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Looking at this mount but this line from the manual gives me pause. Has anyone tried to use it like this ? How does the mount behave ?

I now use 4 apps/URLs instead of 3. Ty ;(

Nice report @LondonNeil. I think that the is the right place to post it too. I observe mostly from my back garden, which logistically is a lot easier! I always use and replace dust caps as I go along. After a while it becomes second nature and you don’t notice doing it. Although it helps if all the eyepieces use the same type/size dust cap. Often they don’t. And for me dropping one is terminal - the dog loves eating them! - although it’s been a few years since I actually dropped a dust cap. I usually keep eyepieces in a big long pocket on my hoodie. Helps keep them at the right temperature. It’s not so much dew, but if too cold then just the heat from your eye/face can cause them to mist-up - really annoying. I do have a small eyepiece tray, but only use it for temporary storage, The thing is to get a system that works for you. Of course this takes practice and trial/error.

You need multiple apps and then guess. Maybe like NASA, if 2 of the 3 agree then act on that Or just look out the window. There is nothing like English weather for unexpected rain or unexpected anything. I swear I've had rain without a cloud in sight.

Well started the process to get digitally signed. Submitted my keys to PixInsight and waiting on them now. This does seem like a double edged sword. It will definitely hinder us non-coders with even more stuff to learn limiting creativity in the community to a handful that are willing to jump through all the hoops. At the same time it does heighten the security of the PixInsight platform. I'm glad I was able to get it figured out so far!!

Skywatcher 200p Dob on DIY EQ platform. Southampton urban garden, Bortle 7, 17th April 2024. Seeing decent. BST StarGuider 15mm. iPhone 14 Pro held to the eyepiece using a no-brand smartphone adapter. Images from Live Photo and 4K at 60fps Video. All editing & processing on the phone. For lunar/solar, when using a modern iPhone with the stock camera app, you have several choices when making a capture through the eyepiece. Eg on my iPhone 14 Pro… * “Standard” resolution, HEIF (just pressing the shutter icon) still photo. On my iPhone this produces images in a format known as HEIF. * Higher resolution still photo in RAW format. *Something called Live Photo, also in HEIF. *Taking a video and then manually selecting a single frame or stacking using the iPhone VideoStack app. Here I’m just sticking to capture, editing & processing iPhone only. RAW can work well but I find it harder to edit using standard tools/apps on the phone and for me is only of benefit if/when seeing is very good. Live Photo is an interesting one. The way it works is to take a short burst (about 1.5 seconds I think). This can be viewed in various ways including a short animation. When doing a lunar or solar snap and after I’ve taken a Live Photo, I select an option called “Duplicate as Still Photo”. Exactly what this does I’m not sure, but it seems to produce something of better quality than just a “standard” still photo. It seems to combine the Live Photo frames in some way. Stacking? I don’t know. But it can produce nice results, sometimes better than RAW, especially if seeing isn’t the best. These two images were done at the end of a lunar observation session on 17th April. As is typical for me I didn’t plan to take any images and was all a bit of an after thought. Here I’ve just tried two methods:- 1. is a Live Photo; 2. is the result of a short 30 Sec video, stacked on the phone with the VideoStack app. The Live Photo is sharper and does show more detail. The VideoStack example isn’t as sharp but personally I like the contrast, the highlights look more natural to me. It’s also only 30 seconds, which for stacking isn’t a lot! With the VideoStack image I didn’t need to do much editing. It also managed colour fringing better. The Live Photo took more work. I’ve kept both images with a little colour and tried to keep them at a similar scale so you can compare. It’s also worth noting that the Live Photo is much bigger:- initially 1.2MB; the VideoStack image - 389KB. VideoStack is really made for planets in which case this is fine. And it might be more suited to lunar or solar closeups and/or when the seeing is iffy, as it has the ability to “cut through” some of this. Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. You can tell it’s cloudy! Live Photo Short video, stacked on the phone with VideoStack

It's unlikely to have much impact on a 14mm 80 degree eyepiece since the 13mm Ethos is a 1.25" eyepiece (with 2" skirt), the 14mm Morpheus (measured 78 degrees) is a 1.25" eyepiece, and the 16mm Nagler T5 is a 1.25" eyepiece. I think they put it in a 2" housing to ease the design slightly. It really depends on the diameter of its field lens. Even then, I doubt it much exceeds 27mm in diameter.

Nice idea, had not thought of that. I am assuming thought that would act as a field stop and reduce the foc or am I talking rubbish? Either way, I think it’s a good option. Thank you

Nice, with a good “at the eyepiece” feel. Always good to see anyone posting here too!

Try sliding your glasses down your nose slightly to increase the distance until resting them on the flipped down eye cup is at the proper standoff distance.

The Arcturus ones are more or less self-centering. The ones with thumbscrews can push eyepieces off-center making merging more difficult. Baader Click-locks are not self-centering. They actually push the eyepiece to one side.

There definitely needs a nerd thread/page going by how many 🤣

You could fit a 2" to 1.25" step ring into the eyepiece to allow for 1.25" filter use:

After NEAF, before catching our plane home, we visited Al and David Nagler at their premises in Orange County. Together, they gave us a tour of their facility. We left with a renewed respect for what they do. Some thoughts, observations and learnings from our visit, in no particular order: Tele Vue is a family-run company headed by Al, his son David and David’s wife Sandy. Al Nagler’s enthusiasm, curiosity and drive are palpable and inspiring. He is not simply a figurehead. I have been pronouncing Nagler wrong. It is pronounced N’ay’gler (like Nay or Nay-sayer). Although, they pronounce coffee c’oi’ffee. So, hey, what do they know 😄 They are obsessed (in a good way) with QC! They will reject an eyepiece or telescope with the tiniest mark or imperfection. I noticed a rejected telescope dew-shield on the shelf with a barely visible, insignificant 2mm blemish in its anodising. I haven’t seen QC done to this level anywhere else. Tele Vue eyepieces must surely be the most copied—especially their Ethos series. There are now multiple copies of the Ethos. So many that, ironically, the copies are competing against each other! The Chinese copies are copies. They are NOT the same. They are made using Chinese equivalent glass types and optical coatings. (I wondered if one of Tele Vue’s manufacturers had been naughty, but no. The copies are not related in any way to Tele Vue or their manufacturers). People say copying is a form of flattery. I sense the Naglers disagree (and I don’t blame them). The building was explicitly designed for Tele Vue. I.e. entrances/exits are lined up so that when all the doors are open, they provide a very long path for optical testing. Their optical testing and assembly rigs are all made in-house! I didn’t take photos because I felt that wasn’t appropriate. But they were fascinating. I could easily lose a whole day playing! Tele Vue's staff don’t wear nuclear fallout suits or masks (neither do we when we test optics), but they are very strict about separating clean and dirty processes. Interestingly, though their eyepiece and telescope designs are modern, their admin and procedures are old-school—mostly pen, paper, and lots of cross-checking. I sense Al’s influence here. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Whilst Tele Vue is known primarily for premium eyepieces, their telescopes are also designed, assembled and QCd in-house to a very high standard. The telescopes have benefited over the years from numerous incremental improvements in design, materials and glass. The NP101is astrograph has matured into an especially impressive telescope! We will add one to our demo stock, lend it to Gary Palmer for testing and then send it to our remote observatory in Spain. Tele Vue's focusers are also designed, assembled and QCd in-house. (For years, I suspected Starlight Instruments made Tele Vue's tubes, focusers, and hardware. But I was wrong. They are designed and assembled by Tele Vue). Tom (on the left of the group photo, behind David Nagler) does most of the telescope assembly. His enthusiasm for his role and the telescopes is palpable. Tele Vue will happily repair and restore a TV eyepiece or telescope, regardless of age. So if you accidentally damage yours, please get in touch with them or your supplier. Most members of the Tele Vue team have been with the company for many years (i.e., Tom has been with them for over twenty years). Rick (fourth from the left, behind Sandy and Al Nagler) has a wicked sense of humour and makes excellent ‘New York Black & White’ cookies! Tele Vue’s newest optical designer (not in the photo) mentioned that new products are in development. We are guessing that at least one will likely be released in the next month or two. We sincerely thank Al, David, Sandy, Rick, Tom, and their colleagues for the tour and hospitality. We look forward to seeing you again next year 🤗

Hello. Are you by any chance from the Netherlands? I'm trying to calculate the total cost of imports so I can plan my budget in advance

Great stuff. Anything on a mono version of the 585?

I turned the noise reduction dial of Graxpert 3 to "11".

Couldn't answer some of the computer stuff as just use a computer I don't analyse it.

The battery in the HC lasts for quite a while so no real concern of it loosing time or anything. When you plate solve in the air you can press the button sync to mount and I believe this aligns the mount model to the actual pointing location as calculated by the air. I've never felt the need to use this though.

@Louis D I have one 20mm 68deg from ES , was thinking to use it in a pair , sadly the lathe i've found only does 0.5/0.75/1mm thread steps and the ES has the standard 1.25" thread 27.5 x 0.6 so it'l have to wait. Probably going to 'upgrade' the binoviewer to 1.25" holders in the future but currently I'm playing with it as it is - and use eyepieces that come with 0.75mm thread with adaptors. EDIT: I was thinking at this type of adapters , iniatially wa looking at the click-lock but I did read that it sometimes does not hold the EP as intended and that the screw ones are safer.

I don't particularly like using it either, though it doesn't apply to the hem15, I've read someone blew the board in their gem28 by trying to connect directly to the mount. So I'll keep to manufacturer recommendations.

I was using the hand controller, I just never bothered putting a battery in the hand controller or setting up date/time on it - I thought that would all come from the Air... The air does set some info like location, but not all, it would seem. I object to setting up the hand controller. Having two sources of time and location information is very, very wrong and asking for trouble. But it is what it is.

pass the salt please

Same here. I also scored 99%. 0% scored higher (more nerdy), 1% scored the same, and 99% scored lower (less nerdy).

When I'm using my C6 F6.3 reduced the dovetail position is very similar to yours. I bought a vixen saddle clamp that has threaded holes in the underside, clamp that under the dovetail near the front and screw in stackable gimbal weights (they're 300g each) under the vixen saddle. Near enough good Dec balance.