deadactionman76

About 3 months ago, I managed to take a decent(ish) picture of Orion’s nebula using my C8 and DLSR but after taking my scope on a long car journey, I just couldn’t quite duplicate the results. I used a Bahtinov mask, but even when in focus, it just wasn't focused enough. Believing the collimation to be out, I followed an online guide and began tweaking those pesky screws on the secondary mirror. As I began tightening one of the screws, I noticed the entire assembly that holds the mirror rotated about 10 degrees! It would seem that the mount that fits into the front lens wasn’t at all tight and

Thanks for all your help and advice, I think I'll be building a sturdy DC power supply, ground the 0V rail AND use an earth rod. (and wear wellies and rubber gloves) @Lorne: I tried different PSUs on different extensions and plugged directly into the wall outlet and still the voltage was present. I guess I'm just lucky

Hi All, After much deliberation, I finally bought myself the Celestron C8-SCT and a Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro mount and decided to take it round to a friend’s house and set it up on his lawn. When the mount was powered (from a standard mains powered 12VDC supply), there was a noticeable “tingle” felt when touching the tripods legs. I immediately disconnected and checked all the wiring but everything seemed ok. I retired to the garage and connected a multimeter between the DC ground (outer part of the plug) and mains earth and was alarmed to measure about 98VAC. I measured a similar voltage between t

I've recently discovered that to get computer control out of a mount, I don't need the GoTo version as the Syntrek can hook up to an EQDIR box and the mount can be controlled via a laptop (all I'd ever do). I thought this might free up some cash, but now I've been convinced to buy the EQ6! Still lots to consider, but I'm getting there. Thanks all

Thanks for the advice and recommendation. I didn't mean to suggest £1k was my total budget, I meant that I needed to set a limit to buy my first setup and go from there. Looks like I need to do some more research (and reading) before making a purchase. I kinda want the best of both worlds so finding something I can use for visual and imaging maybe a better starting point. Maybe get a decent mount and then change the scope as time goes by? Regarding the smaller aperture, I had assumed, given the unavoidable tracking errors, I should be aiming to keep the exposure time to a minimum? I appreciate

Hi All, I’m new(ish) to both astronomy and this forum so thought I’d say hello and pose a newbie question. I’ve been lucky enough to borrow a Skywatcher 300P Flextube Dob on a try-before-you-buy basis and after just a few nights viewing, I’m absolutely hooked! However, since my main interest is astrophotography, I’ve come to realise that although the visuals on the 300P are great, without a motorised EQ mount I think I’ll struggle to get the photo quality I’m after. I’ve set myself a £1k limit and have spent many hours browsing the range at First Light Optics. I finally arrived at the conclusi