Nakedgun

On 18/01/2021 at 11:00, Ande said:

Turned up earlier today.....  A Williams Optics guide scope https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/william-optics-32mm-slide-base-uniguide-scope.html and a Williams Optics diagonal https://www.firstlightoptics.com/diagonals/william-optics-125-dura-bright-dielectric-diagonal.html. Also a WO t-connector thing for the Canon, but not worth picturing.

All appear to be lovely quality items. I bought the guidescope to replace a ZWO guide scope that was really disappointing. The difference between the two is quite significant. I think I’m turning into a WO a fanboy. Loving their stuff

WO has styling in spades, I've always enjoyed the aesthetic appeal of their products.

37 minutes ago, Deadlake said:

Full House!

 

Four-of-a-kind, I'd suggest. A great hand, in any case.

4 hours ago, reezeh said:

and 700g of ceramic baking beans.

I like baked beans, on occasion, but I'm having trouble here....

Just delivered Wednesday.

I generally binocular observe with 10x because I like going deeper than a 7x or 8x will allow, but sometimes recognizing starfields when searching for the quarry in my dim light polluted backyard sky can be troublesome with their narrower field. Some recent reviews on Kowa's 6.5x32 prompted me to try the 10° field they offer.

Used them last night under clear, but windy conditions, my 10x50s alongside, and I am sufficiently impressed enough that the Kowas will be with me for any observing session. I think of the 6.5s as a "finder" for any higher mag  pair I'm using.

15 hours ago, HollyHound said:

This arrived few days ago, but forgot to post (did make a guest appearance on the Mak when I got the Hyperion Zoom).

Skywatcher 6x30 right angle finder... I've got couple of 9x50 RACI and straight thru 6x30, but this makes life much simpler on the Mak and is just a lovely dinky little thing 😀

Nice! At least you can get one. I've been searching in vain for a 6x30 RACI finder for the past week, or so.

This evening's transparency was better than yesterday's, but Saturn failed to reveal itself through the skyglow before the ridgeline interfered, alas, so it was a one-shot deal for me.

I live fairly close to some low mountains (2500' ASL), so that Mercury dropped below my local horizon just 15 minutes after official sunset, which means the sky was quite bright when I first spied Jupiter through my 82mm spotting scope. 

I quickly scanned downward to locate Mercury just above the ridgeline, then hoped Saturn would swim into view before Mercury set. It did.

I was able to see all three in my 20x wide-angle ep at the same time for a minute or so. 

Mercury will be higher tomorrow.

13 hours ago, Daf1983 said:

Arrived today from @FLO. Essential reading I'm told before I invest in some proper imaging kit.

I'd say you're about to go down the rabbit hole!  😄

I do no imaging, so my perspective comes from that point.

I own refractors, dobs, SCTs, and one Mak (6-inch). I like using them all, and do, on different occasions. Each type has its own charm and utility.

Best view of Jupiter I ever had was through my C-Nine-Two-Five.

On 04/01/2021 at 07:00, Nakedgun said:

 

Love my Vessel JIS drivers, too.

 

 

 

If fact, yesterday I ordered a set of their Tang-Thru/Demolition models for the garage toolbox.

 

And here they are!

16 hours ago, Joe G said:

7Hi Sunshine 

Its just a standard CG4 mount which can be configured to be used as an alt/az but with a niggles. I generally use the attached “ agricultural modified” Voyager mount, which is more than adequate on quiet nights

"niggles"? Could you translate that from english into english, please? Thank you.

I've seen heat plumes in my C-Nine-Two-Five, but nothing quite like yours. Curious.

3 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

decided to renew some tools, so new Vessel precision screwdrivers for when I'm working on optical gear, some new synthetic PTFE helicoid grease etc

and some PEC Pads to use with the Zeiss lens cleaning fluid while servicing

Guess there's no excuse to not do that full strip-down on the huge vintage Zeiss Sonnar 180mm lens now... but it can wait a while I think 🙂 

Love my Vessel JIS drivers, too.

If fact, yesterday I ordered a set of their Tang-Thru/Demolition models for the garage toolbox.

This just arrived, to be added to a small ep set for use with my Borg 90FL, and carried in my Tundra for instant use while on the road somewhere:

3 hours ago, DaveL59 said:

funny how things work out. Having seen and won a couple of vintage velbon camera tripods and then one with a posable column popped up and I bought that too I now have a trio of triffids. The one in the centre just arrived this morning.

With the leg braces that VGB-3C is very stable, perhaps slightly more so than the posable VS-3 at the back. The HE-3 at the front is nice and light so will be the travel-about one, am considering if to swap the Manfrotto video head onto the VGB-3c and switch that head onto the HE-3, hmmm. Other than the head on the HE-3 that I swapped out , all are in very good condition considering they date from the 70/80's they look barely used. Says a lot for the built quality back then.

No more purchases on this front for me tho, I mean, how many tripods does someone really need! 😮  I already had a Pyser one, tho that being ally and plastic is a lot less stable than these which are all metal construction. Was almost considering if I could swap the LT70AZ head onto one of these but perhaps not.

Nice having "vintage" gear so well cared for. My Velbon VEF-3, on the other hand, along with this King tripod from the same era, both Japan made, were found by me where they had been discarded at the local landfill. I added Manfrotto quick-release camera plate adapters for easier use to them both and my wife uses the Velbon for flash support in her office studio while the King rides in my pickup truck for binocular support duties.

3 hours ago, John said:

Those Celestron "Halloween" plossls are very hard to get in the .965 inch fitting. All of those are made in Taiwan I think.

The "diamond Z" 6mm ortho is made by Tanzutsu in Japan I think.

The Kellner 25mm might be of Vixen manufacture, again in Japan. I used to have one branded Vixen and it looked just the same. Similarly the Celestron branded barlow lens.

Hard to find these decent quality .965 inch items these days.

 

 

I took another look at the barrels on the Ploessls and you're quite right about the Taiwan origin. The 12.5mm says 1 1/4" on the barrel, the others - .96" and all four have what appears to be an added .965" attachment with "JAPAN" stickers on them. Apparently, these ep were made available for both formats at the time.

Like the barlow, the Celestron diagonal has Vixen logoed endcaps.

And, I agree finding quality .965" items difficult anymore. I'm not holding my breath a decent scope will be forthcoming, alas.

Saw this thread when current but only got around to photographing my set today.

I entered this hobby after the suggested 1990 cut-off for "vintage" ep, so everything I have in the .965" format has been acquired, really, during this millennium.  I gathered them to use with any refractor I happened across requiring them and do have a Tasco (Japan) 60mm f/11.7, though I'd much like a Carton or similar find such as F15Rules' recent gain.

The 17mm Ploessl from Taiwan, and not sure about the Meade items' origins, otherwise all Japan sourced.

Hadn't thought about these for a spell and am now reminded I must begin searching for a better-quality refractor model soon.

3 hours ago, rrb24 said:

   Lastly, I use nail polish (100% acetone) as a final pass all over the glass. 

Roberto

Nail polish remover I think you meant to say, Roberto.

Backorders are the norm in practically any arena, now. Been waiting for some motorcycle parts for months....

Wish I had a friend who owned one!

1 minute ago, paulastro said:

Many thanks Mark.  I've thought about this, but its finding one that is nicely padded and the right size.  Any chance you could let me have the internal dimensions, and also the model or product name/number if it has one?  It may suit .

Take a look:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Manfroto tripod bags&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma

I second the Manfrotto padded tripod bag recommendation. I carry my Tak FC-100 in one. They are available in a variety of lengths.

Good luck.

I missed the recent Lunar occultation of Venus and the Geminid meteor shower peak due to clouds, alas, but skies should be clear enough for tonight's show.

6 hours ago, Wids23 said:

I am trying to get my son’s Astromaster 130eq working after many years “collecting dust” (in the hope to view Jupiter and Saturn). All seems fine (though mirrors need some careful cleaning!) apart from the fact that it is missing one of the slow motion knobs. Does anyone know of where I might be able to get a spare for this? I have looked online and can see that there have been some sold on eBay (not currently available) and can’t see any spares on the Celestron website. Thanks

You can inquire as to shipping:

http://scopestuff.com/ss_cstal.htm

15 hours ago, Rusted said:

I do wish the spotting scope manufacturers would allow room for star diagonals.
I can use 1.25" EPs with a short, screw on, ring adaptor but it uses socket head grub screws.
Not ideal in the dark! A short, compression ring fitting would have been far better.

I tried a 1.25" 90° diagonal with and without GPCs or a Barlow. It still wouldn't reach focus.
That aside, the views are the best I have ever seen through anything. Shockingly sharp, bright and colour pure.
As it should be for the asking price. Fluorite 88mm Kowa 884 straight through.

Bought for distant bird watching and photography. I really wish I had gone for the 45°.
Neck wringing is strictly a young man's, dangerous sport.

I made a Baader foil solar filter for it but it is only really useful with a low sun.
Though, with a 4/3 G9 fitted I can easily flip the rear screen to view the sun or moon.
Not remotely the same as the live view though.

The problem with smaller scopes is the softening of the image and loss of light with increasing magnification.
Visually, the Kowa holds well at up to 96x with its 1.6x extender. [Dedicated Barlow]
At 96x I was enjoying the eye detail of a singing blackbird on a distant roof at 250 yards as dusk was falling fast!

The money might have been spent on an astro telescope but it would have been far longer, far clumsier and far heavier.
Without the nitrogen purging, weatherproofing and rugged construction. Plus the built in tripod screw socket.
The 25-60 zoom eyepiece is absolutely superb at all powers and the sharpness and brightness hold up extremely well.

I have tried other spotting scopes but was always disappointed. Even with Zeiss.
As en entry level telescope I would want to look through one over a reasonable period before deciding. 

Do not believe online reviews. Particularly on YouTube. They are either defending their blind purchase or pushing product!
You usually only ever get what you pay for. If the item were better than everything else then it would be more expensive.

But! I bought a nice little astro refractor from Lidls for about £40. The mounting was crap. The insides  of the OTA were shiny plastic.
But the views were crisp enough. Giving it a makeover, to blacken or flock it, would have made it a really excellent first scope. 
It deserved better eyepieces and the Meade 4000s were fine.  Bresser Skylux 70mm f/10 if you ever fall across one.
 

Perhaps you were unaware of this option for your Kowa?

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1343087-REG/kowa_tsn_as1_25k_1_25_astro_adapter_for.html

However, the straight-thru model is not well-suited for astro work, as you've indicated.