Chris

Thanks Jeremy, I think you can see what's going on a bit better on a video

Progress update vlog

Nigella, that's one picturesque recycled shed obsy you've put together! It's hard to believe it was once a rotten shed like mine so I'll take the inspiration, thanks

Haha! Thanks Mick, and don't worry my reputation is safe! I some how managed to completely mess up the width of the roll of roof, so I'll need to literally saw inches off one side and some how re attach the wheels lol

Rails and castor's arrived. Walls repaired and installed. Apex roof converted into pent roof. I made a mistake on the roof width so I'll need to make some alterations.

With my head I'd go for option 2 mate Probably the Altair or TS version of the fpl53 102 f7. If had to live with one scope, this probably would be it! (weighing up every single factor I can think of). With my heart I'd choose the Stella Mira 80mm f10. I have moments where I really want this scope - I know it would be practically optically perfect and the views would be very aesthetically pleasing and the user experience would be nice looking at the fit and finish. It's a tricky one Rob!

Bump. Anyone with experience?

Hello all, I've been looking for an affordable EQ goto mount for the observatory I'm building for a while now, but as many will know you just can't get hold of Skywatcher and Celestron mounts at the moment. I've therefore started to look elsewhere and was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Explore Scientific EXOS-2 PMC-Eight GOTO Mount? On paper it looks good for a £700 mount even boasting belt drives. I was also looking at the Bresser Messier EXOS-2 EQ GOTO Mount, so any input or experiences from owners of these mounts would be great to hear. Are there any better options at the moment sub £800? Considering you can't get HEQ5's or AVX's currently, and they get snapped up super quick if they appear. Thanks Chris

Note made, portability is a good point, and perhaps cooling time. Thanks.

Thank you folks! I'm glad the information appears to be good! Astro must be really confusing to newcomers with all the different equipment out there. Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing of course

Hi everyone. I've put my 50+ telescope buying, testing, selling 'problem' to good use and made a video to help new astronomers decide on their first telescope based on their interests. I will be doing an updated collaboration version of this video with another Youtuber shortly, so if there is anything else people would like me to include or change? just leave a comment below, thanks

The new batch of CMOS OSC's do look incredible, especially combined with new filters like the L-enhance and L-Extreme, but I do think there will always be an application for mono. Namely narrow band and scientific applications. It's a great subject but I'm not worried compared to how worried I am about the sky becoming totally full of satellite chains.

I wonder who got it?

Very nice Takahashi and burlesque show, but you could have waited until I got the roof on my obsy build, it's chucking it down now! 😆

I've just had a flick through your obsy build Dave and I think it's really classy! I Really like the raised position on those ornate bricks too, and I'm straight up jealous of your mount

Thanks Gina, I think I'll go order them as I'm getting surprisingly close this stage of the build.

It's been chucking it down this evening so any wondering cows will soon be a little happier with my grass Today's progress: 1 ) Finished repairing the 4 main walls of the shed. This was a bigger job than I thought requiring another trip to buy some 8' feather board today. 2 ) Online shopping for castors and track. Opinions on these would be good before I hit the button if peeps don't mind (3 x 3m tracks, and 6 wheels for £147 delivered) https://www.fhbrundle.co.uk/products/0587504000__3_metre_Track_for_20mm_Round_Grvd_Wheels_in_Galvanised_Steel https://www.fhbrundle.co.uk/products/0515W001__Wheel_80mm_x_20mm_Round_Track_Max_300kgs 3) I've been thinking about the roof and I'm leaning towards using the materials from the pitch roof to build a lighter pent roof.

Thanks Dave, I think the grass is a write off this year 😆

Thanks NIgella, hopefully I can get a few more hours done today if the weather stays dry.

Thanks Martin, that's really useful to know. I've just counted 5 layers including the outside layers and not seen any voids so it seems like I'm in luck! I've almost finished off a giant tin of Cuprinol wood preserver too. All surfaces and edges of the floor frame and ply flooring have had two coats so far, so hopefully it's well protected Cheers!

Today I finished the flooring, took apart the old shed. Realised it was even more rotten than I first thought. Bought more timber for the extra repairs. Started repairing and modifying the shed walls, and turned a tent into a makeshift tool shed.

Thanks, yeah it's going well so far. I even made some more progress today

Thanks, well I just missed out on an older style EQ6 for £150! messaged as soon as I saw the add but I was just beaten too it. It might have to be the Starquest mount and the Meg72 or ST102 for a while but we'll see what pops up

Yesterday's progress - everything's had two coats of Cuprinol wood preservative, and the floorings almost finished.

Did Musk have any luck with the anti reflective coating on his satellites? Software with hopefully eventually help, fingers crossed, but the thought of thousands upon thousands of satellites whizzing around in massive chains up there just seems horrible.