Neil27

Plenty of SH lenova lappies on Fleabay, been using one for the past 3 years still going strong, cost me £150, i5 SSd drive plenty of Ram and win7.

And I echo Francis sentiments, go for it!

Message from the JTW facebook page -

I'm going new Jon, the AA scope is seriously good value, nice aperture, lovely focal length and a 'do it all scope', imho. Paired with either a sky tee2 or the AZ4, its a win win for me. Good luck shopping, hoping to get mine in the next month.

I'm interested in something along these lines myself Jon. I think it's very similar to this scope from Altair astro - https://www.altairastro.com/ASCENT-102ED-F7-Refractor-Telescope-Geared-Focuser.html I'm sure it would perform as a reasonable 'all rounder' and be quite acceptable on planets even at high(ish) magnifications. Just waiting for my bonus to drop and i'll be getting one or something very similar.

More like another £1300, by the time you factor in losmandy saddle and x2 10kg counterweights for the MESU, items that are included with the CEM 120. For me that’s nearly worth an Esprit 100mm in savings, or 500 kg of midget gems which ever tickles your fancy! ?

Another quick update, just mounted latest acquisition - hopefully clear tonight to get some views. Initially bought it for imaging with, so hopeful of some reasonable results. Clear skies,

Thanks, now everything is finally screwed down, tightened up, cables tidied, maybe the weather will play nice and I can start PA and viewing! Clear skies,

Set up ready for imaging and refining polar alignment - along with Alignmaster and EQMOD! Clear skies,

Decided to buy a very cheap cover for the scope, found one of these down at local clothes/garden/electrical hyper market! Not bad for £15, complete with draw string, and its a breathable membrane. Although my roll off doesn't suffer from damp, its nice to keep any potential water off it from the metal structure above (part of the roof struts) Before and after pictures ........ Clear skies,

Erm .... thanks Chris, maybe got a little too excited when everything started working ...... ! Clear skies,

Finished with the laptop shelf. Bought a cheap laptop off of eBay - Lenovo Thinkpad. Bought a little 'workshop' seat from amazon. Cable 'EQDIRECT' set up. EQMOD and CdC now talking to each other ... check. Awaiting clear skies .....

Just a quick update guys, just bought a S/H laptop for the Roll off and hoping to get it set up in the next few days. Also built a laptop shelf and hoping to reroute some of my cables, over this weekend - pictures to follow. Sky looking clear tonight so may even get my first image ....... probably! Thanks and clear skies,

Hi Hiro, Yes loaded and ready to roll at a moments notice ..... Although the weight of a ES102 and 1 CW isn't going to trouble my mount too much! Now if it was an EDGE 14 then I may remove and store for a while, hopefully the clouds will clear soon and I can get out and start enjoying it! Clear skies,

Glad to be of help SF, yes definitely white all the way, that way you can see it in the dark and the mounting plate works really well I've found.

Hi Dougal, yes still white one of the jobs on my to do list! However I wear a head torch that is red so it kinda negates the necessity of it to be honest, buts its there if ever I need it.

It went well Adam, I chose it mainly for the colour and I've used weather shield before and it has always worked for me. Easy to apply and give the deep blue I was looking for - I think sometime we can overthink things, after all its just paint, it didn't run, didn't blister and has a degree of exterior protection. So for me worked fine. Hope that helps,

Hi Adam, you could argue that the imaging boys aren't too fussed about the height of their pier as they really won't be looking through the eyepiece, as the camera will probably be permanently screwed in place. For me, I measured the height of my pier, 1.1 metres, height of mount/saddle and found I had plenty of room under the roof for it too slide off. Remember the roll off height of sheds are generally 6 feet, or 1.80 metres, so you have plenty of space to play with. Also I've engineered my pier to be able to extend by 350mm, handy for when I buy my TEC ...... ? .... Maybe something to consider Adam. Also regarding clearance, I've set my park position so the scope is horizontal, another tip picked up from here, the thought of the roof hitting expensive glass just doesn't bear thinking about ...... ? Hope that helps,

Looks great Baggy, good idea about the cheap dust cover, thanks. clear skies for tonight and tomorrow for the perseid

Thanks Jayne, I appreciate the kind words. Its all about negotiation and the power of persuasion lol, believe me when it turned up and was erected I got the usual 'gosh I didn't realise it was so big' ..... lol ..... I may have been slightly economical with the tape measure when marking out the edge of the roll off As the saying goes Jayne, you only live once, if you can go for it! Clear skies.

It was an easy decision for me, I live in a bungalow so the skies south are a great view with no street lights overlooking me so quite lucky. Hopefully clear skies await currently in Scotland due to work. Out of curiosity, what size is your RO, mine is 8 feet by 8 feet.

Mine off eBay and yes good idea to save anything expensive thats drops on the floor http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311665600685?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=610584543003&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Hi adam, Not overkill at all, these sheds are all unique and what may work or not work for you depends on you! some good advice here, gives advice on shed membrane and ply wooding the interior of the shed > http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/blog/how-to-insulate-a-shed/ If it was my shed i would at least clad the inside of the shed, to make it look less like a ...... well shed! it also makes painting the interior hassle free and for pure looks alone is a winner. Hope that helps and good luck with the build, keep us updated and remember, plenty of pictures ...

Hi Graham, Many thanks for the kind words, and yes it would be great to have some clear skies, alas i'm in 'sunny' Scotland this week with work so hopefully the weekend will be fine! Hope your build goes well, sorry the link didn't work for me, it just 'hung' and didn't go anywhere, sorry. Yes i've seen the LAS site and would welcome a visit sometime in the future, maybe when the nights draw in and take advantage of some good seeing. If you want to contact me for a chat or advice (if I can provide any) feel free to contact me through the pm system and we can meet up. looking at Bassingham, i would expect some lovely dark skies where you are. My village is good, but still plagued by the odd street light, but not too bad. Thanks for reading and speak soon,

Thanks Gina, should look nice with a few stars painted on it