Interesting stuff. I've been wanting to build one of these since I was a kid. I've had the means (machine tools, funds) to do it for some time now but for some reason this little project just dawned on me yesterday. (Why buy one for $5k when you can build it yourself for $10k?)
Re: What do you guys think of "binoscopes" for spottin
That is very nice. I like to look into the heaven's as well but I would think that the ambient light around LA would cause some interference. I was lucky enough to be training at 29 Palms when old Halle Bopp was on its voyage and in the desert it was easy to track with the naked eye. I also had some pretty good optics at the time but I was never able to spot the spaceship riding in its tail....
Re: What do you guys think of "binoscopes" for spottin
For spotting rifle fire you can do a whole lot better for less using Kowa Highlander bino spotting scopes or surplus "Big Eye" naval/ship binos.
Binocular astronomical telescopes are hugely expensive because they have to be optically precision-aligned -- anything even a little off will give the observer HEADACHES FROM HELL.