mdstuart

The azimuth movement is great. The alt is still a little sticky but usable. I plan to have another play next Spring but for now I am just going to enjoy the sky. The new set up is MUCH easier to set up and take down. It holds collimation well and the star test is better with the new agricultural mirror cell. I managed to stiffen up the upper connections with jubilee clips. So really pleased with the new "Eddie" scope. Mark

Paul I tend to use a 10mm ortho type eyepiece to pull out the faint stuff but it's got a narrow FOV so I could not see both at once. The Bear paw galaxy was round and bright and you could tell the surface was not even. I wander what IC 2233 looks like if we could see it face on. Mark

Managed to just see this beautiful galaxy with averted vision last night in my 20 inch dob. It was very tough with a thin streak just possible with averted vision at times. It is in Lynx near the Bear paw galaxy which was bright in comparison. Really enjoyed the observation even though it was on the edge of visibility for me in my semi rural sky. Here is the map I used to locate the galaxy. Regards Mark

Here is my equivalent of bobs knobs for the 20 inch scope. To be fair the scope holds collimation well so it's not going to get much use.

Same here John. I can see the SN with averted vision at times but with the moon I am limited to about mag 13.5 as well. I cannot see the host galaxy tonight either. Your 12 inch dob never ceases to amaze me. It performs as well as my 20 inch. Mark

Kate is making a shroud. It lives in an insulated box in the shed which seems to be working well. So nice to be out this evening enjoying the views again. Mark

One of my objectives was to reduce set up and take down times. I can get the scope out of the shed and assembled in 10 minutes. Now the next step would be an observatory🤔 Mark

The mechanism seems to be french.

It is a bit like a clock inside with a flywheel and oddly a magnet a capacitor and electric leads even though it is wind up. Beautiful but my wife hates the ticking!

Tonight I had a go with a clockwork tracker that belonged to Eddie who recently passed away It is for sale on astro buy and sell if you are interested. at a price to cover postage. The image of some stars near Hercules with a Canon 400D from a single 30 secs exposure came out better than I expected

He stars look good to me. You can use a bratinov mask to help with the focus although I am no expert as I am a visual observer! Mark

Nice. I think that is the Andromeda galaxy and m110 is also just visible. I am sure you will get lots of help on here to take it to the next level. Mark

My box uses a silver foil outside with a thin insulation foam inside that. Mark

I created an insulated box in my shed and it is working fine so far with no noticeable impact on my mirror and no condensation. The test is to go in mid morning as the shed warms and check to see if condensation has formed on the mirror which cooled overnight. Mark

Stunning, just stunning.

...but once you have managed to see it you will find it much easier next time..I am not sure why this is but it does seem you can learn to discern things over time. It's almost as though once you know what you are looking for it becomes easier. Keep trying, especially on nights with a clear NW or N airflow and no moon. Mark

That is a good starting point. If you like galaxies then I would have a look at this book for more ideas.

Stiction update. Silicon wax helps movement but not stiction. Halving the length of the PTFE pads did not help so back to full length to keep psi below 15lbs per square inch. Sailkote is better. Stiction reduced by 50%. Also. Jubilee clips strategically applied to truss poles avoids top brackets twisting which helps hold collimation better. Mark I hope my experience helps others.

I have named the scope Eddie in honour of my close astro buddy who died recently. Mark

Thanks Mark we are keeping well in these radically uncertain times. I am blown away by the improvement in the sharpness of the stars with the new mirror cell. I saw some astigmatism and certain altitudes before but that is all gone. I am still working on the bearings as there is a lot of stiction in the alt motion but I will get there. I like problem solving. Over the next few days I am taking off the silicon wax and trying Sailkote which apparently will make anything slippy so we shall see. If not its on to metal roller bearings I also washed the mirror before putting it in the new set up and last night I was seeing down to mag 15 even with the 7mm eyepiece so that was nice to achieve as well. Hope you are also doing OK up there in Hereford. Hope it is not too long before we can observe together again. Regards Mark

Finally observing galaxies again with my 20 inch dob after the rebuild. Observing galaxies in Draco which is well placed to the West. Two pairs stood out tonight. NGC 6285/6 (ARP 293) Both were relatively easy to spot in my 7mm eyepiece making a nice faint pairing. Here is an image of them from the internet. I also had a look at NGC6290/1. These were a little harder but stood out in the 10mm ortho lens and are to the left in this image. My new set up with a stronger mirror cell is helping as the stars seem sharper than before and this is helping pull out the faint objects. Really good to be back out observing. Mark

Robin I will check that out. I will also experiment further with different lengths and positions of PTFE. Mark

So first light tonight. The mirror cell is working well holding collimation and no astigmatism present so that's good. Balance seems about right.. Still getting some rotation on the top uta connectors even with star washers so a bit more work needed on them. Alt motion still stiff to get going but smooth once in motion even with silicon wax...any ideas anyone? Much easier to set up and take down than the previous set up so that's good. Shroud order placed with my wife. At least I now have a useable set up again. I had a look at Mars, a few galaxies and M13 etc.

So top tip 37. Allow a cm of slack rather than setting the wheels on a level floor. With the carpet or grass the wheels will be slightly too high to easily attach as they are pushed up.. Maybe I can just put the dob on a mat to level things when observing. Also longer lower angle PTFE bearing material added as v1 was a bit rough and stiff. Tip 38 PTFE can be cut using repeated strokes with a Stanley blade and 4mm stuff can be bent by hand..😀

The idea is to be able to quickly detatch the handles so that I then do not trip over them during observing. Mark