Plan B
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- Joined
- Jan 7, 2011
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Hi all,
I'm new here, first post, so this is my intro thread too. Thanks for having me.
I recently picked up a laser pointer finder for my telescope and I just love the thing. I'm able to slew to targets with my dobsonian in about half the time it used to take me and the inherent coolness factor of a laser shooting outta my scope doesn't hurt either. Now that I have used it I can't imagine going without but I'm still having a few issues with it and would like to maybe upgrade.
My current laser is rated a 5 mW and produces an acceptable beam in dark sky conditions. Unfortunately I use my scope mainly from my home, located in a major city center, and with all the light pollution the beam just doesn't quite cut it. I'd like to be able to punch a "WOW" type beam through light polluted skys but not kill my night vision when at dark sky locations. Are there variable laser pointers, perhaps with polarized adjustable filters? Another major issue is cold weather. I live in Canada and this time of year I'll use my scope in windy -10c conditions, sometimes -15 to 20c if I'm feeling real brave. At these temps, by the time I get my scope set up and aligned, the cold has rendered the laser all but useless. I've read of people taping chemical pack hand warmers to the hosts but this does not seem the ideal solution to me. My current laser uses 2 AAA batteries and I'm wondering if other battery types would perform better in the cold. Would an AC powered lab laser suffer the same from the cold? Can you get AC lasers in a hand held host to save the need to build a custom mount?
I'm hoping for recommendation on a cheapish laser that rectifies these issues. In my uneducated mind I'm thinking a green 50-200 mW would be ideal, perhaps AC powered to deal with the cold. 200 mW is maybe overkill but the "WOW" beam is appealing to me.
Any thoughts on this would be great.
Cheers,
Chris
I'm new here, first post, so this is my intro thread too. Thanks for having me.
I recently picked up a laser pointer finder for my telescope and I just love the thing. I'm able to slew to targets with my dobsonian in about half the time it used to take me and the inherent coolness factor of a laser shooting outta my scope doesn't hurt either. Now that I have used it I can't imagine going without but I'm still having a few issues with it and would like to maybe upgrade.
My current laser is rated a 5 mW and produces an acceptable beam in dark sky conditions. Unfortunately I use my scope mainly from my home, located in a major city center, and with all the light pollution the beam just doesn't quite cut it. I'd like to be able to punch a "WOW" type beam through light polluted skys but not kill my night vision when at dark sky locations. Are there variable laser pointers, perhaps with polarized adjustable filters? Another major issue is cold weather. I live in Canada and this time of year I'll use my scope in windy -10c conditions, sometimes -15 to 20c if I'm feeling real brave. At these temps, by the time I get my scope set up and aligned, the cold has rendered the laser all but useless. I've read of people taping chemical pack hand warmers to the hosts but this does not seem the ideal solution to me. My current laser uses 2 AAA batteries and I'm wondering if other battery types would perform better in the cold. Would an AC powered lab laser suffer the same from the cold? Can you get AC lasers in a hand held host to save the need to build a custom mount?
I'm hoping for recommendation on a cheapish laser that rectifies these issues. In my uneducated mind I'm thinking a green 50-200 mW would be ideal, perhaps AC powered to deal with the cold. 200 mW is maybe overkill but the "WOW" beam is appealing to me.
Any thoughts on this would be great.
Cheers,
Chris