Coco

Bresser  AR127L is only 3mm smaller, the M27, M57 are superb through an SVBony 6mm eyepiece,  globular clusters are also fabulous, similar views to my 12" dob on bright targets, I can detect clearly a 5th star in the Trapesium (M42) although not split cleanly do to either optic quality or seeing.

My choice... 2" diagonal for maybe if you wish to use 2" eyepieces in the future.

Or

Don't buy the 10mm Stellalyra and get the SVbony zoom now for double stars and planets

Svbony SV215 Planetary Zoom Telescope Eyepiece 3-8mm, 1.25inches Parfocal 56 Degree Constant AFOV, for Short Focus Telescope OTA High Magnification Lunar Planetary Observations: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

On 19/10/2023 at 16:58, bomberbaz said:

If u ever get the chance of a uff 24, get it. The uff are on another level, I use them in my big bins and my dob, they are superb. 

Thanks Steve, they are in my shopping cart, we have similar bins, I was going to text you but you just answered my question...  

Celestron 102 SL is a better bet, very light and f/6.5 very little fringe colour,  pick one up second hand for £100, love mine

CPC 800 and Eos adapter, back in the day (13+ years ago) the seller was aware of what I wanted to do but took my money regardless ... since then they are or have given the impression of being angels above others.. 

My Bresser 127L  has a chunky glass and the tube is not exactly slim

The ring nebula is superb through it as is Saturn... 

@carastro images are superb with a Skywatcher ED 80 or 72, processing experience wins... 

Warm welcome from me mate 👍

Dob + 17.5 Morpheus is superb isn't it! 

4 hours ago, Ratlet said:

That's a great tip and makes perfect sense!  I'll give it a try next time.

Use a yard brush with an old towel over the bristles, turn yourself into a human tripod...  works with my Helios 15x70's   
I can split Alberio with my 8x40 ED's showing colours nicely. I still need support to do it.

3 hours ago, Ratlet said:

I picked up some large ones for putting in your car last year from Aldi.  They say to microwave for 6 minutes (!).  They work great.  I keep one under my oklop cover up the shed and another lives in my car where it does a great job of stopping the windows misting on cold mornings.

Need to get some more when the offer cycle gets back to them.

Gotta love Aldi and Lidl..  Bought a band saw, pillar drill & stick welder amongst a myriad of other tools ...

Tried a vernier gauge Steve? 

My dob was M4 35mm long, works a treat..

I bought these from Ali £6.97 delivered 3 weeks.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004072392997.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.543d5fc5xR0k5r&algo_pvid=ccb7b305-4194-40f9-8406-e4b9430a1c57&algo_exp_id=ccb7b305-4194-40f9-8406-e4b9430a1c57-0&pdp_npi=3%40dis!GBP!0.57!0.48!!!0.70!!%402100b5dc16887102784785943d0773!12000027945791773!sea!UK!0&curPageLogUid=W39BiiGJdc80

Good watching although you already may have seen it, if your starting out its worth a watch

Yes very! There is something extremely satisfying about achieving great results using poorer tools.

My Bresser 127L achro has plenty of 'faults', some here scoff at the thought of owning one, however it splits doubles very well, shows extremely nice Luna detail, seeing permitting separates stars in M13 and similar globs, green shows in M57, various shades in M42 always 5 stars in the trapezium , dust around M45, in fact come to think of it I should use it more than the 12" dob as it is wonderful mounted on the Skytee with extension post! Adjustable lens cell if it ever needed it  

My Celestron 102/6.5 achro with 24mm UFF is fabulous for wide field sweeping, shows some nice star colour, North American nebula shows up nicely with an OIII filter & Maxvision 24/82 its massive!  If out of collimation it can go in the  for parts bin! 😉

I gave up checking in and out of focus star patterns, clear nights in Lancashire are too precious ! 

 The  12" GSO dob is kept in cool garage attached to barrow handles, its just to convenient to wheel out, I can be up an running in 5 minutes that why its used most. But again, some would say the mirrors are tat! I thinks it brilliant at what it does.

Little weekend job

I recently picked up a pair of Celestron Axiom 23mm 70 degree eyepieces one of which had a little fungus that was easily repaired using a mild solution of hydrogen peroxide and washing-up liquid, followed by a solution on optical wonder.

The eyepieces didn’t come into focus on my Omegon binoculars due to the length being 3mm too long but thankfully the nose pieces can be removed, a few hours on the lathe and a pair of adapters made!

Now these work wonderfully and I’m extremely happy with the result.

Hi from Preston, UK

StellaMira 80mm ED f/10 would be a killer on the Sun, doubles, planets and the Moon.

Lost count how many times I've had the StellaMira 80mm ED f/10 or  Starfield in my shopping cart 😁

6 hours ago, Vroobel said:

Yeah, this is the new setup based on old stuff. Not bad, if we take into account that it's OAG @ 1284mm fl and over 18kg OTA with accessories.

I really like the CGX together with ASIair Plus.  

 

And no wind 🙏

Interesting how you get on, as both this mount and scope is on my next purchase radar. 

16 hours ago, paulastro said:

Coco I've only just your post or I would have commented before. In terms of the hardware you get they are worth next to nothing by themselves, I agree with you. Having said that, the difference having the Starsense system through the app is immeasurable in my view.  For visual observers there is no faster, more reliable or easier to use  locating system to help you find objects - including any goto system I'm aware of.  

Just price up any goto mount -  the SS hardware can be used on any scope if you have the know how at very little cost - and it's a one off cost.  Similarly, look at the price of digital systems  using encoders, and the SS offers so much more.

I agree £180 (less actually) is not an insignificant amount of money - but compared with many other things astronomers seem willing to spend far more on, its an absolute bargain. Over £400 for some  eyepieces, hundreds and even thousands for imaging devices which, if you keep them long enough, will be worth almost nothing as they become out of date and incompatable. £200 plus for some filters,  up to a £100 plus for adapters to make pieces of equipment to work together, the list is endless.

Also, the fact I can spend virtually all my time under the stars observing rather than     looking for things is hard to put a price on. The positive effects it can have on anyone's observing, however experienced you may be is immense.

I don't know where you live, but if you are close enough I'd be happy to give you a demo, and you'd know then if it was worth the money to you.  Or perhaps a local astro club may have members who use the system?

Thanks, I use a Nexus II on my son with Sky Safari and to move it to another mount would involve taking the encoders off the dob etc, it wasn't a rant about actual value, in this day of recycling and waste management it seems ridiculous to buy a telescope only to remove parts from and unwanted scope that will be in the skip within a short life. I'll buy one for my 90 degree bins and the (rest) scope will be given to child down the street, maybe it'll trigger an interest , maybe it won't. Thanks for the offer anyway 👍

Wonderful colour, don't leave out double stars with that big SCT!  

Welcome home... 👍

10 hours ago, Ratlet said:

I am suddenly reminded of my post from earlier this year...

A fine scope @Astro_Dad your posts helped affirm my choice of a 10" dob.  Might save up over the summer for a Starsense 70mm to scavenge the unit from.

I cannot believe Celestron doesn't offer this separately. Maybe it's because they offer it on their dobs. It would be interesting to know if they have a solid patent.

Hi from Preston!

Yes!  Tony serviced my 28x110 Helios bins last month  and my 15x70 Apollo's at Xmas, which I will be putting up for sale shortly, call him, he doesn't really do emails he's old school, and very busy with Zeiss bins as he's the preferred Zeiss optical engineer.

Don't let that put you off price-wise, he's VERY reasonable.

He will be very busy due to the twitching season..