Dave_D

it was actually quite easy, if you look at the last picture on my original post, i put the original focuser with a plastic cap on the tube at the objective end, then put my glatter laser into the new focuser without the diagonal and adjusted it to centre the laser in the plastic cap. i then did the same with the diagonal fitted and adjusted the alignment screws in the diagonal (thats why i like the Tal diagonal) seems to work just fine. of course i trust the accurace of my glatter laser.

I've got the original focuser and EQ head stored away in case i find a use for them in the future. I'm still using the original tripod as it's great and stable with a Vixen GP head and eq5 upgrade on it for my Tal 100R and OO 150mm scopes, I call it my Frankenstein mount lol Can't say I've had any issues with the baffles

I've never seen another diagonal that could be used with the original focuser to be honest... it's an odd design, but at least it takes 1 1/4" eyepieces so i would assume any 1 1/4" barlow would work. The Tal diagonal though seems as good as any and I would assume it's up to the same standard as the rest of the optics. As to the 'why', well, basically because i could It's been quite successful, focusing is far easier and accurate than with the original rack-and-pinion focuser, plus, i can check collimation with my glatter laser.

all good with win10... the usual messing about with ports but everything just works

One difference if anyone is thinking of getting the Quieter3Q, the 3Q can't boot from the SSD slot like the 2 could... gave me a bit of a headache and a lot of googling. Win 10 is setting up now after i bought a USB stick. fortunately, win10 and win11 installations are available to download on the Mele site

interesting... is that astigmatism in the optics or your eyes? mine's my eyes

Yeah it's tolerable but i've got the OTA on my 'frankenstein mount' now. Vixen GP head on the wooden tripod from my Tal 100R. It's miles better than that alu tripod so it's win-win

Generally they're good after a good cleaning, dotting and collimation. I'd say slightly inferior than my OO GX250 which is 1/6 wave i think, but as i have a bit of astigmatism, bright stars are a bit 'spikey'

I've just bought the Quieter3Q. trying to set everything up on win11 was a disaster, such as the ascom mount picker locked up as soon as i select properties. reflashing it with windows 10

Not bad for 40 quid... but i really need to stop buying toys lol Mirrors are in excellent condition after a good clean, just need to centre dot it for collimation. The mount is a bit naff but fortunately I've got a Vixen GP i can plonk it on that i use with my Tal 100R. Anyway, has anyone ever replaced the focuser on one of these? not really sure if I need to as this is just for messing about while my 10" is imaging but a better one would be somewhat desirable...

I literally threw my scope together tonight with a set of 'Masque Aigrettes' on the spider vanes I just printed as I finished the new spider... Hardly collimated, very rough polar align, focused by eye on my laptop screen, half the lights on in the house and a fair bit of high cloud but yeah, they really work. just 20 second totally unprocessed pics of Vega, with and without the masks. Can't wait for my back garden to be done so i can build my obsy... been away from imaging for far too long.

here too, on a raspberry pi camera. i've asked if he's tried on a dslr

brushed stainless steel... got them here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164917219621?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=464436248323&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Finally got round to making a new spider for my 10" newt. the original orion optics spider (30ish years old i think) was horrible... the opposing vanes were offset from eachother by a couple of millimeters, were badly warped when looking down etc. hopefully, this will get rid of the fan-shaped diffraction spikes i was getting. Feels a lot more solid now as i used 2mm aluminium angle to fix the vanes to the centre piece as the original was just a 90 degree bend in the vanes which wasn't too stable, even considering the original vanes were 1.5mm thick and these are less than 0.9mm Just need to narrow the vane ends and give it a black paint job... Now just need to clear the back garden and build an obsy 🤣

Hey all, been a long time... new house... major refurbishment, but still a little bit of time to play astronomy (and soon, after far too many years, a permanent obsy). Anyway, the old focuser on my 10" newt got damaged and the spindle snapped. Its still functional, but not when it's got a camera attached. The focuser was a leaving present when i worked at Jodrell Bank so there's no way i'm going to get rid of it so thought i'd stick it on my Tal-100R. Bit od 3D printing and an adaptor is in place. I's basically a tight push-fit so in order to align the focuser, I'm basically tapping it with a mallet lol Once the laser is central, i'll glue the focuser to the adaptor. Anyone see a problem with this. The Tal is for purely visual. Using the old focuser with a cap where the objective would be.

kind of... i bought a AZ EQ6 Pro 😁

hehe your tube has almost as many extra holes as mine

Makes me feel like an utter noob asking this but am i right in assuming that the laser attachment for my Howie Glatter laser is basically having the same effect as a Blug or tuBlug? without having to spend silly money

Awesome, thanks for that Yeah it may well be just as expensive as a second hand dome but i've now found myself in the rather excellent position of getting a house with space for an obsy, but more importantly, an already converted garage with enough space to partition into an obsy control room and excessively large workshop for an even bigger CNC router and even more importantly that that, a good woman who talks string theory, watches Cosmos with me and thinks Neil DeGrasse Tyson is top 🤣🤣🤣

So finally after what seems a lifetime away, just had an offer accepted for me and the other half to get a place of our own, so I can now get the scope set up permanently As i'll also finally have a workshop for my CNC and any other gear, i'm thinking of making some sort of dome, so wondering if anyone has seen plans for one that will house a 10" newt.

oops, i meant Lausanne... it's a nice obsy with a big SCT. unfortunately, there were 30+ people there and not speaking French, we didn't get a chance to chat to the two guys running it.

I'm on hols in Lauranne in Switzerland with the other half who is developing an interest in astronomy 😁 and I just stumbled upon this... http://svastro.ch/ Wondering if anyone here has visited this obsy?

Not sure if this has been mentioned but it looks interesting https://www.hackster.io/news/the-nicest-diy-astrophotography-star-tracker-we-ve-ever-seen-0d3632d7347b?fbclid=IwAR02ZPhdAXVgb01DV1fULf1IsW6rvyl68UFlf1zTWOE8_mQ_OSsfeQmcfag

All ready for the mercury transit on the 11th... Baader film in custom objective and finder holders printed on my ender3 for my Tal 100R. And if it's cloudy in this damn astronomically forsaken country, i'm emigrating 🤣Even got the day off work so it had better be clear...