[AZ-Observing] RTMC Observations

I never took notes during this year's trip to RTMC, but here are some
observations from the conference.

The theme was homebuilt observatories.  I suppose I should have attended a
talk or two, but I only went to see Chris Schur talk about his observatory
near Happy Jack.  We arrived too late for the Friday show-and-tells, which
I learned were again disappointingly sparse.  Did get to see the second
half of the Big Bang Band (http://home.pacbell.net/ggraphix/bbbpage.html),
who were hilarious.

Friday night was clear, then cloudy, then clear again after midnight.  The
lines were long on the main field ringed with vendors, so the smaller field
near the "lake" was a better choice.  Near the center was a 24-inch
telescope owned by Steve Kennedy, who calls his mirror company O'Neill
Optics (don't know why).  The mirror would have passed for a Zambuto or a
Spooner, and the big scope tracked on a Tom Osypowski platform.  For
contrast, the largest scope was a nearby 32-inch Newtonian that
demonstrated how bigger isn't always better.  It placed the Quickfinder
squarely and unusably behind the focuser, required 50 pounds of force to
move in azimuth, and used a ladder that doesn't allow pointing above 45
degrees for anybody shorter than Shaquille O'Neal.

Saturday is the big day at the swap tables, and I'm happy to report that I
bought nothing.  It's also the day when the most people are present.
Coronado Instruments had several good solar telescopes set up for H-alpha
viewing.  A double-stacked etalon on the 60mm filter provided a great view
of disc detail, which is typically more interesting than limb prominences.
I wondered again why Daystar, a California company and their only
competition, doesn't show up at RTMC.  Speaking of them, a merit award
entry was a well-executed heliostat that used a TeleVue 85 and a Daystar
filter.

I spoke briefly with Al Nagler, and couldn't resist asking him about my
least favorite feature of their eyepiece: those recesses in the barrel.  He
explained that they save eyepieces from falling to the ground, but for me,
they only snag on the focuser's set screw, sending my scope off target.
I'm not going to win this argument.

Binoviewers continue to sweep the hobby, and the manufacturer that seems to
be doing it the best is winning.  I saw Denkmeier viewers in at least a
dozen telescopes by day and night.  Another form of binoviewing is the new
JMI twin Newtonians.  The 6-inch model sells for over $3000 (gulp).  The
electronics for adjusting focus, interpupilary distance, and collimation
are pretty slick; they'd better be.  Prototype 8- and 10-inch models were
nearby, but Jim the owner didn't commit to whether these would go into
production when I asked.

For printed photography vendors, there are the Fletchers, the Hallases, and
everybody else.  Bill and Sally Fletcher are cleaning up on sales of
astronomically themed fridge magnets and bookmarks, of all things.  They
have perfected the art of creating huge halation around the brightest stars
that form constellations, a la Akira Fuji.  Bill said that it's no longer a
secret how this is done, but doesn't feel threatened by competition in this
sort of photography.  Tony Hallas showed off his latest printing job, which
is the Mars Pathfinder panorama printed at a scale that makes it about 8
feet long.  Astronomy magazine editor Dave Eicher was at the magazine's
extremely modest "booth", and we got a chance to talk shop.  Sky & Tel's
presence at RTMC continues to grow, and they are now a platinum donor to
the conference, right up there with Meade.

Saturday night was clear, but cold.  I would bet the temperature dropped to
freezing by dawn.  I hate cold, but I am savoring it now after having spent
some time outdoors in Phoenix today.

Tom

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Tom Polakis
Tempe, AZ
Arizona Sky Pages
http://www.psiaz.com/polakis/
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