Briefly: My Giant Binos Second light

[Galactus]

Briefly as I just wrote a long yet emotionally meaningful post about the joys of Binocular observing with my Zhumell 25X100s and my Peterson EZ Mount bino set--"Pete's Pipes" to those of us in the club who use 'em. But I hit a wrong key and lost it all. Gotta go to bed and be up at 4:00AM.

Here is the Cliff's Notes version:

1. Needed to use a tad extra weight to balance these heavy suckas (as pete would say )

2. Bob M you were right (as usual); I lapped the threads well enough, the paint was heavy and got in a bit. Cleaned with steel wool and grinding grease, all OK with the moving axes.

3. M13 big and beautiful as on first light; focus and collimation seem good.

4. No eyestrain; relaxed viewing in my Zero-G-Chair with the setup.

5. Lots of satellite action in Hercules tonight right thru my FOV and visible naked eye. Using the various axes of the Pete's Pipes, I was able to track one a fair distance...

6. After touring the sky, went back for another look at M13 and noted all of Lyra was up over my house....I go for a look as I couldnt see it at MSSF last year, even with the great skies, but in these...wow! I bagged the Ring in these great Binos! In my back yard! It was right where it was supposed to be and because of the small size(Surface Brightness) it was brighter than expected...wow, I am so pumped!

Well back at M13, a meteor came thru the FOV and I figured I should pack up as bed was calling...and still is. I think I will finish my 40 objects with ease for the Messier Bino Pin...but I will try for the ones these Big Boys find in my 10X50s as well...

[Pete]

It is indeed a fun setup George.

As for losing long entries while attempting to post to the board, I've lost so many that if I know it will run beyond a paragraph I draft it with my word processer first and then copy it over.

Pete

[ASSNE Prime]

George you might find helpful - Mark has an inexpensive red dot finder and bracket that I got for my giant binos

[Rotorhead]

Through long, sad experience, I have learned to do just what Pete does with his longer reports. That is also a good way to keep your observing reports beyond the life of this board.

That having been said, George, I am very pleased that your big binos are so much fun. I've always loved mine, and sometimes they are the instrument of choice for certain objects. Get into the Milky Way around Cygnus, or the Double Cluster - and hold onto your chair!

BTW, I have lower pipe on the actual mount head of my 'Pete's Pipes' filled with fishing sinkers. It gave me a way to fine-tune the balance. If you do that, pour in some epoxy afterwards to keep the sinkers from shifting or FALLING OUT when pointing at zenith.

[Galactus]

Thanks, Guys, for the input!

Without quoting, as believe it or not, I experienced another crash in writing this post--experiencing many computer issues with this laptop and upon getting my netbook like my mom's, I will send it for further repair--I will address your points:

Pete--Excellent Idea, especially as the posts may be saved. I know all the code used on the board for images and Bold and Italics and the emotocons. I will start writing them in Word after this post.

Bruce-Another excellent idea! This is one I have been mulling for several weeks as Pete showed me the red-dot finder he uses with his Giant Bino. I will check out the one Mark sells too. I learned the hard way last night that eyeballing your target was non-effective on the E-Z Mount. It seems to be easier and more intuitive hand-held. A red dot finder is a must.

Bob M The sinkers idea sounds good. That is fine tuning I may use after a bit of use. I won't forget the epoxy either. Both before and after if I use shot. I will use the Word composition idea to save my posts. I am very glad that you evoke how much fun working with a Giant Bino on an E-Z Mount is. It was joyful, lying in the ZGC, looking at a wide-field view of the Ring. It was bright Blue-Gray and just a tad more than the size of any of the stars in the field. M13 was more than a smudge, large in the center of the FOV, although the Bino could not resolve any stars in M13, it seemed clearly evident that it was not a star, not a comet, but made up of stars...although I already knew that

This is fun and I hope to use them a lot and look forward to using them at Stellafane and Arunah Hill. Thanks a lot, guys! I enjoy this club and the knowledge-base it posesses through and by all of us.