Moodtastic

I have the EQ6 pro and a WO GT81. My biggest refractor is 100mm. Good seeing, decent polar alignment and balancing I get sub 0.80 RMS which is good enough for me. Poor nights it runs closer to 1.0rms but with the GT81 that's not an issue. The GT81 can be balanced with a single counterweight and no extension. The 100mm needs 2 counterweights with no extension. It's very heavy though! Not an issue for me as I don't have far to carry it far and fortunate to have an ok back, but I understand why people struggle with it. I also have a CEM40 which i use when travelling, or if I want a busy night with two setups. It doesn't seem to perform as well as the EQ6, but I am not sure I've ever got the balancing right. Can't comment on the AM5. The HEQ5 will struggle with heavier scopes.

As others have said it probably makes sense to get it on a bench with an expert given what you have spent to date. At least then you will know the issues and if they can be fixed.

I have a CEM40 and an EQ6 R. I use the built in ipolar in the CEM40 and ASIAir on the EQ6. I find I do get better alignment with the CEM40 and iPolar. However, there is not much in it in my experience with the biggest issue been the terrible bolts on the EQ6. I should at some point use iPolar and then see how that compares on the asiair.

Hi, The AAP needs to be controlled via the app on Android or iOS. I would recommend a tablet over a phone for this. It is actually a decent bit of kit for the price. It will guide, control your mount, perform go to/plate solve, focus, and give you good control over your ZWO cameras. The 4 power ports are good enough for accessories and cameras (including a dew strip) but you would want your mount to have a separate dedicated supply not through the AAP. The downside is that its only compatible with ZWO and most DSLR (except Sony) cameras. For me it has cut down on cables and simplified the imaging process compared to running everything from a laptop, but its not perfect. Troubleshooting issues can be difficult.

I look outside and use a radar app to see what the conditions are now and whats likely heading my way and then just compare the forecasts from CO, Metoffice, BBC and Accuweather to see if its worth setting up. I have found the last couple of years forecasts have got less accurate over the autumn and winter months especially. Sometimes they show cloud and its clear and other times its showing as clear but there is a lot of cloud cover.

I have 2 refractors that provide nice wide field images, but I'm looking to fill a gap for the smaller DSOs and maybe some planetary with a long focal length scope. I have previously been thinking of the Edge800 but the price increase earlier this year from Celestron makes the FLO RC8 look attractive. Anyone had any experience with either of these, should I budget for any additional gear? Initially I will be using a guidescope, but if I have issues I might look at an OAG.

130p heritage is a pretty good scope for ultra quick viewing of moon and planets. Cools down fast, its light weight, affordable, and has just enough apperture for satisfying visual astronomy of bright objects.

I settled for a 6600xt for my new build (replacing 6 year old pc) mainly as I could find one. I got the 6600xt for msrp, but it was still a £390 GPU which 3 years ago the equivelant level of GPU at the time would have been £200. So even mrsp is now massively inflated and will be going forward. I have noticed that availability of astro equipment has improved a little since last autumn and winter. I mean, if you want an 80mm triplet they can be found which is an inprovement (you just might have to settle for a different brand say WO instead of Skywatcher), and the same is true of mounts.

I decided to also order a Solarquest mount. Not entirelt sure if this was a good idea or if i have wasted money but my CEM40 is a bit of a hassle to set up for quick sessions in the daytime and the reviews of the SolarQuest makes it sound really quick, easy and portable. I hope for quick visual sessions the SolarQuest will be great. Though I will need to learn some new processing techniques to remove field rotation when I image.

The feathertouch I ordered is dual speed. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/specialist-focusers-borg-tele-vue-lunt-gso-rc/feathertouch-125-dual-speed-focuser-for-lunt-ls50-solar-telescopes.html The moonlite looks great though with the red. It seems hard to find though.

Thanks for this. Given I already have the ls50 that I bought from new I decided to go with the double stack and keep a dedicated solar scope rather than a Quark system. I may come back to the Quark though for similar reasons you have suggested.

Its a supply issue thats allowing prices to go up - astro gear is selling out everywhere and people will pay more for what is availiable. This seems to be a general issue across the economy from building materials, silicon chips, etc. and will drive inflation over the next 12 months. I also think astronomy specifically has a problem with a lack of competition generally (its fairly niche with a few companies capable of making decent mass produced kit), which will prevent prices from adjusting down as supply eases over the next year or so as there is little competition in this market to drive prices back down.

This is not a bad shout to be honest and its something I am considering. I could keep my LS50THa. My hesitance is quality which I have heard is a bit variable (although that is less of an issue via FLO and their good service).

Last summer I had great fun with my LS50THa which I coupled with a ASI178MM, but also enjoyed visual side as well. I am thinking about getting the feather touch focuser and LS50C double stack module for it to take my solar imaging forward However, I could probably sell my LS50THa and for the extra money that I am thinking of spending jump to a 60mm Lunt. The downside is that the cost to double stack the 60mm will likely mean it will be a few years before I can afford to do this. I am just looking for some advice really. Anyone have any thoughts or experience on if I should upgrade my LS50THa to double stack and better focuser, or get a bigger 60mm?

I have really enjoyed my 7/8 months with the SM 104. The past month has been especially enjoyable taking images of galaxys. When it arrived I was worried the weight might be a bit much for the CEM40 and I'd need to upgrade. I was wrong, tracking has been great and on good nights I can get the RMS down to 0.5, and on bad nights around 0.9. This is similar to what I get with my WO GT81 The only downside of the scope is I use an ASIair and I would love to use my EAF, but I don't think it can be mounted to the focuser (I can't work out if it can).. not a huge issue as focusing with a mask isn't the end of the world, but its would be nice to automate focusing.