In Praise of the Lowly Monopod [Actually On-Topic!]

"John Steinberg" wrote in message
...

Recently I've also taken to using the monopod with some of my larger
binoculars. Although nowhere near as handy when observing with others
as a parallelogram mount, it does help to offset muscle fatigue and
adds a bit of very low-tech IS functionality.

Yep, I concur.

However, as it turns out, a problem I have with my monopod/binocular setup
is the mating of the 'L' bracket mount to the cheap-o 15x70 Bear binoculars
(which are quite good visually) that I bought a few years back. The
connection at the bracket gets loose when changing the inter-ocular
distance, which I have to do after removing the one-piece eye-lens cover.
The brass nut which the bolt of the 'L' bracket screws into, is a component
of the center post of the binocular. It is the brass nut that gets loose,
not the 'L' bracket screw. The result is the binos see-saw around the pivot
point, which makes them less stable.

Sooo, when looking into binoculars, always checkout the mounting point for
an 'L' bracket.

-Stephen

"John Steinberg" wrote in message
...
Stephen Paul wrote:

The brass nut which the bolt of the 'L' bracket screws into, is a
component
of the center post of the binocular. It is the brass nut that gets
loose,
not the 'L' bracket screw. The result is the binos see-saw around the
pivot
point, which makes them less stable.

The part I believe you're describing here has a channel that bisects the
nut, yes? I wonder if you tighten this up, with an appropriate tool, if
that would solve this issue?

Tried that of course. (and shhh.... I need a good reason to buy 25x100's and
a fork mount for the south facing balcony).

FWIW, a good size screw driver will work in place of a butter knife. Give it
a shot, you'd be surprised how well.

-Stephen

On 10/02/03 06:41 +0900, John Steinberg wrote:

Stephen Paul wrote:

Tried that of course. (and shhh.... I need a good reason to buy
25x100's and a fork mount for the south facing balcony).

OIC. Unlike some people here [tis hard to stop a Trane] I can actually

Hey! I resemble that remark. Anyway, Stephen is following in the
fine and age-old pursuit of justifying gear purchases to his
better half. Perfectly normal. Of course, if you go around
kissing routers, you're gonna rue the day you owned up to it. ;-)

Look for it in tomorrow's Washington Post.

LOL

A screwdriver? Doesn't the orange juice and vodka make a mess? Oh, a

It can. Wear a bib. It helps. Really, it does.

trane
--
//------------------------------------------------------------
// Trane Francks Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
// http://mp3.com/trane_francks/

someone wrote:

A screwdriver? Doesn't the orange juice and vodka make a mess? Oh, a
screw *driver*. Nope, never touch those things. I'm so mechanically
disinclined I have to have someone rotate the chair for me when
changing light bulbs.

Heh, heh! But "screwdriver" as one word, to refer to the tool that one
uses to drive screws, is correct, according to Webster's. "Screw driver"
as two words, for the same tool is correct too.
Bill Meyers

On 10/02/03 11:29 +0900, John Steinberg wrote:

Trane Francks, disproving the popular notion that even a train comes to
a stop eventually, wrote:

Most famous Canadian Jazz tune would be? "Take The Trane, Eh?"

Of course, if you go around kissing routers, you're gonna rue the day
you owned up to it. ;-)

Okay, that *is* it!

ROTFL!

I did so only after hand snaking several hundred feet of Cat5 cable
throughout my primary residence, thus allowing me to put a networked
computer in every room I desired. All machines comfortably ensconced

Wi-Fi. ;-P

1000BASE-T Ethernet speeds. Try *that* with your Nike sneakernet!

LOL -- You've got me beat. I freely admit to being far too cheap
to upgrade my 8-port 10Base-T dumb hub to a 100Base-TX smart hub.
Besides, slow file-copy times are a superb excuse to pour another
coffee. [Mmmmmmm, coffee!] Besides, I'm a telecommuter and my
broadband speeds between home and the office are much slower than
10Base-T.

Now, can we keep the facts straight or do I have to let these brownies
burn the color of the lunar surface?

John, you'll just never get me to admit to kissing various
musical instruments, modems, computers and motorcycles. And I
simply refuse to explain that I talk to my instruments before the
band goes on stage. Were I to do so, I'd be facing the risk of
being labeled a kook. Like you, sicko.

It can. Wear a bib. It helps. Really, it does.

You know, I don't know why but I really believe you here. Just like the
guy who convinced me to buy three day old sushi on sale tonight.

Not only does it help with the screwdrivers, but it takes care of
the drool after too many screwdrivers. ;-P

Seeing that we've mercilessly hijacked yet another thread, I'd
better say something astronomically witty and on-topic. Uh. "It
never occurred to me to use a monopod for binos. Great idea."

trane
--
//------------------------------------------------------------
// Trane Francks Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
// http://mp3.com/trane_francks/

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 17:02:33 GMT, John Steinberg
wrote:

(snip)

Executive Summary:

Monopods ain't too shabby.

Since you have become enlightened, here's something you might keep an
eye out for.

I have a tripod that works very well as a combination monopod and
walking stick. Works OK as a tripod too, if you don't expect too much
from it.

It has very long, skinny legs and a small diameter fixture where the
legs attach, so that it fits the hand nicely when the legs are folded
in. At maximum extension, a camera or binocular is close to eye
level. Weighs less than most monopods and lets you actually stop and
set up for hands off stability when you want to.

I got it more than 30 years ago, so the brand and model ID would be
useless, but I've seen some similar ones over the years made to be
ultra-compact (when folded and collapsed) for carrying in a largish
camera bag.

Zane

On 10/03/03 00:38 +0900, John Steinberg wrote:

Trane "I was born to hawk Oscar-Meyer Weiners" Francks wrote:

[Coffee, mmmm.] Oh, a telecommuter. IOW, an overpaid and underworked
pajama wearing slacker. I can admire that.

Yeah. Life is good as a telecommuter. It's amazing how much extra
time one gets when shaving is optional. ;^)
[i]
John, admit kissing various musical instruments, modems,
computers and motorcycles. And ... I talk to my instruments before the
band goes on stage.

Well, I can understand the motorcycle snogging, but the rest (of your
carefully edited commentary) is just beyond the pale. Even for a
transplanted Canuck!

I ... *sob* ... I'm addicted to shudder ANTHROPOMORPHIZATION!

facing the risk of being labeled a kook.

Newsflash: That horse left the barn during the year of the great flood,
Trane.

Oh, dear. Well, at least I'm in good company. You are *good*
company, aren't you?

Like you, sicko.

Psychologists label this as projection.

They also label you /sicko/. LOL

report went over like a Honda at a Harley convention. g

God, did it ever. None of those big V guys take much stock when a
guy comes along boasting of the performance of his wee 2-stroker.

We now return to topic -- in theory.

Hah!

trane
--
//------------------------------------------------------------
// Trane Francks Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
// http://mp3.com/trane_francks/

On 10/03/03 20:40 +0900, John Steinberg wrote:

Trane Francks wrote:

Yeah. Life is good as a telecommuter. It's amazing how much extra
time one gets when shaving is optional. ;^)

No doubt. Why, just this morning I spent a good 45 minutes doing so, and
that was just my back. *Rimshot*

Touché! Or is that toupee! ;-)

Hey, I'm assuming you can read Japanese, so this URL may be of interest,
provided your slackware can parse the page into something edible.

Nyetscrap does a fine job of supporting all sorts of languages.

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0925/004.html

For lesser mortals, it's an article about Tokyo University ("The Harvard
of Japan") switching from their Linux boxes over to Macs next year.

Apparently so. I can see it now ... hundreds of users trying
desperately to middle-click to paste text from the clipboard and
finding -- gasp -- there's only one mouse button! Man, you wanna
know that will be some heavy duty culture shock. ;-)

about the fetish item that the iPod has become in Japan, but I'll bet

That's not news. Japanese have fetishes for everything. LOL!

You can skip that step, but step 2b involves making out with your
mother-in-law. Most people go with 2a.

She's a looker, but I suppose the beer is more PC. ;-)

These early October skies have been unusually brisk and clear here in
NY. Once more my monopod and I got some quality time with the moon last
night. True, this was augmented by views through the LX90, but for ease
of set-up, and quick looks, you just can't beat the binos. No thermal

Too much cloud cover here, so even the binos stayed in bed. With
the NexStar packed up and ready to head off to Tasco Japan for
repair, I trundled off to the local lumber shop and bought the
first bits and pieces for my wee 4.5" dob. It's gonna be a truss.

cold, I was finally able to finish the glass etching job I'd been
working on for months. Just using my nipples.

Oh, visual. My eyes, they burn! Make it stop! Aieeeeeeee

trane
--
//------------------------------------------------------------
// Trane Francks Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
// http://mp3.com/trane_francks/

On 10/04/03 02:28 +0900, John Steinberg wrote:

We're consistently off-topic. I *had* to change the subject.

Hopefully your NexStar will suffer less indignities than mine have. I

I bought it as a refurb and it broke a drive after only 6 months.
At this stage, things aren't looking good for its longevity. I'm
definitely having a love/hate relationship with this scope.
Sometimes, when the seeing and transparency are good, observing
is nearly a religious experience. On the other hand, when my
Celestron's handset displays "StarGuide Ready" from time to time,
I get really irritated. This scope is not without some serious
quirks.

But anyway, that was when the series was new, so hopefully they will
have gotten their QA together in the interim. Meanwhile, a truss is

Unfortunately, the 4 GT and 5 series aren't even made in the same
countries. Also, the price point of the 4 GT puts it into that
"too expensive for its optics and too cheap to work well"
category. Maybe I'll feel differently if I can get a year of
trouble-free operation out of it.

very nice [adjusting mine] and I've often thought the smaller models
were really quite appealing in terms of performance & portability.

That was the reason I bought mine. I should have been patient,
saved my money and bought a 5i. It's very nearly as portable as
the 4 GT.

And speaking of fetish items, when JMI http://www.jimsmobile.com first
announced their 6" Open Truss Tube model some years back, I was
practically drooling at the photos. I don't know if they ever did

Maybe. All I see there is big iron now. Then again, there's the
very cool RB-66 reversed 6" binoculars. That must make for a very
impressive view!

Hmmm. It doesn't look as though I'm going to get any work done on
the dob today. I've got a pounder of a headache and I've no idea
why. :-(

trane
--
//------------------------------------------------------------
// Trane Francks Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
// http://mp3.com/trane_francks/

On 10/04/03 22:33 +0900, John Steinberg wrote:

Hi, John.

Trane Francks wrote:

We're consistently off-topic. I *had* to change the subject.

This is your brain; this is your brain on thread drift.

I've always called it thread morphing, but it amounts to the same
thing.

I haven't met a NexStar yet (regardless of country of origin) that
doesn't have some quirks. BTW, there's a Yahoo group for the NexStar

I wonder if I might ever find the "perfect" scope (for me). I
mean, it's not as though I've explored many options. Two scopes
so far -- the Nashica refractor (EEK!) and the NexStar -- and the
truss dob in-progress that is based on Meade DS 4.5" Newt optics
from Surplus Shed. I really like goto -- under light-polluted
skies, it's a boon for a productive session.

series here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nexstar/ I actually founded
it in 1999, but in a palace coup I was summarily dispatched by my right
hand man. Actually, I left voluntarily, but if you're not already a

???

Okay, I was a member of the group for some time and left
unannounced in July pending my trip to Graz. Overwork was killing
me and I unsubscribed to all my lists. Now you have me confused;
there was a John Steinberg on the list while I was there and,
dadgum, I thought you were the John Steinberg of the NexStar
Steinbergs, not some ghost from the past.

I'm confused. Woe is me. The group is run by Mike...uh...Swanson.
Was that the overthrowing culprit?

subscriber, you might get some excellent advice there. Say "hi" for me
if you join, and tell the good folks all is well, and that although I'm
still limping, I'm not dead yet.

I can't say that there's much chance of me joining that group
again. Nice folks, but really off topic. You know, much like you
an' me yapping here. *rolling eyes* Seriously, though, I got some
good mileage out of the posts, but there are only so many NexStar
4 GT questions to be asked. Most of my questions these days are
more generic. I think.

That was the reason I bought mine. I should have been patient,
saved my money and bought a 5i. It's very nearly as portable as
the 4 GT.

I just donated a factory sealed NexStar 5 (non-i) to NYU (I hope M.
Simmons isn't reading this!) but if you can deal with the added bulk and
cost, you'll get more mileage from a LX90. Naturally, something in

I can't say that the LX90 hasn't tempted me. Alas, they're bloody
expensive here and I can't get an English-language hand
controller without spending an arm and a leg. Unless I can find
some wonderful shop in N.A. that's willing to risk the wrath of
Meade to ship a controller overseas ... Meade and Celestron
scopes here cost a fortune. You know a C5 case costs the
equivalent of $550 here???!!! My USED/REFURB 4 GT was $575 --
more than the list price stateside for a new one.

It's sick, I tell ya. You guys in N.A. might not be able to save
much money by building your own scopes, but I'm sure saving a
bundle by building my little 4.5" truss-dob.

4-inch to 5-inch range is hard to beat when it comes to portability.
And, no, I'm not trying to sell you a new scope, just doing some forward
thinking. You can thank me in a few years. Or not.

As I've discussed with Jon Isaacs, I'm doing most of my observing
from my rooftop balcony. The access door -- actually a nice glass
sliding door that is blocked by my kids' bunk bed -- has only 16"
of clearance. As tempting as a big scope might be, I really
wonder about dragging 8"-and-larger OTA's through such an opening
in the wee hours of the morning when I'm either freezing, close
to sleep or both.

Yeah, I know an 8" OTA isn't "big", but it's big enough when
you're squeaking your butt through a tiny doorway. If wine is
involved with an observing session, trust me, the 4 GT is wide
enough. Then there's the issue of storing the OTA in our
rabbit-hutch of an apartment. I can't imagine my wife being very
keen on a huge case being placed on the floor of the computer
room. The hardcase for the 4 GT is already big enough.

http://www.jimsmobile.com/rb66_data.htm
looks like two of NGC-6 models I was thinking of! And kudos to Jim for

Yep, the RB-66 reversed binos are very, very cool.

putting a buxom blonde in some of those shots. It may not be PC in
this day and age, but there's nothing better than a blonde in a sweater

Yeah, well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't appreciate it. I also
really like the Japanese girl in the StarChair 3000 ads. Male to
the bitter end, I remain.

It's post nasal drip season here. The wife was honking like a Canadian
Goose all night. Feel better!

The wine and a nap have helped immensely. No work on the dob
tonight, but at least I expect to wake up tomorrow morning
feeling human.

I keep wondering whether I'd manage to, a) grind an acceptable
10" mirror and, b) be able to find a way to store it in a cabinet
on the balcony in a fashion that would not encourage
deterioration of the optics. If my 4.5" truss turns out to be a
success, a 10" might not be out of the question.

BTW, for anybody reading this, if you happen to know the
diameter/thread pitch of the mounting bolts on a NexStar 4/5
tripod, I'd appreciate hearing about it. I'm toying with the idea
of using the NexStar wedge in EQ mode with the 4.5" truss so that
tracking involves only R.A. pushes.

Just an idea.

trane
--
//------------------------------------------------------------
// Trane Francks Tokyo, Japan
// Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
// http://mp3.com/trane_francks/