Space Hopper

Nice captures Mariusz.

Yes, an 8" tube is probably a better bet with a standard sort of tripod, and will still show you alot. For me though, an obstructed 8" is not that big a leap from my own unobstructed 5.5" refractor, so i'm thinking a 10" would be better. I've considered a C9.25 or C11 SCT (i've also had an 8" in the past) an while they have alot of aperture in a fairly compact sized scope, you are still tied into a long focal length, and what i really want, is low power, wide angle, rich field views in a fast F4 - F5 Newtonian. There are other tripod options as well. For a 10" tube (or bigger) a Losmandy FHD is a better bet perhaps, and while it is pretty much bombproof they are a step up in price. I've been looking for a used one to come up, but they very rarely do........

@RobertI Hi, yes, i'm sorry, i should have updated this. After another email badgering Richard, i had a notification the 360 had been dispatched and it arrived a couple of weeks ago. All looks ok, and i only have the single standard tracker, for use with a camera + lens upto 200mm FL. I've not considered a dual 360 setup, and probably won't now after this wait. I've been really busy with work and with the recent weather, its not first light yet. I will add a photo tomorrow...

Hi Jon, I've been having similar thoughts about adding a reflector option on to my own alt-az mount set up. I too, like my refractors, but miss that extra bit of aperture when looking at the deep sky. I'm also at an age now, and Tuesday nights session at our EMS darksite reminded me of it.......that its rather a struggle at looking at anything high up in the sky with a longish refractor. My 140mm scope is nearly a metre of focal length, which leaves the eyepieces rather low down when chasing anything high up. My days of observing on my knees on damp ground are over. Even using binocs is tricky if i pan too high : i have an arthritis issue in my neck, and it doesn't take too long before discomfort and pain sets in. "So why not get a Newt....??!! " i asked myself, having had to give up on Andromeda and the double cluster as they were so high......and observe seated in comfort with the eyepieces in a good place..... My DM-6 has a 40 lb capacity, and i have the digital setting circle computer thing there ready to go. I've had 3 Newtonians before. A fairly recently sold OO 12" F4. This was a nice scope, but i didn't really get on with the OO Dob mount too much. Too many balance issues with binoviewers ! And the same problem in reverse.......low down objects are tricky to view with a Dob mount. Before the OO VX12 i had a OO VX10 F6.3 with the long 1600mm tube which made the same issues worse from a balance point of view. 20 years before this, my first serious scope was an OO 10" Europa F4.7 on a rather dodgy German equatorial mount. It actually handles the big tube reasonably well, and it showed me what a 10" scope was capable of. So, why not try and mount a Newtonian on my alt-az ? My own choice would be between a 10" tube and an 8" but i'm leaning toward a 10" (in for a penny, in for a pound, right ?) with an F4.5 - F5 ratio. A 10" hit a good sweetspot here in the UK i think. I actually tried my old 12"F4 out indoors on the DM-6, and while it was ok, it was certainly a bit precarious, probably warranting a tripod upgrade. (i have the BB Uni 18 as well, but the Planet would be a better bet with this idea) And its not so much the tube weight thats the issue (and yes OO tubes are lightish for their aperture) but the size + mass itself. A 12" solid tube is a big old scope, no doubt about it. And the wind is the main enemy when out in the field, and a large solid tube telescope and any sort of wind gusts are a toxic combination. My current alt-az workhorse is on the right (The one on the left is a grab / go which i use with a small 4" refractor) Let us know how you get on with whatever option you choose.....🙂

Impressive. How does the big F15 perform with the Denk 2 ?

Another image of my new APM 15mm (65º FOV) and 12mm (60º FOV) Ultra Flats, in situ in the Max2

APM flatfield binoviewing pairs. 2x 15mm (65º FOV) for mid / high power and 2x 12mm (60º FOV) for high power..... I've been waiting for the 15s for a while as they've been out of stock. The 12s were actually an impulse buy, and i think are now discontinued. They have twist up eyecups, and both pairs are a nice compact size, and a reasonable price. Here they are with my current Tele-vue 'workhorse' pair which are around 5 years old now. If these APMs perform like the Panoptics i will be well happy......

A link to the APM ultra flat fields. They tick all the boxes..... Currently backordered though.... https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p9294_APM-15-mm-Ultra-Flat-Field-Eyepiece--65--field-of-view--barrel-size-1-25-.html

If you are looking for the 'right eyepieces' you really must look at the 24mm (and 19mm) Panoptics. The 24s pretty much set the benchmark in performance. They are ideal for low power bino-viewing. Outstanding eyepieces. 19s are similarly excellent as well. Like you i have looked for years at my 'perfect set' of 4 pairs. More to the point 2 pairs of mid power and high power to go with the Pans. I've tried 15mm Delites, 14mm Denkmeiers, 13mm Naglers, 14 Delos, 10 Delos,9 mm Naglers, Abbe Orthos 16.8mm, and Docter UWA 12.5 I personally found the Naglers really good, but just that little bit too tight on eye relief. The 9s are too powerful for my dodgy seeing conditions, and thats using decent quality optics. The Denks are really nice, but i sometimes find eye placement a bit tricky at times, same with the De-lites, but that is really down to me rather than the eyepieces. I still have the Denk 14s but hardly use them so i will probably sell them. If i had a Binotron 27 they'd be ideal, but i only use Baader viewers ; i have the Max2 as well and a Mk5. Like the others i found the Delos too big and unwieldy. Check out APM widefields (on TS or APM) I've just received a pair of 12s, and am on the order list for the 15s. The 15s look really nice, and i've heard good reports about them. They also do 10mm, but like the 12s are only 60º FOV. So my current high power pairs are the Docter UWAs 12.5 and the untested APM 12s. The Docters are an impressive eyepiece indeed, but again they are a bit on the large heavy side. I think eyepiece choice is very much a personal thing, and i'm as fussy as they come, maybe too fussy......😄

Good news..........its finally on its way 😃 I should have it in the next 2 or 3 days. A long wait to say the least.

They just add to the observation of looking at something in the night sky. Theres alot of stuff up there ! I've even seen 2 criss cross going in completely different directions. Obviously from an imaging perspective satellites and air traffic can be bothersome. @Planetarian see if you can spot the ISS (international space station) There are apps to help you locate it. Although its tricky as it moves so so fast, theres a surprising amount of detail there if you can follow it in a telescope. I find 80 - 100x magnification about right.

The way i've always thought, is that if you draw in air from below the tube and up through it, you are only cooling the rear of the mirror, rather than the business side of it. If the mirror is warm, there will be a boundary layer of warm air directly above it, which will stay largely undisturbed. Eventually it will dissipate, as the entire mirror reaches equilibrium, but this will take time. Theres also more dust and moisture at ground level. Is this what you need blowing up the tube ?? I know Orion Optics tubes work the opposite way : they draw air in down the tube from above. I've had 3 of them. This topic of course has been debated over and over at length before. But its certain that either way is better than no fan at all. But i myself consider sucking to be better than blowing.....🤭😆

Still an if, i'm afraid. Despite being promised it by the end of last month (and thats a full year after AstroTracs initial delivery promise) nothing has transpired. No communication, no dispatch notice, nothing. Once again, i've asked for a refund if they cannot supply it, and have given them till the end of the week for resolution. The next step is a small claims court to recover the payment. Not what i want to do, but i have no other alternative.

Still had no news from Astrotrac regarding dispatch, delivery. I was told it was to be with me by the end of September, and i'm not optimistic..... Very disappointed with all this.......

......and its been extensively reviewed this year in 'Astronomy now' magazine by Nik Szymanek. I've missed reading some of it, so hopefully they will do some sort of complete publication covering it all. Anyway, if its good enough for Nik.....

I was dismayed to hear that 2021 has already been written off. I mean, what are they expecting is going to happen next year...?? But if the venue has been closed indefinitely there's not much one can do. Its a big place, and fairly new ? so lets hope they have the desire to reopen it.

Thankyou. I will update upon its arrival....! 😃

Thanks. As it happens AstroTrac have got back straight away, saying they started shipping a month ago ?? and that i should have my order by the end of this month. I haven't heard that people have been receiving their orders, either on here or anywhere else ? They reckon they have several hundred customers, but i'm guessing these are not all 360 orders ? But anyway, Richard has assured me i will receive my order by the end of the month. Mind you, he told us the exact same thing 12 months ago. Lets hope it arrives then. Like i said, i don't have an axe to grind with the company. I just want my order !! 14 months is too long ! (Its actually 2 years 5 months now, since i made my first enquiries in to this so its been a long time coming...)

@szymon @Icesheet Thank you both for your opinions, they are much appreciated. I have sent AstroTrac an email this afternoon, asking for resolution. A full refund , or delivery of my order. I have given them till the end of the month. @Icesheet : you may be right. Maybe they have no money left ? I am order number 32. If they only have a small order book, perhaps the design / testing / production costs have far outweighed capitol from potential orders....?

Hi all. Just wanted to resurrect this thread to get a few opinions. So basically, i paid a deposit on 01 July 2019, and the remaining balance for the basic 360 tracker on 16 July 2019. Just under £1200 iirc. I had an email from Richard last August 2019 saying they were in production, and they were hoping to be in a position to send out order before the end of September 2019. Then all went quiet. an update in November said they'd been a few delays, but they were 'on the home strait' Then all went quiet again. At the end of January it made an appearance at Astrofest. I contacted Richard again during the spring to enquire how things were and then Covid struck. Ok, no problem ; i appreciate that theres now going to be a big delay. During the early part of the summer (June) i contacted Richard again, and enquired if i could have a refund, citing financial issues, as my wife had lost employment. This was refused flatly, saying my order was in the production stage. My issue is, i want the mount, and have paid for it, and i've nothing to show for my investment. Of course, with a new product one expects delays, and the Covid issue has only made that worse. As a consumer though, i don't think i'm being unreasonable in asking for a refund after paying for an item almost 14 months ago that has failed to materialise. I'm not holding a grudge against AstroTrac at all, i still want the mount. But if they can't supply what i ordered over a year ago and won't refund me, where do i go.....?? Thoughts welcome......

I can recommend you spread your budget out, and look for second hand Tv's. Plenty of bargains out there, and with Tv, being expensive, most users really look after them and treat them carefully. I've brought plenty of used Tv and most are as good as new. Quality eyepieces that will hold their value too. If i had to suggest three, i'd go N31, E13, E8. And possibly add a 2" Powermate in there too.

You may be better asking the CN community about this place.......🙂

Thats a great capture Shivam. Sagittarius is a bit better in India though, than it is here......😃

Gitzo 5533s user here. A substantial purchase, but its an amazing tripod. A thing of beauty. I use a lightweight alt-az mount and a short tube 4" refractor and it handles them beautifully. I can swap the flat feet out and replace them with spikes if necessary. It's 2.7kg in weight with a 40kg capacity. I picked up a nice matching ball head off eBay to go with it.

Nice, interesting review Matthew. Thanks for sharing. Another alt-az mount enthusiast here as well !! 😃 The AzMaxLoad looks to be a perfect partner for the Losmandy FHD tripod. I looked into this tripod when i got my DM-6, and got an adapter just in case, but eventually opted for a lighter Berlebach. The DM-6 is rated to carry 40lbs or 18kg so would really not be up to a 23kg refractor. It takes my 140 scope with ease, and will take a C11 quite happily as well if i ever go back to a cat scope. Have you tried your 175 on the TTS-160 Panther ? It would pretty much max it out, but i think it would take it.......?