had no clue on anything !
Al said to call Don Pensack in Los Angeles on sales.
After that Don has been a huge help for me.
Great guy whit a huge experiance in visual astronomy and use common sence.
As I’m a mechanical guy and run a CNC company ( and sell own products for motorsports ) I wanted to build the scope myself and wanted high-end optic’s.
I can say the honeycomb design rather fast got up my attention.
-I was shore on a beefy learning curve but I has realise optics is not easy !
( layers like a onion, but that’s how things work when one dig into something )
I went to Los Angeles in February 2015 at work, so I mailed to the Riverside astronomy club.
Alex McConahay said we get something up for you as a Zambuto 20” and a Obsession 25”.
The 20 incher owner did not make it but I saw M42 in the 25.
( never heard on the names before vs Zambuto etc )
We set it up and collimated it, but we was not in a dark site, but it was very nice in my 'eyes'.
As I’m not into wood works ( or the material ) so I must say I don’t like the wooden telescopes and the long trusses design.
This was of course plus f/4 scope but at that time I had no clue but Lockwood talked on sub f/4.
Now I was on my first ladder ;-)
Pensack told me more on the Ethos EP etc and one guy in Sweden said ; get Ethos 100 degree if you afford it and don’ listen on people that use the older narrow EP.
That guy told me I really must start whit a binocular and learn me the sky ( ex a 7X50 bino and a cheap one was all ok for the stars )
I was at a star party over here and he had a 18” thin 1" thick plate-glass mirror for sale at f/4 so I bought that one, just as it ‘was’ there in front of me.
( plus I had something to relate my math at )
I then bough a TV paracorr and a Ethos 13 mm EP from Don @ Eyepieces Etc.
Mel said ; come over to Oregon SP.
He mean there you will see many design & constructions etc and see 10 inch Dobs to way bigger - and what you might like in diameter to fit your astronomy.
( a great good idea )
I druled on Dan Grays 28” string scope made in metal all spring 2015 !
So I went to OSP in August and collected the parts I bought for my scope build-up.
Instead to get a more clear picture - I got even more confused ;-)
I also order a Antares 3.5” at 30 wave diagonal and a Astrosystems holder and a Australian setting circles ( Astro Device ) Push-To.
( even if I knew I was into star-hop )
I also bought a Moonlite 2” focuser and the Cat Eye system.
Once there I looked into Mel’s great wide field 13.2” and I could use Dan Grays 28” for 3 night’s ( I shore was in astro heaven ! )
OSP was great and I saw the milkyway for the first time.
Was out to morning all nights..
Anyway, some years went on and I learned me ( or did try.. ) on scope design, mirrors design and the AMT way and the Aerospace way, paracorr use, slow & fast mirrors, pupill size, FoV and high power and low power and what object’s I like observe etc, etc, etc.
I went to dark places in Sweden and star party’s and to Europe alp’s as IVT and ITT in Germany, Sahara Sky Hotel, LaPalma in December 3 years in a row and 2 times at OSP and Oz Sky in Australia.
Sweden has been a big disaster. I can go to a Bortel 2 site 1 hour north but it's always cold or clouds etc.
But I has been ok at Bortel 3-4 not far from where I live and use binos and learn the sky.
I has now the complete series of the Ethos EP and also the Nikon HW’s and Astronomiks filters and Glatters tools ( laser & tublug ) both at 2” and 1.25”.
I actually meet Howie in the night at Stellafane ( and Al Nagler to )
I invested time in bino ( to understand that ) and bought a used ( but like new ) Zeiss 2060S bino from a doctor in Germany ( I love to use that one )
I bought a Gitzo Series 5 carbon fibre tripod and a head from Acratech.
Idea was a ’hand hold' unit as big as possible.
I also bought 2 new Swarovski EL binos at 10X at 32 and 50 mm, but I has actually sold both now.
Great optic’s but nothing for my astronomy use.
The Zeiss is big, so not something for hiking etc so I now a use a cheap Bushnell 8X42. ( not ok in optic’s but ok vs price vs use )
150 vs 2.500 USD make one less careful out there ( in good & bad ways )
But as time went on I realised I could not handle a 50 or a 30 incher..
As LaPalma was great ( and Sweden truly suck’s on astronomy ) I was into a smaller scope vs airline portable etc Bartels fast 13.2”.
-But I went up and down in size as one change sock’s !
I was into a Zerodur pocket milled 20” at f/3.5 or a Dream cast at same size for a while but after Mel was showing his project on a fast 25” I realise that size and ’feet on ground’ is great for my use. ( fit in a normal car and 'can' be portable )
It might be a 25” cast Dream cellular mirror at f/2.8 for future.
Sweden is so cold and I’m nothing for sit in the snow and observe, and on summer it’s to light.
So Sweden was not the place for my astronomy ( more than bino use and SP )
The 18” scope got allot of changes over time, but now I has a very stiff design ( and light = need lead ) in chrome molly steel in 3 sections and I order a Carl Zambuto 18” f/4 32 mm edge thickness in quartz last spring ( I’m not in a hurry here ) and I also order a 4” diagonal at 1” thick quartz from him.
It was actually a CZ mirror in Australia that got my attention up as great contrast in that one.
( this new 18” mirror might show up in May 2018, but I told Carl no hurry )
I did also do astronomy trips as to ex Stellafane 2016 and visit Dream telescopes and Aerospace company like QED in Rochester vs their MRF polishing technique. I also visited AGI glass.
Idea last December was a Chile trip to observe at San Pedro/Atacama at 2.500 meter and also at +5.000 meter ( using oxygen ) but I could not go vs time off work.
So I went to LaPalma instead under the new moon period and rented a Spacewalk 20” Dobson from Athos Astro.
Did use it at 2.000 meter and had great dark sky ( best at 21.91 ) but the seeing was not that good at the time ( turbulance from south-west I heard from Galileo people )
But certain object in my bino was just awsome !
( 3 mm pupil and 3 degree in FoV )
The mecanical IS function is great for scanning but I use it most on the tripod.
I think my 18” scope will be stored at LaPalma later on.
It’s a 5 hours trip by air down there and I can go direct from Stocholm, atleast in winter time.
Make sense for me vs the sky quality and it’s yearlong like Sweden summer ( not cold )
I’m just into deep-sky as ‘planned’, and I love this and to be at real dark places.
I like observe alone and like the social thing to.
I’m 50% in technique and 50% in observing.
It’s star hopping on my agenda but after I was into Howard Banish great Kennedy 28” scope at OSP 2017 I realise Dan Gray’s Siderail system is really nice when going into high powers.
The 18” will be more a ‘classic’ Newton aka Dobson in optic’s and technology/design etc but it will have a very stiff chassie ( like a race car ) but a bigger scope later on will be based on a cellular design mirror vs stiffness ( less sag vs gravity ) and fast/er cool-off time.
-I has a real good connection whit Dream telescopes so my guess we will work together in future ( or I’m shore of that )
I has investigate in light-weight Zerodur and also visit Zygo in Frankfurt vs SiC use for the mirror, but it’s really expensive to go that way ( and around 400K for a 25”, less design time and maybe 300K if one go Zerodur )
I has payed a Aersospace company to do a FEM/FEA on the mirror cell to the new 18”, so it’s based on ’super’ Invar steel as ppm/C is almost the same ( around 0.5 ) as quartz glass. Neat deal.
One of the best scoops I been into so far ( both scope & mirror ) is Jorge Peters from Germany whit a fantastic 25” f/4.5 in Sitall from Lomo.
Had some time and object’s in it and whit ex Ethos 4.7 mm ( 600X ) and ex M57 was brutal.
-That one in the Austria alp’s at 2.700 meter and 1.000X ;-)
Idea to sign in here on the forum was I meet John Hoey from San Diego at Oz in Australia and I also meet the ‘doc’ Robert Werkman in the night at Stellafane, and both was talking about a BIG scope in Texas.
Werkman was fun to hang around at and told me to go to Oz Sky by the way ( I had a great time there ! )
Southern sky is amazing at Bortel 1.
Great guy’s down there.
Heard John is going again soon on the spring event in April.
Lachland set up a 18” for me as a pre-starter and I installed my paracorr and Nikon HW 17 mm EP unit and I took the scope at the brightest point.
I hit direkt Homonocules Nebula !
Wow ! Great start on a week !
Tuc 47 in 30” aperture ( even if was low ) was stunning, etc, etc.
John inviten me to Steern’s Mountains before OSP last summer and Jimi Lowrey was there and said ; join in on the forum !
We had one night in jet-black sky, great time !
Solar eclipse was also awesome ( so I guess Chile 2019 )
-I will time to time ask on observing ( and read on others observing ) and maybe get into some of my own observings if I has something to cheer.
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