Jiggy 67

It gives you a fine tuner, turning the single speed focuser into a dual speed, thereby giving you much more accurate focusing. Definitely worth it 

That’s encouraging news, I’m already booked so.....fingers crossed 

Zooms are great for close doubles. Nice to see a star split in two as you zoom in 

11 hours ago, John said:

I got these with my old mobile and ED120 refractor a few nights back. Thats about as far as my imaging goes !

 

 

Maybe you should take imaging up John, you’re a natural!

Is it for AP or just visual. There is an app called PS Align Pro which offers a PA routine for those that can’t see Polaris. I use it in the daytime when setting up just to get near the NCP. I can see Polaris and when I fine tune at night, it’s usually pretty close

8 hours ago, Midnight_lightning said:

 

Also, does anyone use a dolly with one of these - I wouldn't be able to lift it once the scope is mounted.

 

Can I ask why you would lift it with the scope fitted? Are you thinking of wheeling it out of the garage fully assembled. I can tell you this is a VERY heavy bit of kit, you would struggle to lift it without the scope and counterweights. 
You might want to consider leaving it set up. A TeleGizmos 360 cover will protect it from the elements 

1 hour ago, Don Pensack said:

 

It's also sold by Altair as their Ultra Flat in a fairly unique green anodizing.

That’s a nice looking eyepiece 

I agree with the red light torch but you may want to make it a head lamp rather than a torch (or both) you want to keep your hands free when fiddling with eyepieces

50 minutes ago, Stu said:

Not so, particularly with other DSOs like clusters. I have real trouble seeing even the major stars in Cancer with the naked eye to find a place to start a star hop, yet can see M67 and M44 clearly in the scope so they are worth finding.

 

Exactly, I agree. I can also see DSO’s but would struggle finding them by star hopping. I started out by star hopping, I wouldn’t want to go back there, I also prefer spending my time on the object....but that’s the beauty of the hobby, so many different ways to enjoy it 

On 22/04/2020 at 11:52, miguel87 said:

 

Slightly off topic but not totally. I get frustrated by goto. I would not have a goto mount if it was offered to me for free. It kinds defeats half the fun for me; learning the night sky, star hopping, discovering objects on route to your final destination, getting lost! The challenge and the reward. The thrill is in the chase.

I feel like manual guiding is like playing a game of football, you are right there, involved, making decisions, trying to get somewhere and learning along the way. Goto is like sitting in the stands and watching the game. Sure you get to see the same stuff but you just sit there, it all gets shown to you while you just...spectate.

 

 

It depends on the level of light pollution in your area. Bortle 6 and above makes star hopping and finding objects very difficult, there is nothing wrong with GoTo if it helps you see the wonders out there

Thanks for the responses, a lot to think about there but I think I’ll reconsider the Baader Aspheric 

Hi all, hope you are well 

so I’m using the money I’m currently saving as a result of the lockdown to upgrade my eyepieces and I have bought the Morpheus 4.5, 12.5 and 17.5mm so far. I have to say that, so far, I have found these to be outstanding eyepieces. The build quality is excellent with good accessories such as the adjustment ring to increase eye relief and the view which is crisp and contrasty, the best I have seen and an excellent wide fov. They are also dual size barrels which increases options. I intend to purchase the remaining focal lengths. 

Unfortunately they only go down to a 17.5mm so I need a low power equivalent. I have the Baader zoom which takes me to 24mm but I know the quality is not quite as good and the fov narrower so I am considering the Baader Hyperion Aaspheric 36mm.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/BaaderHypAsp-1.html

Has anyone got any experience of these?? What’s your opinion of them??.... I would like to stick with Baader as I haven’t been able to fault them yet (despite trying, I am quite fussy). Really I need to stick with 1.25” as my filters are that size but the dual size barrels does expand the options 
 

8 minutes ago, Sam23 said:

So would it be better to invest in the 150PDS and manual EQ5 and then add power functions once I've saved up the funds?

I'm guessing it is still possible to take passable DS photos without power controls? Maybe not as good as tracked, but still suitable?

I would suggest that is a false economy. If you get bitten by the bug, you will soon be sticking the EQ 5 in the loft (or selling it) and upgrading to the HEQ5 or higher. 

1 minute ago, miguel87 said:

Yeah, more accurate using the polar scope in the mount. I know its awkward to look through (I sit on the floor!) But you can buy a 90° attachment that makes it a doddle.

I use one, makes a huge difference, worth the £60

An accurate home position is needed so a GoTo handset knows where it’s starting from and pointing. I have a perfect home position which I keep with markings on the mount so I can repeat it anytime. I don’t think there’s a need for a factory fitted home position 

The scope has nothing to do with polar alignment, it’s the mount you are aligning not the scope as it’s the mount that moves to follow the object you’re observing. If you have an accurate home position, the scope will just follow the mount, I don’t understand how you would align the scope on Polaris and what that would achieve 

Get the book Turn Left at Orion. It will teach you everything you need to know to get started and contains accurate locations with maps/diagrams for all the best objects at any time of the year 

It will be a real shame if this doesn’t go ahead, really looking forward to it but the safety of everyone and the NHS has to come first. Hopefully it won’t come to that and we’ll all be sipping a scotch under clear skies!!

To be honest most people would upgrade the mount before the scope. An EQ1 limits your upgrade options massively. An EQ3 or even 5 is the bare minimum or have a look at a dob 

M3 is a beautiful object and that’s an excellent sketch of it. It’s one of my favourite objects, but then, globs are my favorites!! 

Is it the type that has a little bubble on the large circle for Polaris or the type that looks like a clock??......and yes, they are regularly fitted by the factory incorrectly

FYI.. As far as I understand it, the 3rd star in the star alignment process has nothing to do with aligning your handset to the stars above, the purpose of the third star is to correct cone error which occurs when you cross the meridian 

I think that they just didn’t bother when fitting them, there’s nothing significant with it. It’s not the case with the EQ6 R Pro which comes with the polar scope calibrated 

I agree with the above. I certainly wouldn’t sell the EQ mount, that can be used just as well for observing as it can for imaging( with a newt anyway). I only observe and use an EQ mount as I still like to track without nudging a dob

I don’t know what’s gone wrong with Wednesday, almost a clean sweep!!

8 minutes ago, groberts said:

Indeed same here in Surrey, so hopefuly some more late nights coming up.

As a matter of interest, which site / app is that you're using + is it any good / reliable?

Graham

It’s an app called Scope Nights. I find it to be pretty accurate, well, as accurate as any can be