Shimrod

I haven't heard of Denkmeier before and I can't find a UK supplier, although it is available in Europe. Pricewise it is three times the cost of the MaxBright, and still more than double after allowing for glasspath corrector and short prism diagonal from Baader. I've been reading some reviews of the Binotron-27 and like the power-x system which would save some money on duplicating eyepieces. It's a bit outside my price range at the moment though!

Does your laptop use a USB-C connection for charging? I use a £30 powerbank to extend the battery in my laptop. It might take a bit of comparing, but you can find 20mAh+ batteries at this price point which will output 19v on the USB-C port. I can't give you a link to my exact powerbank as it is no longer available. The ZWO asiair is great if you want to buy into the whole ZWO ecosystem, but if you already have an electronic focuser/filter wheel or other brand camera (excluding DSLR), then it can get quite expensive to replace everything. Astroberry and Stellarmate are alternatives in this regard although I have no experience of any of these devices. Edit: Here's one on Amazon for £33 (via a voucher) that will output 20v and would be suitable for charging/powering a laptop Powerbank

Not in this case! They are showing availabilty in January 2022.

Thanks for the info - especially current lead times! I had misread the expected due date on FLO (60-90 days) but it sounds like that might be a bit optimistic if there are a lot of back-orders to fulfill once stock arrives. I can't see it in stock anywhere else. If I decide to go for the Maxbright it sounds like it won't be this season!

Having read various experiences on here, I am keen to give binoviewers a go. Both the Baader and Orion work out around the same price once a glasspath corrector is taken into account, while the Bresser works out slightly cheaper. I will be using with an EdgeHD 8" and a Skywatcher 80ed (with Baader Steeltrack fitted). I also have a ZS61 but will consider it a bonus if the Baader works on that rather than buy another corrector at this point. Is there any difference between the Bresser and the Orion binoviewer? The Bresser is nearly £100 less, and I've seen some speculation that the Orion has better coatings that reduce the reflection on bright planets but nothing definite. I'd be interested to hear if people who have tried both types have a particular preference - I like the idea that the Linear binoviewer will work with any of the scopes, but I should be able to achieve the same with the Baader for around the same price and I believe this will let me use lower power /wider eyepieces. I'd also be interested in any suggestions for eyepieces - the budget doesn't stretch to a couple of Hyperion zooms. I was thinking of trying with some of the Svbony zooms which seem to get good reviews or alternatively a couple of pairs of BST starguiders. thanks.

I removed the counterweights from my AVX before removing the OTA (8" EdgeHD). As the tube started swinging around, I put my hand out to stop the OTA hitting the tripod - which worked but only because my hand was caught between the two. Very bruised and painful but thankfully no damage to the tube - and I've learnt to double check the sequence in which I do things.

I did a quick check using GIMP - create and save a fits file of the same resolution - that came out as the 76,005kb figure of the RPi above. Some thoughts that may affect this: 1) Is NINA applying internal compression on the fits file to make it smaller? 2) Are both files at the same bit depth? My example with GIMP was 8bits per channel

I have read elsewhere on here that the Opticstar 82 degree eyepieces are the same as the Explore Scientific eyepieces. Certainly if you compare the specs here the only difference appears to be the weight - the 24mm and 14mm look identical to my ES eyepieces although I have never compared them 'in real life'.

Great news! Have fun and happy stargazing!

You seemed quite sceptical of the R series for long exposure photography earlier in the thread, what changed your mind? Or is it a specific difference between the older 'R' and the newer R5 & R6 which is the issue? It's worth noting that Canon recently stopped producing the Ra (dedicated astro camera) so if anyone was interested in one of those, you might still be lucky to find one in stock.

Does alignment work if you use the original handset (or CPWI) without using Starsense? This would help determine whether it is a mount or Starsense issue.

Could you try connecting using a laptop through the USB port of the handset - and then try the CPWI software - it may have come on a CD with the scope or you can download for free from Celestron. I have an AVX with Starsense, but I don't use the handcontroller. I use the Skyportal adapter for wifi connection, but when you connect to the mount using USB via the handcontroller, it just passes commands straight through. This would help confirm whether it is an issue with the handset or elsewhere.

It might be worth checking the firmware version of the hand controller - I recall a bug in the recent past that could cause this, but can't remember whether it lay with CPWI (PC control) or with the handset. Looking at the firmware update history for the hand controller (Here) Possibly this fix if you don't already have it would help 1.20.20244 September-2020 Bug Fix: communication to the mount/accessories is more reliable during the first 15 seconds while waiting for the SSA Camera to wake up (was causing short run away slews) Edit: Did you remember to calibrate the starsense camera to the telescope on first use? Edit2: If you are going to get into photography I would not buy a polarscope for the AVX - it's too awkward to look through. I had one and used it twice before replacing it with an iPolar, but if doing AP you could also use something like sharpcap

Welcome to Astronomy in the UK! And just as you finished packing up, the skies probably cleared again - that's what normally happens for me.

I wouldn't worry too much about the wedge at the moment - you'll only need that for long exposure photography not visual - and there will be plenty who will advise you to start with a shorter focal length telescope for that. Some easy 'gotchas' to check that can affect alignment: Ensure you have entered date/time correctly - especially be aware input might be US rather than UK format (month-day rather than day-month) Ensure you have your location correct -the nearest large town can be close enough but you can enter the co-ordinates for your exact location if you want Ensure you have allowed for British Summer Time The goto accuracy will depend in part on how well you get your home position set and how well centered you get the alignment stars in the eyepiece. After alignment you should always have the target within the eyepiece view if not exactly centered. Swapping to a higher power eyepiece when aligning can help getting the target centred, as can a reticle eyepiece (something like this would do - or this in stock item at FLO). I was surprised when I first used a reticle eyepiece how far out I was for a star I thought I had centred in a a lower power eyepiece. If you have a bit more money to spend you could consider something like Starsense which will automate the alignment process for you. IF you search the forum you will find some mixed opinions on its effectiveness - I have one and it works fine for me - it also helps if you have a relatively high level of light pollution which can make it difficult to pick out some of the stars with the naked eye.

I am slightly confused with the comment on manual tracking given your mount - you wouldn't need guiding for the small exposures you would typically take of a planet. ONIKKEN has given one way of aligning to the plant after goto - the other could be to use a reticle eyepiece to get the planet in the centre before swapping out the eyepiece for the camera.

My suggestion would be to use the ASI224 and guidescope mounted to your OTA to perform the polar alignment, and then transfer the camera to the main tube afterwards. Given most planetary imaging seems to be done via video, you can probably get away with a less than accurate PA as long as you can keep the planet in frame for a reasonable period of time. Alignment can be fixed when you stack. I'm sure someone will be along with a much better suggestion shortly!

I've just checked on the status of this and the delivery time has changed from a specified month to 'on request'. I suppose it's good that they are not trying to rush it to market (unless the delay is just Covid related), but I am getting a bit impatient to see some reviews!

I am not sure two cases on two different (although same brand) mounts makes it a common issue. I've just had a search across Cloudy Nights forum (and the wider internet!) to see if there are any recent reported incidences there of Skywatcher mounts failing to 'goto', without success. I couldn't find any, so this is probably just co-incidence - unless it is a bug in calculations that is only affecting specific geographic locations - Celestron had a bug in the Skyportal module earlier this year that only affected parts of Europe.

It took me a while to realise that 'SA' was Star Adventurer! I have the AZ GTI which I believe has a similar payload capacity, and I bought the ZS61 to give me a portable and light kit, and the option of being 'laptop-less' if I use it with my DSLR. I've noticed the Redcat seems to be quite a popular choice for using with the SA as well - and no need to add a flattener.

I know you've changed the batteries, but I've read quite a few posts on this mount that behaviour with batteries can be a bit strange. There is a discussion in this thread about external battery alternatives. The picture in the @ScouseSpaceCadet is a particularly neat solution!

On an equatorial mount you would know if you have the telescope mounted the wrong way as it would be pointing at the ground instead of the sky, although it is possible to mount a telescope the wrong way on an alt-az mount. What you may be seeing are people who have upgraded the saddle to either a better single saddle or dual saddle.. On my AVX for example, the saddle on the mount accommodates both Vixen style dovetails and Celestron CGE style. The latter are wider, so when using a telescope with a different style dovetail, I have to move the clamping bolts from one side of the saddle to the other. Single (and Dual) dovetail style saddles with a clamp (like this one ADM saddle) remove the need to have clamping bolts on either side, but can be mounted for left or right handed use. You may also be seeing people who have upgraded the saddle and put the clamps on the side they prefer. This sort of margin of error can be caused by forgetting to allow for British summer time, or getting the format of the date wrong. I don't have an HEQ5 but hopefully someone will be along shortly to advise on correct formats.

I don't think there is an alternative either - I'm in the same situation and with local light pollution and restricted views I'm not sure even a pier is a justifiable expense. You could consider what you can do to reduce set up time - I found an iPolar to be one of the most useful purchases - it allows me to get set up and polar aligned before it is really dark enough to observe. It also (for me at least) reduces the length of time it takes to polar align.

That pin looks like it's been hit with a hammer, but it only provides a fixed point against which the azimuth knobs can push while doing polar alignment. Even bent, I would not expect it make turning the azimuth knobs difficult unless it was pressing against the side of the mount. If that's the case you might want to experiment with a quarter or half turn of the pin to see if having the 'lean' of the pin a different direction helps.

I've not used a telescope near a beach but I have used lots of cameras and lenses in the same scenario - some weather sealed and some not. The only (well twice!) time I've ever had an issue was when salt water splashed directly onto the camera - it killed the electronics instantly on one, and damaged the other camera beyond repair. As long as there is no spray in the air (i.e. storms) I would think you would be ok. I would probably be more concerned about sand particles getting inside the telescope tube or some of the mechanical parts - I never change a camera lens on a beach.