Veloman

I have a Myford screw cutting lathe and may be able to help. I may even have some brass stock- depends on the size you need. I think the biggest problem will be identifying the thread form. ATB Rob

When I was looking for heated gloves for motorcycling I came across Keis heated undergloves. Despite being undergloves they can be used on their own as lightweight gloves. They can be heated by an external 12v power supply, or with Keis's batteries. The only downside is the £80 price. Rob

Dec-0 Jan-5 , one of which was curtailed when the northern sky disappeared without trace!

Hi Chromium, I've got a WO Megrez 80 II . As far as price is concerned you need to check the specs- although they're all described as APOs some may be triplets, others doublets and also check to see what glass is used. Good luck. Rob

Hi and welcome to SGL- the best & friendliest online forum! This hobby can make you get very cold and I'd seriously recommend getting thermal socks if you want to avoid chilblains! ATB Rob

Cheers Cosmic Geoff- the money you've saved me will go towards an OAG for my C9.25! ATB Rob

I know that this early Hand Control has difficulties coping with low temperatures and this has been an inconvenience in the past but velcroing a hand warmer to it keeps it going. I've recently purchased an ASIair plus for guiding and am concerned that if the Hand Controller lets go in the cold it will lose connection. Would I be better off with a newer Nexstar USB HC which I believe is manages cold temperatures much better? Rob

Hi and welcome to SGL. I'm a relative newcomer myself and have received brilliant advise from members . You'll have to go far to find a friendlier forum! Rob

Hi, I've recently connected my ancient Celestron AS GT to my ASI air plus and wonder if the same process works with the AVX? Firstly if your mount doesn't have a USB socket you'll need a https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-mounts/lynx-astro-ftdi-usb-to-serial-adapter-for-celestron-handsets-5m.html#about_this_product I found I couldn't power the mount from air plus, so I've used 2 power sources- one for the air plus & one for the mount. Connect everything up but DON'T power any thing yet. Power up the mount first and do a 1 star alignment, then go into utilities , select the home option and Enter. Turn on the air plus and open the app , you should find the mount is recognised, this can be confirmed by seeing if the direction buttons move the mount. Hope this helps Rob

Hi, the scope is a WO Megrez 80 II, cradled in Skywatcher tube rings and mounted on a CG5 AS GT. The reason that I posed the question is because when I set the tube rings on my surface plate & measured the machined heights there is a difference of 3 thou". I'm not able to accurately measure the screw hole's but they seem to be OK. At the moment I'm using the scope for visual but I've treated myself to an ZWO ASI air plus and a ZWO ASI220 guide- camera with a view to starting imaging. Many thanks for the replies. Rob

I'm looking at mini guider scopes and notice that a lot don't have the means to align themselves with the main scope. Is this a thing that is compensated for by the software and if so to what kind of alignment error is tolerable? ATB Rob

I'm getting some equipment together to start imaging. I intend to connect my Celestron CG5 AS GT to an ASIair plus but wonder how important it is to update the firmware on the mount? Rob

I've been thinking that it's about time that I updated the firmware for my CG5 AS GT - it hasn't been updated for about 7 years but all seems to work well. After reading your post I'm wondering if it's worth the risk... Rob

I'm thinking of purchasing the above and dipping my toe into AP, but concerned that I'll regret not spending more and getting the 80ED. Any thoughts? Rob

Just weighed my C9.25 and, according to my bathroom scales, it's 11kg. It does have a Baader Diamond Steeltrack focuser but I can't believe that weighs 2Kg! I don't find the weight a problem but it can be awkward getting it safely on and off the mount.

As a newcomer the number of stars that I can reliably recognise is small. I find it easier, rather than scrolling through a list, to just do a two star alignment. Maybe this approach is limiting my star recognition?

Well, this isn't reassuring. Here am I thinking of investing in suitable equipment for starting out in AP and now I'm not so certain that it's worth it.... Rob

Two-Star for me too, because I find it reliable and quick. Auto Two-Star, more often the not, selected stars that weren't visible thus wasting observing time! Rob

"So, i have on this time 2 nights, and see only Jupiter with 3 satellites and orange Saturn with ring! With 10mm ok, with 9mm a little bigger - ok, with 6mm bigger - but picture not clear with 6mm! " I have a SkyWatcher 130p too. There isn't too much wrong with your scope if you're seeing Jupiter and it's satellites with a 10mm ocular If conditions are absolutely perfect I can see clear images with 6mm ocular, although anything smaller I just get to see "floaters". Rob

I found the central locking shaft on my CG5 had locked solid, it yielded to a small "Gator Strap Wrench" which I find helps undo the tops on pickled onion jars too! Rob

Elp, Many thanks for taking the time to reply and for your very valuable experience. I'm impressed with how helpful members of this forum are. Rob

No practical experience at all. I've just got a copy of Bracken's Deep Sky Imaging Primer and I'm looking to join a local society. Rob

Many thanks for the replies. I should have said, in my original post, that the 'scope is on a CG5 Advanced GT mount and I not too sure about adding further to its load!

I've got a Celestron C9.25 which I'm really happy with, but I'm thinking of putting my toe into the world of AP. My question is: do I investigate Faststar ( or it's successor Hyperstar), or do I buy myself a small fast refractor - maybe SkyWatcher evostar 72ed? Rob

I'm assuming that the Star Discovery WiFi is similar to SW's AZ GTi and if this is the case then there is no connectivity problem with Apples iPhone. ATB Rob