September, 1997, marks the first two years of The Lunascan Project. The concept of what we would do was much simpler in September of 1995. We had a giant 16" reflector telescope coming in and there was a lot of equipment that we and our growing list of investors were dreaming about getting later on.

We began our videotaping of the Moon using the old method of simply mounting the camera right near the eyepieces. This produced varying powers and exciting views. However, there were the old problems of imperfect alignment and tunnel vision.

By October we had purchased our T-C adaptor to link the WV-450 vidicon camera to the focuser. This eliminated both of our problems and produced dramatic, screen-filling, high-powered images of the lunar surface.

In November we purchased the GBC-400 CCD camera, a polarizing filter, and other items. The images were better and we were able to use the old vidicon camera for a finder cam.

In December we began the design and construction of a motorized system for the giant scope so we could observe and videotape under controlled conditions in a basement control room. Seeing that this design would not work very well and would be more of an experiment, we began working toward the financing of a DOB Driver II, a computerized control system already proven to work for many amateurs and professionals. We also conducted the first test of the new CCD camera. In all, the first four months of the project produced 11 successful sessions.

1996 January. Session #12 was conducted. By now we had the DOB Driver II and extended the pendant control to the control room 50'away and below ground level. We had a design for the wheeled platform for the scope and driver called the STU (Scope Transport Unit) and one of our investors donated four 14" pneumatic tires. We only needed three, so one was put aside as a spare. We began the production of a monthly hard-copy newsletter, called the Lunascan Update. Right along with this came our web presence and email. We had no idea how important this would become. Via the internet we quickly aligned our efforts to coordinate with VGL, a verification group consisting of four knowledgeable men, each one with his own lunar expertise. Their research consisted of the acquisition and study of thousands NASA images. Our effort was EBTI (Earth-Based Telescopic Imaging). Our new plan was to get others to contribute to both efforts.

February. In order to maximize the use of the STU & DOB Driver II, several scanning systems were designed to piggyback on the 16" HPS scope.

March. The work on the STU continued. We purchased another set of T-C adapters for use on the low power scope to be mounted on the giant 16". The piggyback unit, referred to as the LPS, was to produce and record live, full images of the Moon with an FOV of about .75 degrees. We also upgraded our primary images from the main scope with the acquisition of a 25mm Plossyl eyepiece. During the monthly session magnification on the HPS unit was calculated to be about 400 power. The March issue of our Lunascan Update covered the mysterious "Blair Cuspids", discovered by William Blair in Nov of 1966 from Lunar Orbiter photos.

April. Session #13 & #14 were conducted. We purchased two catalogs on LTPs (Lunar Transient Phenomena). One (78-03) covered 1463 incidents; the other (TR R-277) covered only 579 of the most prominent. We also purchased another Plossyl eyepiece (7.5 mm).

May. Session #15. This month we purchased an audio/video selector to use in the control room. We also bought a laser collimator to align the optics on the main scope. A question raised in the May issue of the Lunascan Update was: "Where are the Blair Cuspids?" A good question. Nobody knew. We assumed the Sea of Tranquility, so we asked VGL's Mike Lomax (Tranquility expert) to check it out.

June. Two sessions: #16 & #17. June. David Williams of the National Space & Science Data Center gave us a tip on where to look for the "Blair Cuspids". He suggested LO frame HR61 in the Sea of Tranquility. Before the month was up, the VGL team located the "Blair Cuspids". Research on the "cuspids" continued on into the new year. The new Lunascan Project web site was now accessible at: http:/www.title14.com/Lunascan/ (now obsolete).

By July the STU was completed. We found that we needed a two-wheel truck to haul the main scope to the mobile STU each time.

August. Four sessions: #18,19,20, 21. Most of these were targeted at the fascinating, 53-mile crater, Tycho. Others EBTI sites participated in other parts of the world. Session 19 was a full "shake-down" of the new STU and DOB Driver II.

September. Three sessions: #22, 23, 24. On the third session (#24), just a little more than a year into the Project, we tracked and videotaped U092196, an object apparently orbiting the Moon. In September one of our investors helped us to upgrade our computer to 210 Meg and RAM to 8 Meg. We also were able to purchase the Snappy frame grabber.

October. Four sessions: #25, 26, 27, 28. In October we built a more sophisticated cover for the STU than just a simple tarp. Constructed out of 1/4" flakeboard, the sides and top were fastened together with stud bolts and rod couplings. We also purchased the WWV audio time-dubbing radio receiver.

In December we were provided with SKYPRO software to process our images. We also purchased a wireless mike to dub comments on the videos, especially the documentaries.

1997 In January we had to purchase a back-up system to time-dub the datatapes. The audio from the WWV receiver varied with weather conditions. Sometimes we couldn't get a signal at all. The TDG-105 was a great step forward and put a video time and date stamp (also a session #) right on the bottom of the screen.

February. We lost our beautiful and effective web site.

March. The lunar eclipse was the subject of session #29. It was at this time that we decided our scope resolution simply wasn't up to par for its massive size and weight. Besides, it took hours to cool down and stabilize. Charles Genovese, one of our Project members, suggested we obtain a scope similar to his which was a 10"f6. We had been comparing his images with ours from the very beginning. We could get a used 10"f6 for about the same price as we had paid for the 16". However, before we even acted there was an even better answer. An optical expert and inventor had been one of our Project members for months. He decided to donate a radical new designed f50 series scope to the Project.

In April we purchased a 19" video monitor for the main display. On April 28th we were back on the web with a new site at: http://rbuie.com/lunascan/(obsolete).

In May the same investor who was to donate the new scope, donated a pentium-class computer (1.6 Meg, 133 Mhz), monitor and faster modem. He also sent us two 2" Erfle eyepieces to be used on the new scope. We purchased a 2" JMI Moto-focuser for the new scope, also.

In June we made some modifications in the new scope design. Rather than an 8"f39 (which would have been too powerful on the low end) we opted to go with an 8"f11.75. We also decided to mount an LPS (6"f12) on the left side. The compound scope then filled the space of the original 16" Newtonian. A third scope/camera system would be mounted on the top for the VLPS or finder cam. In June we also had some major purchases. We bought another 2" focuser (a helical)and another GBC-400 CCD camera to be used on the new LPS unit, and a GO-VIDEO dual dubbing deck for the control room.

In July we purchased a Telrad reflex "heads-up display" finder for the new scope. This is for quick alignment and sets all three cameras on the Moon.

In August we purchased CCD camera #3. With the vidicon unit this makes a total of four cameras.

The combination Wolfe 8"f11.75/6"f12, a $4,000 revolutionary design in telescope making, is due to be in place in September. Total amount of funding to-date: $12,846.05