Chris

This has taken a month to put together, so I'm really hoping it's good advice lol

I recon that little bench tested 60mm f/5.5 triplet should sell really well, especially as it's just £439! Very tempted to get one to piggy back on the 8RC

No, but in theory it should work right? One lens per primary wavelength?

Oh crikey that is over priced on the TS site! You can order the 4" f10 from FLO with the additional EQ3 mount for £349! I think you do need to factor in the 50mm finder and 2" diagonal etc but I'd pick the TS ED102 f7 all day long out the two. The prestige of owning something like a Classic f15 aside, I think it's getting harder and harder to justify achromat OTA's. As part of a beginner package with a mount and eyepieces sure thing, but as an OTA alone there are just so many great deals on ED glass scopes out there (stock issues aside). Even triplets now, have you seen these latest offerings FLO have just stocked! https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sharpstar-telescopes/sharpstar-61edph-ii-f5-5-triplet-ed-apo-telescope.html

lol I wondered where you were going with this story vlaiv but it's a very interesting point. Maybe it's more that the TS 70ED f/6 is crazy good value rather than the 70mm achro being particularly expensive if you upgrade it.

Brilliant! Congratulations

That's quite a sweeping statement! Not many of us astronomers are going to fans of Starlink, but the guys intentions seem far from evil to me.

Cool! I wondered how visible it would be through bins.

Well our atoms were probably forged in the same second gen star 😉

I found it interesting in that it was a journey of understanding for an average guy trying to tackle a mind boggling subject. Very interesting to see a top scientist shoot him down instead of trying to explain, but thankfully many of them seemed friendly and open to discussion with a lay person. I actually thought it was very honest and open of Rory to include that damming statement. The discussion at the end tying in the Quantum with Einstein's theory of gravity bending space time made me realise I should be paying more attention to the big picture. But Despite having a degree in astronomy I'm really way closer to Rory's level of understanding so found it fun and relatable. I had to re watch bits in an attempt to wrap my head around things lol It was great to see Dr Stuart Clarke who has stuck in my mind for 20 years not only as a really great lecturer, but it was his classes where I first met my wife! I guess his appearance has made me like the video even more 😀

Astrobiscuit does it again! A great video documentary interviewing top scientists to piece together some missing gaps in our understanding. Likely link between quantum mechanics and Einstein's Theory of gravity! The Matrix could be real in a sense?

That's a fantastic first image, well done. One to be proud of straight off the bat

Thanks, the Ultramax on Amazon was the one I was looking at coincidentally, they say the following for solar and I've found this solar controller: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunix-Controller-Intelligent-Temperature-Compensation/dp/B07C4WBXVD/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=lithium+ion+phosphate+solar+controller&qid=1605459101&quartzVehicle=88-1161&replacementKeywords=lithium+phosphate+solar+controller&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFZR0UxUlMwMFBPWFQmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAzODM5NTMxVDE4VU1IMEhVWlA0JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA0MTI4NzIzQUdZSTk2OE5JUUVCJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== Lithium-Ion batteries allow to equip solar or wind “off-grid” power stations, replacing the legacy banks of lead-acid batteries. To be even more cost-effective, LiFePO4 batteries are among the longest lived batteries ever developed. Test data in the laboratory show up to 2000 charge/discharge cycle

Battery wise my research so far suggests to avoid most Lead Acid batteries, (although I appreciate the ones linked on this thread are deep discharge rated) and bite the bullet on a lithium iron phosphate battery.

Thanks, I'll do a bit of online window shopping this evening armed with some decent advice from you guys. Cheers! : )

Big battery it is then I can put the money I have into a battery now, and buy solar/wind to help top it up down the line.

I could forget the solar altogether and just get a battery I can just about carry into the house to charge every now and again. I just thought solar would decrease the freguency of this which would be handy, and it would be eco friendly. I might have a a quick look at wind turbines as well...you never know

I should probably put more of the money into a battery with a large Ah capacity in this case. I've had mounts with flashing LED power issues in the past and the mounts tend to not function properly in this situation, they can go a bit bonkers 😜

Hi James, thanks for your input. I'm currently running the obsy of 12 D cells so just looking at an eco friendly upgrade to this. It doesn't have to be perfect and I can always charge the battery when the days get short. I concede I won't be able to have solar panels in a fully optimal 60 degree angle but I do want to keep with the eco theme beacause I think it would be a cool thing to do and my obsy is mainly made from recycled and salvaged materials so keeping in with that theme. Maybe wind power would be better? or a combination of both wind and solar? Yes mains would be easier of course or I can keep on running the obsy of my 12 D cells and just add a recahrgeable battery pack for a little LED light.

That's great thanks! The cost is ramping up a bit but I guess if I bought a 24Ah battery instead of the 38 I could always add a second battery down the line.,,,As your above image demonstrates 😄

haha I can only imagine what that's powering!?

I guess it's better to have too much than too little, I'd better check my bank account, I might need to sell a couple of items. I've not looked at the price of leisure batteries yet lol

That makes sense, I was thinking 5amps was just what medium duty mount drew, but off course this will vary depending on what the mounts doing and most of the time mounts will be just tracking sidereally which wont use much power.

It's expensive but maybe this 160W kit will cover everything: https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/184-160W-12V-solar-charging-kit-with-20A-controller-and-5m-cable.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiAwMP9BRCzARIsAPWTJ_EfRNwzo2XtST5KvS4-2UklVyxKt7msFH_fcEBEEjqzbwKu7P_i9DkaAgGoEALw_wcB

That's a good idea to run a warming blanket off solar, in my last obsy I used an electric blanket off the mains to keep the damp of my scope. I might need to factor in a warming blanket I can see me ending up with a 150W solar kit!