vegaandarctures

The battery works fine for a bunch of other things I plugged into it. Charged my Bluetooth headphones fine. I think it probably was the mount. Although FLO thought otherwise.

Thanks all for the replies so far! Much appreciated. This is the cable I was using: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Extension-Security-Standalone-Surveillance-Adapter-Black/dp/B09BQ81DSS Perhaps this cable isn’t good enough. I do want to make sure I have a good power supply for when I buy another mount. I’m wondering if maybe the mount was damaged from the power supply issue? Maybe I somehow burned the motor out. I don’t want to damage another mount if that is the case. It does say on the mount specs that it takes between 7.5 - 14v to power to power the mount. So if it does drop a bit below 12v surely to that shouldn’t be a problem? I don’t really know much about electricity to be honest.

Hi all, I’m looking to hear from people who use this TalentCell battery to power their mounts, https://www.amazon.co.uk/TalentCell-Rechargeable-6000mAh-12000mAh-Lithium/dp/B0713T4XT9/ref=asc_df_B0713T4XT9/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=256464514719&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8883556746769517837&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006474&hvtargid=pla-421631113151&psc=1 more specifically anyone who uses it for the Sky-Watcher AZ-GTI. I recently purchased the az-gti and upon reading another thread here, decided to get the TalentCell battery to power it. It seems quite a lot of people use it to power their az-gti mounts. So when I first plugged the mount into the battery, it seemed to work fine, Wi-Fi was working and I connected to the app, and it would move when I told it to. It was carrying my ED80 with ease and it was upon the 1.25” stainless steel tripod. However problems started when I took it outside to try it out. First of all, the GoTo accuracy was dreadful, I tried every form of alignment possible but still it was always just outside the FOV. Also it just wouldn’t track, even when I told it what it was looking at and pressed point and track it still wouldn’t track properly. It was making a noise so it sounded like it was trying to track but the object was always slowly drifting up the FOV and out of site. I gave up that first night eventually as hours had passed and I wasn’t getting anywhere. The 2nd night was exactly the same. However this time whilst slewing the mount unexpectedly died. I tried to power it up again with a 12V DC wall socket that I had lying around but nothing happened. Something in it had just given out. So I emailed FLO and explained the situation. They kindly took it back and refunded me. They also told me that the TalentCell battery was likely providing insufficient power for the mount, and that the cable I was using (just a standard one from Amazon that another SGL user linked in another thread) was also not gonna cut it. So I’m just wondering is the TalentCell battery enough to power this mount? Others on here seem to think so but FLO disagree. Or was my mount just a dud? Reason I ask is because apart from it not working, the mount was perfect for my needs and I’d love to get another one that works properly. Apologies for this absolute mammoth of a post but I wanted to provide the whole story. Any thoughts and advice would be much appreciated. TIA Thomas

Hi all, Came in last night from viewing, scope was drenched in dew. Followed my usual procedure of taking it back inside, uncapping the ends and drying it out over night. However this morning I noticed that the lens now appears to be covered in tiny specs. I first thought this was just left over condensation that hasn’t yet dried, however I’ve left it all morning and it hasn’t budged. Maybe it’s dried water droplets? Has anyone seen anything similar on their fracas? Maybe my OCD is making me worry more than I need to, but I’d appreciate anyone’s thoughts on it. If it’s in between the 2 glass elements how does one dry that out? Scope is skywatcher evostar 80ED Cheers, Thomas

Just popped out with the dob for a peep at mars and the moon. Seeing is as bad as it’s ever been. I’m in Wiltshire, anyone else out tonight?

Lovely sketch David! Many happy returns 😊

Thank you very much 🙂

Thanks for your replies, I was using a 127mm Mak on this mount and it was no problem. I'm kind of leaning towards an ST80.. but I don't know.. I've heard good things about them, but then I've heard not so good things. If it will provide bright, crisp wide field views then it will satisfy me. I wish I could look through one before I buy really

Looking for an OTA for my az4 mount (aluminium legs). Its main purpose will be lovely wide field views to complement my 8inch dob. I originally had my eye on one of those short tube skywatcher achromats. Either the 80 or the 102, although I've never looked through one. Although I am somewhat tempted by something like a 130PDS, would something like this be of higher quality than the achromats? I'd appreciate your opinions on what choice I should make. Clear skies, Thomas

Thank you everyone 😇

Had an absolutely beautiful view of the red planet last night as I'm sure many did. It looked almost photographic when the seeing got really steady, used up to 240x mag in my 8inch dob. Anyway here is my attempt at sketching mars. 😇 Clear skies, Thomas

Beautiful sketch! I always admire your drawing skills David

Hey everyone, I'm not really an imager but my partner is a keen photographer so now and again we dabble in some astrophotography. Here is a single shot of the moon we took using her cannon 77D through my Skymax 127. Processed on polar.

If budget isn't an issue, go for the EQ5 pro. It will serve you much better off in the long run and also give you more options in the future should you decide to upgrade to a larger OTA.

Cool thank you for your help, also which size dovetail do you think would be best?

Okay, and this screws onto the mounting plate that is already attached to my OTA?

Hi, thanks for you reply. Would this replacement fit the az4?

@dweller25Sure!

Hey all, I recently bought an az4 mount for a second hand skymax 127 I acquired some time ago. My skymax is the old blue one but it doesn't have a standard dovetail, it has a kind of plate that looks like an upside-down dovetail that is slightly too big to fit onto the az4. I'm not really sure how to go about mounting it. The plate on the Ota has a camera tripod thread so I tried attaching it to the L bracket that comes with the mount and I did manage to mount it, but it wasn't very stable. Would I be able to buy a new dovetail and screw it in to the OTA? Many thanks, Thomas

Yeah that is something certainly worth considering 🤔

That is kinda anoying, however I've never used a right angle finder so I'm used to straight through. Something I am wondering about is if it will be mounted safely with the finder shoe on the mak, as the scope is tilted at a weird angle due to the dovetail positioning. It will be on the bottom right of the scope.

11x70's would be slightly easier for handheld use. I have the Revelation 15x70's which I think are the same as the celestrons optically, had them for 9 years and absolutely love em!

So my grab and go setup is currently a Skymax 127 on an az4 mount. I've been toying with the idea of using an evoguide 50ED as a finder/wide field scope to compliment the high power views the mak provides. Would just be nice to have the best of both worlds when I need to pop out for a quick look. Im just wondering if anyone has a similar setup for visual use? Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks all for your advice. It seems there are a few options to consider here. I'll probably go ahead and replace the focuser at some point with the DS one. I've read quite a few reviews and they seem to be all positive

9 years since I joined! It's been really nice to engage in the social aspect of the hobby. I think we all know it can be a bit lonely sometimes outside at 2am in the middle of January (always too cold for the Mrs to come out and join me) 😂 It's great to able to come on here and share our experiences, knowledge and mistakes with each other. I've received so many useful bits of advice from many of you, to that I thank you all.