emadmoussa

All the way from Hong Kong...at a great price...

Thinking about grabbing a 6mm or 4mm as this is the gap in my EP collection. If they're as good as their 100-deg wide-angle EPs, then you've got yourself a winner.

£5 from China...bargain...

5 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

This arrived today. I only ordered it late Sunday night. 

Ahh, the most useful machine never eases how much I hate doing laundry. 

Very nice! 

On 13/11/2016 at 17:36, Timebandit said:

 

Wooooow, that really is light pollution on a grand scale. Lovely and high though and closer to the sky's. And great views of the city 

It makes my neck of the woods look like a positively registered Dark site location?

Mind you, it may not impossibly bad given he's much higher than street lights and signs. 

56 minutes ago, David_L said:

This look great - out of interest - did you consider the Telrad and if so how did you choose.

I just had a friend ask me for advice on which RDF to get and couldn't comment beyond my choice of a Telrad.

Thanks for any help, of course, please ignore if you didn't have to consider a Telrad ?

David

Hi David, 

My main driver is a Telrad. I bought this to fit on a small refractor. Haven't tried it yet, but it's certainly lighter and, obviously, much smaller than a Telrad. The Telrad can be adjusted/aligned fairly easily and quickly using its native knobs. This RDF, on the other hand, requires a hex key (provided). But I guess, once calibrated, it should stay - more or less -  aligned. 

2 minutes ago, Alfian said:

If "nothing much" is the difference between finding an object or not, then "nothing much" will do very nicely!

PayPal gave me a £15 bonus (not sure why), allowing me to order one without feeling it in my wallet . It's mainly for your 100ED, Ian. 

Nothing much...just an RDF. 

Revelation 20X80...

On 14/11/2018 at 16:15, quaoar said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyDw-W429I&t=44s

 

?

Ingenious design. Split'em in half, and give me one. We both will have a 20" Dob  

5 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

I was referring to Motorways LOL

I have a 16" dob but mainly use my 12" and 120mm Equinox.

Once I have my obs I'll be using the 16" more regularly.

Haha... I don't drive, ergo a motorway ignoramus. Lol

3 minutes ago, Moonshane said:

You think that's bad, I can see the actual M56 (and the M67, M60 and if I try the M66 and M62) from where I live!

Yep, that's why I find the 8-incher, although very nice, a bit frustrating. It's just...well...not quite there. As far as I remember, you use 12 and 16 inch Dobs, right?

56 minutes ago, Stu said:

That makes alot of sense Neil, and is certainly how I use them. It is quite easy to see how close even the dark sites are to big sources of pollution. I try to avoid being north of towns or alongside motorways/main roads etc. At the end of the day, it is just a guide though, actually checking the site out is the way to really tell, but it should give good pointers as to where to look.

Certainly. What I initially found confusing and, perhaps, frustrating is that my current house location has higher LP (class 5) than my previous house (class 4). I could swear the sky looks almost identical in both locations. I struggle to see objects like M56 here in Glossop, but...that's because, obviously, I use an 8-incher whereas in my previous town I had a 12-incher. As Neil says, LP is probably measured based on the nearest city. I have Manchester about 20 miles to the North West and, I couldn't be bothered even pointing the scope lower than 50-deg in that direction. All other directions are dark. Then, of course, the house, as Sod's law has it, is right there blocking much of the darkest spot towards the East. 

Oh my!! My LP is higher than I expected... 

Apart from the hue towards Manchester to the West, all other directions are dark. 

My most used scope... 

On 27/07/2016 at 22:39, lux eterna said:

I´m standing to the left with the refractor and my DIY "MOC" (Mission Operations Control). It´s a box containing intervalometer and smartphone 

Cool. Although, this photo looks flipped horizontally?

5 hours ago, Louis D said:

@emadmoussa, My large/long eyepiece case is a Doskocil XL which is long since discontinued.  The Pelican 1600 is the most similar currently available case.  I recently bought this case at Sam's Club for my retired or seldom used large/long eyepieces and barlows.  It is no where near as nice as the Doskocil or Pelican because the foam is not as dense and it does not have a base layer of solid protective foam at the bottom.  It is much cheaper than either premium case, though.

As you might have guessed, I like my eyepiece standing up on end when possible.  The case has a much smaller footprint as a result than having the eyepieces lying on their sides.

I was thinking in terms of a case for both accessories and eyepieces. I can think of a large tool box and then insert some foam in it.  I don't find the aluminium flight cases particularly appealing, had a couple in the past and didn't feel sturdy or practical enough for everything, EPs and accessories.  

The toolbox I've been using for accessories is not great and was thinking about a neater solution. Something like a padded rifle case.  My eyepiece collection is growing and the eyepieces themselves are mostly large. 

Please show us your accessories/eyepiece case for inspiration. 

Thanks! 

8 minutes ago, nicoscy said:

Well, postman didn’t drop it off exactly - I picked it up from DHL offices

 

Looks like a bank account crasher. Pretty neat!

This fat boy arrived today...the 20mm version is coming from America possibly next week. 

12 hours ago, Davey-T said:

What size is the scope BTW I thought you were talking about getting a 12 " ?

Dave

No, I settled down for an 8" for the time being.  It's a whole lot of kit and other small scopes included in the price. I'll post photos tomorrow, hopefully. 

Oh, by the way, the seller contacted me this morning saying that he found the tension bolt. Thanks for the offer to machine me one, but it's not needed now. Thank you! 

12 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

The 'flashlight test' makes anything look horrible. Ignore it.

Nice one from Dave here!

Olly

Yep, I think Dave is about to save me a fortune. Couldn't thank him enough. 

The question remains, I'm not 100% it's all mould. If so, should I expect it to increase over time? The scope is being sold to me after it had been stored for about 3 years. I looked at a somewhat close object (no room) and I could focus and get things fairly clear, if not sharp. Slight collimation might be required, but I don't care at this point. 

I'll probably test the scope under the stars first and see if it needs cleaning at all. Standing in front of it, the corrector looks fine, shining light on it, it looks horrifying -ish. 

I'll be bugging you once I've received all the kit and cleaning products. I should be collecting the scope on Friday. 

Just now, Davey-T said:

No problem, I'll get the bits and knock one up.

Dave

Much appreciated, Dave! Thank you!! 

While on the topic, have you tried cleaning the inside of the corrector plate on the Meade? I've got fungus...