Ratlet

7 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

EQ5 with motors is perfect. I wanted tracking but without all the goto faff.

 

I just plonk it down on the patio.  Once set up you don't need to touch it.

Cheers.  Perfect.  I'm a big fan of plonk and play setups.

17 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Here was mine:

I was going to make a sepearate post to ask, but really it was your input I was looking for, and you've gone an posted a picture of both articles!

I'm looking for something to upgrade the mount from my inadequate AZ5 and I'm about 90% certain that you used your EQ5 it with a motor for tracking?  I'm thinking something with tracking (for sektching), but not goto.  For some reason I prefer hunting targets down or just using starsense where as fighting with goto makes my blood boil.

Basically I'm wondering how accurate you needed to be with the polar alignment to get decent tracking?  I've got a GEM28 but with the ipolar and full goto it feels like it would take longer to setup than an EQ5 with a single motor for tracking. (As an aside I did get the scope on the GEM28 once, but it clouded over.  All I managed to confirm was that I could comfortably use the starsense on an EQ mount)

Do you need to do a full polar alignment with a setup like yours or is it a case of setup properly once and then get it north enough?

EDIT:  Should probably mention that this is the picture that made me want a Starfield lol.

9 minutes ago, wimvb said:

The cheapest way:

SW newtonians come with a cheap 2× barlow. Unscrew the lower black ring that holds the optics. Drill a 1.5-2 mm hole in the very centre if the top cover. Voilà a budget collimation cap. Not the very best, but it will do for rough collimation.

Btw, if you have a laser collimator, use that with the barlow (with optics in place). The barlow will spread the laser beam, and you centre the shadow of the primary mirror's marker ring on the laser's bullseye. That's how I collimate my MakNewt. 

I use the laser without Barlow to make sure my laser is central to the dot and then the barlowed laser to line up the primary.  It's pretty darn precise and quick.

1 hour ago, Elp said:

Thanks for the offer, it's okay. I haven't felt the need to design and print a bracket for this as my method works fine, also as I don't do visual that much is also another reason.

Coolio.  Offer stands for others also.  I love an excuse to fire up the 3D printer.  Just upgraded the mini to input shaping so it rattles them of quick.

Must say @quasar117 your setup looks lovely.  Need to recover and get my az5 replaced with something functional.

3 hours ago, Elp said:

With the Rigel I leave it's supplied baseplate on and use a thin velcro strap, baseplate against lip of dew shield then strap down. Takes seconds and you can then align the reticule in the Rigel to a reference centred target. I like this over a finder as you can sort of use it with both eyes open and you're obviously taking in the widefield view at the same time so it's much much easier to find things. The reticules are also in degrees for more accurate star hopping once you have to move the scope aways from a star to find your target. But you've got it on a EQ mount so the process is slightly different.

If you are willing to wait a few days I can 3D print a bracket that you can attach to the finder ring, if you don't want to stick it to the tube.

I bought an svbony handle and 3D printed a finder shoe adapter for my quick finder.  The finder attaches to the handle.

Or if you are particularly lazy like me, you can just use a cheapy laser (just make your you collimate the laser first, which is even easier than collimating a newt).

11 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

Steve,

I fear you may be turning into a Blingon..

Don't worry, I won't tell Mr Spock..😉😁

Dave 

Depends how much of a nerd you are.  By using red rings, dovetail and handle on the scope it'll lower the focal ratio because DA RED WUNZ GO FASTA WAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!

(Probably cheaper going for the rings than Warhammer though)

8 hours ago, Saganite said:

PrimaLuce rings at Rother Valley Optics. I can't help as the spare set I have are 115mm, too big for your scope. They also do a gorgeous red anodised dovetail plate.  

 

Don't think I can stretch to Primaluce!  Found something more in my price range 😂

3 hours ago, Saganite said:

Already have the red dovetail and red rings...

You are an awful tease lol.  Could you at least let me know where you got the rings 😂?

5 hours ago, Saganite said:

Very nice , what is there not to love about Astro goodies...

Love that red handle.......I need/ want  one of those for sure. Where did it come from  please ?

Svbony sv211 handle.  Very nicely made and can also be used to hold a finder/guide scope. Though I now might have to get a red dovetail to match lol.

49 minutes ago, SwiMatt said:

Can I ask you, what tripod do you use with the AZ5, and how does it hold the 102 ED, in general? How heavy is the OTA? Asking because it is around the limit with the Mak 127 and I am thinking about updating the tripod (I'm still running the basic alu tripod that came with my bundle) - but unsure about how much it will help! Back in December, putting the tripod in the snow helped a lot with wobbles, but that's all the testing I've done...

I've got the AZ5 on the 1.75" stainless tripod.

Don't know the weight of the tube but it should be on FLO, just add 750g for the diagonal and handle.

It handles the 102ED badly to be honest.  It's okay at low power which in okay with as I've got a 10" dob for high power.  It's not the tripod in this case, it's the arm of the mount that's the issue.  The AZ5 just isn't designed for the weight (or specifically the movement arm) of a long heavy mount.

I also have a 130pds and had it and the AZ5 on a carbon fibre tripod.  I found that changing to the steel tripod did improve stability there.

At the moment I'm trying to figure out the use case for the scope to be honest.  I think it'll work well for low power and tracked views of planetary but i could do with a quick setup mount for quick views and grab and go.  Unfortunately the AZ5 isn't up to snuff.

Really what I want is a Megrez 90, but they are like hens teeth!

Typical. Clouds for weeks and then the night everyone starts imaging clouds it goes clear up here!

What do you think you will look at mostly? 

Are you thinking visual or imaging?

What is your light pollution like?  Or what is it like where you will observe?

Telescopes are like tools, different scopes do different things better.

Managed to get out with the 102 ED out the back of work with the new diagonal.  The extra weight is not helping the wobbles on the AZ5 at high power, but god enough for a quick look.

Setup in a different location from the last time and it was an experience.  Surrounded by lights so no use on anything other than the moon.  Lots of reflections of nearby light. 

That being said, I enjoyed it quite a bit and it was nice to get a little observing in.  I love the subtle differences in colour/tone on the moon and they looked great with the Morpheus 17.5mm.

I look forward to trying it out on a mount that can actually hold it.

Care package from SVBONY arrived today.  No SV215 though. Already got that eyepiece.

Got a swanky new handle for the 102ED, a finder shoe, and a cannon m48 adaptor so I can try imaging with the DSLR again.

Standout so far is the SV223 2" twist lock dielectric diagonal.  Very little information on it, but given the quality of most of their recent gear I figured it would be worth a punt at £98.  It appears to be the same as the "ALTAIR PREMIUM POSITIVE LOCK DIAGONAL DIELECTRIC 2"

Have to say that the build quality is fantastic.  The twist lock feels very competent, the inside looks very dark too.  Minimum clear aperture is about 43-44mm using a bit of paper and a ruler to check.

Very happy with my haul.

3 hours ago, GasGiant said:

Ahoy Hoy

Ive got apeture fever and Im thinking of extending the Dobservation site and buying something bigger than the 10".  Something with a GoTo

Got a sweet set up, less than a minute the dob is rolled out and im observing, when the clouds allow ! so it would be great to take advantage of the space and go BIGGER 😮 

I recently missed out on a GoTo  SW Flexitube 300 on ebay that went for a song !! Curses. Maybe next time!

Missing out on the 300 is nature's way of telling you that you need to go bigger still.

I'm blessed with dark skies and awful eyesight even with glasses so I don't see too many stars without the scope, but I get to see lots of objects that are considered faint.  The veil was a particular pleasure.  Without a filter it was more a textural difference than anything.   Like when carpet is brushed in different directions.  M51 is marvelous.

Still not seen any detail in M31 though.

Surface brightness is one of those things that I can wrap my head almost around (if I consider object and sky brightness separately) but I could feel my brain dribble out my ear when I tried to understand how magnification affects how the difference between the two is perceived by the brain.

I quite like the idea that inflation came first before the matter.

The energy of the universe drove expansion of space at ridiculous speeds and then when it eventually 'stretched' enough and the energy density got to a certain point there was a phase change and the energy driving expansion got dumped into the universe as matter and light.  New idea to me but it makes much more sense that way round rather than matter/energy first they inflation mysteriously happening (which I think was the preferred explanation in the 80's/90's/00's).

I'm getting a bit more excited about advanced physics than I have done in years (at my popular science level understanding).  For ages it felt like there were gaps in our understanding and we knew they were there but didn't know the shape of them.  Feels like now they're getting a much tighter head on where the theories breakdown.  Lots of arguments and intensity and it kind of feels like there is a shift coming.

Handy if you have to desire and time to use it.  It's a hobby unto itself, but the cost of parts for astronomy is usually so high that it certainly encourages you to use the 3D printed option.

I would quite like a reasonably powered laser cutter as a compliment.

I recently upgraded my prusa mini to input shaping.  That's been an experience.  5 hour prints done in 2 hours!

Slightly off topic, but how are you powering the camera and getting Nina to control it?  I tried before with a dummy power pack and it just kept stopping taking images after a short while.

Nice looking bit of kit.  Really like the design of the clutch.

26 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

For anyone who's still waiting - I've got mine, and it's brilliant! 🤣

And its clear here with a first quarter Moon overhead!!!🤣

It's fantastic on the moon imho.  I can only compare it to my 8mm BST and X2 Barlow, but I've found the contrast to be much better on bright targets with the svbony.

Also very nice just tweaking the zoom to the right level for the seeing.  Not parfocal but for me it's a minor change between powers and in the sort of region where I'm usually fidgeting with my focus anyway.

It pairs well with the moveshootmove mobile phone holder for some imaging/streaming.  Just remember to adjust the phone position as you adjust the power.  I've popped my phone out of the holder more than once.

4 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

I have had one for months but not had a good chance to give it a good review hopefully the weather picks up I have not been out since the first week in December. 

Won't work in the Tal with the herschel wedge won't focus. 

Not enough InFocus or outfocus?

Is it just the thumb screws that it'll hit?  If you know the thread type and screw length I can have a look in my bit box.  Got some knurled thumb screws that might be shorter and work for avoiding collision.

37 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Right done it hissing down here so cannot try it looking like Monday morning now. 

You are far more sensible at this than I was with my Tair 3.  I didn't think to mark the lenses. 

I've got everything crossed for you mate.