paul schofield

This has give me an idea for Dragons Den. Excellent post, I'm still giggling. 😁

Thank you again Michael. I will double double check when I next attempt set-up. To tell the truth, I have been trying for a month and am sure I must of got it right by now ☹️ 

I shall pay special attention to the date setting because as you say, this would cause the problem I keep experiencing. 

I appreciate your advice. Thanks Paul.

Thank you for your reply Michael. 

Yes all my settings seem to be correct, date time etc. I'm also almost perfectly polar aligned but still the mount won't play nicely. 

My next attempt I shall put London as my location as I'm only 15 miles away and the database only has a handful of UK cities. I have tried entering my exact coordinates during set up. Then even doing a one star allign on Rigel for example and the scope points somewhere approx 120 degrees in totally the wrong direction. 

Also my BST selection is correct. I will get there eventually. Hence the GPS search. Thanks again for your reply. 

Happy gazing.

Hello Alison. Welcome to SGL. I won't mention alignment as others are better equipped than me regarding this. I've been in this hobby for 10+ years and each time I upgrade scope a new can of worms opens for me regarding alignment. Clear skies. 

Hello and welcome Katie.

Welcome aboard. Great scope. That's what I started with too. 130 is a great usable reflector. Clear skies. 

Welcome to SGL. 

Good evening fellow star gazers.

A bit of a long shot here, but thought I'd ask anyway. I own a Bresser Messier nt 203 reflector on exos 2 startracker equipped mount.

For some time now I have been looking for a GPS system to take the pain of set up away. As I never seem to be able to 1,2 or 3 star allign with any success or accuracy. I have contacted various dealers regarding this, no luck.

There are systems for other makes, Skywatcher, Orion etc. Would these be compatible with Bresser / Explore Scientific. 

I understand that not many people own Bresser telescopes but thought this will be my final attempt at gaining information. Regards Paul.

I know this is quite an old post but thought I would add my mix match eyepiece collection case too. 

Hello and welcome and lovely pictures too.

Hello and welcome to SGL. Just the dark skies alone is reason enough to get back to star gazing. 

I agree John. I didn't want to push it too far just yet in my reasonably light polluted skies.  A 5mm EP (probably from the above mentioned short list) will find a way into my mix match collection eventually. 200x will probably be the limit. 

Clear skies one and all.

I have gone for the OVL Nirvana 7mm. But it was a close call between Vixen and Nirvana. Guess the 82 fov sold it. Thanks everybody. 

Thank you all for that info. I've added the vixens to my short list too, thanks John. I do still own the Baader genuine ortho, but to tell the truth I never use it as I find it a real challenge like looking through a straw, albeit with a great image once found. 

Great suggestion Mike regarding Barlow use, I tend to use my Tal x2 with my 18 and 8 BST starguiders to good effect. 

Again thank you all for your valued suggestions. 

Thank you all for that info. I've added the vixens to my short list too, thanks John. I do still own the Baader genuine ortho, but to tell the truth I never use it as I find it a real challenge like looking through a straw, albeit with a great image once found. 

Great suggestion Mike regarding Barlow use, I tend to use my Tal x2 with my 18 and 8 BST starguiders to good effect. 

Again thank you all for your valued suggestions. 

Excellent review. Enjoyable read and in depth importance to detail. Bravo sir.

Or any other planetary ep's in the sub £100 bracket you can advise on. Thank you fellow star gazers.

Good evening all. Thank you all for your recent advice I received regarding my purchase of a low powered 30-38m e.p. I ended up ordering a 35mm Skywatcher Aero ed. 

I am now looking at a planetary E.P's for use in my f5 203mm Bresser Messier around the 6mm mark & have a short list of, in price order;

Skywatcher Ultrawide 6mm at £28.00,

Skywatcher UWA  6mm at £39.00

Explore Scientific 52 6.5mm at £58.00

OVL Nirvana 7mm at £69.00

Or Explore Scientific 62 5.5mm at £76.00

I am trying to get any advice on performance regarding these ep's  on my f5 reflector.  Will it be a case of the most expensive will be the best ? 

Does anybody have experience with any of these at f5. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thank you. 

Thank you Robin.  I umm'd and ahh'd a bit. But ended up ordering a Sky-watcher 35mm Aero Ed.  I'm now hoping the exit pupil in my f5 will be ok. 

19 minutes ago, paul schofield said:

Excellent advice guys. I appreciate it thanks. 52 afov is a bit narrow for what I'm after although I have owned gso plossl's previously and I agree they are above average. I know I'm back tracking a bit but think I will go for a 35mm aero Ed. As for around £100 I don't suppose I will find a better corrected 68 degree eyepiece. 

I owned the 30mm when I was quite new to astronomy so probably never used it correctly. And also had a tiny scope that wasn't up to the job.

Thanks all. Great advice as always. 

Oops, exit pupil may be a bit much on the 35, may have to go for 30mm. 

Excellent advice guys. I appreciate it thanks. 52 afov is a bit narrow for what I'm after although I have owned gso plossl's previously and I agree they are above average. I know I'm back tracking a bit but think I will go for a 35mm aero Ed. As for around £100 I don't suppose I will find a better corrected 68 degree eyepiece. 

I owned the 30mm when I was quite new to astronomy so probably never used it correctly. And also had a tiny scope that wasn't up to the job.

Thanks all. Great advice as always. 

Great review John. More food for thought.  My hunt will continue for a decent 32mm ep for my f5. Thanks for you advice.

Good evening SGL'ers.

I am currently looking to buy a 32mm ish eyepiece for my f5 reflector for low power visual observation. Is anybody familiar with the Baader Hyperion EPs ? I understand the lowest power is 24mm. My question is, as elements can be removed and rings added etc.  Would I need to get the 24mm version in order to remove elements to get close to 30-32mm focal length.

And also does anybody know if the Hyperion's are any good or at least reliable in use for high/low power observation.

Also I believe one Hyperion can effectively replace 3 EPs. 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Sorry, thank you John. I did read with interest your review of the SW swa eyepieces.