johninderby

Finder bracket for the 8” Cassegrain. 🙂

I’m not sure if I want to bother with the encoders but perhaps if anyone wants them fitted later an encoder installation service should be available. 🤔

I don’t mind waiting a bit longer. More important that Rowan don’t ship untill they are fully satisfied that they have got it right.  😎

Will make a nice Xmas pressie to myself.....ahh early Xmas pressie that is. 😁

And order placed. 🙂🙂🙂

Forecast is for partly cloudy Sunday night.........with a 100% full moon. 🤔

A couple of ADM mini Vixen clamps for fitting the carry handle to the 8” Cassegrain.

The ADM mini Vixen clamps arrived so was able to sort out the carry handle. The handle is a GSO aluminium low profile one and no longer sold but was able to find one on the ENS website.  A couple of M6 bolts and some spacers, washers and domed nuts and it was ready to fit to the scope. Like having an adjustable handle so it can be moved to the centre of balance.

Security bolts added to the ends of the dovetail so the handle can’t slide off.

The cheapest way to try a bit of simple lunar / planetary imaging to to get a mobile phone eyepiece adapter and use your phone. You can get some quite decent results and an easy way to dip your toe into AP.

Couple of smartphone shots with my dob.

Not sure if the CO includes the baffles. Here’s a view down the scope. 

What to do with a spare FLO desicant cap? The front cover is a really tight fit so the desiccant should work. And yes putting the desiccant cap into a prisim diagonal is not a good idea. 😁

The TS 6” has the old focuser. That was the one complaint about the old version. Probably clearing off the older scopes but the focuser can be changed. 🙂

There is this CN thread on the GSO version of the 6”.

‘https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/647095-gso-6inch-f12-classical-cassegrain-it’s-a-winner

I used a Skywatcher auto focuser on my Skymax 180.. My setup uses toothed drive belts. Mounts onto a finder shoe using a 3D printed little dovetail rather than buying a metal one. Easy to remove by loosening the findr shoe screw..

Hi

Yes it is normal to use the extension piece with eyepieces and with most eyepices you shouldn’t have to move the focuser very much when changing eyepieces. Exactly where they reach focus depends on the design of the eyepiece not the mm. If using a camera or binoviwer you might not need the extension. 

A right angle errect image finder is a very popular upgrade. The Skywatcher one is good and usually the cheapest. Telescope Express has many to choose from.

Collimation is a bit of an art but not difficult with a bit of practice. There are many tools for collimation and this subject often provokes dicussion on what is best. A star test is the best way of checking your collimation. This guide is very usefull.

http://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/

The handle was just bolted on from the inside using black button head bolts. Button head are best as they don’t stick up too much. There are many suppliers of handles on line such as Amazon etc. and I bought this one from a local hardware store and it’s called a door pull and is a nice fat handle. I enlarged one of the finder base mounting holes and drilled another for the other end. I covered the other hole finder base mounting hole with a self adhesive screw hole cover.

The new finder base I fitted required drilling one new hole as the stock finder base holes are too far aoart. Used one of the self adhesive screw covers cut in half to hide the unused hole. 

Glad to hear you are enjoying using your scope already. 👍🏻. 

14 minutes ago, John said:

That still looks quite a large CO though ?

 

They quote 33% secondary mirror obstruction (linear) which is a little bit less than a C8 SCT so not that bad for a cassegrain. The 8” RC CO is 85mm. 🙀

Looks like a soild week of cloudy and rainy nights judging by the forecast. The usual new scope curse. 🙁

Yes it’s based a lot on the RC but a visually oriented.scope with a much smaller obstruction. Rc top iand Cassegrain bottom.

Shouldn’t that be

F.L.O.S.H.G   😀

FLO Self Help Group

5 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I knew the accessorisation wouldn't be far behind 🙂

 

At least I waited until I’d had my lunch. 😁

Just waiting on the ADM mini vixen brackets so I can fit the handle and found a low profile finder bracket at a reasonable price. Hopefully will arrive tomorrow.

Yes, yes, yes a Baader Steeltrack refractor focuser does fit. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I borrowed the Baader Steeltrack from Big Red and test fitted it. With the stock focuser using the 2” spacer is recommended but as the Steeltrack has nearly twice the focus travel only the 1” spacer would be needed. The Baader refractor adapter has the same 90mm x 0.1 thread so was a straight screw on. Without the spacer the drawtube was just a few mm too long.

The stock focuser is certainly adequate but doesn’t compare with the Steeltrack. Think I will be looking round for a second hand.Steeltrack. 🤔

Don’t you wish a refractor focuser would fit you mak or sct. 😁

Yes I’m well impressed. Far better built than I was expecting.

They are for adjusting the primary mirror. You can get a tilt adjuster for the focuser if needed.but that’s more for the imager.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p4272_TS-focuser-collimation---Tilting---with-M90-Thread---for-RC-and-Refractors.html

And the postman dropped off a couple of dovetail saddles for the TS AZ5 which I will be selling shortly. Perfect fit on the AZ5 which has both ends threaded for a saddle unlike the Skytee.. 

After adjusting the secondary with the Concentre the Hotech worked perfectly and I got a perfect textbook star test afterwards. It seems that the Hotech does require a good quality focuser to get good results though.

It is a lunar / planetary specialist and should outperfom the 180 and also no worries aboit dew. 🙂

Snippet of a review I found of the scope.

”Jupiter was only 14 degrees above the horizon so atmospheric refraction did hinder, but when seeing calmed down I could see more details than I could have painted. The yellow to yellow-brown color of the equatorial zone also came through clearly in those moments. I can´t remember ever seeing Jupiter like that. That was one of the better Jupiter observations in my more than 45 years of observing.”

More pics...........

Anyone for some backfocus. 😁

The TS 8” classical cassegrain scope arrived today. Impressed with how well,built and finished it is. Feels very solid but not too heavy. Similar weight to the Skymax180 and just slightly bigger. 

The focuser is not bad at all.  Smooth and feels as if it would handle some weight. It’s certainly no Feathertouch but seems up to the job. Drawtube has 50mm travel and spacers can be added between the focuser and scope if you need more backfocus. The spacers are really substantial items with micro baffling on the insides. 

Has a Losmandy plate on one side and a Vixen on the other. Think I will move the Vixen bar 90 degrees around the tube so that when I fit a handle to it it will be easier to hold while fitting it to the alt-az mount. Similar setup to that I had on the Skymax. Seems like it should be an easy job.

Will be using a Baader T2 prisim with it which should be a good match. Although it didn’t come with a “May Contain Clouds” label on the box it seems to have included a generous supply. 😁😁😁

Will look nice on the AZ100. 🙂

Well DPD brought it from Germany actually. 🙂