ATM Re: 8 to Great (& India mirrors)

[Kent Cheatham <cheatham@ionet.net>]

Rob,
The reason I ask about Nileshes mirrors is for me he is an unknown but might
have great potential. He seemed very knowledgable and said the right things
when I spoke with him about 6 months ago. He did not have a website then. He
only made up to 8" mirrors too. They were all Soda Lime glass and plate glass.
He said in his part of the world thermal instability was less an issue. Cost
was. He did say if the mirror was thin enough, it would still cool quickly
(true) and that coatings stuck to plate glass better than pyrex (true) and that
his mirrors were all hand figured and tested (unknown) and he used , I believe,
93% coatings on most of his mirrors. He was MUCH cheaper than the US
counterparts. Please keep us informed. He said he could make me a matched pair
of 8" to whatever focal length I needed, for a bino. THE problem was shipping.
At that time he used personal courier to get into the US and from there would
UPS. He said people left every 2-3 weeks for the US. I bought a used 8x50
finder off him cheap. It didn't take TOO long. About 30 days to arrive. And I
think he is honorable. The finder was an India variety I would liken to cheap
Tasco stuff. I dumped it. I hope their idea of quality is the same as ours. I
trust the likes of Bill  Vorces opinion of a GOOD used "something" more than
Nilesh's at this point. PLEASE remember me, when you get it and send a note
after having it star tested by yourself or someone who can evaluate it's
quality.

Kent Cheatham
cheatham@ionet.net
------

Rob Teeter wrote:

> Kent,
>         Thanks for the kind comments.  Stellafane was a big thrill for me
> last year!  Like it says on my website, it is so ironic that up until only
> one week before the convention I still didn't have a clear idea of whether
> I was going to enter or not.  Glad I did, though!
>         As for my 12.5" f/5.6 mirror from Nilesh...they tell me it is
> finished and I should be getting test reports in the mail in the next
> couple weeks (that is after having ordered the mirror before last
> Christmas).  Instead of just shipping it from their facilities to my door,
> they are sending someone over with the mirror in late August to New York
> City.
>         Now either I can then have them ship it from NYC or I can drive up
> there and pick up the mirror in person (only about an hour drive from here
> in Central NJ).  They can't get here before late August due to that darn
> solar eclipse coming up!   =)   It seems that totality runs through India
> and the employee whom they would be sending over here doesn't want to miss
> it (I guess I see the logic since the next total solar eclipse for them
> isn't for another 50 yrs).
>         So around the end of next month keep an eye out on the ATM list for
> a message from me regarding the mirror...I will let everyone know not just
> optical quality but also cosmetically how it looks.
>
> Take care,
>
> Rob Teeter
> Howell, NJ
> http://www.thecore.com/~webuser/astro/