BlueAstra

Thanks for the information. No wonder my metric bolts wouldn’t fit.

Can you tell me what size bolt you used to secure the brackets to the top of the mounting rings?

Does anyone know the thread type in the mounting rings supplied with the SW Esprit 150 refractor? There are five holes in a line on the top of each ring, opposite the dovetail.

So you leave the scope attached to the clamp/dovetail assembly and attach the handles to the top of the closed clamp? Thanks for the replies. Sound like the consensus is an EQ6 or similar so I’ll take a look at what’s available second hand.

I managed to pick up an Esprit 150 second hand recently but haven’t got round yet to installing it in my observatory. So in the meantime I wondered about using it for outreach at my local Astro club for visual or EAA. What would you advise as an economical portable mount for this scope?

Thank you for the comments, and any more that may appear. With my current setup (0.43deg/0.76"pix) I have tried 2x2 binning (0.43deg/1.52"pix) and noticed that the image doesn't look quite as sharp as the 1x1 image, and when you zoom in the stars look a bit more 'blocky' (technical term). That's probably subjective and I may be imagining it! So at (0.83deg/1.45"pix) I assumed I would get similar results to my 2x2 efforts, and hence a smaller pixel would beneficial. My mount is a Paramount MX and guides quite well with my SX Lodestar OAG. Graham

I've acquired an Esprit 150 (150mm Aperture, 1050mm Focal Length, F/7). With my current scope I use an SXV-H16 camera (2048x2048, 7.4um KAI4021M) which gives a FOV of 0.43deg and pixel FOV of 0.76". The may be a little over sampled, but I seem to get decent results. With the Esprit the SXV-H16 would give a FOV of 0.83deg and a pixel FOV of 1.45". My feeling is in this case the pixel FOV is a little high and I could do with something with smaller pixels. If so, what would be the recommendation for a reliable mono camera for use with the Esprit in the £0-£1.5k range? The SXV-H16 has been my only camera to date, doesn't seem to need darks, and I have no experience of the newer CMOS cameras.

1.25" Ha Night Sky Filter. This filter is generally used for light pollution suppression during deep sky or lunar mono photography (eg Ha, O3, B&W, see link below). £27 including UK postage. https://www.astroshop.eu/h-alpha-filters/lumicon-h-alpha-filter-night-sky-1-25-/p,6454

Sorry, my mistake. I powered it from the 20V output of a Maxoak K2 Li_Ion battery. https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAXOAK-Capacity-50000mAh-Portable-Notebook-Most/dp/B00YP823NA

I used an Intel NUC (NUC7i5BNK) with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, W10 Pro 64bit. It can handle anything I throw at it, and so small its mounted on the pier with the scope. I think the latest version would be a NUC8i5BEK. I've also powered it from a 12V LiFPo battery.

IC434/B33 Horsehead Nebula in Orion. 10x480s Ha (as L) + 10x180s RGB. Altair RC250-TT Telescope & SXVH16 mono camera with filters. 2.8 hours total exposure. About 1500 light years away.

M15 RGB, 15x120s RGB, RC250-TT & SXVH16 mono camera. Baader RGB filters. Processed with DSS and PS.

I have an IDAS P2 filter that I bought a few years ago to combat light pollution in my suburban area when I do astrophotography. At the time most of the street lights were Sodium/Mercury types and the filter worked well. However, all my local streetlights have now been converted to LED types, and I'm wondering if the IDAS filter is still relevant. Any thoughts?

Not sure if this is where I should post this, so please move if necessary. Has anyone been in contact with Altair Astro within the last two weeks? I had email contact with them on 26/10 but since then I've heard nothing despite numerous emails. I've also tried ringing, but just get a recorded message with no reply to my messages left. Website looks normal and I think there has been a product post on facebook. No reply to my message on messenger though.

I tried this with MaximDL: Open image in MaximDL, Open 'Information' window. Select 'Aperture'. Should see circular cursor over image. Double click on region of background. Rings turn yellow. Right-click on rings to get context menu. Play with 'large rings', 'increase aperture', 'increase annulus' to get reasonable size aperture on background. Look at median value in display. Check out the help file for the information box. I think the numbers are in ADU but not absolutely certain. Graham