Thanks Charlie.
Once again, my stupid computer crashed, so once again, I rewritting what I just wrote....gggrrrrr! It's a new computer I built for Yule and I still don't have all the bugs worked out yet!

Anyways...don't worry about the information overload thing...thats just the way I am :-). It doesn't detract from my enjoyment of whatever it is that I'm learning...for me, learning is half the fun! Basically, I try to absorb as much as I can initially, then later when I need more info, at least I have some sort of reference to it in the back of my head. More over, to use another music anology, you can't play a guitar, no matter how much you understand music theory, unless you know how to tune the guitar! I suppose that, in part at least, I'm trying to make up for my lack of interest in learning when I was younger....high school drop out, etc.. As I've gotten older, I've discovered that I really do enjoy learning!

Another thing I'm keeping in consideration here too, in regards to the quest for info, is my wife. After I get the hang of all this stuff, I'm gonna be teaching it to her as we got this scope as sort of a "joint Valentine Day's present" for ourselves (LOL). My wife is as curious, if not more so then I am and inevidably, I know she's gonna ask me "something" that I just won't know (like the "tea cup" thing last night)...but I'm tryin to keep that down to a minimum as much as possible :-). Also, I'm out of work right now (have been since Aug 02') and since I'm taking a bit of a break from the music...I got the time to dealve into this stuff rather deeply without detracting from my viewing time! Besides...its colder then whale snot out there! I can only stand to be out there for small periods of time, even with a heater pointed at my butt! LOL!!! I really can't wait for spring/summer!

Ok...now I need a little clearer definition on the "eye relief" thing...I -think- I got it, but lemme make sure here...

I did noticed that the eye piece on the 25mm lens has a larger opening (the part I look thru) on it then the one on my 9mm, which is quite small. Now, if I were to say use an 18mm lens with a 2x Barlow...assuming that the 18mm lens had a larger opening in it then my 9mm, but perhaps not quite as large as the 25mm...this would give me the same magnification as just using the 9mm, except that using the 18mm/Barlow would simply be easier to look thru...is this what we're talkin about here? I realize that using the Barlow puts the "extra lens in the light path cutting down a little on the amount of light that gets thru"...not worried about that at the moment as again this is for reference sake...just tryin to understand eye relief.

Thanks for the link to the Orion site...looks like some good info that I'll go thru over the course of the afternoon. The term "plossl" seems to be directly in reference to the eye relief thing...I'll figure it out :-).

On the viewfinder issue...
Yes, basically I can not get this sucker to align no matter what I do. Now first off, I don't plan to drill into the scope itself...the eye piece mount is a seperate piece that I would take off to drill, should I come to that eventuallity. I have posted this on the Meade forum I found, and will be checking that after I get this posted. The mount itself has two "rings", one front and one back that the viewfinder is mounted in, with two screws in each side that are directly across from each other on each ring. The screws are then set diagonally apart on each ring. If you have Adobe Acrobat on your PC, here's the link to the owners manual... http://www.meade.com/manuals/ and its the DS 2000 series. Take a look at page 6...while this picture isn't actually -my- scope, the viewfinder is identical and should give you a better idea of what I'm talkin about. You'll also see on page 13 that the instructions for aligning the viewfinder are pretty useless if theres a problem!

Now all of the cheaper scopes I looked at all had 3 screws in each side of the viewfind mount. Again, it only took me a few moments to get the viewfinder set on that Edu-Science scope I had picked up before...this thing, I've fussed and fiddled with it and just can't get it to align. This, so far seems to be the only design flaw of this product (and I do plan to write to Meade and tell them so!). It seems more logical (to me at least) that the mount should have 3 screws in each ring. Please keep in mind, I'm not planning on drilling it -yet-...I do plan to wait until I have more info and more expeience, but I am saving it as an option. I have considered the warrenty issues, but if I can't get the bugger to align, the warrenty is going to be one of my lesser considerations. Again, I will be directing this issue at the Meade users groups...I'm sure I have to be doing -something- wrong here.

I will definatly keep your advice about -not- cleaning the mirrors in mind...at this point I'm really more concerned about the lenses really (but will bookmark those links nontheless...again, thanks!). I -know- the lenses are going to get dusty and acquire a bit of skin oil, etc., eventually. Being that I do some photography work, I do have a nice pack of lens papers...will this be suitable for cleaning the lenses on the scope or should I be looking for something more specific (soft lint free cloth)?

BTW...thanks for the info on my "black hole" question out past Jupiter...I didn't -think- I had found anything...just sort of double checking to make sure! Not sure if you or others are "Trekkies" but it really looked like that shot from the original series with the "Ameoba"...looked like a small black blob in the middle of the stars! LOL! I'm sure it was just condensation on the lens :-0.


The stuff on the weather issues...yea, I realize its not -that- important...if anything its just another one of those things I've had an interest in for sometime and now seems like a good opportunity to learn more. Not lookin to become a weather forecaster or anything, just want to have a better understanding of our enviroment is all...and it seems to fit nicely with learning the astronomy stuff :-). Thanks for the website links!

Okies...I think thats it for now! I'm heading over to the Meade forum I found to see what they were able to come up with on the viewfinder issue and my slight vibration problem. I'll also be checking out Yahoo a little later this afternoon...I know Yahoo very well, it just never occured to me to check there for astronomy and scope info! (DOH!) So far, I haven't found any stargazer groups in my area, but I'll keep checking...I may be able to find something thru our local library or something. Just based on the lack of telescope equipment alone in this area, I'm gettting the impression there's just not a lot of interest in it up here.

BTW..Charlie, where abouts in the Dayton area are you? It's been quite a while since I've been down there, but I used to have some friends (years ago) down in Kettering so I do know the area a little...just curious.

Bright Blessings,
Jim

p.s. If ya haven't guessed by now, I can be "just a tad" long winded with my posts! LOL! Sorry they get so long...it just usually works out that way :-).