StarryEyed

Olly is right. Mount first. The trick is to work well within the limits of the mount then you will enjoy yourself. Have you tried guiding with an existing scope to see how good your mount is and piggy backing the dslr.

Sell it buy a TAK 76. Its all of those scopes in one tube and you'll probably never want to sell it.

Small refractors I've owned a skywatcher 80f5 a William Optics 80FD and a Tak FC100DF. The set up time is the same the inconvenience is the same (AZ no motors so minimal). Opportunity to use them is the same. I suspect your looking to justify buying one and I sympathies with you on that. You pointed out the weather as being a problem this is cheaper to fix with additional uses. What you probably need is a light weight coat, a snood and good thin gloves a good head torch. I have a "mountain equipment" down jacket with all the above I the pockets. I can go out with just tshirt on underneath and still be warm. But I'm not saying dont buy another TAK just if you do and its cold out you probably still wont go out and use it. ps And we all know its nearly always cold and rarely clear which means if its clear its probably flipping cold. pss The best skies and often in mid Jan so be prepared!

This is part of the problem The made in China bit... Its a sticker and the one on the other side take them of and stick them somewhere else. Its annoying to see a friction based connection have stickers added that separate the two surfaces and reduce the friction that textured paint is a bad idea also. School boy error might as well spray oil on your brakes to stop them from squeaking. I find Sky watcher so frustrating that I don't buy any of their stuff anymore.

Ive been looking through telescopes since I was twelve and am fifty-five in Jan I worked my way up to this scope I have probably spent three times that much or more over those years so lets say £190 a year. Seems cheap to me for a hobby. Are they that much better. Yes. But... Best view I had of Saturn was in my first scope 60mm tasco the view blew my mind. The moon was a 127Mak. 2am on Jan morning when it was -5 outside. I don't believe those scopes are better than my premium scope but I still loved those scopes in my mind at those times the views were spectacular and remain standout memories. Premium scopes are about the people that make them. They are uncompromising have enormous pride in their work and products. Their passion for making fine telescopes is every bit as passionate as I am at looking at the universe through them. Knowing that brings a satisfaction from owning one and using one. Its a shared joy between the makers and owners its something you start to understand. Buying an eyepiece from Al Nagler at a stand at Astrofest made me realise this.

The first time I looked through a Tak. at the moon and saw the contrast I actually laughed out loud. That was not the reaction I was expecting an ohhh or ahhh is what I had in mind. Even with poor eyesight their not the sharpest but contrast is a different thing to sharpness. Now after owning one for five years its often an ohhh or ahhhh occasionally a wow. The moon never gets boring for me.

was it predicted using the clear outside app?

Its an experiment trees blocking the planets most evenings and I need something to do QHY5III ir/uv cut, Baader sky glow, Canon 50mm f1.8, no goto, no guiding, no motors, 80x4sec drift through the FOV. stacked in DSS editing in gimp and my phone.

There clearly is an opportunity for Rowan to consider two versions one with and one without you make your choice and pay accordingly. This being a prototype after all, its testing the design and the reaction to it. Product placement in a market place is a difficult thing to get right. A lighter smaller AZ100 might not be so dissimilar in price to a AZ100 or maybe that increases in price to make space, but its another option for customers. The process can take time. So lets hope things can move along quickly and smoothly. You never know there might be two versions down the line or another model that sits between the AZ100 and the AZ75. I'm like the look AZ75 and can see one in my future.

A novel problem with loosen clutches, stopping the scope once its moving... Look at at the sky look back down and the scopes gone ! If I held that ethos in an out stretched arm and some one tapped me on the head I think I would wobble.

Exactly that and you need a youtube channel.

To be honest the Rowan A75 is better looking than my Giro Ercole and if those ports stay on the final version I can easily see it as an upgrade. Can they be encouraged to release in the UK for six months first. Give us some bragging rights. The A75 looks like hot property and no doubt will sell well worldwide. I'll lay a bet that Rowan will struggle to meet demand once word gets out. They should stick a Union Flag on it their certainly doing themselves proud.

I use my WO in my TAK with 30mm widefield and its great for low power but recently I have been going straight through on Jupiter as it low in the sky which at high power when the sky settles is notably sharper. Congrats on your TSA thats a handsome telescope.

make sure you have copies if you loose them with your case you will be best placed when you claim on the insurance.

Investment in astronomy. Resale value probably not. In the quality of experience and trouble free ownership yes.

I've spent a lot of time over the last year with amateur radio having bought a new radio last summer. But recently looking at Jupiter has got me all fired up. So not such a different situation to yourself.

Its worth repeating the comment about the three grub screws being used to lock the mount head to the top of the tripod. This removes the need to have to apply a lot of torque on the head and tripod bolt to prevent rotation. Bolt centres the head the grub screws secure the head to the tripod. No excess force required.

I worked in SE Asia for a number of years. If your not moving about ship it out, its cheap and you can insure it. Pack it up leave it with a friend the when your ready have it sent. If you wont do that I too have brought a tak100mm refractor with me on holiday but only for visual they break down into manageable bits. Put the lens and focuser in zip lock bags. use the space in the tube for socks. Dont be afraid of doing it. Carry your dslr and lenses in your hand luggage takes the weight out of you cases. also make sure you have copies of your receipts for you equipment customs can be a pain when you bring a lot of stuff for long term stay. make sure you know the overall value and any limitations on the value of goods.

What I find fascinating is the design of the takahashi telescopes and mounts from the 80s is or can be considered classical purely from an aesthetic point of view. Not even considering what they were like to use but just the outward appearance....

In a image software package processing the background so it fades allows the target to stand out. The eye has a limited sensitive if you magnify an image so the background starts to be less notice fades away the target will standout. This is true of any telescope magnify the image enough and your eye will eventually see nothing. Stick a CCD on it for a couple of days and you will get a deep field image. There is still light there but not to the eye. Its why zoom lens are so much fun and contrasty refractors so nice to look through. They are easy to tune to the conditions and your eye. The bigger the better. Seven years ago I stopped caring about the technical things Ive had terrible eye sight all my life as I get older they get worse. But when I look through any telescope Im grateful my eyes work and for the joy the views give me. This is the most important thing.

Once you understand the ST80 it never stops being useful. Try stopping it down a little to 70mm say. There is normally a plug in the lens cover you can experiment with, removing this should sharpen up the view. Dont be to harsh on the little fella. My favorite image if my ST80.

assuming you haven't done this before. Its always good to put this out there. Dont use your finger to get the lens wipe to make contact with the lens, fold the lens wipe multiple times to build up a sponge and use this and roll the edge of the sponge as you go slowly. Then get another...... another.... another use them all but never reuse them.

Having felt that the Giro Eercole was not as smooth as ideally I would like with a 100mm refractor on one side (8.5kg well within capacity) I thought as an experiment I would buy a long 10mm bolt and add a 5kg weight to it. Well it went from really good to fantastic. So the proof is in the pudding. The bolt isnt a looker and isnt befitting of the mount but why on earth are counter weight bars typically so expensive?

From the age of twelve I've spent a lot of money on telescopes and when I got to fifty I bought one good telescope and no electronics anywhere near it. Its been a wonder filled journey and Ive never been happier. Ed's right. But isnt this the path..

I have a laptop in my garage that I use from in the house remotely. The screen broke so I took it off its now just a keyboard. Its been like that for at least three years. 4gb of ram and an i5. Does what I need it to do and shall be keeping it there. Sometimes times thinking differently is all thats needed.