Solar telescope by Dennis Gallagher - notice foundation for the new observatory in the background

Kevin Medlock received a Merit Award
for  his falling weight drive

Jeff Carmack with his 17-1/2" Dobsonian decorated with space art. Holes are drilled in the tube to reduce weight.

Tom Osyowski received a Merit
Award for his 16" Dobsonian on an
equatorial platform

Gordon McDonald received a Merit Award for Outstanding Wood Craftsmanship for his 6" F/5.

Richard Davidson with his wooden
fork mounted Newtonian

Attendance: 1,176

Now in its 16th year, the RTMC has become one of the premier astronomical events. By now, the presence of venders of astronomical equipment has started to dominate the field. One of the favorite activities has become purchasing of second hand or cosmetically damaged items from these venders.

This conference was dedicated to the memory of Luther Davidson, former president of the Riverside Astronomical Society, who died last year. You can see his picture on the 1977 RTMC page.

Speakers:

• Jim Jacobson, "The Art and Science of Visual High Fidelity in Astronomy"
• Louis Boyd, "Automatic Photoelectric Telescope"
• Norm Sperling, "Four Great Questions of Astronomy"
• Robert Little, "Eclipses '83 and '84"
• Chris Schur, "The Black Canyon Observatory"
• Dennis di Cicco, "The Dog House Observatory"
• Steve Reed, "Home Observatory"
• Roger Sanders, "Light Weight Telescopes - Revisited"
• Ben Mayer, "Stellar Frame Connection"
• John Mood, "Watch the Skies! An Excursion in Atmospheric Optics"
• David Levy, "Bart Bok: Farewell to a Friend"
• Stephen Edberg, Apodizing Screens: Do They Really Work?", "Solar Filters--A Spectroscopic Study"
• Jack Marling, "Advances in Color Photography"
• Joel Harris, "The Galileo Project"
• Frank Melsheimer & Russell Genet, "A Computerized Low Cost 0.4 Meter Research Telescope"
• Jeff Charles, "A Versatile Accessory of Cassegrain Telescopes"
• Hal Jandorf, "Illustration of the New 3M 1000 Slide Film"

Merit Award Winners:

• Dave Radosevich - 12-1/2" F/6 with built in computer, Unique Combination Observing System
• Tom Osypowski - 16" Dobsonian, Outstanding Equatorial Platform
• Gordon McDonald - Outstanding Wood Craftsmanship
• Keith Lawson - 60mm F/15 Coude, Unique Integration of Mechanics and Optics
• Douglas Thomas - Junior Award for Best First Telescope
• Robert Pfaff - Mercury Edge Mirror Support, Best Mirror Support
• Kevin Medlock - Weight Drive, Excellently Designed Drive
• David Kenyon - Drive Corrector, Excellent Electronic Design
• Duane Niehaus - Excellently Executed Folded Refractor
• Mike Hill - 17-1/2" Dobsonian, Unique Wood Design

Honorable Mentions:

• Jeff and Steve Kysir - Star finder and portable observing station, Father and son project
• Rick Swenson - Trailer mounted astrophotography system, Workmanship
• Monty Barker - 80mm Refractor, Hand Tooled Craftsmanship
• Sue Pasko - Modified Coude, Exceptional Execution of a Design

Warren Estes Award:

John Day

Clifford Holmes Award:

Jim Jacobson

Mike Hill received a Merit Award for his 17-1/2" Dobsonian

Rick Swenson received an Honorable Mention for his
trailer mounted astrophotography system

The Telescope Field