kerrylewis

Got these two at last! For various reasons I've not been able to observe or, like last night, conditions have been against me. But tonight I definitely saw the blighters though neither was exactly easy with the 100mm Tak in my increasingly light polluted garden. John - I thought T4 Atlas was the slightly easier of the two but that may be because of local LP. I think that takes my comet tally to 18. I love 'em

Enjoy yourselves. Standing in a field and only hugging the universe seems like an ideal pastime at the moment ‘ Kerry

Good luck John I chickened out tonight but thinking I might have a go tomorrow for some smiley doubles and perhaps even comet? Kerry

Saturn has now cleared the garage roof. Seeing a bit wobbly but occasionally a good view with the Cassini visible and a 3D effect of the planet and its shadow against the rings . How privileged we are to have such a beautiful object in our solar system

Good view of Jupiter now. I find that the contrast booster filter helps in the twilight period

Scope set up for the big duo after sunset. Despite their infuriatingly low altitude I have been getting some reasonably good views lately

Thanks for your advice Kev and Dave. I will be looking to get a right angle viewer and a red dot finder. Both seem relatively inexpensive ways of improving things. Kerry

After yesterday's false start I'm now ready to go. I previously agreed with myself that I would not get into AP as I was perfectly happy with visual only. However, last year I bought a new camera - a mirrorless Olympus with the potential for wifi control, and I thought I would give a go with AP. I went for the Olympus because I have owned them before and have a stock of lenses that I can use with an adapter. After reading this interesting and very useful thread I decided that a Star Adventurer would be a relatively cheap way to dip my toe, and then one appeared in the Classifieds - so here I am. I intend to stick with simple DSLR stuff without guiding, at least for now ? After reading this thread I have a few questions: 1. My SA is a little over one year old and is the newer 'green' type. I am assuming that the firmware does not need updating? 2. Do people tend to use a right-angle viewer for the polarscope or manage OK without? I have a Manfrotto tripod which I intend to use and it can extend up a fair way, but I'm thinking that the more I extend it to avoid awkward PA viewing then it may be less stable. 3. I note that some users have a finder on the camera. Is this useful? From experience I do find it difficult to locate things by eye sometimes. 4. Some people seem to use a ball head to mount the camera and some not. I have one with the Manfrotto and it would seem that it offers more flexibility in pointing the camera at the right place, but also introduces another item to fiddle with and tighten. Thanks in advance for any help. I'm looking forward to experimenting. I should mention that I have the photo kit with the wedge etc Kerry

GOT IT! I gripped the raised bits on the clutch with a pair of pliers with a piece of cloth for protection, heave-ho and it went? Thanks Dave and Louise

OK thanks Louise. It wouldn't be the first time that I have spent ages trying to turn something the wrong way! I'm also a world-class cross threader!

For the avoidance of doubt - which way did you turn things Dave? The Youtube advice say hold the clutch knob and turn the centre part anti-clockwise with the mounting bar as extra leverage if needed. Kerry

Thanks Dave. I’ll give it another go but I was applying so much force (well as much as all codger like me can!) that I was afraid of breaking something

I’ve bought a secondhand Star Adventurer and been trying to set it up but the clutch knob is completely stuck. Found a YouTube item suggesting how to unlock but still stuck. Any suggestions?

I agree with Paul and regularly use the contrast booster filter on the planets. I find that it doesn’t always improve things depending on conditions but it’s always worth a go. I particularly like to try it at dusk or dawn . The neodymium filter can also help at these times but it is slightly less effective I think. Not tried the two together though - but I will now! ?

I’d like to try the Synscan WiFi adapter and the app but still not sure about their capabilities. I already have a Skyfi adapter which works fine with my IPad using Sky Safari. However the Synscan app will not work with the Skyfi unit. So, if I get the Synscan WiFi unit plus app are there advantages over using the handset? Does it, for example, take the time and location from the Iphone? I presume it must as it plugs straight into the mount, not the handset. Is the handset then completely redundant? I understand from this thread that the Synscan WiFi unit will connect to Sky Safari but not at the same time as the Synscan app on a single Apple device. But will it connect if two devices are used simultaneously - the Iphone controlling the mount with the Synscan app and the IPad connecting to the Synscan WiFi unit in order to use Sky Safari? The Skyfi adapter would then be redundant. I am thinking that I can use the advantages of the mount alignment functions etc in the Synscan app on an IPhone and do away with the corded handset, and then use Sky Safari in my IPad to locate objects, but is this possible? Thanks in advance ?

I seem to have missed this thread to date. So here’s the big Atlux alongside his little Tak brother. Mount by Skywatcher!

Hello Gavin. Yes I do. I find it quick to use and it holds the scope firmly. I still have the tube rings as an option but using the clamp at the moment. ‘Kerry

I use a Farpoint dovetail plate as this pic:

I find the 21st Century Atlas a bit tricky at the eyepiece of a refractor as it is the 'right way round'. However I found a free app for the iPad called QuickFlip which simply flips images - simpler to use than some of the photo editing apps. So, take a pic of the page and flip it on the screen - bingo!

Yes it was the synscan app on the iPhone that would not connect.

I used the Skyfi to connect to the mount. The Iphone had the app running and showed that it was connected to the Skyfi unit but the app was unable to make the connection

Stash_old - I have tried this with my iPhone. The connection option comes up as you suggest and I have entered the IP address but the app just says ‘Cannot connect’

OK Colin, if that is the case, I stand corrected. I have only used the Align button in Sky Safari to correct alignment as I described. If it can also be used as you suggest then I’ll give it a go. Another thing to try! Perhaps this has been introduced in version 6?

Hello Gavin. The align button doesn’t initiate an alignment routine unfortunately. It aligns during observing to a single object. So, if you goto an object using Sky Safari and the object is not central in the view, you can centre it and then press align in Sky Safari which will then centre it too. I think it makes goto more accurate then but I suspect only in a limited area.

Wow, thanks Stash_old . Not being very IT literate I can’t pretend to understand it all but I’ll certainly give it a go and hope it works with Apple devices. Cheers Kerry