Prador

Random one here. I've been after a third tube ring for my 250pds to enable easier ota rotation when mounted. Has anybody fitted a large o-ring (or two) to stop the ota from slipping through the rings when loosened? 260-280mm o-rings are cheap on Amazon but wondering if they actually grip the tube sufficiently. I'd rather not find out the hard way 😮 Many thanks

Have you looked around https://www.superiorwasher.com/ They manufacture the sizes you want in a wide variety of materials. Might be worth dropping them an enquiry (unless they were your original supplier 😮)

What scope are you using and how close was the bird/tree?

It would seem there's a very good reason why the Morpheus doesn't pop up in classifieds that often and when they do they don't hang around. They are more expensive but tick all the boxes so worth the investment. Thank you all for the great advice.

Total budget for 5-6 eyepieces would be around £600 but this would be buying single EP's over quite some time. After a recent loft conversion, any 'unnecessary' purchases come with significant scrutiny 😆 I tend to use the longer focal lengths (12/15/18mm) of the set the most. As my son is only nine and with a strong glasses prescription he sometimes struggles with eye placement. Blackout is common but that's likely due to his age and a tendency to move around. I do try to explain to him that's likely to happen and once 'on target' he seems fine. Seeing as his glasses are right up to the eye lens would suggest we're operating at the limit of eye relief. The lens on the BST's are slightly recessed even with the eyecup fully down so I'm sure I've already lost 3-4mm of the stated 16mm eye relief. The BST's do perform better in the f7. In the newt I get a combination of astigmatism and coma; the latter introduced by the scope. To be honest the smaller refractor gets used way more as the 10 incher takes longer to set up. I dont have the space to leave everything set up ready to go so gets broken down after any session. I wouldn't fancy putting that one on the Sabre! The Baader Morpheus EP's do seem to be mentioned regularly as a highly rated product. I'd have to wait for used purchase opportunities for those. I've always liked the look of ES82's but as you say, no improvement in ER. I will take a look at some of your other suggestions and I appreciate your time responding with some good advice.

A good point. I find the BST's introduce more aberrations than I would like. Astigmatism is quite heavy once past the central third of the image and I'd like slightly improved colour correction on high contrast targets. An increase in AFOV would be nice and as wooly as it sounds, I'd like to own a set that just feels a bit more premium. Thing is I'm not really coming from an informed position as these are the only EP's I've ever owned. I could go ahead and buy an eyepiece or two and see how I get on with them but I'm reluctant to waste mine and a retailers time/money by returning EP's that don't deliver a tangible improvement.

Good evening all, Instead of agonising over potential purchases I thought I'd ask the much better informed people here . I know this subject is sometimes done to death but I'd rather gather valuable advice before splashing out. I have a full rack of BST's which I do enjoy using but would like to upgrade these EP's to something a bit more 'special'. I get there's a lot of variables so here's my specific needs/desirables etc: They will be used in a 250mm f4.7 newt and 80mm f7 refractor. I observe both planetary, lunar and DSO's in a light polluted city but occasionally get out to a darker spot on the outskirts of Dartmoor. I wear specs for correction in one eye but not the one I observe with. I do encourage my young son to take part but he cannot observe without his specs on so decent eye relief would be preferred. Budget is £50-150ish per EP. I have no problem buying used as we all tend to look after our shineys. I catch myself looking at UWA 82 degree EP's but I imagine they come with significant compromises in my price range. I'd probably happily sacrifice a bit of FOV if the eyepiece is sharper. I know I'll not achieve TV standards without digging way deeper but hoping for a reasonable middle ground. I really appreciate any advice and/or personal experience

Paraphrasing Jonathan Swift and others - You cannot reason someone out of a belief they didn't reason themselves into 🤔

Forgive me if this has already been posted or commented on Just seen an update in the app store for the Synscan app that allows the control of a SW mount in Luminos. How does Luminos stack up compared to Sky Safari Plus? I'm curious if it's worth shelling out £29 for the convenience of not having to use two iOS devices. In fact, are two iOS devices still required? I'm possibly barking up the wrong tree as I'm yet to actually use SynScan and SS+ in anger on my NEQ6.

Your assumption is correct but I don't see the relevance. My assumption is the vast majority of people working NLW perform admirably considering the financial reward. Bad day, nearest box to hand, having a bit of a laugh? - way too many variables to pin it on £8/h

Many thanks for that. Exactly what I'm after and cheaper than repurposing an awning bag or similar. A bargain at £60! As an aside, how do I get in on the gift gig? ? Thank you for the link.

Jon - was the comment made by a random employee (that should probably know better) or someone of influence? Seems a really careless thing to say given the vast majority of their customers will have, at least, a tenuous grasp of optic quality Trust me, I'm no AA white knight either. Edit: That reads all kinds of wrong - sorry. Not bashing AA or any other retailer. I own one and very happy with it. Just the statement on the glass seems odd.

Don't be put off either retailer by one thread in one forum. Both sell very high quality scopes at attractive prices. If they were all pups they would have folded long ago.

I've had the AA f11 on my wish list since it was announced. Problem is the small sample of actual users. Astrojensen on CN raves about his with very detailed analysis so I'm still on the fence. I really want the AA price, build and focal length but with the glass of the SW. Can't have it all unless I front the cash ?

If you were to add the FF/FR and a finder you are perilously close to the price of the Evostar 100ED DS-Pro outfit. Regarding the Skywatcher, it's FPL-53, great user feedback, comes in a case and an easy sell if you were to move it on. However, the AA refractor looks nicer (imho) and build quality appears better (tuberings/focuser/dew shield).

Again, a cracking suggestion! I'll do that and see what can be done. Not sure why I'm missing the obvious avenues today. Must be the in-laws visiting has upset my chi ?

Cheers for all your suggestions and I can't believe I didn't check Altair. Having a look, they do have an extensive range but nothing for a 250pds. It's quite a brute and I'm having trouble finding anything under £150.

The link to the Terralec site only produces a 404 but their stuff is available on other outlets - thank you though for pointing me in the general direction. Still can't find a non-Geoptik bag suitable for a large newt (no cricket bags min 115cm long) but handily spotted something for my NEQ-6 mount so some progress was made ?.

Firstly, apologies if this has been done to death before Can anybody recommend a slightly more wallet friendly alternative to a Geoptik padded bag for a 10" newt? Thank you ?

I really like the look of this f11. For me, it does resurrect the question of the f11 102ED or a f12 SW Skymax 150. Does anybody here have any experience of viewing through comparable telescopes? It would only be for planetary viewing. Many thanks for any insight as it will inform what will probably be my final scope purchase.

Love it! After my left retina decided it didn't fancy remaining attached to the back of my peeper, the surgery to laser it back on will lead to an inevitable cataract. A scleral band has also left me massively short sighted that is barely corrected with a mega prescription. My right eye is the polar opposite and borderline 6/3 which means without glasses bino vision is laughable. Catching anything thrown at me is pure guesswork ?

Very interested in this long scope. I sent an exploratory email to my wife using the "send to a friend" link. I got a resounding "NO!" in response ? something something...loft conversion to pay for... something something