Recommend Coulter?

There's a Coulter on Astromart that I'm considering---want more
aperture...it's that 13.1" purple beast....

Can anyone give any caveats to this? Advice? The seller claims the mirror
to be very good.

I thought I might replace the mirror cell with UO mirror cell. Maybe a new
mirror later...is this worth $650?

Doink Ad#308245

I thought I might replace the mirror cell with UO mirror cell. Maybe a new
mirror later...is this worth $650?



Hi:

That's high, but not insanely high. This is an OK scope if your interest is the
deep sky...usually they will disappoint on the planets.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

Thanks Rod...I appreciate that. Those were my thoughts as well....

Doink

"Rod Mollise" wrote in message
...

I thought I might replace the mirror cell with UO mirror cell. Maybe a
new
mirror later...is this worth $650?



Hi:

That's high, but not insanely high. This is an OK scope if your interest
is the
deep sky...usually they will disappoint on the planets.

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_
Like SCTs and MCTs?
Check-out sct-user, the mailing list for CAT fanciers!
Goto http://members.aol.com/RMOLLISE/index.html

On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 16:21:51 -0800, Doink wrote:

snip
There's a Coulter on Astromart that I'm considering

snip
...is this worth $650?


What do you suppose a copy the first American release from the Beatles,
"Please Please Me," would be worth? My guess is whatever it could bring.
Sure, the condition of the record would be a deciding factor, but more so
in my opinion would be just how badly the buyer wants the record. This is
the way I see the Coulter in question.

Why an analogy using Coulter, the 13.1", the Beatles, and "Please Please
Me?" Both Coulter and the Beatles were vanguards of change to an
established culture and the 13.1" and "Please Please Me" were
groundbreaking releases.

To me, regardless of the pluses and minuses of both their later products,
nothing can detract from the contribution and significance of these
introductory efforts.

If I had the $650.00 to spare, I would gladly pay it for a mint copy of the
record as well as for the scope assuming it is in good enough condition and
that the mirror is as good as stated.

Do you want to know a secret? I feel fine.


Martin

Well, the difference is that I don't want to collect telescopes....I want to
USE them. If I lived in a place where I could sell them, it wouldn't be an
issue...but if I buy 'em, I keep em...Ship it? Argh.

I want to see a bit deeper and have something worth using...and, if the
workings are decent, I could do some upgrades...


"Martin R. Howell" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 16:21:51 -0800, Doink wrote:

snip
There's a Coulter on Astromart that I'm considering

snip
...is this worth $650?


What do you suppose a copy the first American release from the Beatles,
"Please Please Me," would be worth? My guess is whatever it could bring.
Sure, the condition of the record would be a deciding factor, but more so
in my opinion would be just how badly the buyer wants the record. This is
the way I see the Coulter in question.

Why an analogy using Coulter, the 13.1", the Beatles, and "Please Please
Me?" Both Coulter and the Beatles were vanguards of change to an
established culture and the 13.1" and "Please Please Me" were
groundbreaking releases.

To me, regardless of the pluses and minuses of both their later products,
nothing can detract from the contribution and significance of these
introductory efforts.

If I had the $650.00 to spare, I would gladly pay it for a mint copy of
the
record as well as for the scope assuming it is in good enough condition
and
that the mirror is as good as stated.

Do you want to know a secret? I feel fine.


Martin

"Martin R. Howell" wrote in message . ..
On Tue, 2 Nov 2004 16:21:51 -0800, Doink wrote:

snip
There's a Coulter on Astromart that I'm considering

snip
...is this worth $650?


What do you suppose a copy the first American release from the Beatles,
"Please Please Me," would be worth? My guess is whatever it could bring.
Sure, the condition of the record would be a deciding factor, but more so
in my opinion would be just how badly the buyer wants the record. This is
the way I see the Coulter in question.

Why an analogy using Coulter, the 13.1", the Beatles, and "Please Please
Me?" Both Coulter and the Beatles were vanguards of change to an
established culture and the 13.1" and "Please Please Me" were
groundbreaking releases.

To me, regardless of the pluses and minuses of both their later products,
nothing can detract from the contribution and significance of these
introductory efforts.

If I had the $650.00 to spare, I would gladly pay it for a mint copy of the
record as well as for the scope assuming it is in good enough condition and
that the mirror is as good as stated.


I think the key difference here is that I doubt most people inside
Astronomy will ever view Coulters as being collectables.

That being said, I don't necessarily view the Coulters as ground
breaking. The hard work in the Dob revolution has always been amateur
driven. John Dobson and the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers
developed the basic design the Coulter used and later amateurs
developed the basic Truss design and in many notable cases went on to
turn them into excellent commercial products. And once again as the
ultra-light Dobs are being introduced by Amateurs...

--
Bill

"Doink" wrote

I want to see a bit deeper and have something worth using...and, if the
workings are decent, I could do some upgrades...

You might luck out with the optics; if not, getting decent replacement
optics will more than double that price, so keep that in mind. (Then again,
does anyone make 13.1" mirrors?) If all you need it for is *low* power deep
sky, it could be fine.

On 3 Nov 2004 06:06:26 -0800, Bill McHale wrote:

I think the key difference here is that I doubt most people inside
Astronomy will ever view Coulters as being collectables.

It was never my position that they would be. Doink read that into my
response. I made the link to the Beatles record only to point out that the
market establishes what an item is worth. After all, the record is made of
perhaps 10 cents worth of plastic and the sum total price of the Coulter's
parts is also almost as dismissively small. Wood, glass, a little metal
(screws, nuts, and bolts), and some paint don't cost much.



That being said, I don't necessarily view the Coulters as ground
breaking. The hard work in the Dob revolution has always been amateur
driven. John Dobson and the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers
developed the basic design

What was groundbreaking was Coulter marketing the scope nationally which
was developed by Dobson. While other amateurs were making them, it was
Coulter, if my memory serves me well, that standardized the design for an
affordable product and went on to market them to the individual who did not
want to mess with the mirror grinding, polishing, and figuring, as well as
all the rest of the work that goes into producing a telescope. They sold
so well that Coulter could not keep up with demand and wait times became
forbiddingly long and this was perhaps one of the factors in the eventual
demise of the company.


--
Martin
"Photographs From the Universe of Amateur Astronomy"
http://home.earthlink.net/~martinhowell

I want to see a bit deeper and have something worth using...and, if the
workings are decent, I could do some upgrades...


I had one of the red ones, and it was great!! I did make a 5" off-axis
aperture for bright planets such as Jupiter and Venus - you may not need to if
the mirror is good, but if found less flare with the aperture. For DSO's it is
the way to go full-aperture.
Clear, Dark, Steady Skies!
(And considerate neighbors!!!)

Hi group...
Sorry to push your patience. I decided to go with the Coulter. If worse
comes to worse, I can refigure the mirror. The cost is so much less than
than a new PDHQ discovery....

Thanks for the discussion.

Doink




"Martin R. Howell" wrote in message
...
On 3 Nov 2004 06:06:26 -0800, Bill McHale wrote:

I think the key difference here is that I doubt most people inside
Astronomy will ever view Coulters as being collectables.

It was never my position that they would be. Doink read that into my
response. I made the link to the Beatles record only to point out that
the
market establishes what an item is worth. After all, the record is made
of
perhaps 10 cents worth of plastic and the sum total price of the Coulter's
parts is also almost as dismissively small. Wood, glass, a little metal
(screws, nuts, and bolts), and some paint don't cost much.



That being said, I don't necessarily view the Coulters as ground
breaking. The hard work in the Dob revolution has always been amateur
driven. John Dobson and the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers
developed the basic design

What was groundbreaking was Coulter marketing the scope nationally which
was developed by Dobson. While other amateurs were making them, it was
Coulter, if my memory serves me well, that standardized the design for an
affordable product and went on to market them to the individual who did
not
want to mess with the mirror grinding, polishing, and figuring, as well as
all the rest of the work that goes into producing a telescope. They sold
so well that Coulter could not keep up with demand and wait times became
forbiddingly long and this was perhaps one of the factors in the eventual
demise of the company.


--
Martin
"Photographs From the Universe of Amateur Astronomy"
http://home.earthlink.net/~martinhowell