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Thanks for that Pixies, I have a 6.3 a 10 and a 25, also a 2x cheap Barlow. But I'll definitely get another to fill the gap maybe the 12mm. Also iv been checking the collimation with a collimation cap, and after much back and forth I managed to get the tiny circle over the center, I think you can see in these two pics. I found tightening the locking nuts even just a little firmly put the tiny circle to the side of the centre. So I just lightly touched the locking nuts to lock which isn't very firm, but it's the only way I could keep the mirrors centre circle on the centre dot. Could you advise if that is good collimation or not? As I'm thinking it is but I'm new to collimation.

I have a collimation cap which shows everything looking concentric, I can even see the clips holding the mirror through it, so thought all seemed well, but it's the first time iv needed collimation so not really knowledgeable about it. I did wonder thanks bosun. I'll put a 6.3 mm in and try again when I can, will that size eyepeice do it? As it's the smallest I have.

I'm going to try my own eyepeices when I get a chance, as I get better images from my 25 mm I'v had for 20 odd years in a 4 inch skywatcher startravel looking at saturn than I did last night with the supplied 30mm in an 8 inch dob. I won't go as far as a coma corrector, as iv always been happy with what I could see up to now. I'll also try the 30mm in my Tal 100R to see what the difference might be in looking at saturn, as it's always been a cracking sight through that. I can't see the 8inch stellalyra being less able than a 4 inch refractor that's 25 years old. So I'm hoping it's just the supplied eyepieces causing the problem.

Hi Mike ,Mine is an 8 inch, the 30mm is usable as it came with an extender to use with it.

First light was marred by clouds,but I did get a clear spell at about one. The moon was nice in the 30 mm eyepiece, and crisp with the 9mm, but as it’s my first time with a dob it was still strange to me. I tried for Saturn with the 30mm eyepiece but was disappointed with what I saw, granted it’s only 40 x but I did expect a better image. So went to try the 9 mm eyepiece ,but alas the clouds filled the sky and I will have to wait to try that one on Saturn another time. Now I’m not sure about the colimation, but it did seem ok. But when I did a star test I didn’t get concentric circles I got what looked like the spider and middle circle inside the main circle with the three clips on the edge, so I’m unsure if it’s in colimation or not. Any advice on this would be great,as it could be why I was disappointed with Saturn being nearly unrecognisable without going in and out of focus until I could just make out the outer shape with the rings in a tiny dull image. other than Saturn though, I enjoyed the ease of being able to move and look with the smooth and easy gentle nudges. I’d appreciate any opinion on the two supplied eyepieces too, as crisp as the moon was I’m thinking most scopes and eyepieces would be with the moon. Was my expectation of Saturn and the 30 mm too high, as I’ve had great views with a 4 inch refracter of Saturn with a 25 mm wide eyepiece,and just expected better with the 8inch mirror and 30 mm eyepiece. Anyway, that aside I’ve got a lot of time ahead to get more familiar with this new dob, as I’m off work for six weeks starting next Friday. And have some long early hours sessions planned. Maybe it’s more suited to deep sky objects? Maybe it’s slightly out of collimation? Maybe the eyepieces aren’t great? Im sure I’ll get to the bottom of these things soon enough, but any suggestions and help would be appreciated. I’ll update when I have anything more Cheers guys

My weekend would have been a total bust if Craig hadn't have told me what needed doing Ratlet. I had no idea, which a bit of paper saying this would solve. Iv got it up and out now and already lined the spotter scope up very easily with the way it is held in place, with a pigeon on an ariel about half a mile away. The colmination seems fine but I'll do a star test later to see. Now I'm over the disappointment I'm rather impressed with it up to now. Fingers crossed the clouds don't spoil things.

Oh my god, thanks for that Craig, I was so disappointed with this thinking it was faulty. There isn't any paperwork with it at all, which seems a little strange. Thanks again Craig, you've really cheered me up as that seems to have solved the problem. I'll start building the base now as I'v got an appointment with the moon and saturn at about 1am. I don't know why a sheet with this simple instruction isn't in the box, it would save a lot of frustration and disappointment. I think like most, iv only used focus tubes that only have a locking nut, so it's a new experience for me. Thanks again Craig, such a simple solution, then again 2+2 is simple, but only if you know what 2 is.

Oh my god, thanks for that Craig, I was so disappointed with this thinking it was faulty. There isn't any paperwork with it at all, which seems a little strange. Thanks again Craig, you've really cheered me up as that seems to have solved the problem. I'll start building the base now as I'v got an appointment with the moon and saturn at about 1am.

Hi guys I'm hoping you can help as I recieved this scope today from first light optics, and on trying the focuser it didn't move the focus tube when I turned the two speed focus nobs. The focus tube seems loose and lifts up and down but doesn't move when I turn the focus nobs. Even the focus nobs are loose and rattle. Am I missing something on set up or is this faulty as when I tip the scope over the focus tube just drops out. Iv tried phoning FLO but its answer machine, and tried emailing but it's an auto email. So am I stuck with a faulty scope until Monday, or is there a number where I could actually talk to a human. Obviously I'm a little upset as that's the planned astro weekend lost now, and it seems they only open Monday to Friday. Any help would be much appreciated

Hi guys I was trying to find a chart or similar to at a glance see when the moon is visible where I live. Iv found rising times in apps but wondered if theres a chart for at a glance seeing where the Moon will be visible and when it's not. Thanks guys

Unfortunately the wooden tripod and head disappeared after I let a relative use it a couple of years ago. Would have been nice to have it with the scope as my wife bought me it one Christmas. I'll always remember the massive wooden crate it came in when I picked it up at the shop. I needed to borrow a van as it wouldn't go in the boot of the car at the time.

I dug this out, it's nice to still have it 😁

Mines 0331, it hadnt occured to before seeing this thread the age relative to the number.

I'll be tieing the pole to the Velbon head, and using another head to connect the binos too.

Thanks for that. That's such a simple solution, I love it. I might try similar and use the Velbon tripod, as I still want a new tripod that goes to 7 feet in height to put my binos on when standing.

How did you attatch the pole to the tripod head? As I had thought about that sort of answer, but didn't want to try making something out of wood. My new monopod is a very strong hefty thing so would work if I could attatch it to my Velbon head, which is a very sturdy metal tilt head .

Thanks guys, I'm still in the deciding stage, as I'll also be using it for my Helios 80 scope as the tripod I have is a very old Velbon VE3 which has a lot of drift when tightening up and is showing its age now. Something that's tall enough for the binos and scope, possibly even my camera the odd time, and grab and go ish. I'm not worried about a little heavier than light tripods. But that cross bar option as an extra use for The binos crossed my mind if it was up to it. If something like this does as I want, it would be a light and easily mobile option instead of going for the monster parallelogram mount which would be limiting as far as easily mobile is concerned, and would save a lot of money too.

I found a thread on here talking about these from years ago as they extend to 7 feet tall which is ideal. But when I was looking at them on their site I noticed the centre post comes out and cameras can be attatched that way too. I think you might know where I'm going with this? Would a set of 20x80's be usable on this cross post with a counter weight of some sort on the other end? If the tripod was set very low and the binoculars were mounted on the cross post they could be used from a reclining chair possibly? Just a thought, but what do you think?

Thanks to you showing us what to do Iv just cleaned mine too. On close inspection in the front of the scope I noticed what appeared to be water type marks which I first thought was mould, as mine too had been stored in a damp place for years. After removing the lens I thought I'd clean the outer of the lens as it was the internal side that needed cleaning. Once this was done I carefully looked at the lens without splitting them and found the two surfaces sealed together we're still clean and clear, so I decided to not split them to clean as it wasn't needed. Thanks to your help and because I didn't need to split the lens I had it done and back together in no time. That night I looked at the moon , as I have been doing a lot recently, and found a brighter more crisp view or so it seemed to me. I had thought about getting a new scope before doing this, but once I had relooked through my Tal 100R with cleaned optics I changed my mind. It feels like I already have a new scope and it's still performing very well as it always did twenty years ago when I recieved it as a Christmas present from my wife. Many thanks nightfisher for posting this how to, you saved me a lot of money on a new scope and also saved my Tal100R from becoming relegated to collecting dust in favour of another scope. Which would have been a terrible mistake on my part.

Thanks Ruud, that's a very helpful reply though I was looking at something up to £200, though that is negotiable. Dark Vader thanks very much too, I don't know why I didn't think about opticron as I have their 20x80 Oregon binoculars and I'm very impressed with them.

Iv had my Bushnel 8x42's for a lot of years now and have decided to upgrade and get some new ones. Bird and nature stuff and even looking up too, but because there are so many to choose from i thought I'd ask for your help to decide which ones to go for. Up to 10x50 ish as my new monopod will help steady the views Thanks guys

I was pleasantly surprised how good the head was for such a nice price.

And what a nice surprise, the 20x80's fit fine and feel very easy to walk around with.

Just been out looking around and I'm very happy with it.

It weighs 2.5 lb's, though it doesn't feel like it with such a good sized grip.