RobertI
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Posts posted by RobertI
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At this time of year, perhaps patrolling the brighter galaxies for supernovae?
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This looks great, lots of detail in the core now. More detail all round too. Great job. 👍
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2 hours ago, uk_friendly_fire said:
Also is there such a thing as a user/service manual for this OTA as the rotating focus has a couple of rough points on rotating?
Do you mean the focus knobs or the rotating focus assembly (which allows the orientation of the camera/eyepiece to be changed)?. If the latter then, the friction can be adjusted by loosening/tightening the three grub screws. I also found a very light greasing of the threads also worked wonders to smooth the action. I’m afraid I can’t help regarding the focuser.
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Looks like it’s the single bolt just ahead of the OTA - nicely demonstrated in the following review of the scope. HTH.
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Might be worth posting a picture of the scope?
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1 hour ago, AstroKeith said:
I look upon it as a rest too. Chill out time.
👍
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I’ll be taking my tent so I’m hoping for some weather like that this!
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I would say the two main advantages of your setup is the longer focal length gives better image scale for smaller objects, in particular galaxies, and the mono camera is more sensitive than colour, and in my opinion gives much more contrasty images than colour.
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2 hours ago, John said:
This may well have been posted here before but it might be new to some. The sub-titles are in Japanese but most of the movie is self explanatory I think. The glass making segment early on seems to have been filmed in an Ohara optical works. The scope and mount manufacture at Vixen.
Fascinating video John. It all seems rather low tech, with dust flying around and blokes smashing the glass with wooden sticks! The end results are clearly not in question though. I love the bit where the lens is carefully polished prior to placing it its cell. I notice the guy spray painting the tubes isn’t wearing a mask. 😲
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I enjoyed reading the backstory to this wonderful acquisition - may you have many happy years together under the stars.
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Personally, if you have a bigger budget, I would not bother with this scope, the main problem being the horribly wobbly looking mount and tripod. If you did want to experiment you could buy a low power eyepiece like the BST Starguider 25mm and just try sweeping the Milky Way and some bright objects and see how you get on. You can always re-use the eyepiece on a better scope later.
But the best option IMO is to get a scope like these which are much more capable:
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-150p-dobsonian.html
Hope that helps.
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I agree about the minuscule stars, when I see a tiny faint pinprick of companion star, I often wonder how my eyes are good enough to see it. I’ve only experienced this in a refractor!
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Lovely rendition of this pair John. I don’t think open clusters are given enough imaging attention, especially when there are “two in a view”. 🙂
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Sounds like the right decision for you Dave in your circumstances, really sorry about your eye problems. ☹️ Sounds like you are working round your issue though.
I have to say, the picture of @Saganite holding the scope made me laugh - he has a look that says “this is my scope now!” 😂
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2 hours ago, wookie1965 said:
buy yourself these,
https://www.screwfix.com/p/deta-tte-upvc-white-self-adhesive-mini-trunking-12mm-x-8mm-x-2m/262vt
use the front of the cable trunking around the tube on the outside of the rings top and bottom and make your own jubilee clips to fit. You can undo the bolts now and spin the tube it will not slip forward or backwards and unbalance the scope.
Here is a picture of a 200p but at the time I used embroidery hoops but I got the trunking and jubilee kit as it made the tube spin easier.
I tried this exact ‘anti-slip’ solution and it works fine, I have the ring clamp bolts permanently loosened so I can rotate the tube. Two things to watch out for though, you will probably need an ‘anti-slip ring’ at both ends to stop the tube sliding backwards and forwards, and you will also need to be careful that the ring clamp bolts are not at the end of their threads meaning the rings can pop open and the scope fall out!
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On 22/01/2024 at 16:20, RobertI said:
I’d agree with Olly on 4” or above. Two options that fit your budget at a small stretch are a brand new Altair Astro Ascent 4” F7 or a second hand Altair Astro Starwave 4” F7.
I have the latter which is also available under the Starfield brand at FLO. I think the former would also be a great all rounder and a big step up from an achromat.
There is this for sale used, it’s got the FPL53 glass and the same as the 102ED Starfield from FLO and Starwave from Altair Astro:
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Revelation Astro are a well known brand, the optics should be fine, but I’m surprised they didn’t get the spelling of “Superview” correct! Perhaps it’s from a batch of seconds.
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3 hours ago, Hughsie said:
Hopefully the text is visible now.
Sure is 👍
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39 minutes ago, Beardy30 said:
Sorry I disagree - I would high recommended the sw 102 - foot have one and it’s a great scope for visual use
I don’t think anyone is saying the SW102 is not a good scope, it’s just that the OP has a budget of £500, so might as well use it and get the best you can! 🙂
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What an amazing trip! Some lovely photos there which really convey the experience. That open deck observatory is just so cool, a sumptuous array of telescopes available for public use. I did a tour of that area some thirty years ago, and saw many of the sights you mention, but stupidly never visited the Lowell Observatory. I’ve been promising the family a trip to the US, so I think I may have to sneak Flagstaff into the itinerary! 😉
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I’d agree with Olly on 4” or above. Two options that fit your budget at a small stretch are a brand new Altair Astro Ascent 4” F7 or a second hand Altair Astro Starwave 4” F7.
I have the latter which is also available under the Starfield brand at FLO. I think the former would also be a great all rounder and a big step up from an achromat.
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Wonderful image of an interesting duo of nebulae John. 👍
PS: Your text is invisible when using SGL’s default ‘white’ theme - thought you should know. 🙂
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11 hours ago, SwiMatt said:
After this whole thread and all the envy you caused me, it was especially painful to observe the Moon and Jupiter within 2° and not being able to put them in the same field of view
I managed to get both in the same field of view last night with my 102ED and massive Panaview 38mm eyepiece (giving 3.7 degrees), again showing how flexible a 4” can be, but the Panaview is not a quality eyepiece and there was some colouration and distortion on both objects away from the centre, I suspect the view through my 66mm APO and better quality ES 24mm eyepiece (4.2 degrees FOV) would have been even nicer.
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49 minutes ago, DPF said:
After six weeks of recovery from a chest infection and being banned from going out, I managed to spend an hour looking at the moon and Jupiter - just so nice to be out again and making the most of a clear evening. Mental health boost achieved 👏👏👏
Great that you have managed to get out, surprising what a boost an hour under the stars can give.
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Simple, inexpensive, effective, portable binocular stabilization
in Discussions - Binoculars
Posted
Fantastic idea, thanks! 👍