johninderby

12 minutes ago, Stu said:

Handy having knobs rather than the Allen bolts, makes changing mount much easier. Are they a John special?

From here.

http://www.wdsltd.co.uk/product/3394/hand-knob-bakelite-steel-screw-wds-8148/

Part No: 8148-22118

           John

2 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

I have all of the above: smart tv, XBOXONE console, smartphone, BR, set top box.

I can get Netflix on all of them now.

Hell, i was on a bus today and connected to the free wifi and watched a movie " The Assassin's Bodyguard"

Just did a quick count and I have eight devices that receive Netflix.   ?

If you have a blu-ray player or set top box or games console most allow you view Netflix in case you don’t have a smart TV.

11 minutes ago, RiponJas said:

Just arrived to me today courtesy of @kerrylewis a nice little Opticstar Ar80s to go with the 90mm I recently acquired. Happy little family now!! ? Hopefully one for the imaging and one for the guiding when I eventually get all the required gubbins. 

You just need the AR90 f8.8 to complete the set.  ?

3 minutes ago, Synchronicity said:

That looks perfect for my DSLR, can you tell me where you bought it from?

Thanks

Michael

From Amazon. Price varies depending on colour/pattern. Really comfy round the neck as well.  ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0751ZY6LF?ref_=pe_3187911_248764861_302_E_DDE_dt_1&th=1

A simple but useful item. Padded strap for my new bins. Has quick disconnects so easy to remove the strap plus has two little expandable pouches that will convienently hold the lens covers so no more where did I put the lens covers.  ?

          John

New pair of bins. ?

Nikon Action Extreme EX 7x50

Had thought about the 10x50 but decided to stick with the 7x50 as I find that more comfortable to use. Feel good in the hand and not too heavy. Nice semi budget bins. Fully multi coated and Bak 4 prisims and  waterproof and fogproof.

7x48 actually but closer to 50mm than most budget bins.

         John

42 minutes ago, Grumpy Martian said:

Like your setup. Is it the 150 mm version ota? 

No it’s The 180. Super pleased with the lunar / planetary views it’s giving which is what I bought it for.

Teak garden bench for this evening. Forecast is for heavy cloud but clear skies instead.  ?

Search for “Gas Lift Bar Stool” and you should find something suitable although without castors.

Opticstar AR90s f/8.8

Wanted something not too expensive for my white light solar set-up and decided the Opticstar AR90s f/8.8 would be a sutable. Light weight scope and can be used on a photo trpod setup or my AZ-EQ5 GT. Had sold the Bresser Messier scope I had been using but decded I really needed a dedicated white light scope and the Opticstar was cheaper than another Bresser when you get the dual speed focuser option and a more suitable focal length. 

Added a small carry handle bought from WDS Ltd. Why aren’t carrying handles standard equipment on all scopes?

2 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

I got one of those from fleabay too John, about 2 years ago, for £2?.

Dave

Price has doubled since then but this was in VG condition. ?

         John

1967 edition

Little old book. Lost my original copy when I moved so picked one up on eBay. 

As promised some proper pics of Big Red set up on the mount.  ?

Now just need some clear skies to fine tune the collimation which should be pretty close as is but inevitably having taken it all apart and put it back together things won't be spot on.

      John

Brass sideplates made for the WO diagonal. Suits the scope now.  Will take some proper photos of the scope set-up on the mount tomorrow.  ?

Next job is to make the brass sidepieces to replace the CF ones on the WO diagonal to make it look more in keeping with the rest of the scope.

Lumicon SuperFinder set up with all the brass bits. Finder has an Omegon prism diagonal which is so much brighter and sharper than the type of diagonal that normaly comes with a finder.

Objective cleaned for the first time in seven years using Baader Optical Wonder fluid and a brand new cloth and fiited. Focuser also fitted.

Brass dew shield polished. Starting to look like a scope again.  ?

Had Big Red's tube refinished in two pack candy red paint a month ago and now that the paint has fully hardened it's time to put it all back together. Had painted the tube myself when I originally built Big Red but was time for a re-paint with a more durable paint. Proper two pack paint is nasty stuff to work with and is only really suitable to be done by a pro with all the safety gear including a breathing air supply. Lot tougher finish than powder coating. ?

First step was to re-fit the flocking and baffle rings. Used Protostar Flockboard to line the inside of the tube and also made the baffle rings from the flockboard. Then fasten the mounting flange for the focuser and fit the objective mounting cell/flange. The last part was a bit fiddly as its bolted onto the tube from the inside so that no bolts/screws show on the outside.

Nice and dark inside.  ?

Yes it’s the 180. At somewhere around 9 to 9.5kg with the focuser and diagonal etc well within the 15kg rating so should be stable and of course the Berlebach tripod will help with stability as well.  

Now if only the weather will coperate. ?

           John

Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT Mount Arrived & Set Up 

My new mount actually arrived a week ago but had to wait until the other bits arrived. Final bit arrived this lunchtime. Sold the stock steel tripod (along with the Skytee II mount) as I will be using the Berlebach tripod. 

Fitted an ADM saddle using a Primaluce puck. The saddle needed two new mounting holes drilled to fit the puck.

Already had a really good polar scope so fitted it using a 6x30 finder bracket and Skywatcher shoe mounted to an angle bracket that fastens to the stock polar scope mounting point. Much higher quality polar scope than the stock Skywatcher item. I will be using it mostly in Alt-Az but nice to have a polar scope for EQ use though.

Skywatcher WiFi adaptor plugged in and worked perfctly first time using the SkyAlgn app. Mounted my android tablet on a light weight tripod so it can moved to wherever is most convienient. Tablet will also be used for image capture with my ZWO290MM camera.

       John

And tonights weather forecast.  Arrrrgh !!!

I would use a panel mount socket with a connecting cable for anything that's going to be repeatedly plugged and unplugged. 

Do the plastic pins align with the holes in the board? If they don’t then the metal ones should be long enough to pass through and be soldered and the plastic pins should just hold the socket off the board.

Hard to tell from the pic.

The plastic pins are for strain relief for the socket and can be melted slightly to hold the socket in place if they don’t clip in. Don’t bend the metal terminal but just solder it and then snip off the excess.