Roy Challen

Neither have I! I asked for the focal length, not ratio😉

I don't have one of these, but what I would ask myself if I were looking at buying one is 'what does it offer that the dob doesn't?' I don't know what dob you have, but the scope in your post offers portability and convenient use. If that appeals, then buying it would be fine. If not, then don't buy. What focal length is your dob? Probably not that much different from the Skymax. If the Skymax were to be your only telescope, then it would be perfect for planetary and lunar. I think if it were my money, I'd get some more Delites.

This is what I saw last night with a 90mm mak. The seeing was very good, until the clouds rolled in.

Well, it's on my doorstep, figuratively speaking, and the last time I went was in 2004! So, maybe, I'll pop by on the Saturday.

That first pic looks like the reflection of a beautiful starlit sky😀

Yep, love it too, loads to see, never get bored of it, no light pollution to worry about etc, what's not to like? 😀

I have a Quark built into the Solarscout telescope from Daystar. To say I'm delighted with it would be an understatement. I've had for nearly two years, and it is by far my most used telescope. However, it is the only HA scope I have looked through, so I don't know if it is good, average or poor. What @Elp said in the above post is very good. Training your eye/brain to tune in to the view, covering your head, and finding the right eyepiece, is all good advice. I too found that TeleVue eyepieces did not produce the best view. I prefer Baader 32mm plossl or Vixen 30mm NLP. It does sound like there may be an issue if there is an obvious difference between two halves of the field of view, but you really need to try it outside rather than through a window. Also, your images (afocal?), look very similar to what I can manage - I'm not an imager at all but sometimes want a visual record of interesting features. A pink circle with bits sticking out is as good as it gets with my phone!

Not wishing to sound condescending, but are you actually focusing? Using the knobs either side of the focusing unit on the refractor, or the knob on the back of the mak? Try focusing on a distant object during daylight. Also, what focal length are the eyepieces you are trying to use? If you use too high a magnification, it will be hard to focus on a night time object. If you're doing all this, then you could try an extension tube between the focuser and diagonal.

I use the zoom in my little mak (skymax 90) too. I'm pleased with lunar views, it seems best around 8mm as did the previous example I had. It is also reasonable for Jupiter and Saturn, although my orthos do outperform it when seeing allows.

7.2-21.5mm, my scopes are long f/l so it covers most bases. I like the look of the new svbony 3-8 zoom though, so that's another one for the list!

Umm, I only really use two eyepieces these days, a Baader 32mm plossl for solar and a Hyperflex zoom for everything else. But I still have the full set of Baader BCOs, a Meade ortho, Vixen plossls, Orion plossls, not to mention the 100+ eyepieces I've had in the last 8-9 years😁

I've been passed a fair few eyepieces over the years that have been opened up for whatever reason. They all have similar marks. Sometimes the lens groups have been reassembled in the wrong order, and refitting resolves this, sometimes the damage is worse. Without looking through it, you won't know. Question is, is it worth it to you? I wouldn't take unless it's free😁. Haha! Just looked at the advert! £160? Really? Pass.

@mikeDnight, your sketches are indeed inspiring. I do try, and I think I'm improving but only because I sketch one object - the sun. I'm mildly surprised that no one has mentioned hydrogen alpha observing yet, but for visual, nothing beats looking at an extremely dynamic object on a nice sunny day😃. Seeing can be difficult sometimes, but you won't have to worry about light pollution, and despite what you think of the weather, it is more likely that you'll see the sun more often than your desired night time targets. Of the 120 - odd sessions I've had this year, 75% have been solar. 7/12/2022, 12:13-12:32

The motor drive will move very slowly when tracking objects, as in one revolution per day. It will track objects if the mount is aligned to the celestial north pole.

I see a bearded warrior. And a rabbit!

This was a wonderful event. Despite my 20 odd years of observing, I've never seen an occultation of anything other than feeble stars. This time it was Mars at opposition, and I was bang in the middle of the occultation path. Photos by phone, through the eyepiece.

What I do too. Turn it to suit best shading, and get one with a fairly long peak.

I've tried and used many eyepieces with my Daystar solarscout. The Baader 32mm classic plossl is by far my favourite, although the Vixen 30mm plossl is good too. Regarding zooms, a good one may be of some use, I have a Hyperflex zoom which I use for planetary all the time but unless the seeing is really, really good, I'll stick to the Baader plossl. I should add that this is for HA mainly, but I still use the same combos for white light.

December is the best time to go, webt in 2016, warm enough for swimming in the sea but hardly any people around, or at least not like I imagine it to be in summer. Mrs C and I stayed in Puerto del Carmen, I took my bins and did use them once. However, I was on holiday, including from astronomy 😲😃

Most used by far is my Baader Classic plossl, the only EP I use for solar. Most of my night viewing is through a 7-21 Hyperflex, for convenience, but if the seeing is good, I'll pop in a Baader 10mm BCO. I sure do miss the Zeiss CZJs I had a few years ago...

Not sure what mount that is, but the top looks very similar to my little Vixen alt-az. You could just drill a couple of holes and bolt the tube rings directly to the mount plate.

I have the Altair version with the counterweight, for use with my skymax 90. It now lives abroad, with the scope and first horizon tripod to save from transporting it each time. The scope, mount and eyepieces easily fit into a rucksack for hand luggage, but with little room for anything else, still well under the weight limit though. I did try it without the CW but it is much better with it, even though the skymax is a tiddler of a scope. This setup is so convenient that I am slowly replicating it for UK use.

Not only does cloud cover cause solar eruptions, it lasts precisely as long as the eruption. Fact.😂

It sounds as if you are doing everything that can be reasonably done. If equipment is that soaked, then a few dessicant sachets won't do much. I suppose you could get a 12v heater to dry things off in the van. I don't image, but after a dewey visual session, I leave my scope in such a way that dew drips away from the lens. My main concern would be preventing water getting inside the tube where it would be much harder to remove, and could possibly cause fungus growth later down the line.

Sounds fantastic, much better than the cloud cover I had ☁️.