rwilkey

Hi Rich, a very warm welcome from me too, here in Swindon. Clear skies!

Hi there, I agree with others, the AZ3 option is risky/borderline, the AZ5 would be a good contender. I chose the Vixen Porta II Mount which carries my f/9 100ED well and has slo-mo controls. The only thing is that it is more expensive, but what price stability?

Hi Gottzi, a very warm welcome back, I am sure the rain will stop soon. Clear skies!

Hi Paz, I agree entirely with John's suggestion, I find my ED100 is a good 'all-rounder', if there is ever such a thing, great for planets and doubles and also solar. The only thing I found was that I had to up my game in eyepieces to get the most out of the opportunities that a semi apo offers, and to be honest, I have never looked back. Whether it would beat your combo I have no idea as I have not used the scopes you refer to, but it would give them a bl**** good run for the money.

Hi Mike and a warm welcome from me too!

Hi Portech, the EQ5 tripod is absolutely solid and will also serve you for any future upgrade, it will make your viewing more pleasurable. My mount has a SkyTee II mount on it, but it shows how strong and solid it is for now and future options:

Hi Len, a warm welcome from me too!

Our speaker for October will be Rob Slack: 'The Grand Tour - Mission to the Giants' about the Pioneer and Voyager missions to the outer planets. Rob has been a member of Swindon Stargazers from its conception and is a keen practical astronomer and astrophotographer, he also plays a significant role in outreach on behalf of the club. There will also be a short talk: 'Beginners Guide To Telescope Eyepieces' as part of our regular Sky Brief. More information here: http://www.swindonstargazers.com/clubdiary/clubdiary.htm

Hi Glob, a warm welcome from me too, from a very wet and rainy Swindon!

As John does, I also keep mine in flight cases, but for individual protection I use plastic bolt cases like these, they come in a number of different sizes:

Hi Dan, yes, the Hyperion will work well in long tube refractors (f8 and slower, or there abouts), but not in the 'shorty' refractors as they are usually fast scopes (around f/5 etc)

Hi Alan, I bought a couple of Radians s/h about a year ago and would agree with your observations.

Hi Dan, the Celestron Omnis are OK but the Baader Hyperion does not perform well at f/5 (outer edges soft etc), I would suggest replacing this one. I would recommend an Explore Scientific 62° Series 9mm, or the 82° Series 11mm if you can stretch to that price. From expereience the 82° Series gives stunning performance and the 11mm is no exception. Links here: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-eyepieces/explore-scientific-62-series-ler-eyepieces.html https://www.firstlightoptics.com/explore-scientific-eyepieces/explore-scientific-82-degree-series-eyepieces.html

Hi there, the best thing you can do is get some good observing in, try out those new eyepieces starting with the lowest power (the highest number! 32mm). Clear skies

Hi Wormix, the 18mm BST is a good one to go for, excellent AFoV.