StarryEyed

Congratulations and good luck finding clear skies!

I had a similar problems solved with the ASTAP larger database longer exposures and less gain longer settle times making sure sync is turned off in ascom. There's a reluctantance to go down this route in the hope of quicker acquisition of the target but it just needs to work and my old EQ5 is erratic at best and I got it to work reliably. Limited to short unguided frames but I take lots of them. But thats something else altogether.

You could always stop the scope down with a thought given to a higher amount of energy collected by the larger objective and coming into the wedge there is also a higher amount of energy at the eyepiece (controllable with the polarising filter) in the same way there is a higher amount of heat being dissipated by the wedge. Binoviewers split this energy between two eyes which is another thought. As a side note. I never forgot the smell of my commodore VIC-20 (more than forty years ago?) when it got hot. Things do give of vapours when they heat up.

What happens if you shut down stellarium and restart it. They do have a support forum online you might get a better response there along with similar questions and replies.

Mine are bad also have been all my life. I was once told by an optician a (Dr C. Moore) that if I was used as a test subject for students in the final exam final year most would fail. Anyway good glasses work and can work well. I cant use dioptrix without stacking them and even then... Two things I have learnt. Get a pair specifically for astronomy which have hard coatings on the lenses and a little bit of flexibility in the frames think thin wire their just a bit more comfortable at the eyepiece. They might get a little marked up but its only the centre of the lens thats important. I bought a TAK 100 some years ago and have been collecting Televue Delites. Before I did, I wondered if I would see the benefits. But following the advice of members here (probably including yours) I went ahead and am thrilled everytime I use my scope. I might be missing something right at the limits but with my glasses giving me 20:20 vision I cant be missing much. Im going to get a bino viewer soon as two eyes are better than one. If you need a better high power view you can now justify a bigger scope to overcome your astigmatism! Though how much bigger than your 180 Mewlon... and dont get varifocals. 🤓 P. S. as its only one eye we would all love it if you got a monocle. 🧐

I was going to say "Wish my lawn looked like that. After the summer we just had mine looks as well kept as a cows Bottom." but I thought it wouldn't be appropriate.

I can see this having a lot of practical joke potential.

ARE YOU SURE THEY NOT AFTER YOU TESTING THESE ASWELL !

Thanks for sharing this !

Sadly the SLS looks so underwhelming compared to where spacex are. SpaceX might well demonstrate something similar within the next year with reusable rockets. Have to feel for Boeing but what can you say. No matter I am looking forward with a degree of excitement at a ship capable of carrying astronauts going to the moon. The next five years could be very exciting.

This is what happens to all those old voyager engineers. Nurse talking to old engineer "NASA called I said no only old folk here you must have the wrong number" "I said NASA called" "No NASA" "NO YOUR NOT A NASA ENGINEER YOUR OLD ah forget it" This is how voyager ends...

That's a big pair of bins. Your going to need quite a mount for them and I suspect a lot of the normal binocular center adapters would be overwhelmed by these. How are you going to connect then to the tripod?

Youll just have to compare them for yourself. If your hiking portability is a major consideration. But in either case keeping the legs as short as possible will help. When your observing most important is to remember to enjoy the moment for what it is and forget about the mount and telescope they can always be better but never perfect.

you want 20mm eye relief if you can find them lower power are easier to live with. 10x50 might have you thinking of mounting them which can produce excellent results. Dont worry about spending a bit more for known quality they will be with you for years its always a good investment.

I leave an old mountain bike in the way. Its to big to put in a small car to awkward to take with anything else. More likely to ride off on it not knowing it almost useless. An easy steal for an opportunist anyone more determined is going to break doors in in any case. They eont be back for sometime if ever.

Get the black extender off the wall and on an extension lead and put it up in a window line of sight to the mount upstairs height can help. Some wifi extenders are multi channel most cheap ones rebroadcast on the same channel which will half your bandwidth which makes things worse with weak signals. If you can fix the bandwidth to 20mhz rather than 40mhz and no automatic switching. Get a free wifi scanner app on a phone and check for channel usage. You can often improve things doing this without spending money and they apply even if you buy a new extender

Was the cable a mains cable?

Sold my ICOM 705 last November to pay for a new TV now your just causing me anguish. I miss it dearly.

Thats a good choice. But you will also need eyepieces and some other stuff to go with it. So the price will creep. Bear in mind that if this is your budget you have a lot of options. Your best bet is to go and find some previous threads on picking your first scope or look at one of the current astronomy magazines at smiths and buy one that has some relevant or interesting articles. Just remember a good pair of bonoculars on a camera tripod can show you plenty including the planets but not in great detail and are very easy to get on with and wont hurt the pocket. But dont rush until you have considered all the things that go into working out the best choice.

I had an SBIG 2000 some years ago and it had a metal dessicant plug. To dry out the plug you put it in the oven an baked it. So you could empty the sachets into some tin foil wrap them up maybe three layers to a similar size poke lots of tiny holes in them with a small sowing needle bake them and reuse them. or just buy new ones their cheap.

John find a local astromy club at least you will have company. Live over near epsom and have a love hate relationship with trees.

Used a Manfrotto 536 carbon for a few years rated at 25Kg but the Ercole GIRO always felt and indeed does perform better with a counterweight which started to raise the overall weight up with a 100mm refractor. I recently bought a Berlbach for the Ercole and scope and that now feels fantastic. I would think the Scopetech head would have been a better match for the Manfrotto. If anyone is reading and thinking of an alternative the Manfrotto which can go up to 203cms can be got for a reasonable price second hand and with a Scopetech head should be a great match. My son now uses the Manfrotto so its not going anywhere. Not sure I would be able to get back off him though.

More than one person outside on a clear night enjoying the sky. Maybe more than two then. Two's company three's a party!

Depends how small your speedos are and how big your scope is!

There is a lot of competition these days from semi apos and the more economical apos. for the price. But thats not to take anything away from The Intes or Intes Micro MN's. Not sure their still made unless its a special order or just old stock. Still I would love one out of curiosity and a steal at the price seven or more years ago. edit.. Widescreen have stock which is a surprise to me. I hankered for A MN58 for a long time.