Saganite

That is a lovely image, and it feeds the desire to get on the end of a telescope !

Hi Alan, I always try to adopt a comfortable seated position. With my big refractor it is easy because it is on a tracking mount, and I have a Mey observing seat and a 5 rung step ladder depending upon the height I need. It is easy to get comfortable stick both eyes into a bino and just observe for an hour or more, particularly the Moon or Jupiter. Not so easy if roaming the sky though and I tend to stand. The same is true using my Dob and it depends how long I intend to observe a single target whether I sit or stand.

I have decided to remove the mount from the pier and bring it into the house for that very reason Mark.

Hi Ade, I bought this scope from Dave (f15 Rules ) just over 5 years ago. and it was he who had the polished chrome Moonlite done, and it is pretty gorgeous. The tube is 6" diameter and 1930mm long, and with such a long moment arm, even on an EQ6 it takes 2 to 3 seconds to settle, which is not bad, but I get the same waggle when focusing even using the 10;1 reduction, and on high powers it is frustrating. Now I will not have to touch the scope to focus so I am pretty excited at the prospect. I will let you know.

Hi John, I will pm you with some images. The finder foot is held in place with two set screws through drilled holes, and nuts on the inside. The focuser of course was removed to achieve this.

Thank you Alan. I have to agree...

A Moonlite stepper motor for the Moonlite focuser on my 5" f15 refractor. With such a long tube it is not possible to focus without the image dancing around, and on high powers is annoying to say the least, so this I hope will vastly improve if not eliminate the problem.

I recognize the 8.8 Meade Paul and I can vouch for its excellence ! Enjoy it. Two in a bino would have been incredible if I had eyes like Gollum...

Fair point Mark, and I should have done just that. I will be replacing it with a Telegizmo 365 I think.

I have recently contributed to various threads regarding covering of mounts on garden piers, and explained that mine has been quite happy for the past 2/3 years. Well,...having survived that battering on Saturday night/ Sunday morning, I felt uneasy , particularly as there is more bad weather to come. So, yesterday I placed an Astrosystems cover over the mount, before replacing the cycle cover that has given good service over this period. This morning, following more wind and heavy rain, I found to my dismay that the cycle cover had torn in half and now circled the pier at the bottom, leaving just the Astrosystems cover in place. I felt relieved that I had put this in place , but I did not pull the draw string so as to allow some airflow, and this , it seems , allowed rain to be blown from underneath, and the mount and controllers got fairly wet. They are now exposed to the wind in the hope that it will assist the drying process, and I have to hope that everything works when I attempt to use it.....

And again...+1

I should make it clear that whilst I did all the ground work and laid the cable chosen by an electrician, it was he who did all the connecting. Like you souls33k3r I would not dabble with things II know nothing about. It was definitely worth making the permanent connection to mains though.

Following on from you original thread which I contributed to, I finished the area by screening the pier with trellis to ' camouflage' the area and make it acceptable to my wife, and ran an armoured cable along the top of the garden, around the edges until I reached the stone slabs, at which point I passed it underneath through a steel tube, to a weatherproof 2 socket box. From memory I think it was 6mm armoured cable. It was not expensive. My EQ6 mount simply plugs in when I run it.

Pm sent re eye guards.

Simplified is good Mike ! I use two different binoviewers, one with a power switch which means 3 magnifications from one pair, hence the crowding at the longer focal lengths. I have come close to parting with the 26mm Meade Pseudo Masuyamas a couple of times in the last several years, but fortunately came to my senses; they are superbly sharp with stunning clarity. I did have a couple of the 18mm Ultimas but let one go as I love my UOVT'S more than anything. I would love to find another 24mm Ultima but that is unlikely to happen I think. I also have a few pairs of wide angle eyepieces, but we won't mention them in this company !

Petition signed.

Stacking barlows is apparently a common and well known practice, and there is a fair amount of discussion on CN for a start. I cannot begin to suggest the mathematics involved, but your suggestion Dave that it is a product of the two barlows, if I understand you correctly, ie 1.6 x 2.25 = 3.6x 99= 356x seems to be in agreement with what I have read.

No it isn't just you John..

It would have to be the 80 ED f10 for me......😍

Very nice Dave. The mount is almost as sturdy as the one holding Andromeda ... Hope you had a great day.

I would shout loud if I could produce an image like that Craig, it's absolutely beautiful, well done !

Superb ! A favourite target, as I am sure it is for most , if not all observers...

Definiteley a big plus for me. Lugging an 85 amp /hr leisure battery from the garage to the pier for the first year or two lost its appeal in spite of the simplicity..

Brian, Thanks to a shoulder injury, I have not used this mount and refractor since last August and certainly the cover has not come off since probably November. I have just today removed it for a check, there is a slight feeling of dampness/coldness, but there usually is. I flicked the switch and it powered up immediately, and worked fine.

Hi Brian, For the same reason as yourself, I installed a pier with an NEQ6 atop and covered with a cycle cover from a well known Automotive retailer. This is the third winter with no problems, being left under cover all year round. Apart from the observing sessions I remove the cover from time to time, and that's it....no problems. I have, since this picture, put a stone circle around the pier, and a curved trellis wall with drapes on the inside to exclude light , and it is all rather cosy....