ronin

The response is good to get, at least they bothered and supplied information. My "question" is why do you need a tool set and 30 minutes to change a battery? Both cameras I have have batteries, you remove a cover, take out the old and slot in the new, every mount has a battery pack, again remove the plastic holder lever out the old put in the new, Mobile phone the same - open up the rear, lever out the old one and drop in a new one. All the astro torches are a simple unscrew the end dro pout the old, drop in the new. No battery change take more the a minute. So why a set of tools and 30 minutes for what is a simple change of batteries ? I use a Meade ETX 70 for grab and go, I buy a set of 12 AA's from Poundland and drop 6 in the holder and use the scope. If they run down I take out the "old" 6 and drop in the new 6 and off I go again. If they cannot be swapped over quickly and easily then you cannot take a spare set with you, which to me limits the usefulness of the scope. In marketing term they have it wrong as the only time to buy a new/spare battery is when the present one fails in X years time. If they could be replaced in seconds then you buy the mount and a spare now, for use on over night observing sessions..

I think that somewhere about 4 years ago this post got mixed up and changed from alignment stars to the list of named stars. Say this as an alignment star shoud really be significant and somewhat isolated, so that it is the one very obvious one in the field of view. This is ones like Arcturus, Albebaren, Sirius, Deneb would be anothers. Stars like those listed in Ursa Minor would be too insignificant for alignment. You might find that the alignment stars are in the named list but the data entry could have an "A" as part of the data field or they could simply be the first 20 in the named list. So if the offset from the address of the list is >20 then it is not an alignment star. You seemed to be assuming an Alignment Star List and a seperate Named Star List. To save space they will most likely combine the 2 lists somehow. OK, I may be wrong, found this: SynScan Alignment What this one does is list the stars by a couple of naming conventions but also gives the best month to use it, I suppose that being told Rigel in June is a bit pointless as it is below the horizon, and Deneb (one I mentioned earlier) disappears later in the year. So there would seem to be a need for a good number as the time of year is relevant. Open the pdf up to about 150% and it is a good sky chart. Will still say I find it odd tht so many are considered Alignment Stars. Alphard in Hydra is really dim, the ones in Draco are also notoriously dim and difficult to see. Very puzzled owing to this.

400x will be poor (too much magnification) and a 5x barlow likely of no real use. Are the eyepiece's you are getting GSO plossl's? They may not like the f/5 scope. Planets are bright, you should expect diffraction spikes.

Got to ask: Why a title of 1980's Vixen Plossl's, then have an image of a Celestron plossl ? Only asking as with a Vixen plossl I would expet to see Vixen on it not Celestron, rather like buying a TV plossl, it may seem odd but I would honestly expect TeleVue on it not Meade.

When someone wrote that tool they really didn't think you should be allocating 1/4 of the memory did they? Then again when that bit was developed 256Mb may have been an insane amount. Times have moved on and now 256Mb can be small.

Think there are 3 or 4 from up there, one recent person I think from Redcar and a couple from Middlesboro. Were you the person from Redcar see you have 42 posts so may have been your intro I read. Not sure what the Social Groups has in it, possibly grouped in with Yorkshire. Could be wort a post asking the same there.

The present specification say 102mm f/7 so not particularily an imaging scope. ES also says visula/imaging in equal amounts in the application summary. They all seem to have a 2" focuser and 2 draw tubes as standard. I cannot see a reason for so short a travel length, still think that an email or call to ES would be useful. Being honest they are a refractor I have looked at and would like to know the situation. If I go the the Astro show here in June I will certainly be taking a close look at them - curious now.

45mm of travel is small, and there is no real reason why it should be just 45mm although the scope is good for imaging it is still a scope and you should expect to use it visually. I have a Megrez 90 which has 84mm travel and a WO GT-81 that has 79mm of travel and the GT-81 is certainly aimed at the imaging fraternity. I would consider contacting ES and asking if 45mm of travel is normal/expected. Just wondering if there is a problem in the focuser and it is sticking badly at one position and this is being taken as the extent of travel. I presume you are using a selection of different eyepieces. It is one reason why when people ask I tend to suggest those from the same set, they tend to be reasonably parfocal.

Get that ruler out again and check that you do not have a hybrid already that goes from 1.25 (at the scope end) to 0.965 (at the diagonal eyepiece end). It would be odd because it would be easier to fit a 1.25 at both, unless the previous person got a 1.25 to 0.965 to use old 0.965 eyepieces they had. You would be better with a diagonal and not an adaptor for the present diagonal - well in my opinion, but that isn't worth much.

A search for a hybrid diagonal indicates that there are a number in the US, you can get them via ebay.co.uk but the 3 that appeared say they are shipped from the US. Antares seem to be the manufacturer. Could email Rothervalley as they do a range of aAntares items and may have one around. The hybrid is 0.965 to 1.25 diagonal, use "0.965 to 1.25 diagonal" as a search string in google. Think there a couple on TS, branded TS, but they seem to be erecting diagonals and I would suggest you leave these alone. Scope'n'Skies used to do one but it is out of stock.

It was just a thought but really little chance, a 2" eyepiece is BIG, also they cost a fair bit, they are literally the size of a can of coke. So it is difficult to not be sure. Do the eyepiece "almost" look like they fit or is it a big difference. I have a couple of Meades and the eyepieces are all a pretty loose fit, as I do not really use Meade eyepieces I assume that the diagonal they have is big enough for just about anything. Is there anyone one else around you with a scope from whom you could try a couple of their eyepieces. In the simplest term either the diagonal is too small or the chrome bit on the eyepiece is too big - (?) There is a chrome bit on the lower end of the eyepieces isn't there ???. Horrible thought is someone has given you eyepieces without the 1.25" chrome bit that inserts into the diagonal. Any chance of a picture of the eyepieces ??

Agree with Ed the eyspieces should fit into the diagonal, Meade supplied their standard eyepiece pair, a 9mm and a 25mm. So check the diagonal for an adaptor, thinking that someone had the older 0.965" eyepieces and got an adaptor to use them in a 1.25" unit. There is not a grub screw or anything in the tube that is preventing the eyepiece going in? The diagonal has not had a bad knock and is a little out of shape. If they fall over the diagonal can be the bit that takes the knock. I may be wrong here but if you suspect it is out of shape take the diagonal out and try an eyepiece in the position the diagonal went, if the fit is snug then I would suspect a knock, you will need another diagonal (just an inexpensive one). You will need a diagonal to get the correct length. Another question (just in case) what eyepieces did you purchase - brand, focal length and any other name on them please. Do not see how you could have got 2" ones as they are big and generally the size of a coke can. Looks a nice scope to get going with, should be easy to use and Jupiter should be fairly good in it, try 60x but possibly you will get a bit more like 80x to 100x.

Don't give up go, for the astronaut bit. Guess around Chesterfield, so maybe a bit too far for the East Midland Stargazers. Meteors: Keep an eye out on May 24, reports that we may pass through recent comet debris, so might (just might) be something. Aurora, best I can suggest is the Norwegian ferry service Hurtigruten that goes up and down the coast. Decide what you want from a scope, the budget stated will get you a lot of scope, but a lot of scope may not be the best. I might suggest a nice 80-100mm refractor and an iOptron cube. Getting a big scope that you do not or cannot use is a waste. About 100 mile south of you, Leamington Spa, in early June is the IAS, lots and lots of scopes there to look at.

Tasco used to make a 25x-45x 50mm Zoom Telescope. Couple on ebay but they look different, alsothe one I can see has Tasco on it in bold white writing. Which would be a little obvious.