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

This conference was dedicated to the memory of Luther Davidson, former president of the Riverside Astronomical Society, who died in 1983. 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 Awards

	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

Clifford W. Holmes Award

Jim Jacobson

Warren Estes Award

John Day

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 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