Zaphod_B

Bet that ship's captain is no longer on NASA's Christmas card list! Zaph

Hi Andy, No specific experience with a generic vs a "bespoke" mask, however, the masks are specific for each optical arrangement. You can make your own however for as little as £1.75 which is what I did. GoTo: astrojargon - Bahtinov Focusing Mask Generator: Version 0.4 Enter the following details: Focal Length (in mm), Clear Aperture (in mm) and Edge Thickness in mm. You can also enter the thickness of the structural bar and the diameter of the central obstruction (for Maks and SCTs). If you scroll down this page, there are further options that you can specify. This YouTube video shows the mask in action: Note that these two URLs ARE NOT the same as those published on page 82 of August's Sky At Night magazine. These work! Zaph

Hello Luke A warm welcome to the SGL forum Zaph

Hello Neil Welcome to the SGL forum Zaph

Hi David Welcome to SGL Zaph

Hi Paul, Welcome to the SGL forum Zaph

G'day Billy and welcome to SGL. My uncle emigrated to Australia in 1955 (a £10 pom) and settled in Geelong (worked at the VW and then Ford factory?). I visited Geelong in 1998 and stuffed myself silly at the restraunt at the end of the Pier (Smorgy's ?). Ah, happy days! Dark skies, Zaph

Ooops :oops: I didn't spot that the OP had stated for use as a guide-scope :oops: . Thanks Thing. (Note to self - read the whole post before replying!!) Zaph

Yes You would need a T-adapter and a T-mount for Canon EOS cameras. Together, these come to about £30 (give or take). Zaph

If you want an honest answer Darren, then in my opinion NO. I don't know what the optics are like - pretty poor I'd guess - but the mount is an absolute joke. If you are serious about astronomy & stargazing I'd steer well clear of this. More like a toy telescope (reminds me of the 2" Tasco that I had when I was a kid). If you are starting out, a good pair of binoculars - no bigger than 10x50 and a sky map are a good starting point eg these Celestron binos for £54 from Telescopes Plus: http://www.telescopesplus.co.uk/moreinfo.php/Bargain_Basement/Celestron_Outland_LX_8x40_Binoculars/3608 or these Helios binos for £80 http://www.telescopesplus.co.uk/moreinfo.php/Bargain_Basement/Celestron_Outland_LX_8x40_Binoculars/3608 If you know your way around the sky but can't afford anything pricier at the moment, save your pennies until you can afford something a bit better - eg Rother Valley Optics have this SkyWatcher 609 on an equitorial mount for £70 (see here > http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/mercury-609_d25.html) or Telescopes Plus have the following Celestron GoTo scope for £99.00 http://www.telescopesplus.co.uk/moreinfo.php/Bargain_Basement/Celestron_NexStar_80_GTL_Refurbished/3510 (although this is a refurb). You'd probably find the mount of the 60mm Powerseeker extremely annoying after a very short time & regret your purchase. Just my opinions. Feel free to disagree! Zaph

Starflyer... I don't know if this is of any interest to you but another SGL member has a MODDED 400D up for sale for £360. Here's the link >> http://www.stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,37907.0.html Zaph I can't get the above link to work correctly! It's in the Buy & Sell > For Sale section under the title "Canon 400D Modded" - seller is cosmos HTH, Z

Hello Jarndyce Yes, thrilled with my 6SE. Easy to set up and align. Hartily recommend it. Although an 8SE, take a look at what you can do with an SE scope by looking at Alex Post's image of M42 here >> http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2885464/page/1/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1 As far as the noise goes, all Celestron mounts sound (according to our American pals) like "Coffee Grinders"! However, they seem to track just fine. You can easily attach a DSLR to the rear of the 6SE by using an SCT to T-Mount adapter and the appropriate T-mount on your Nikon for prime focus astrophotography. The mount can easily handle the weight. The cost is about £6 - 10 for the T-mount and between £15 - 25 for the SCT adapter. However, most people are imaging with webcams and the one to go for is the Philips SPC900. Some stores (such as Amazon) are charging £70. Pixmania are doing it for £41 including VAT and delivery. I ordered one on Tuesday last week and got it on Thursday - yet to use it in anger however. You will need an adapter however, Telescope House have these for £19. Also need a CCD Capture program - such as K3CCD and a stacking program like DeepSkyStacker. I'm currently on a steep learning curve on astro-imaging at the moment. I have a Canon EOS 400D and associated T-mount but have yet to use this. My first attempt (at photgraphing Venus last week) came to nought. Any help & advice I can give you, just yell. Zaph

Hi, I imagine that you'd need to use tube rings of some sort to piggy back. You can fit a DSLR to the rear of the scope using an SCT-T adapter and the appropriate T-mount on your DSLR. See these links: http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/astroengineering/generalaccessories/deluxesctt-mountcameraadaptor.html and http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/T-mount%20adaptors/SLR-cameras/rings.html Unless you have a flip mirror installed, you have to remove the EP and fit the camera - and precise focusing is a problem however if the object is rather faint. Link to flip mirror: http://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/Products/Meade_Flip_Mirror_1_25.html Zaph

Hi Reg A warm welcome to the SGL forum ... ... and a welcome back to the hobby. Go on, tell us what your first 'scope was! Can't be as bad as my 2" Tasco refractor. The scope was poor but the mount was absolutely awful! Zaph

Nope, sorry. The're all out! Seriously, a warm welcome to the SGL forum Zaph

Welcome to the SGL forum Barry I bet it's cold in BC at the moment! Zaph

Hello Howard and welcome to the SGL forum I second centroid's comment. When you are learning, there is no really daft question - you just don't know the answer! Zaph

Welcome to the SGL forum Jack . Zaph

Thank you Sam and Ian. Will look into K3CCD Zaph

a warm welcome to the SGL forum Paul Zaph

Thanks for that lightbucket. Any views on which is a) easier to use or more flexible between K3CCD and Craterlet? Thanks in advance. Zaph

Thanks very much John. I wasn't lazy, I managed it find it shortly afterwards but was busy doing something else and didn't manage to edit my post in time. Nevertheless, thank you anyway. Just waiting for an adapter from Telescope House and a clear night (!) and then I'll give it a go. Thanks once again. Clear skies! Zaph

Thanks for the replies John & Rus Any idea where I can download K3CCD from - do you have a link Rus? Cheers Zaph

Welcome to SGL Phil Hope you enjoy being part of this fabulous community! Zaph

Hello John A warm welcome to the SGL forum Sounds like you're the founder member of the Radio astronomy section of SGL Zaph