Coco

I had a peep through my Vixen 90M (Japan) and gave up after 20 minutes, seeing was awful.. Id describe what I saw as the same. High winds have whipped up the muck.. 

Hi

Project completed, SkyTee with goto running Sky Safari 6 Pro via Skywatcher Synscan Pro.

Did a little video and will follow it up with a build etc

1 X AZStarPRO – AZ drive GoTo controller for azimuth mount SkyTee 2 - $269 + ￡54 VAT

1 X OVL SkyTee 2 Dual Load AZ Mount - ￡Second Hand

2 X 0.9deg 1.33A 34mm Nema 17 Bipolar Stepper Motor For Engraving Printer Machines - ￡26.78

2 X Stepper Motor Mounting Bracket Steel
 Holder -￡9.98

2 X 48 Tooth GT2 Pulley with 6mm bore -￡5.80
2 X 16 Tooth GT2 Pulley with 5mm  bore - ￡2.74
2 X 168 Tooth Belt -￡4.80

1 X 5.5x2.1 Male to Female plug (10)- ￡2.29

2 X Rj45 Female to 8 Pin - ￡9.98

You will need to extend the cap head bolt on the worm carrier and pack it approx 3mm 

Fun building and learning ￡￡￡￡ 

Special thanks to Alexander at Astro Gadget

1 hour ago, Saganite said:

You will need the 30mm as well then.....

Only if the bring out a 7!!! 😂

10,  15, 18 & 24 UFF.  would love to see a 13 & 21 added... 

My OCD needs balance.. 

I have a Celestron 102mm f6.5 achro & Bresser 127L which I really like, my 6” f/8 Newtonian (sold) was better than both for colour, better than the 102 for sharpness on planets but not as sharp as the 127L, Neither are as good as my 12” Revelation dob with Hilux coatings. 
I’ll get around to mounting the 102 on my dob at some point as it has encoders + Nexus and can easily take the weight, should be easy to dig out bigger OIII targets.

Slippy slope... get your wallet ready..

Baader Hyperion 13mm and Morpheus 12.5mm my wife who has little to no interest in anything apart from  Saturn  says she can tell the difference. She describes the stars in the Morh  'yes very nice love'  and could tell the difference in 3 seconds while carrying a bottle of wine from garage  to  house, a justified upgrade. 😊

BST Star guiders are a good start
https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html

You will not get  whole a lot  more for your money.. 

Found this on eBay, 

Cadac Grillo Chef 40 BBQ Cover ￡13.99 delivered.. 🙂

On 13/04/2023 at 15:15, Basementboy said:

Hello, coming to this a bit late – and I agree it looks like a terrific mount.

I also share the concerns about vibration. Has anyone tried to mount a longish (eg 102mm f/7 or 100mm f/7.4) refractor?

Id like know also anyone tried a longish scope? 

On 30/04/2023 at 10:41, Zermelo said:

An update to my previous post.

I found a used rubber washer with exactly the dimensions I needed (extracted and retained from some previous plumbing job ... "I might need something like that one day").  The extension pillar is now rock solid at both ends.

 

The tube is made of aluminium, and I was slightly concerned that the threaded hole at the base was being stripped by the steel threaded rod rising from the tripod, during my experimentation. I wouldn't like to keep making and breaking those joints with each session, but fortunately the design of the extension allows me to disconnect the top part, by loosening three lock screws, so I can leave the main body attached to the tripod and the top part attached to the mount.

I'm surprised that the extension only ships with a washer at one end. Actually, the sales pic doesn't even show that:

 

Hows the vibration during focusing?  Would the AZ-GTiX be ok with something like my Vixen 90M be ok for visual?  Thinking about buying one for visual

On 24/07/2023 at 09:32, Mr Spock said:

A sensible course of action. As always for DSO the more aperture you can get, the better the view.

At the cost of size - my 12" is huge and only moves from the shed to the patio. Cracking views though and can spank any apo you'd care to name at a fraction of the price 

Agreed, 12 inch solid tube dobs rule! 😁 Needle galaxy in my 12 inch dob is spectacular so is M51, my 127mm f9.4 is now a solar scope... 

Anyone looking I bought some cheap on Aliexpress and only 1 out  of 4 worked, they were over plaited !  

I prefer shoulderless myself.

12 Inch dob shows faint bluish grey, my vixen 90M shows sightly faint pale washed out blue with occasional loss of the blue probably seeing, ive not had perfect obs conditions all year. 😥

That looks fabulous ! 

Aye up! from Preston..

Rare for us Lancashire lads eh?

Hi

Some will not come into focus, my 23mm Axioms wont so I had to modify them, try not to push your bins to far, they are binoculars not telescopes. I'll bet a pair of 18mm Ultra Flats work fine. as will 10,15 & 24's

Cheers
Guy

12 hours ago, Ratlet said:

Did you ever get clear skies to try it out lol?  No idea if the side saddle configuration works.

I designed a similar one (with a couple different mounting options) to allow it to ride side saddle for those who have posh mounts.

https://www.printables.com/model/559841-starsense-explorer-finder-shoe-mount-holder

I'm speaking to Andy now.  Sure I'll be able to sort something out.

These are superb! 😀
https://www.printables.com/model/368783-standardised-125-telescope-astronomy-eyepiece-filt

Easy fix, get your local engineering shop to drill it and tap it to 3/8th's then use a 1/4, to 3/8, Screw Adapter if you want to keep 1/4 thread.

If you were local I'd do it for you.. 

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/smallrig-14-to-38-screw-adapter-5-pcs-1709958/?cpgnid=18138250963&adext=&account=853-353-2386&campaign=&group=&mkwid=_dc&pcrid=&kword=&match=&plid=&pgrid=&ptaid=&si=&gclid=CjwKCAiA0syqBhBxEiwAeNx9N0ThaUHUTWBahfiWo8Eozj94CXZi-B0kDTYW_BSN9_0nBmhhWXbBvRoCeZUQAvD_BwE

Yesterday morning I bathed the 12” dob mirror in a nice soapy bath and wipe down with IPA swab, cleaned it after a year standing upright in the garage all summer, several dusty jobs like cutting bathroom tiles son welding projects etc, it was filthy. Even found some of our Ragdoll’s cat hairs on it \o/ 

Jupiter was superb but Saturn was spectacular the whole family looked, even Michele next door who has now put dark blinds up in her bathroom her security light off as she does if there are stars visible! The cat still does not like her dog. ☺️
They went in due to the cold. 

Uranus was colourless but round orb and reasonably large amoungst the stars.

Gorged myself then on as many double stars via Skysafari and the Cambridge Double star catalogue controlled by Nexus II mounted on the dob made it a short marathon. Plenty of colours, I kept a SVBony 6mm eyepiece in it most of the night, great optic but now convinced I need their little zoom..

Total time out 3 hours, I still feel blessed 😌

Hi

I have a 12" Revelation dob which gives very pleasing images, I cannot fault it to be honest it has no optical issues whatsoever for me and deep sky views are superb.

My question is I cannot resist the potential purchase of a 6" F8 DOB for planets etc, my garage is already cluttered with 12" Dob, Skytee II on Eq6 tripod with Skywatcher pillar, motorcycles, push bikes, and summer outdoors furniture.....

Double stars show good colour in the 12" Rev but set up and cool down not always handy, I'm  wondering if anyone could jump in with suggestions?

Double stars being the/my main focus here, budget 500 quid!

Cheers 
Guy  

4:30am skies have been forgiving over the last month, Lancashire coast, large gaps in the clouds and great seeing .... Sorry imagers no good for you. 

Fantastic looking piece of kit!

I'm on the market for a 4" visual scope myself in this price bracket, and having looked at a few second-hand ones I've decided to buy new like you it is a toss-up between the Starfield and the Askar, I'm sat on my hands rocking
forwards and backward praying for clear skies your way! 😁

Congratulations, every member loves a guinea pig when it comes to new astro tackle. 🧐

Cheers
Guy

I have a Maxvision 24mm 82 degrees (same as ES24 )  and its awful in my Celestron 102 f6.5 achro, the last 20% stars look like rice, it needs a coma corrector in my Newtonian, that said in the newt its fantastic! pin sharp.