[AZ-Observing] Re: RTMC Observations

I enjoyed RTMC, but one of the things very noticeable this year was the
increased commercialization of RTMC. This had been observed by others in prior
years but it became very evident to me this year. For the past 20 years I have
enjoyed looking at all the telescope designs by amateurs. Most were set up on
Telescope Field and I liked to take pictures of them. This year nearly all of
Telescope Field was taken up by vendors. In particular, Apogee had a trailer
that really stuck out into the field. There was one entry I saw late Saturday
on the field. Someone had a large mirror telescope (30"?) set up. There may
have been others, but I did not notice them. Now, it seems one has to hunt for
entries wherever they may be. Telescope Alley is still good, but this has
always been secondary to the main field, Telescope Field. I talked to one
judge and the number of entries this year was only about 25, down from what it
had been in prior years. This could be a fluke, but I think the takeover of
Telescope Field by vendors may discourage telescope makers from participating.
RTMC was still enjoyable, but it certainly was not what it had been in prior
years. I still plan on attending next year.
Stan

Wil Milan wrote:

> Thanks for the report, Tom. I wasn't able to attend this year, but based
> on your report and others it seems there wasn't the spate of new products=
>
> as has been the case the last few years. Did it seem that way to you as
> well?
>
> Wil M.
>
> >-- Original Message --
> >Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 20:58:13 -0700
> >To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >From: Tom Polakis <polakis@xxxxxxx>
> >Subject: [AZ-Observing] RTMC Observations
> >Reply-To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> >
> >I never took notes during this year's trip to RTMC, but here are some
> >observations from the conference.
> >
> ....
> Wil Milan
> "The heavens declare the glory of God and
> the firmament proclaims His handiwork" -- Psalm 19:1
> http://www.astrophotographer.com/
>
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