Shimrod

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.

If you have any 'broken' bits left over, its always worth sticking them on Ebay as spares or repair. I've done this is a couple of times with damaged photography kit and I've always been surprised at what people have been prepared to pay for something I would otherwise have consigned to the bin.

It's not telescopes, but there was this article on damaged camera lens and the effect on images some years ago Damaged elements - the cracks became more visible as the lens was stopped down, so possibly a slower telescope more susceptible to showing the damage. Would anyone with multiple 'scopes care to undertake an experiment and report back? 😀

I don't believe the older Virtuoso is wi-fi compatible, and to get full goto operations you will need to buy a hand controller and cable which is another £195 - so your cost will be in the region of £440. Purchasing a separate mount would give you more flexibility for future 'scope purchases as well as giving you time to find our what you like. The AZ-GTI can also be cheaply upgraded with a wedge to should you decide you want to dabble in a bit of astrophotography.

I admire the logic that says the best way to improve your ST80 is to buy a whole other telescope package! You want to make the ST80 more usable, but what is it that is making it unusable at the moment? You mention a wobbly tripod - that can be replaced, and eyepieces - the BST range are often recommended as a cheap but effective upgrade, and if you search across the forum you will see cheap zoom eyepieces from Svbony that have favourable reviews. To covert the Virtuoso into a goto is going to take extra cost, so you may want to consider just diving straight in and getting a replacement mount/tripod. Some to consider are: Skywatcher AZ GTI - £339 (and control from your phone or tablet via wi-fi), Iopton SmartStar Pro - £315 with an handset (wi-fi is extra cost) Skywatcher Star Discovery £345 ( control with wi-fi) All of the above come with a tripod and are light enough to carry out from house to garden already set up. It's worth noting that the Virtuoso is a tabletop mount, so if you don't have a convenient, stable surface to put it on you may find yourself lying on the ground. A mount on a tripod gives you a bit more flexibility if you decide to travel with it. I have a AZ GTI and 80mm 'scope as my travel kit.

If you want to carry on using your handset alongside CPWI, you can do that by buying a SkyPortal wifi device - this means your laptop doesn't disable the handset through the USB connection. Another alternative that still gives a tactile approach is to use a Xbox controller with CPWI - it's straightforward and the support is already built into the software. Use one joystick for controlling slew/slew speed, and the other controls an electronic focuser if you have one fitted. Controller buttons can be assigned various functions as well. I find it really easy for standing at the telescope and controlling the telescope wirelessly.

The other thing that springs to mind is weather balloons - they would demonstrate all the characteristics described above as wind speeds and directions change.

The 3.20 firmware is definitely still on the site, but I have the 3.26 firmware on my PC

Whoops! suffering from 2" and 2x blindness!

I have updated the link in the original post, and also here

It's discontinued - there is an archive image of the Vixen barlow here: Vixen Barlow and there is one for sale on Ebay at £25

There's been quite a few suggestions for manual mounts, but I would second the earlier suggestion of an Sky Watcher AZ GTI or possibly an Ioptron Smartstar CubePro. I own the former, but the latter has GPS which might make the setup a little easier. Pair either with a small refractor. Keeping in mind the need to keep the overall budget low, but assuming CBear wants to be part of the experience, it's possible that a adding a small guidescope and camera might be useful to help recognise what the telescope is pointing at. @CBear would a magnified image on screen help you to identify what you are looking at? The image from the guidescope can be overexposed which might make it easier to see the star patterns. Nudging the technical level up slightly, the images could also be used to platesolve and determine (or move) the correct direction Hopefully others will chip in with how sensible this approach may be.

If you do a bit more digging, you can see the domain name has been around for 20 years, although New Vision Optical have only been around for 8 years. The accounts show assets of £6,000 and one employee - from that I would assume this is a drop shipper rather than a company that maintains any level of stock. In itself, that would make me question whether the HEQ5 is really available. I also don't trust any website where I cannot easily find an office or shop address. I've no experience of the company myself, but it is one I would steer clear of based on 5 minutes of research.

It could have been an optical illusion caused by the changes in air temperature - an example here showing a 'wobbly' space station transiting the sun: ISS Wobble

No, it just screws on to the SCT and everything works fine - gives you the option of using 2" accessories if you want as well.

Have you considered a Celestron AVX? I only ask because there is one in stock at FLO! Similar class to the HEQ5 although the latter has the advantage of the belt mod which can be applied at some point in the future.

+2 for the Baader click-lock. I replaced the standard Celestron visual back very quickly - I couldn't get it to hold anything.

It might be worth checking out the Tokina 14-20mm F2 lens someone has just posted in the for sale section - Tokina lens If you don't mind the weight of an aluminum tripod, the K&F range are very stable - I have a couple of Manfrotto tripods for photography, but bought one of these to hold 20x80 binoculars - K&F tripod. Comes with a ball head and can also be used as a monopod. This is £102 or without the 360 column is £72

The RF mount is the new mount for Canon's 'R' camera system which is replacing the EF/EF-S camera system. You camera is not compatible with the RF mount (although there is an adapter available to allow EF lenses to be used on the RF system).

Whoops! I've corrected the link (and revised price). Searching for Canon EF on MPB also throws up the RF system as well and I'd just linked to the cheapest 'good' version without noticing the system change. I've taken 'milky way landscape' as wanting to include some foreground as well as the milky way rather than trying to capture the whole arch in one shot hence my comment about the 8mm - but it is a personal preference. I would rather take the extra time to shoot a mosaic.

There's an 'as new' 14mm Samyang for £264 at MPB - not sure I would recommend the 8mm unless you like the fisheye effect - don't think you need to go wider than the 10mm lenses already suggested.

I've used a Sigma 18-35mm F1.8, and when I want to go really wide then the Canon 10-22mm. I don't think you will find the Sigma in your price range but the Canon should be achievable. A slightly cheaper alternative might be the Canon 10-18mm, although it does have a cheaper build than both the previous lenses the optics are quite good and it is lighter (I have that lens as well!).

The powertank can be bought for £204 from picstop - still more expensive that the Beaudens battery, but may make the price more palatable for you.