been on order since Sept 3rd, but the guys at first light kept me advised, this virus has knocked everything sideways, and happy it's here, just need a bit of cloudless now😉

On 06/11/2020 at 11:48, AndyThilo said:

Wooohooo time to retire the HEQ5

AndyThilo  yea, mine arrived yesterday too, didn't realise quite how much heavier the tripod is compared to my eq5, Many thanks to  good old First Light Optics, now watch the clouds roll in over Essex lol 

thanks Derek, now going to see what they have, not too worried about being waterproof, as dont think my old bones will tolerate rain lol

Hi all, just wondering if anyone on here has a storage/transport solution for their mount, have just upgraded to a Sky Watcher EQ6 pro mount and its a bit larger than my EQ5 mount, so would like a fairly robust ,preferably hard plastic case to transport and store it in,anyone have a link for similar would be appreciated, thanks Lum Essex

not here yet, but have been told my Skywatcher EQ6R pro is comming tomorrow, getting excited now !!! 

Just needs to corrupt and the entire session is done, appreciate it can happen in any cards but always think the bigger ones are more likely as you always have more to loose on them, think it's "sods law" though. 😉

Just a thought, the weight of the lens is enough that I would be looking to mount the lens on the tripod and not the camera,just thinking the strain on the lens mount may cause damage , I have the same lens and 2 Nikon bodies and always use a lens mount on my tripod for this reason. Not needed when hand held though as you are supporting the whole thing, sorry if I am teaching you to suck eggs though😉

On 03/04/2020 at 22:13, baticles said:

hmm i cant seem to find that scope got a link?

look at firstlightoptics  and see  sky-watcher skymax 127 ota under telescopes-skywatcher, this was my first scope on an eq5 pro goto, still use it regularly and not going to bust the budget,  howver its possibly not everyones first choice, good luck

If I am correct the square black plastic box with the lead attached looks like a GPS unit. Looks like the one on my Skywatcher "goto" mount. If this is retail about £ 99.

had some  best views when away in caravan in Dartmoor, best is no or very little light pollution, just a long way from Essex !,😊

When away from home I use a 110 amp leisure battery purchased from a local caravan shop. Made up a lead with crocodile clips and a cigarette socket from Halfords. Just be sure to get the positive\ negative connections correct and possibly a small trolley to carry everything. Good luck and clear skies mate.

Have been using the Met office app on my phone and found it pretty accurate for home. Even predicted rain at 6 pm and it did !!! Not unusual that it rained too 😂

Hello Jason, great news that Chelmsford have decided to shut off street lights, we have had this for a while now in Southminster, and it made a difference to me, just got to convince my neighbour to turn his passive garden light off now, Lum