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Every April amateur astronomers look forward to the Rockland Astronomy
club's every expanding North East Astronomy Forum. Nowhere else is there such a diverse gathering of astronomy equipment
vendors in one place. New, used, blemished, unreleased as of yet, prototypes, etc. can all be found at this event. It is
most reknowned for the TeleVue blemished sell-off. For the past two years, Al Nagler has brought his collection of 'blemished'
eyepieces to the show (those with paint splats, loose lens, wrong lettering, and other minor problems) and sold them for up to 70%
off his regular price. People stand on lines for up to three hours just to purchase these eyepieces and add them to their collection.
This year's event was incredibly crowded with estimates of up near 2000+ attendees throughout the day. Yet again, Al Nagler and his TeleVue booth were the busiest. My father and I (pictured left at the show) arrived a half hour before the doors the opened to the public (since we registered early) and even then there was a line 100-people deep. Despite all that I was able to pick up a 12 Nagler and a 32 Plossl, the two eyepieces I had on my want-list. To tell you the truth, I cannot see anything wrong optically; they work just like perfect ones.
Besides TeleVue, there were people there selling used goods, like binoculars, muffin fans, drive correctors, diagonal mirrors, focusers, eyepieces,etc. You name it and someone there probably had what you were looking for. But the most popular items at this year's show had to have been the telescopes. There were plenty there to satisfy anyone's wants and needs. Refractors, reflectors, Schmidts, Maks, etc.
Furthermore, you didn't have to bring any money with you in order to have fun. There were talks going on about observing, meteors, CCD imaging, etc. along with all the trading going on inside the main building. My father and I spent an easy four hours there before we felt we saw everything.
Next year's event is scheduled for April 16, and will be held at their old location. Information can be found on the the Rockland Astronomy Club's website.