Fred Ley

2415 coupled together with one of the different Lumicon Hypersensitization Kits was certainly popular. The results were great. Of course there are still a few persons who still enjoy film these days. Here is one of their Kits. -Fred

Hi, Indeed, the telescope that you have in your photograph is a Unitron/Polarex 60mm with a focal length of 900mm on its Alt-Azimuth mount. They were considered to be the upper end of refractors years ago. They were manufactured by Seiko Scope in Tokyo, Japan. The company has ceased operating for quit a few years and some of the models and accessories can be found for sale on EBAY, Astro Mart and Cloudy Nights. I still have 60mm on the Alt-Azimuth mount that I got in 1971. Still works fine. I did a lot of observing with the telescope back then. I also added a sun screen and did sunspot observations too. Yes, quite a bit can be viewed with a 60mm telescope. -Fred

A place definitely worth visiting. I wonder what type of meteor caused the craters. Fred

Hi Everybody, I can see where it may be distressing where a customer has specified a particular method of transportation of a purchased item and it is then sent by another route and possibly a cheaper one than the customer paid for. I know that after 9/11 all packages had to be screened going out of the country and I would not be surprised if that practice is continued to this day. This may, at times, lead to a slow down during the year, such as at Holiday periods. Should an ordered item happen to be in stock, it should go out no later than 48 hours from receipt of payment. Should the customer specify the method of delivery, that should be honored and is also a positive reason to enhance the repeat business of that specific customer in the future. The USPS web site has a page titled "Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual" located at http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/welcome.htm for information regarding internatioal mail. On a side note, our store should be up and running shortly, if we can assist anyone in obtaining new or used equipment, please drop us an e-mail either in Greek, which I can read fairly well and with replies done through Google Translator, or in English, in which case replies are done with out the assistance of Google Translator. Clear skies, Fred http://www.globaltelescopebrokers.com/

Hah! This reminds me of a friend at one of the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference in the late 1980's had a similar incident. They had samples of telescope mirrors that they manufactered on display. They were laying on a flat table. Behind the table was a motor home with an awning the came down from the side of the motor home and over the table withthe mirrors. Well, yes you guessed it, the awning got burnt from the sun reflecting off of the mirror(s). That event was not a catastrophic as this guys event. -Fred

HI, I have a lot of 1/4-20 screws and nuts. What length do you need. Fred

Hello, A short note to inform individuals that I still have three Thousand Oaks solar filters for a Celestron or a Meade schmidt cassegrain for sale. Euros 80 per filter. Shipping is extra. Thanks, Fred Γεια σας, Ένα σύντομο σημείωμα για να ενημερώνουν τα άτομα ότι έχω ακόμα τρία Thousand Oaks ηλιακά φίλτρα για Celestron ή Meade Schmidt Cassegrain προς πώληση. 80 Ευρώ ανά φίλτρο. Η ναυτιλία είναι επιπλέον. ευχαριστώ, Φρεντ

There are now three solar filters left for sale. Thanks, Fred

Here is what I initially wrote, translated into Greek using the Google translation program. Γεια σε όλους, Ερασιτεχνική αστρονομία έχει έρθει σε πολύ μεγάλο βαθμό από ό, τι έζησα στην πλάτη Αθήνα το 1970. Σε αυτό το site βλέπω όλο και περισσότερα άτομα να μπουν στην τέχνη της κατασκευής τηλεσκοπίων. Θα ήθελα να προτείνω, αν είναι δυνατόν, στην 6η Συνάντηση Αστρονομίας Πανελλήνιο, τον Ιούλιο, να περιλαμβάνουν μια Κριτική Επιτροπή για το σπιτικό τηλεσκόπια και / ή τροποποίηση εμπορικών τηλεσκόπια. Θα μπορούσαν να υπάρχουν διαφορετικές κατηγορίες βραβείων και πιστεύω ότι κάτι αυτού του είδους θα ενισχύσουν και να διατηρήσουν την τέχνη της λήψης τηλεσκόπιο. Καθένας έχει οποιεσδήποτε σκέψεις για το θέμα αυτό? Θα ήθελα βεβαίως να δούμε αυτή την ιδέα να αποδώσει καρπούς. Φρεντ

Well, we all need to start somewhere. After the initial event, there should be more telescopes showing up. Now, just to kick-start this idea. One can see a lot of home-made telescopes in my private album here on Astrovox. It can give one an idea as to what kind of telescopes are taken to these events. Any home-made telescope qualifies to enter. Fred

Hi Everybody, Amateur astronomy has come a very long way from what I experienced in Athens back in 1970. On this site I am seeing more and more individuals getting into the art of telescope making. I would like to propose if it is possible, at the 6th Pan Hellenic Astronomy Meeting in July, to include a judging comittee for homemade telescopes and/or modified commercial telescopes. There could be different categories of awards and I believe that something of this nature will enhance and maintain the craft of telescope making. Anyone have any thoughts on this issue? I would certainly like to see this idea come to fruition. Fred

Hi Manousos, Very nice telescope you have made. Hope to be able to see it in person one day. I was looking at your photos of the telescope and noticed the where you have used wing-nuts, flat washers, etc. I do not see any lock washers. Is that something that you entertained using but ultimately decided against using? They are great to use, in combination with flat washers, as they keep things from getting loose over time. The attched image is what they look like. I am certain that there is a Greek word for these guys and I do not have that word in my vocabulary. Have fun, Fred