TheThing

Even a modicom of LP makes DSO finding nigh on impossible. M31 is always said to be a naked eye object. Not 15 miles from central London I'm afraid! Even with star hopping it is difficult to pin down. I first bought a cheap ETX-80 for this very reason. I saw more DSOs with it in one night than in the whole preceding year. I think if you're losing your astronomy mojo, then GOTO is the way to go. If you can though, keep the dob and get a small; cheap GOTO. Use them side by side - Goto to get you there and dob to get the great views! TheThing

Sweet! Tals really are great scopes and yours is great looking. TheThing

Very nice. Like the flip flops too! TheThing

Wall to wall cloud here. Must be clear for lots of the country judging by.how many have seen a fireball! Good stuff and hope it stays clear for you. TheThing

It wasn't meant to be. Something better will come along. TheThing

That's why I'm keen to give it another try. I didn't realise there was so much to it. TheThing

Tell us more please! TheThing

Really? I couldn't give two hoots! That doesn't excuse him trying to throw his weight around here and trolling other peoples experience. I can't be bothered with his childish, rude nature or lack of basic manners. If that makes him a collimating expert on Cloudy Nights and in his home country, then he can stay there. Take it up with him, don't berate me for his problems.

JasonD has spoiled it for the rest of you I'm afraid. Take it up with him. I can't be bothered to try and sort out the chip on his shoulder. The distinct possiblity is that if I post them here, he will simply 'troll' thru them arguing every point that he doesn't agree with, regardless of others experience. He seems over protective of A-B's guide which is peculiar. Perhaps his style of posting is better suited to the forum that has something to do with overcast skies between the hours of dusk and dawn? Anyway, I'm not going give him any reason to continue the spurious arguments he has started on. Harsh for others, I know, but it's down to our Californian "friend"!

If any beginners want to find out, then feel free to PM me and I will put them straight. I wont put anything here for 'the troll' to pick apart because, frankly, I'm not in the mood to have him argue with me or forget his manners further. That kind of behaviour is best kept for American forums.

Right, I think I'm sorted! A chap from RoboScopes group on Yahoo came up with a simple solution. I'll copy his e-mail here just in case anyone else needs it: - "I have seen this problem occur at times when I converted a mount to a GOTO mount. You might try this,it worked for me. In the autostar controller find the alt. and az. setting, take note of the numbers and weather there is a plus or minus in front of the number. Do this in case you change one of the numbers. Which ever axis is slewing in the wrong direction change the plus sign to a minus or change the minus sign to a plus and try it again. If your slews are in the correct direction leave the change,if not change it back to the original,then change the opposite axis and repeat the procedure. I have done this and it worked for me numerous times with some of the mounts I have built. Remember,DO NOT change the numbers,these are your gears ratios, just the plus or minus. Hope this works for you. Jeff " A quick daylight test has the scope slewing in the right direction after changing the Az ration from "-" to "+" for both Vega and Altair. Just need a clear sky to test it properly. Happy days! (So far!)

Outrageous! Hope you gave him a earful. TheThing

Shame about the gaps because that is a stunning image! I like MS ICE but only cos it does it all for you! TheThing

Whoops! Read that as scope. TheThing

Are you using wanting to use it for imaging? If so, when you add a nosepiece and pop it in your scope, this will bring it into focus. TheThing