Pig

Ermmm it looks like I might have to revisit my long awaited DOB purchase 🔭

 Very nice indeed Piero 😀 

Nice report Paz, sound like you had a great session 😀

Hiya Nick, nice session by the sounds of it 😀 I was expecting clear skies but after waiting up until 2am without any decent enough gaps in the clouds I decided to call it a night... maybe tonight 🔭

Yes ... I tend not to bother with galaxies and nebulae as I have never had much joy with actually observing them 😀 I am sure this will change when I move to a house that is in a darker location and buy a larger aperture scope 😀

It is pretty dark Gina, I sat in the garden last night looking at the stars around 11pm and it was pretty decent, maybe AP need conditions to be a lot darker, but on the whole it’s worth a shot 🔭

It looks like we are going to have some rain Later in Northants but then a few hours of clear skies are forecast 😀 which is especially good because I find the seeing to be better after a nice rainfall. This coupled with no work for a couple of days is all sounding a little to good to be true 🔭 fingers crossed.

Hello and welcome to SGL 😀

Nice one Charl, the spot looks like a footprint 😀

LoL @JamesF. Time travel is a nice thought and works wonders with our imagination, but that is all ......... ?

Our futures could have changed many times already by someone changing past events and we would be none the wiser ? causality is nonsense ? and so is time travel. We live and we die and that is it I am afraid.

@AdeKing Pretty much the same here ? LoL the mount is quite pricey so it’s best to overanalyse sometimes. 

On 30/04/2019 at 18:14, Stu said:

How about observing at the zenith Shaun?

Yes, that would be a problem, but you could slide the scope, (the Tak clamshell is great for this because you can slide the tube all the way through) and you may also have  some free movement with the dovetail bar. I am sure for longer scopes an extension is required ?

Guys you would not really need to worry about scope length if you do not run the auto alignment as this is the only time you will be pointing he scope in a vertical position, the “sync” option will also work just as well. In some scenarios the OTA will have to move forward to counteract the weight from the diagonal etc, thus moving it away from the tripod leges.

7 hours ago, Stu said:

@Pig the one thing I remain confused about was that I think you had some issues with the second clamp when you first got the mount? I cant recall exactly but could you explain what they were and how you solved them?

Yes, for the unsuspecting it could result in some damage, especially so if you have a longer scope, as the scope can suddenly and very swiftly swing to a vertical position, depending on the weight distribution. (keeping the scope balanced correctly would help avoid any damage) 

The clamp (threaded wheel) effectively holds both scopes in place, or even just the scope on the primary side if not used as a dual mount.

I placed a cloth over the clamp to protect it and then use a set of hand grips and give an extra pinch after I have tightened it as much as I can by hand. Very simple.

The clamp has been upgraded to a captains wheel type (still threaded) and this enables much better purchase, thus no need for the hand grips. I now have a captains wheel that was sent to me free of charge by Keith at Altair Astro. So all is good ?

Some more positives.

I used to use mine with an Altair 110mm Frac without any major vibration issues and everything settled almost immediately ! ...... every mount I have had has some form of vibration at very high power, so far this mount has bettered my previous mounts in every way. The only scope where I had some vibrations issues with was an 8” SCT which has a focal length of around 2000mm !!! ?

Balancing and levelling precisely takes about 30 seconds ! ? and is a must for any mount if accuracy of the goto system is required. In addition the mount is very light and portable, has no wires to get tangled up, is almost silent in operation, tracks targets like an Apache brave and the battery lasts for about 8 hours .....The mount contributes greatly to making my observing sessions hassle free and extremely enjoyable ?

2 hours ago, GlenM said:

PS. In the pic is that the 'park' position of the mount and scope?

Glen.

Hiya Glen, no I put the scope in this position to show the clearance between the scope and the tripod legs. There is no fixed park position, thus you can leave the scope as you please ?

Content deleted.. dual post .... my error ?

16 hours ago, GlenM said:

I have been looking at this mount for some time and wondered if we had some satisfied users on SGL?

Thank you,

Glen.

 

Hiya Glen, I am very happy with the mount, it’s very easy to set up and it is also very accurate. Do you have any specifics that you would like an answer to ?

8 hours ago, AdeKing said:

Thanks Stu

Hiya Ade, the length is a tricky one to answer, none of the scopes I have used have been over a metre with all the attachments. There is a point at which a foul condition can occur between the scope with the tripod legs during the auto align as the scope will point straight up. There is a lot of adjustment as the dovetail clamp is quite long and one could simply slide the scope forward until there is no foul condition. ( I am not sure what this limit is) there is a tower available also. I will take a picture of the distance from the pivot point of the mount to the tripod legs so you can see the scale on a tape measure. 

TBH I simply sync to the targets these days and do not bother with the full alignment set up as the sync option is also very accurate. Thus no need to point the scope straight up ?

The distance from the pivot point of the dovetail clamp to the tripod leg

The distance from the pivot point of the dovetail clamp to the end of the diagonal 

I can only echo the comments above ? If your son is producing quality images at 11 years of age I can only imagine the possibilities going forward ? 

Thank you David, I am off out for lunch soon but I will take a look later this evening ?

I do think it is a fascinating subject and most certainly very rewarding ? factoring a camera in puts the mockers on it for me. Thus, by almost talking me into it is a very good result ?

Very inspirational David, you almost talked me into giving it a try ? 

22 hours ago, bingevader said:

Nope, for me, that would be the distance between pupils!

Very strange, I only use one pupil at a time with my eyepieces ?

I must have been lucky with my DF as all my eyepieces work fine with or without the VIP Barlow, I have not tried using the extension but I do have a couple of click-locks in the light path that give a little extra length (all 2” configuration).

 I have no issues with focussing with or without the micro focusser unless I go very high mag (+400 X) when lunar observing then the micro helps. Mind you the DF has a more robust focusser being a 2”.

Using the Quark was a close call and I was only left with a couple of mm inward travel to spare ☀️