Cjg

No worries at all. Chris

Hi Steve, I have this one that I purchased when I bought the 125 ED scope https://www.altairastro.com/altair-10x60mm-raci-finder-scope-90-deg-erect-image-prism-variable-illuminator-eyepiece.html Used it Twice but found I prefer the red dot finder...say £100 including postage? If you're interested I'll photograph it tomorrow. Used it two or three times and then forgot I had it and it's lived in it's box on my bookshelf all year! Chris

Cannot comment on the brands that you have mentioned, because my 125 is the Altair Astro one, purchased from Tring Astronomy in Herts. Purchased a complete package of scope, Sabre Mount and the necessary connecting plates etc and they gave me a great deal. My other scope is a Tak 76 and I wanted something that was a step up; this fits the bill perfectly. It takes more trips from the car to set up, but gives superb views. I hadn't seen one in the flesh before I purchased it, and I'm glad I hadn't as the size and weight of the scope, mount, counterweights etc might have put me off buying. If i'm observing for just 2/3 hours, I'll take the Tak, but if the forecast is great, then it's the 125 that gets packed. As to the quality, the strehl ratio is .96 and Altair say that "are far superior to the "normal" production quality lenses" on their website. The outer box was labelled with "chengdu airlines" which as far as I can tell is an internal airline to China. My advice would be to pick a retailer that you know will look after you if anything goes awry. I can vouch for Neil and Jane at Tring and have met them numerous times at the Astro Camp in Wales that they support. If you are in Norfolk anytime soon, let me know, you are very welcome to have a look at / through mine. Chris

Now sold, thanks very much. Chris

@Oldfort , possibly, I've never measured it, works with my specs though; I took the details from an elderly website. Chris

We also swapped a 9mm Nagler that was just a little too heavy for my Tak and Porta mount; ended up buying the newer, lighter 1.25 only version...This time it's a 15mm Delite, so the Pan as excellent as it is, is surplus now!

Having succumbed to "show prices" at the Society of Popular Astronomy event on Saturday, my Panoptic 15mm is surplus to requirements. It's been well used, though well cared for, stored in a foam flight case and dried out after each session. Has the front and rear lens caps and the box too. Think this came originally from @Moonshane a few years ago, so asking £110 including postage to a UK address. It's no longer made but these are the specs as I understand; 1.25 inch Apparent FOV: 68.0 degrees Field Stop Dia.: 17.1 mm Eye Relief: 5 mm Elements: 6 Weight (lbs): 0.4 Thanks, Chris

I struggled a little at this event, despite it being only an hour from home, the Friday night was clear and so was at Seething until late, arrived at Cambridge slightly too late to get into the first talk, this proved to be costly as the WideScreen Centre had a very tempting display and "show prices" for the day. The talks I attended were excellent - the Pluto Story by Prof Ian Robson gave an insider view of the politics and shenanigans behind the IAU's decision making. New Horizons in the Solar System was excellent, and was followed by a talk from Prof Ian Crawford of Birkbeck on 'The scientific legacy of Apollo and the case for renewed exploration of the moon'. Tiredness and a thick head from a late night had set in and I ad to forgo hearing from Monica Grady; there's a video of the talk at All in all was a well organised event, that sold out, so if you get the opportunity to attend next time, think it worth the trip.

Thats dedication, I don't think I'd have the patience to do that, delighted that @Wiu-Wiu has shared that all will be well with the publishers. Agreed a well used tatty atlas much better than an unused one! Cheers, Chris

My 7 year old Pocket Sky Atlas is falling apart, a veteran of numerous damp stargazing sessions at Seething, four AstroCamps in Cwmdu and two Messier Marathons at the AstroFarm in France; if it was a regular book, I'd be ashamed to have treated it so badly. Seeing the post about the financial difficulties of the magazine that created the book, I ordered another. Want to protect this copy as best I can and searched on the net for a book cover to offer a little more protection this time from the damp. I eventually found a site, but to order a custom cover was a right pain in the proverbial! After measuring the height and width, you have to convert the measurements to this sites code....in the end I emailed the site and asked the owner to share a link to order the correctly sized cover, which he did. So if you've a pocket Sky Atlas and want to protect it a little - here's the url to order the cover https://www.loveyourbook.co.uk/book-covers/height-200mm-to-250mm/adjustable-plastic-book-cover-h240mm-x-l335-380mm.html The rear could do with a little more protection, but this is better than before. I've no relationship with the company, other than ordering the book cover, and if I were to review them, I'd have to express my frustration at trying to find the url for the correct product, but as the cover was only £3 (with similar postage) I'm not going to do so. Chris

Today, thanks to @Grant and @FLO for sponsoring, my postie delivered a mug. Very first time I’ve entered a photo competition. Thank you very much!

6 months in and I’m very happy with my red light head torch. The original recommendation came from @DirkSteele. Think Matthew reviewed it for one of the Astronomy mags too. On my iPad so hard to scroll to find his review at the moment. Purchased mine from the nice folks at Tring Astro, I won’t buy from Amazon unless there is absolutely no alternative. Chris

Living in Norfolk, you get used to that. It’s 35 miles away from home. My last trip to Cwmdu in September took 5hrs, I could get stuck behind a tractor the whole way and still be there in around an hour or so...(I hope) ?

Thanks for the warning!

It's my first time there Owen as I usually travel to Wales and the AstroCamp at Cwmdu.