boulderbelly

Cheers Chris for the info!👍👍  just uploaded the Backyard EOS program and looking forward to using it  also loaded the Canon control app for my Android tablet...  really looking forward to getting it all up and running. bought a Canon printer to get all my prints done too.   cheers Graeme 👍👍 for the canon power adaptor  recommendation too will look that up. and thanks to everyone else for the advice👍👍😀😀

Hi folks  just bought a canon EOS 2000D  for astroimaging   after years of being Nikon minded and many having many nikons under my belt including  F5  film etc  I decided to bite the bullet and splash out on the oppositions 2000D..   my nikon D200 has 16mp and is good,  but has no live view so.. step in the EOS with its live view  and its a bit lighter than the  D200 too.  i never ever preferred canon  dunno why??🤔  but its like something you see in the shop window for days and keep goin back to see  but aint sure about .  anyway its time for a change so I am actually committed and now looking forward to the Canon EOS 2000D  and many nights  of the stars and planets.🛰️🔭📡

Hi folks   good evening to you all🙂

 plastic/ nylon gears on the  Celestron SLT mounts and general looking after & servicing  is it ok to apply some grease on the gear teeth?  and what type of grease would that be?  my cousin mentions silicone but he's not 100% sure🤔   any help would be most appreciated. 

 thanks

David

On 20/09/2021 at 15:27, banjaxed said:

I converted my Skywatcher motor focuser to run off a 12v battery but it was a bit slow for me and not being able to use manual focus was a bit frustrating. My solution was to build my own motor focuser that uses a toothed drive belt that you can slide on and off the drive cog in a couple of seconds giving the advantage of both manual and motor focus. 

 amazon sell cogs and toothed belts in sets  thats how i went down that road.. the minute I touched the OTA it shook while i was manual focusing..  frustrating to say the least!!

On 20/09/2021 at 15:28, EdG said:

My dog would likely use it as target practice 🤣🤣🤣

It is a good idea though 😊

saves a lot of  mucking about  I have my OTA in the house  in a case along with the laptop out of harms way .   i've seen magpies pecking at the cover outside and had to replace it a couple of times   I get them from Ebay £9  so £ 18 in three years .. not bad!  I was going to keep it in the bunker fully assembled but  theres a lot of huge spiders in there.. 🥵🥵  no thanks..

    why dont you keep the mount constantly situated  just remove the OTA  when  you are finished for the night and cover the mount  with a waterproof neoprene cover?    they are heavy i know and the constantly breaking down and erecting them  does create some back breaking work.   I have my 127 slt mount tripod fixed north and screwed to the slabs with plates screwed to the legs I  just remove the fork arm along  with  the OTA & cables  when i am finished for the night and cover the tripod with a BBQ cover .   the EQ mounts weigh a ton so i know what you mean.

 Hi Mate  i have one of those and as you say it needs a bit of oomph...  i'm just running it with the PP3 and its ok for crawling to the point of focus,  as i have one attached to the rear top left of my 127 SLT tube  via the skywatcher supplied bracket fixed in  place permanently with Araldite 5 minute epoxy along with two custom cogs for the focuser and one for the motor  along with a rubber toothed belt   as i did not even dare drill holes for that motor bracket near the rear of the OTA next to the mirror.  the focuser  movement on the 127 SLT  is quite fine to focus so that too much either way it gets blurred  so the slow movement on the hand control suits me fine , the PP3 battery seems fine but i have never really used up all its power so dont know how far it would go before it ran out. I have 5M cables for the  focus motor extension cable & the starsense  hand controller along with the camera cables straight to my room window  and the skywatcher powertank connected   all that to the laptop through CPWI telescope control.  

Hi Mick 😀 cheers for the advice!  i have the mini plug version on my starsense Hand control .. the older vesrsion had the aux port in the hand control.. looks like i'll need to  unplug the starsense temporarily while i work the guider.  not to worry   i seen that celestron 70000 module but it seems that its only for  skywatcher 127's?? 

Much Appreciated Mate.

David

 Afternoon guys  hope you all keeping well!  I'm looking for some info on aux ports  I have the 127 slt celestron model  with a starsense autoalign and the  wifi sky portal module  (93973)  once i align the telescope can i remove the starsense autoalign plug temporarily so i can use the guidecamera  st4 cable? as i only have one port and a 2 aux splitter  of which the  wifi skyportal is constantly using one of the ports on the splitter ..  i have seen the celestron interference module which has 4 ports which would really come in handy but celestron dont recommend its use?? apparently its for skywatcher mounts ?  as for the starsense autoalign i am prepared to re-align the scope everytime  its not a problem 

 thanks Guys

😀😀

 this scope is great for planets and its a short tube maksutov 127mm x 1500mm focal length   and only 12 inches in length .  superb!!

On 08/06/2020 at 10:50, mil5nov said:

Hi All,

My husband's birthday is coming up and I decided to give him a telescope - something he's always been dreaming of.

I have narrowed down my research to the 3 below:

Celestron Nexstar 127MAK

Celestron Nexstar 130SLT

Orion Starblast 6i

I am looking for a scope that would be "best of both worlds" - to be able to watch planets and DSO's (since I cannot ask my husband which one he prefers and there is only few planets and many DSOs).

A bit of thinking behind my choices:

Celestron Nexstar 127MAK - best magnification from all 3 choices which will be great for planets but the narrow FOV can be an issue for DOS. It's a MAK so no collination, which we would have no idea how to do. Apparently this scope is a bit sturdier on the mount and tripod than 130 and it's possible to watch stars in zenith which I read is an issue with 130. 

Celestron Nexstar 130SLT - wider FOV which is better for DOS, but will this badly affect planet view? Also, the collination scares me.

Orion Starblast 6i - the obvious advantage is the 6" aperture vs 5" in the other 2. This is a dob with pushto, compared to goto in the other 2. The advantage of this is that it can be operated manually so it can still be used even if power dies, which will be an issue in the other 2. On the other hand the other 2 are tracking the objects where this one does not. Also, it's a tabletop scope so no tripod - not sure if this is a pro or a con. And again - collination. Also, in a lot of posts that I read, dobsonians are recommended as a beginner scopes as apparently you get more scope for your money.

As you can see, all 3 have their pros and cons, which makes it a really hard choice for somebody who has no clue about any of it.

Both of us are total novices so a goto or pushto is a must in order to find what we want to look at.

Additionally, my husband loves photography, so if any of them would be suitable for any photos, it would be a bonus (but it is not a mandatory requirement as I know neither of them is really designed for astrophotography).

Which one of them would you recommend or do you know of any other better scopes that would fit our needs (within budget EUR 550)?

I will appreciate any suggestions.

 

 celestron nexstar 127 Mak slt for portability 

16 hours ago, GalaticBoba said:

If you move the mount you'll need to realign. If you mark the ground where the tripod legs are and you levelled it correctly you might be able to retain your alignment.

If you do move it you should still be able to retain the calibration even if you don't retain the alignment. 

Cheers Mate..   i had marked the grass and levelled it with the north position for alignment  and i cannot leave tripod permanently fixed  unless i cover it with a tarp to keep the weather out , but as usual with Scotland plenty of rain  so my  laptop is safe in my kitchen with the guider  and camera cables out the window .  I always fancied making my own  pier for an alt az mount  but have to work my way around the celestron mount  as the custom made piers expensive as they are need  working round and most of them are for  EQ mounts..  thank you for your  feedback mate its most appreciated. 👍👍👍

Hi Geoff

 thanks for the info   much appreciated!...  I set the starsense on the ota  bracket last night and  have marked  both brackets with a fine pencil line and covered it with a bit of selloptape  so it doesnt get rubbed off  that should help with realigning it back on the scope  i'll see how that goes   as you stated it probably will need periodic re alignment  from time to time. once  again thank you for your advice its much appreciated!  👍👍👍

Hi Folks 😀

I was wondering about this?  i want to remove the autoalign from my scope before  putting the scope ota back in its protective case?  do i need to re-align the  starsense again?  or will it still hold the same alignment setting  its on the small mount on a celestron 127 slt.

 thanks

David

Hi John!.. when is this mag available? weekly or monthly? Cheers!

BB

sorry John! got it wrong still sleeping i think!!  ZZZZ..ZZZ!

BB

I've recently come across this piece on the web written by Alan MacRobert from the well known and respected astronomy magazine Sky & Telescope. It is well worth a read if you are thinking of getting into the hobby - ideally before you leap in and buy a telescope :

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/astronomy/astro21/sandt/startright.html

As someone who has been in the hobby for many years now I found that many of the hints, tips and pointers in this article are right "on the button".

John

Hi John!.. when is this mag available? weekly or monthly? Cheers!

BB