johninderby

Read some reviews on CN comparing the Leica , Zeiss and Swarovski zooms and the Leica and Zeiss were equally liked but the  Swarovski came out in third place as it wasn’t as comfortable to use with eye placement being the main  problem and a warmer tone.

If I win the lottery I’ll have to get all three and compare. 😁😁😁

The TS zoom is usually the first eyepiece I use then switch to a regular eyepiece. 

Surprisigly good for the money. 👍🏻

Some spotting scope zooms work well but others are horrible for night time observing. The Pentax XF zoom is one of the finest solar Ha eyepieces I’ve ever used but rubbish for regular observing.

Proably the Leica Vario zoom as it should be at the price. ££££££

https://www.apm-telescopes.de/en/eyepieces/eyepieces-spotting-scopes/leica-zoom-eyepiece-vario-25x-50x-asph.

I fpund the TS and Hyperflex zooms (same eyepiece) nearly as good as the Baader. Not a lot in it really.

DPD usualy delivers between 12:41pm and 1:41 around here. 🙂

I had the 4mm and 5mm Supermonos. While they were indeed great optically they proved to be unusable due to the virtually zero eye relief. Just so uncomfortable to use I sold them on after a couple of months. 

As the counterweight shaft assembly now has two part numbers instead of just one I’m assuming that when the website database was updated that’s where the error crept in. FLO will have to update the website to include both part numbers so the correct price is shown.

16 minutes ago, omo said:

Mine is on its way, here Friday 😁

What's changed with the counterweight bar that its changed price?

 

May be a mistake when they updated the page as just checked my invoice and I have been charged the original £65.00 price?

There are two part numbers for the counterweight shaft. One for the shaft itself and one for the shaft mounting plate so guessing the price shown is just for the shaft.

Well with the much anticipated Rowan AZ100 mounts now being shipped and will be arriving this Friday so thpught it would be a good idea to start a thread where all the new owners can share their experiences. 

Will post pics on Friday of mine which I will be using with just one scope at a time. 🙂

Will I ever want to do more SMD than this practice kit? We’ll see. 🤔

Have dug out the fine tip iron which looks small enough. 

SMD practice kit and a PCB holder. Now to give soldering suface mount components a go. 🙀🙀🙀

At least with the microscope and monitor I’ll be able to see what I’m doing. 👍🏻

Yes it needs little wheels. 🙂

Here’s a pillar I used to have. OTA is a 150PL with OO 1/10th PV mirror.

Glad I could help. 🙂

Pity Amazon messed you about with the first one but at least they have a easy no quibble return and replacement process. 👍🏻

Oh well

I used an Altair Starwave Mini Clamp which has a couple of photo threaded holes so you can centre the clamp on the tripod plate.  As my scope has a long dovetail this lets me move the scope for better balance. I did have to trim a bit of the rubber on top of the QR plate to allow the clamp to tighten properly.

https://www.altairastro.com/starwave-mini-vixen-format-clamp-to-fit-camera-tripod.html

Why does this remind me of that old argument about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. But seriously  it is interesting to read what fast and slow means to different people and makes you think about what it really means. 🤔

Reductio ad absurdum (aut non)

Lots of threads already on this subject. 

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/132599-fast-telescope-slow-telescope/

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/157758-slow-scope-fast-scopewhat-does-it-all-mean/

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/76973-telescope-speed/

I find a 10” dob is just the right size. Big enough for great views but small enough to move around easily.

I fitted dual wheel castors to mine to make it easy to roll around.

Have an 8mm projector in the loft. Need to transfer a load of old family movies onto DVD someday. 

Had the original Steeltrack on my OO UK 14” dob. Very, very nice focuser. 👍🏻

Many would be surprised to learn that the Betamax broadcast recording camera system Betacam was in production until 2018 and is still used by some smaller broadcasters.

19 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

There have been a few battles like this, odd thing is that Betamax was by far the better system in my view.

Alan

Betamax was deleoped for the broadcast industry hence it’s technical superiority. 

In the end VHS won simply as while it was the inferior product it was a lot cheaper to produce. Techies  preferred Betamax but the average consumer wasn’t as fussy and just wanted the cheapest. 

Many, many years ago did a VCR repair course and once you’ve taken a Betamax apart then a VHS you realised what a cheap and nasty system VHS was. 

Don’t use Photobucket any more but just tried to log on and it just hangs. 

Did notice this service message though.

Spunds as if it may have been a damaged return that got sent out to you in the first place. 

Hopefully you’ll get a proper new one this time. 🙏🏼

Unfortunatly it seems like you may have damaged something if you tried to close the lever manually. 

You can get spare parts though.

https://www.manfrottospares.com/410-parts.html

If the rear of the plate is inserted into the beveled bits then just pressing the front of the plate down should make the lever snap over automaticly. Holding the plate down and moving the lever manually will prevent the plate from sitting down properly.

The key is to realise that the plate is self engaging and the lever will move itself when fitting the plate. The lever has to be moved manually to release the plate.