Yubnub

16 hours ago, Pixies said:

Yep - agree about north level alignment. I usually start with Polaris as the first star, then 2 more roughly at right angles. At the moment that's Alpheratz and then Altair. So you've aligned on N, E and S. After that, it's great.

Check your mount/tripod interface though. There should be no flex! What tripod are you using?

 

using the included tripod. the flex is all in the mount components. the interface between mount and tripod is rock solid. 

1 minute ago, AstroNebulee said:

Maybe try level North as your next alignment procedure, I used to find this the better one and more accurate and quicker. 

Make sure you level your tripod then scope by checking with a spirit level as suggested above and then point the scope geographical north. 

See how you fare. 

 

Lee

OK cool. Really appreciate it Lee.  Thanks 

Quote

How are you doing your alignment procedure? North level, 2 star, 3 star?  Generally North level alignment works best 

Lee 

Two star alignment typically Altair and Arcturus 

Hi, AZ GTi owners and experts.

Sorry to interrupt this discussion with a basic question but I have been using this mount with a Skymax 127 and have been slightly underwhelmed with the Go-To accuracy after alignment and the subsequent tracking of objects.

I am using it with a TalentCell as recommended on here.

Have checked my auto location Lat/Long with google maps and its very accurate. Once aligned by using Altair and Arcturus, using Go-To to find Saturn, it only just puts it in the eyepiece (the included 25mm) and needs further adjustment to centre. Is this acceptable?  

Leaving it to track sees Saturn disappear from the field of view after only 4/5mins

Can I ask; do I need to adjust my set up method or just my expectations? 

I have noticed the spirit level bubble in the mount doesn't match the tripod bubble at all!

I have also noticed a decent amount of flex in the mount (housing flexes in all vertical directions around the mount to tripod base plate) which lets the mount sag towards the telescope.

Thanks everyone 

The ADM GTi adaptor has been out of stock for a while and now comes back with 50% price hike! ...Are there any decent alternatives out there?

1 hour ago, SuburbanMak said:

In order of usability impact over the course of a year I went:

Fantastic! thank you so much!

I'm convinced this is the right set up but I dont want to pull the rigger with FLO just yet as I'm curious to see what the classifieds here has to offer.... not been a member long enough so waiting it out...after all, there's no hurry.

Maybe I can convince Mrs Yubnub we need it as a joint...valentines gift? 

I cant help but feel, as well as the SW 127 on the GTi being slightly cheaper than the Celestron DX5, it's also delivering so much more!

Ah that's a great reason! 

Fortunately, they are all fun hobbies and skills to pass down (that's what I tell myself anyway)

Just now, johninderby said:

The old saying you learn from your mistakes certainly applies to buying astro kit. 😁😁😁

and fly-fishing, shooting, golf, mountain biking, DIY, car maintenance... the list goes on for me 😱

So true! ...but by my man maths, my 1year old son can have this setup in a few (4?) years and I can get the roof converted to take the observatory 😆

Ah OK... i did get a similar Bresser as a  suggestion but it would nail the budget just for the OTA alone 

Really sorry to kasabian21 for hijacking this thread... totally forgot it was yours ☺️

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

££££££££££££

 

wow some serious kit out there....seems there is a solution for everything

could integrate into the dust cover somehow 🤔

41 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Or a collapsible dew shield a bit like those bellows on an old time camera.🤔

oooh cool idea! you'd want it to be semi universal to cover other makes too....hmmmm

50 minutes ago, Philip R said:

Remember to add a dew shield as these are not included

Ah yes! good tip thank you

16 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

I would add here that for me, the 127 is at a sweet spot because

Wow, that's some useful knowledge thank you. 

Do you work for Sky Watcher? 😆

55 minutes ago, PeterC65 said:

There is a lot of lovely kit out there and it's easy to start thinking "I might see a bit more if I just bought that upgrade / eyepiece / filter / second scope"

My problem is trying to get it right first time to avoid added cost with a compromised setup ...I forget sometimes that I just need to buy something and get the experience! 

I think some of these companies have very clever product managers that know exactly what to include and not include to get the budget growing. If only that OTA came on that mount..etc! 

On 27/01/2022 at 13:38, Stu1smartcookie said:

Choice is sometimes a wicked thing  

haha tell me about it. Too much to make an easy decision!

16 hours ago, PeterC65 said:

I changed the clamp on the visual back to make it very easy to cant over the diagonal so that the eyepiece orientation can be set comfortably

Is this an easy upgrade? 

10 hours ago, bosun21 said:

I upgraded the diagonal to a dielectric and fitted a telrad finder as the supplied 6x30 was a struggle.

Have googled and still cant figure this out ☺️

Is the RDF really that useless? What benefits does the right angle finder have?