johninderby

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.

Skywatcher finder mounting shoe and Opticstar finder foot so I can mount a red dot finder on the Skymax 180. Telrad was too bulky and don’t get on with the Rigel QuickFinder at all so a multi reticle finder suits me. Now if the puck for the new mount will only arrive can fit the ADM saddle. John

One thickly padded height adjustable drummers throne. ?

Without the pillar. ?

FT maybe at Xmas. ? Wouldn’t want to be much taller but OK. With the Skymax 180 eyepiece will be about 1400mm to 1470mm so a very comfortable height. With Big Red might have to extend the tripod legs a bit. Or just remove the pillar extension and use a chair with the 180. Think that’ll probably be the way I’ll go. No extension for the 180 and fit it for Big Red. Big Red’s tube is sitting in the corner while the paint reaches maximum hardness. Can see why powder coating is used on most commercial scopes even though it’s not as tough as proper two,pack paint as it hardens right away so no waiting a month while the paint hardens. John

Post office drivers can be so cruel. ?

Skywatcher AZ-EQ5 GT and the Berlebach tripod is very heavy duty and will hold many times the load that’s on it.

A little something to go on my Berlebach tripod. ?

There’s always the saw method which isn’t as crazy as it sounds.

Long gone manufacturer but some info here. http://darkstartelescopes.blogspot.com/

Not the postman as I had to go and collect them. Tube and cell for Big Red have been refinished. Two pack candy red paint for the tube and satin powdercoat for the cell. Was going to powdercoat the tube but advised that the two pack paint would give a tougher finish and of course would be a proper candy red. ? Expensive at 200 quid plus VAT (removing old paint and preparation does add to the cost) but can't believe the quality of the finish on the tube. Absolutely flawless and far better than an ordinary car body shop could do. Won't be putting the scope back together for a couple of weeks to allow the paint to reach full hardness.

Raining lightly here at the minute. ?

Altair Astro Premium LRGB Filter Set & IR Pass filter. ?

The 2x is a bit lighter than the 3x. Just. ?

I’m wondering if an individuals light sensitivity or eyesight in general makes a difference in what filters work or don’t work for them. I found the Contrast Booster to be of little help but found the Neodynium makes a real difference in detail on Jupiter for instance.

The Neodynium filter is also my favourite for lunar. Really helps bring out the details and gives the moon a nice neutral colour. No off tinges. ?? BTW everyone on this forum is always ready to help you empty your bank account. ?

Explore Scientific 2x Focal Extender and a Batinov mask. Sold the 3x Fri aft and the 2x replacement arrived promptly from FLO.

Yes that’s the one. Same filter just dropped the Moon & Skyglow bit from the name on the filter recently. The original,Moon & Skyglow didn’t have the IR cut but then it became the Moon & Skyglow & IR Cut. Find it gives a natural colour as well.