inedible_hulk

4 hours ago, inedible_hulk said:

As far as I’m aware, there isn’t an upgrade for the stock focuser. 

 

Apologies, I should have been clearer. Unlike some SCTs, there isn’t (to my knowledge) a third party microfocuser which directly replaces the telescope’s focuser. btw, if there is one, I’d love to know.

I have the SkyMax 150. None of the reflectors or refractors I’ve owned have come close for planetary or lunar. Though it is rather a one trick pony in that respect.

I use a DIY camping mat dew shield and a dew band, and dew hasn’t been a problem. Cool down times can be significantly cut down by keeping the scope somewhere cool and by planning ahead. Have it out cooling whilst you set up the mount etc.

If you go down the imaging route, you will eventually find that you need to add an additional focuser for the fine focus. As far as I’m aware, there isn’t an upgrade for the stock focuser. 
 

Hello and welcome from North Wales 😊

Hello and welcome 😊

On the off chance someone with the same question stumbles upon this thread, the end of the diagonal / eyepiece clamp is T2 and the Baader Ultrashort 1¼" / T-2 Eyepiece Clamp makes a nice secure upgrade.

There’s a lot of good posts on here, the other place, and YouTube on modding and upgrading the humble ST80. However, I am finding it difficult to find anyone who has just upgraded the clamp at the end of the focuser draw-tube (it just unscrews).

The stock one is rubbish and once I have a diagonal and my Baader zoom attached, things can seem quite precarious. Does anyone know of a suitable replacement, or even just the spec of the thread on the draw-tube please?

Bought a Starfield 102 in late May. It’s barely been out of the box ☹️. Even when it’s been sunny, there’s been a high altitude murk masking everything. On the bright side (no pun intended) though, I’ve had some really enjoyable solar sessions 😊.

And finally. Now if I could just get a chance to use my recent purchases 🙏

Also looking forward to this 😊

A few colour filters (visual) to experiment with.

The owls at the end of the garden, the church clock’s chimes, the dog’s snoring, passing cars, are all louder than my EQ5 slewing. The only way I can see it keeping my neighbours awake is if I’ve inadvertently set up in their bedroom…

Go with what you like. If you don’t mind having a little more to carry and set up, or suffer from light polluted skies, go goto. If you like to keep it simple, or enjoy the thrill of the chase, go manual.

19 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

Cute little case for my filters. I'm going to need another though...

❤️ love this 😊

Been wanting one of these for a number of years…

I use both the mobile and desktop versions of SkySafari Pro, though I’m still on v.4 despite numerous hardware and os upgrades and updates. It is very user configurable and has been worth every penny I spent. As previously mentioned, look out for the not infrequent offers.

The nice DPD man arrived with this today…

First major acquisition in a long while and to replace my trusty ED80 Pro. I hope it’s half as good as reputed to be 😊.

Absolutely! Nothing better sometimes 😊

Wow 🤩. That’s fabulous. Kinda SciFi 😊

Nice idea for a topic 😊

This image caught at the eyepiece (after much trial and error) on my iPhone, reminds me of why I bother sitting out in the cold. There’s nothing like some quiet time enjoying night sky 😊.

Agreed, Norton is deeply annoying. I take it no one else has experienced the issue with Windows Defender then 🤨. It’s probably time to take the plunge and override the warning.

Hi folks, 

Long time since I last posted, but I’ve remained a regular reader.

I’m setting up a new Windows 11 laptop for planetary imaging and I am having a problem downloading the ZWO Camera drivers executable. It’s being blocked by the Windows Defender Smart Screen in Edge. 

I’ve found a couple of posts on the subject on Cloudy Nights, which suggest a problem with the site’s security certificate and/or that it’s a false positive. I did some more Googling and there’s a few posts on ZWO’s own website on similar subjects. It appears that can also get blocked and quarantined by Norton. 

Has anyone else had any problems downloading the drivers or is anyone able to shed some more light on this please?

Thanks in advance 😊

I'm not sure I can compete with all this Gucci green and black, but here's my offering [emoji6]. Mainly ES 82s and a lonely Astro Hutech 7mm ortho. I'd like a 6mm and a 9mm to keep it company [emoji4].

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Just a little update. My problem has returned ("Oh no. The problem. The problem Pansy. It's started again!"), so I'll be getting in touch with the suppliers to see if they can help

My 150 in action [emoji4]

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Cool [emoji41]

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Yes, I've got a 20m ethernet lead so I can sit in my garage and control the mount from there It needs to be a "patch" type lead though - I'd never realised there were different types.

James

Cool, I've just done a ten minute test with a 1m patch cable I had lying around and everything seemed ok. The play in the sockets though is shockingly poor, so I think I may have to improvise an improvement with some blue tac. Thanks for the help. In fact, thanks to everyone who responded. SGL really is an invaluable community [emoji4].

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