Re: ATM Sky instruments -- 10" mirror options/opinions

["Bell, Andrew" <AMB2@pge.com>]

Returning to original subject of this thread, the only thing I've bought so
far from the folks at Sky Instruments has been one of their 8x50 RA erect
image finders.  I was real happy with how that transaction turned out; it is
a very nice finder [well-made, quite good optically] at a quite reasonable
price, was shipped promptly, and they seemed very pleasant to deal with over
the telephone.

They do list both 8-inch and 10-inch mirrors in their printed catalog, with
a fair number of choices between plate glass and pyrex [most of which are
listed as being "in stock"].  The plate glass mirrors are even less
expensive than what Dave Strout mentioned a couple of days ago for an 8" in
pyrex; I think it's something like $199 for the 10" f/5 in plate glass.

I have been toying with the idea of building a 10-inch binoscope, and am
thinking I might try doing it the first time with two of their plate glass
f/5's.  My own tastes run more to banging wood than to pushing glass, and I
know that I'll at least have a working model a lot sooner if I jump start
the project this way.

-- Andrew Bell