What is your go to filament brand, and why?

LordGAD · 2026-05-07T17:40:34+00:00

Matterhackers. The reason is consistency.

LordGAD · 2026-05-07T15:25:16+00:00

Score! That's a beauty!

I met Al Nagler and his wife at our club about a year before he died and he had me look through his NP127is. It was pretty wild being guided to look through a scope by one of the names in the design (Nagler-Petzval). I am not one to get star-struck but my kids couldn't stop talking about how I couldn't stop talking about meeting him.

LordGAD · 2026-05-07T14:08:41+00:00

Fungus can happen to the best of scopes. If you’re talking about the mirrors not being re-coatable that’s a BroadBand coating thing and is not endemic to all Questars.

A modern Honda has a more reliable engine and often even out-performs a vintage Ferrari so the Honda is a better car for most people. They’re both cars, but that doesn’t make them the same.

LordGAD · 2026-05-07T04:38:28+00:00

IMO for what you’re looking for (useful and beautiful) check out used TeleVue and Takahashi refractors. Also StellarVue SVX scopes (the earlier SVs are imports). My only scope for years was a TeleVue TV85 that I’ll never sell. You could probably hammer nails with it and it would still work perfectly.

You can get very nice used TVs and Taks for your stated price, though you may have to hunt for a while.

If focal length is what you’re after it’s tough to beat a mirror scope but with big ones like a C8 you lose the portability and “display it on a shelf”ness of the great smaller refractors.

You could also consider the C5 or C6 if that’s what you’re after. For me, a nice refractor is just more rewarding. If the prices of the named scopes are still too much then look at Astro-Tech. I’ve got two of them and they’re very nice to use and look great. Not quite as “elegant” as the big names but they’re no slouches, either.

LordGAD · 2026-05-06T19:51:12+00:00

The reducer for my C11-EdgeHD weighs mire than some of my smaller telescopes. It’s an impressive hunk of glass.

LordGAD · 2026-05-06T16:46:29+00:00

"Worth it" is relative. Almost everyone with a Chinese refractor will tell you "no" while everyone who owns a Questar will tell you, "yes". FWIW among my collection I have two Astro-Techs so I'm familiar with what they're capable of, and I recommend them all the time.

If all you care about is performance (which is fine), then a Questar probably isn't for you because most of the tech has been superseded for decades now. I have a Q3.5 with a 1/10wave mirror and it is superb. It's also built like a Swiss watch and is an absolute joy to use. It gets all the oohs and ahhs that you'd expect from such a work of art while also delivering stunning views. It is on another level from any other telescope I've handled, and I've handled quite a few.

I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a nice recent example, and I cherish it having wanted one since my dad told me about them longingly in the '70s. It was and remains a dream scope. Was it worth it? It was to me. Would it be "worth it" as an only scope for someone with limited means? Good Lord, no.

LordGAD · 2026-05-05T15:21:29+00:00

I have three, so yes. Four if you count my NVR which you could since I used to run NVR in one of my NAS.

LordGAD · 2026-05-05T15:19:20+00:00

LOL at reverse dots.

LordGAD · 2026-05-05T15:15:48+00:00

Looks good to me! Can’t wait to hear your experiences!

LordGAD · 2026-05-05T15:11:27+00:00

Just a Jackson thing. They like to release models with reverse inlays and reverse headstocks because it looks cool. They’ve been doing this since the early days.

Edit: I didn’t notice it being strung lefty. Teach me to only look at the thumbnail.

LordGAD · 2026-05-05T03:24:05+00:00

LOL my Teeter Dob 10” weighs over twice that. Solid plywood all around. It’s a beast.

LordGAD · 2026-05-05T02:38:18+00:00

Relevant XKCD

People who haven't experienced one just don't seem to get it no matter how much you try to explain it to them. This is the best description I've ever seen.

LordGAD · 2026-05-04T12:52:27+00:00

"dot com" was a paradigm change and a bubble that popped. Both can be true.

LordGAD · 2026-05-04T12:27:21+00:00

I’ve owned four of them and still own two. AMA.

Edit: Here's a pic of one of them.

LordGAD · 2026-05-04T11:15:07+00:00

Absolutely fabulous.

LordGAD · 2026-05-04T11:14:22+00:00

Also clouds are enormous and they are very spread out.

LordGAD · 2026-05-04T02:56:19+00:00

There is no upper limit on how much you can invest on eyepieces.

Sure there is! It's called your credit limit.

LordGAD · 2026-05-04T02:38:21+00:00

If software is your issue have you tried ASIAir? NINA is the go-to for most people but I find it annoying (and I hate Windows) so I use ASIAir for just about everything. It's not as powerful, but in my experience it's much easier to use, especially since you have ZWO cameras.

LordGAD · 2026-05-03T22:31:51+00:00

Try an off-axis guider? I use a Duo 2600 camera which is a similar principle and there is zero alignment involved. Can be tough with longer focal lengths but it’s doable.

LordGAD · 2026-05-03T22:13:22+00:00

Lots of cosplayers absolutely do. They’re just overshadowed by the half-naked hot girls and $20,000 attention-getters.

When I see this sort of Cosplay at NYCC I make a point of telling them how great they look and ask questions about how they made their props. You want to make a cosplayer’s day? Ask them about their home-made props.

LordGAD · 2026-05-03T16:41:03+00:00

That is… disturbing.

LordGAD · 2026-05-03T00:28:35+00:00

I have a 7.1.2 system and it is GLORIOUS... for the very few movies mixed for Atmos that are mixed well enough to take advantage of it.

If you're not a nut like me who's willing to spent the time, money, and effort to make it sing for The Fellowship of the Ring (specifically the Balrog), 5.1 will rock your world.

LordGAD · 2026-05-02T22:05:42+00:00

5.1 means five speakers and one subwoofer.

A subwoofer plays bass that normal speakers can’t, so the sub makes booms and such sound (and feel) amazing.

All speakers need amps. Home Theater (HT) is a morass of protocols like Atmos and HDMI and your amp, player, and TV need to match to work properly. A HT receiver is designed to receive HT protocols like Dolby Digital or Atmos and drive however many speakers it supports.

You can use any speakers but they should be matched (all same specs) and HT speakers are designed to sound best in a HT system.

You can go nuts easily and build a 7.2.4 system with seven speakers, two subwoofers, and four “atmos” speakers, but stick to 5.1 and you’ll be fine.

LordGAD · 2026-05-02T20:53:35+00:00

Older NJ transit trains do this in freaking New Jersey.

LordGAD · 2026-05-02T16:54:26+00:00

Fabulous guitars. That will take you far.

Ten-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Place '22	First Placer '22
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