Prador

I wouldn't go with rice. The airborne dust and starch could make matters worse. Desiccant is a much better option and reasonably cheap to buy a bunch of bags. They can also be reactivated in a microwave.

A well tested method to recover flood damaged motors is to thoroughly rinse in some demineralised water first then in the oven for a few hours on the lowest (plate warming etc) setting. That's for simple 3-phase motors though. The demin water helps to remove natural minerals in rain water that might accumulate once it has evaporated.

I'd have to measure mine to be sure but I believe the EQ6 tripod has a M12 threaded bar and EQ5 is M10. I could be wrong so please dont purchase anything based on what I say 😬 Edit to add: just measured my EQ6 thread and it's M12. I cant get to my EQ5 tripod until the morning.

Lots of different options on Amazon. Bulk or individual sachets are available. Most of them can be reactivated for more long-term use.

That screams of a team in ESA want three years employment/wages only to conclude it's all too difficult given current technologies. I wonder what the environmental impact would be boosting all that mass into orbit.

This is what I like about this community. I ask a really dumb question and some really helpful knowledge falls out. Many thanks for the very useful replies 😁

Many thanks Franklin! I've spent some time unscrewing various bits and screwing other bits on and all good. Barlow is close to the mirror but not touching.

This is quite possibly stupid questions and I may be missing the obvious here. I recently purchased a BH MkIV zoom with barlow and encountering a couple issues. With the barlow in place and using in a 1.25" adapter in my diagonal, the zoom sits 'proud' of the adapter leaving a 15mm gap to to body of the zoom. Am I being an idiot and this is as intended? I'm so used to bits sitting flush and neat with each other and looks odd to me. Second problem is with the barlow in place and using the 2" attachment in my 2" diagonal the bottom of the barlow hits the mirror. Is it normal to require a smallish extension piece to alleviate this? Many thanks in advance for any advice

Ooh I do like the look of that mount! My 80mm refractor is too chonky for the AZ-GTI so this would fit the bill perfectly.

Svbony price doesn’t state if the price is inc VAT or other taxes. I tried adding to basket but it wants me to set up an account. The final price in the UK might be higher than the £105 I posted - oops

Currently £105.92 on the Svbony website if people are interested.

I wouldn't recommend that. All you're doing is introducing another contaminant in the form of starch and rice dust. Might do more damage than help. Silica bags are a much better alternative and not too pricey.

Hi Elp and thank you for the advice. I wouldn't be attaching a wedge and using only in Alt-Az mode if that changes anything.

Does anyone here regularly exceed the 5kg weight limit? My Mak 127 wont be a problem but the AA Starwave 80 might be too much. With all accessories fitted it tips the scales at 5.4kg. I could reduce it a bit by using a 1.25" diagonal and ditching the RDF but still going to be over. The Starwave is a bit lardy for a 80mm scope! Apologies for adding yet another weight limit question.

wesdon1 you're welcome! What a deal! I would've got in my car and headed up the M5/M6 for deal like that. Really good to see it's gone to another enthusiast instead of a flipper.