tich

Cheers MIke lol I'll have the usual pitch Tony from Weds to Sunday Morning please I have PM'd you so all being well I should be able to make it...

A good Quark is a superb bit of kit & they are superb to image with from what I've seen, but I know someone who's on their 3rd one in under 2 years who lives not to far from me so they sound like a bit of a lottery to me. Just my tuppenceworth.

It's been a very busy year for me this year since march we've had at least one outreach event to do sometimes it's been 3 a month, still got a few more to do before the years over too. Most of them have been solar events but we have had the odd nigh time one too.

Cheers Stu it makes my Aussie mate laugh when I call my Lunt "my Ha finderscope!!" But yeah it does the job nicely & last Friday at an outreach event I had some exceptional views with it in the evening, after all the rain lol.... The surface detail was the best I'd ever seen with it & the proms put on a good show too, sadly the weather was against me that weekend so never managed to get out with it this time.

I must have missed this thread well here's mine I'd love to get my hands on a better Ha scope although this one has given me some great views in the past. Problem is it looks like a finderscope when mounted on the AR127L.. Being used in anger at an outreach event back in July It doesn't image to bad either.

This says it all really!!

I hope it comes with a Batman logo as an optional extra for cloudy nights.

That's the one I ended up getting to fit mine although its long gone now as I posted all this back in 2012

No problem Stu, if I had room in the car I could bring down the NEQ6 too & we could have a scope fest lol.

Thanks @Stu hope to get to grips with it more next month in Hereford as I haven't managed to get out much to try it out, I did have it in EQ mode a few weeks back at a stargazing live event & it tracked the Sun & Moon really well just a shame the clouds came in just as it were getting dark so never got to see anything else.

@Stu Hope you don't mind me asking but if you use this in the daytime for solar stuff, After setting up the handset do you just point the scopes at the Sun then put in the solar sidereal rate? also how well does it track? I'm only asking as I'm helping out at an outreach event with the Mercury transit in May & I want one scope taking pictures while the other is for viewing.

Thanks guys, I should have mentioned that the other scope on mine is a C6 so only weighs approx 4.5KG's so might have to look at trying to balance the weight better across the mount somehow as the 250P weighs around 16KG's, maybe a weight & extending the bar would do it? I'll be bringing it to Hereford next month so I'll apologize beforehand for the questions I may be asking about it.

I've recently brought an AZ EQ6-GT to use at star parties, outreach events or to use at the darksite & after a video popped up on youTube about the AZ EQ5 when they said you can double up the payload on AZ mode it made me think, is the same thing possible with the 6? As there is no mention of it in the instruction manual. As I own a Skywatcher 250P, in AZ mode having the eyepiece at a respectable level is a big plus rather than contorting your head & neck in silly positions. I did a bit of Googling & found this link with them saying the payload can be doubled in AZ mode; https://www.myastroshop.com.au/guides/sky-watcher-azeq6gt.asp Here's the link for the youTube video about the AZ EQ5; So from what I've read online would it be ok for me to operate my mount to be set up like this?

This is a great thread & I'm seeing some pretty impressive results. I haven't actually tried imaging with an Alt Az mount myself although it does make me want to blow the cobwebs from my 6SE Nexstar & have a go just to see what I can manage.

I started off with a 200P & loved that scope but I was given a 250P Dob tube & although its a bit of a lump it does image nice plus I've had some pretty good views with it too. I do use it as my main scope depending on the target & whether or not it's breezy but I managed to get these last weekend at Hereford. M106 & other Galaxies. by tich_dude, on Flickr M108 23-5-15 Hereford by tich_dude, on Flickr Just a shame the nights are short this time if year would loved more data, I wouldn't mind getting another scope maybe the 130PDS sometime in the future

They are a very clever design I have to admit just a pity they aren't made any more as with rising fuel prices & the changed towing laws I think these would sell very well nowadays. Yeah the walls are quite thin but I'm sure with today's insulating technologies they could improve them, but I have to say I've never been cold in mine. I've made a few friends in France who own these one guy has got loads of different types from the early 60's/70's all wooden models to the later models although he doesn't own any of the rarer T models yet! I did think about buying a rough one & putting it in the garden to use as an observatory once but as the back garden is shared access it isn't the most secure so it's put me off having a permanent set up. Pity really as I did have one for spares & sold it on & it would have been ideal but I never had any scopes back then.

Think I might hang a glitter ball from the ceiling