Grump Martian

I am interested to know how these two mounts compare. Both have 5kgs payloads. But the mounts look quite different. Do they both have the same gear sets, motors & bearings? One review of the Sky-Watcher Star Discovery the Orion branded version in the USA says that it would handle 6.5 kgs.

Just an after thought. There was a 30 mm Skywatcher Aero 60° does anyone know if this is similar to the Celestron 30 mm 68°?

Thanks for the replies. Very positive reviews for the Celestron indeed. Even if the opportunity comes up to get the Nagler,I could never justify it in current circumstances. The ES 82° is very good, but differculty with the weight. Celestron does look a good option. The Celestron 82° look uncomfortable for eye placement and nose position.

I have a number of old 1970's telescopes which have been decommissioned. But the war department still include these in currently used assetts. So I attempt to persuade her that these are not to be included in my current list of three refractors. This is a negative slant on more purchases. I could always just buy one and would probably return home to changed door lock. Lol

My low power,widefield eyepiece is a Panaview 32 mm 68°. It performs surprisingly well on my refractors. But I feel that upgrading would improve my viewing experience. I once had a 35 mm Panoptic. Very sharp across the field but always felt that the sky was never totally black. I have recently mentioned that I may be able to get a 31 mm Nagler. But can I pull the trigger on 700 smackers? I also owner an ES 30 mm 82°. A lovely eyepiece. Does what it says on the box. Good sharpness across most of the field and very good contrast with black sky. I do like ES eyepieces and will continue with my higher power ones. But I let the 31 mm go due to it's heavy weight of approx 1.4 kgs.

Just wondering what eyepieces of 30mm would be a good upgrade.

I did have an AZ GTi mount. It was very good. But probably not designed to mount longer 4 inch refractors. So interested in the newer AZ GTix. Yes it has to ability to mount two telescopes. But still unsure if it would handle the 4 inch refractor with it's length. I have only ever seen pictures of this mount with shorter compound telescopes. Those with small apertures.  I'm never really comfortable using equatorial goto mounts. I appreciate you trying it out cajen. Hope it goes well with your Starfield. May well try it myself if your findings are favourable.

I to have a Starfield 102mm. I would love to be able to use an alt/az goto mount with the Starfield. But I was of the opinion and advised to be wary of mounting a long tube telescope with this mount. Even though it's within the stated payload. I would be interested to hear how it performs.

On 11/04/2023 at 12:09, StevieDvd said:

Does it do that every morning, hard to tell with all these clouds 😁

You must know that the sun always shines on the righteous Steve🤩

The end caps from my Explore Scientific 6.7 mm 82° eyepiece were mislaid. I enquired with Bresser UK as to replacements. I think that I spoke to Kerin at Telescope House. He kindly arranged for a set of end caps with the E S logo to be set to me from Bresser in Germany. Thanks to Kerin at Telescope House and Bresser. Really good after sales service.

Sunrise this morning . Taken with my bog standard Samsung android mobile. It does show the Earth's rotation as the Sun pops up.

Looking forward to it. Thanks for posting.

19 hours ago, apaulo said:

for travelling mine insists on a first class seat lol

Old school storage box. Fantastic.

Calling Starfield 102 mm f7 refractor owners. What do you use to store your telescope in.

What a loyal servant. Feel for your loss.

I looked forward to this evenings event with the Suns light shining through the wall of Hesiodus crater. Thanks to the heads up post by Nyctimene.

I studied my Hamlyn Atlas of The Moon. But found that my understanding of the phases and how to locate craters through a refractor were poor indeed. I wounder if there is an Atlas of The Moon that shows maps with a particular phase with the correct orientation as seen through a refractor.

Thanks for your post Stephan. I call myself a visual observer. Having looked at your picture of Hesiodus crater and trying to find it in my Hamlyn Atlas of The Moon, failed to correctly locate it. Clouds swept in and that was it. I will do some more learning before the next event.

32 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

How is the stability of that scope on that setup ?
Do you need the extension pillar ?

Is it stable at high powers (>150) on the planets ?

I use an EQ5 tripod. An AZ4 or modified Berlebach Castor mount and hight extension. It is very stable at higher magnifications. The height extension works for me being six foot. You would increase the stability by pushing the lower tripod leg sections in. If you are near Hertfordshire you would be welcome to take a look.

I am fascinated by this eyepiece. I don't usually like the normal zoom eyepieces 6 - 21 mm etc.

What do owners of the Nagler 3 - 6 mm zoom feel. Does it perform in such a way that you don't need several individual high power eyepieces. Or do you pocess individual eyepieces aswell as the Nagler zoom.

15 hours ago, stafford_stargazer said:

I think Astrobiscuit on YouTube is by far the most engaging programme to watch.. in fact he'd be great on TV.. genuine enthusiasm he really knows how to capture your attention.

Wonder what part of the country astro biscuit lives. It looks like London, but never sure. He does seem to be plagued with light pollution. I liked his video going to the countryside with his binoculars.

I bought one last Summer. It is a great refractor,easy to mount and handle. The darker the sky the better. So you will benefit from being able to transport it easily.

Mine mounted on an AZ4 with a ten inch height extension.

Have you ordered it yet🙃

3 hours ago, Don Pensack said:

I'm surprised you don't use the 4" refractor on the SkyTee mount.  It is far more stable.

I had issues with shimmy using an 80mm f/6 refractor on the Porta-II.  Are you using the heavier tripod?

EQ5 tripod with a Berlebach castor mount

I have a Starfield 102mm refractor. I am considering changing some of my eyepieces to optimise my viewing with this great telescope.

My current eyepiece collection consists of the following;

ES 8.8mm, 12.5 Pentax XF, 16mm Nirvana, 22mm Nagler & 32mm Panaview.

The Nagler I will keep. The 16 mm is very good, but can go. The 32mm Panaview does a job. But can be improved upon. An Explore Scientific 30 mm and Televue 31mm Nagler eyepieces are very heavy compared to the Panaview.I feel that I should have another eyepiece with a shorter focal length than the 8.8mm that I have. But what focal lenght would be reccomended? A 5mm ?.

I would be interested to hear what eyepiece collections that other Starfield refractors users have.

Thanks for that.

Forgive me if this topic has been covered recently. I have set my television to automatically record the Sky at Nigh. But have just realised that I cannot remember seeing it for quite some time. What has happened to it's once regular monthly spot? Has it been quietly dropped? 

There is a possibility that I may have the chance if aquiring the above Tele Vue eyepiece. I once owned an ES 30 mm. At around 1.4 kgs it was heavy. The mount used then as was the telescope much larger than my current instruments.The Teleview is 1.4 kgs. My telescopes are an 80 mm and 102 mm ED refractors. So a Skywatcher ST 120. These are used on AZ4 and another Alt/Az mounts. My question is would the Tele Vue 31 mm at 1.4 kgs be too heavy for these telescopes and mounts?