Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
- DozerBolt
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
(they even got him standing next to it!)
Odyssey 8" Dob, Dynamax 6" Cat, Orion Shortube 90mm, Restored Tasco 9F 60mm, Meade EclipseView 82mm tabletop;
Orion 9x63 Little Giant AK roofs, Orion Ultra 2x54 Galilleans, Vortex Crossfire HD 12x50 roofs, Nikon Owl II 7x50, Atlas Eagle Owl 10x50 Porros;
Swift Audubon 8.5x44 804b(2), 10x42 Orion Otter ED SP Roofs, more;
"My other telescopes are Hubble and Spitzer"
- StarBru
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.
Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains.
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts.
Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces.
Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
- DozerBolt
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Looks like you played your hand well after all - you've got a pretty great set of scopes there...
I've been milking the same cow for 30 years - but she still makes good milk!
Clear Skies, buddy...
Odyssey 8" Dob, Dynamax 6" Cat, Orion Shortube 90mm, Restored Tasco 9F 60mm, Meade EclipseView 82mm tabletop;
Orion 9x63 Little Giant AK roofs, Orion Ultra 2x54 Galilleans, Vortex Crossfire HD 12x50 roofs, Nikon Owl II 7x50, Atlas Eagle Owl 10x50 Porros;
Swift Audubon 8.5x44 804b(2), 10x42 Orion Otter ED SP Roofs, more;
"My other telescopes are Hubble and Spitzer"
- kt4hx Online
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Yeah, that was the slimmed down red version by then. Unfortunately I got the first design with that very beefy and very heavy mirror box! Though I did like the Blue Zolatone finish as they called it.
I guess that would also be the slimmed down version of me as well, back when I had a decent metabolic rate!
Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
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"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
- helicon Online
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
- kt4hx Online
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
I just found this reference: "An attractive coating of bluish Zolatone, a water-resistant sealer, gives the original line of Coulter Odyssey telescopes their common namesake."
That quote is from an article about the Coulter scopes and James Braginton, owner of Coulter in the November 2006 Rosette Gazette, the publication of the Rose City Astronomers in Portland, Oregon.
http://www.rosecityastronomers.org/news ... 006_11.pdf
I recall it being smooth with a subtle texture and actually an attractive color.
Scopes: Astro Sky 17.5 f/4.5 Dob || Apertura AD12 f/5 Dob || Zhumell Z10 f/4.9 Dob ||
ES AR127 f/6.5 || ES ED80 f/6 || Apertura 6" f/5 Newtonian
Mounts: ES Twilight-II and Twilight-I
EPs: AT 82° 28mm UWA || TV Ethos 100° 21mm and 13mm || Vixen LVW 65° 22mm ||
ES 82° 18mm || Pentax XW 70° 10mm, 7mm and 5mm || barlows
Filters (2 inch): DGM NPB || Orion Ultra Block, O-III and Sky Glow || Baader HaB
Primary Field Atlases: Uranometria All-Sky Edition and Interstellarum Deep Sky Atlas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Astronomers, we look into the past to see our future." (me)
"Seeing is in some respect an art, which must be learnt." (William Herschel)
"What we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean." (Sir Isaac Newton)
"No good deed goes unpunished." (various)
“Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't you think?” (Scarecrow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)
- helicon Online
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Thanks Alan.kt4hx wrote: ↑Sun May 10, 2020 2:22 pmI just found this reference: "An attractive coating of bluish Zolatone, a water-resistant sealer, gives the original line of Coulter Odyssey telescopes their common namesake."
That quote is from an article about the Coulter scopes and James Braginton, owner of Coulter in the November 2006 Rosette Gazette, the publication of the Rose City Astronomers in Portland, Oregon.
http://www.rosecityastronomers.org/news ... 006_11.pdf
I recall it being smooth with a subtle texture and actually an attractive color.
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
- DozerBolt
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
HAPPY BIRTHDAY yesterday!
p.s. you mentioned James Braginton - I talked with him a couple of times - Coulter was a small, family run business, and he did everything, including the support calls! Lovely man ,and
Odyssey 8" Dob, Dynamax 6" Cat, Orion Shortube 90mm, Restored Tasco 9F 60mm, Meade EclipseView 82mm tabletop;
Orion 9x63 Little Giant AK roofs, Orion Ultra 2x54 Galilleans, Vortex Crossfire HD 12x50 roofs, Nikon Owl II 7x50, Atlas Eagle Owl 10x50 Porros;
Swift Audubon 8.5x44 804b(2), 10x42 Orion Otter ED SP Roofs, more;
"My other telescopes are Hubble and Spitzer"
- StarBru
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Yes, once I raised my kids, my income made quite the jump at the same time and I went a little overboard with buying scopes, but never buying new or when new always a good deal! Still, to this day, I want to buy those telescopes that are still out of my price range: a Unitron or other classic refractor, a Questar or a Quantum, etc. Sigh....maybe someday!
Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.
Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains.
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts.
Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces.
Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
- 515bonner Online
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
6" f/12 Orion 150mm Mak | 4" f/9 Celestron Refractor (Vixen) | 80mm f4 unbranded refractor
iOptron CEM40 | iOptron Cube Pro
Large Assortment of Nagler and Konig Eyepieces | ZWO ASI290MC & ZWO ASI120MM-s Cameras
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- DozerBolt
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
That's quite the modification list - hey, any mods involving "2" steel shafts" gets a gold star in my book! Some serious tin bending...! My forehead gets sweaty from the logistics of an equatorial
Your Odyssey Compact was MY dream scope, but I just couldn't swing the extra $75 at the time (it might as well have been a million) Funny that nowadays, I've spent more on lunch!
So, why'd you get rid of it? Too big? Back got sore moving it around, like Alan? Got tired of that ballroom dance and wanted some cha-cha? A little different focus? (sorry, bad pun)
Odyssey 8" Dob, Dynamax 6" Cat, Orion Shortube 90mm, Restored Tasco 9F 60mm, Meade EclipseView 82mm tabletop;
Orion 9x63 Little Giant AK roofs, Orion Ultra 2x54 Galilleans, Vortex Crossfire HD 12x50 roofs, Nikon Owl II 7x50, Atlas Eagle Owl 10x50 Porros;
Swift Audubon 8.5x44 804b(2), 10x42 Orion Otter ED SP Roofs, more;
"My other telescopes are Hubble and Spitzer"
- 515bonner Online
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Why I got rid of it? Well, can't rightly remember. I suppose with the new and shiny LX200's that started hitting the market I wanted one of those and sold it to help funding. I was in my 30's and worked out quite a bit so weight wasn't a factor. I liked the fact the LX200 could operate in bothDozerBolt wrote: ↑Mon May 11, 2020 3:10 am @515bonner, man you are the Real Deal!
That's quite the modification list - hey, any mods involving "2" steel shafts" gets a gold star in my book! Some serious tin bending...! My forehead gets sweaty from the logistics of an equatorial Dob!
Your Odyssey Compact was MY dream scope, but I just couldn't swing the extra $75 at the time (it might as well have been a million) Funny that nowadays, I've spent more on lunch!
So, why'd you get rid of it? Too big? Back got sore moving it around, like Alan? Got tired of that ballroom dance and wanted some cha-cha? A little different focus? (sorry, bad pun)
Rob
6" f/12 Orion 150mm Mak | 4" f/9 Celestron Refractor (Vixen) | 80mm f4 unbranded refractor
iOptron CEM40 | iOptron Cube Pro
Large Assortment of Nagler and Konig Eyepieces | ZWO ASI290MC & ZWO ASI120MM-s Cameras
Member of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City / Astronomical League
Member of the British Astronomical Association
V.P. of Occultation Services, International Occultation Timing Association
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
I was watching youtube videos on telescopes today and decided to take a peek in the basement at a couple of 8 inch Coulters I have not looked at in many years (I got into other things like motorcycles and
My f4.5 is called a 'New Improved' version, from the early 90s. The tube is covered in brown 'Boltaflex' vinyl, and has has a geared focuser. It also has a destroyed diagonal. It fell off and was laying on the primary when I pulled off the dust cover. The primary itself does not look to be damaged badly but I can't tell for sure until I take it out and clean it. I would have thought it too would be in pieces! Might be an excuse to grind a mirror, something I have wanted to do since somewhere back around 1950. If I am lucky the one in the f4.5 might be salvageable by regrinding. The f6 looks perfect, not even very dirty, but it does need cleaning. Will be taking it out in the next couple of days!
Good to see that there are still folks around interested in the Coulters.
Regards,
Gord
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
- helicon Online
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Does anyone know for sure what size secondary the f7 came with? At some point I replaced it's secondary with a smaller one. I can not find it's specs online, the f7 did not come with a manual and it's not shown in the manual I have for the f4.5. I do have a secondary in the closet that is 1.815 across. I suspect that is the original from the f7. Fortunately it is the same size as the one that came loose in the f4.5. It's not the original size listed for the 4.5, which was 2.14, but it will do.
And, for anyone questioning the durability of the Coulter primary blanks, the mirror is just fine. Some scrapes on the coating, but the Pyrex is fine. That secondary must have fallen about 30 inches right onto that primary. I am amazed how little the primary was damaged, whIle the secondary was destroyed. Looks like a fine excuse to order an abrasives kit and work on that mirror over the winter. In the meantime I think it will work just fine as is.
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
See Far Sticks: Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser 127/1200 BV, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS 100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, SXP2, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II, Stellarvue M2C, Argo Navis encoders on both
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Tak prism, TAL, Vixen
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss (1000101)
The only culture I have is from yogurt
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
I sold it to a co-worker about ten years ago. I'll post any pictures I can dig up.
- helicon Online
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
- Thomas_M44
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Re: Coulter Odyssey Dobsonian
I bought the telescope new in 1993, and used it until 2006.
The mirror in mine had excellent figure, and gave near-perfect diffraction rings.
I did find the crude helical/friction focuser marginal, and early on replaced it with a JMI 1.25” reverse-crayford focuser which worked extremely well. I also had made a small cloth bean bag which I used as an adjustable counterweight when affixed to the OT with a bungee strap.
The Coulter 8-inch
An 200mm
TELESCOPES: GSO 150mm f/6 Newtonian with 2” linear bearing focuser; TeleVue TV85 85mm f/7 apo refractor MOUNTINGS: Berlebach Uni Tripod with Stellarvue M2C alt/az mount head/pillar EYEPIECE SETS: Masuyama 85-Deg AFOV; TeleVue Plossl’s; KK Fujiyama Abbe Ortho's; Edmund RKE’s; Starbase Kellner's (by Takahashi) BARLOWS: Nikon EiC16 1.6X; TeleVue 2X & 3X; GSO ED 2” TELECENTRIC AMPLIFIERS: TeleVue Powermates 2.5X, 4X, 5X FILTERS, 2”: Baader Contrast Booster; Baader 570nm Orange Longpass; TeleVue Bandmate Type II Nebustar DIAGONALS: APM 2” Standard Prism (BK7); APM 2” Amici Prism (BK7) BINOCULARS: Fujinon 7X50 FMT-SX Polaris
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