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omo

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Everything posted by omo

  1. You want to use a cloth tape measure - metal wont take the shape so well and may not be so accurate. If your really lucky you have one that measures diameters - a pi rule as us winders used to call them I would not assume all 8inch SCT use the same size tubes but Orion Optics UK can make any size rings may need
  2. Thought it would be good, thank you Mike, now you can try it with the DZ too . I hope you enjoy that more than you did the DC 👍
  3. Have any of you used a focal extender on the FC series Taks, how do they perform then?
  4. Both can oxidise, although its more likely to be a connection - open up the plug to have a look - you wont be using it again anyway - best not to use those at all. Oxidisation in a cable takes time as the wire is quite protected, tinned copper is more resistant, but have seen me replace 2 foot of copper cable as it had basically dissolved - this was on a motorbike where road salt is the aggravating factor.
  5. Satellites can be seen, but they move pretty quickly over the sky.
  6. A pier extension on the mount would take the FW away from the scope legs, other who have used them should be able to confirm if its up to AP
  7. to get an idea of what you may need, this should help, although its not for the skywatcher the GSO dob should be similar: https://www.astrodevices.com/resources/GSO/GSO-Encoder-Installation.pdf Have to confess, not really used the DSC on the AZ100 yet
  8. Well he does have Tank slippers............ The riser is a hybrid: Losmandy AZ8, with 3 additional 28mm diameter columns for extra support. It bolts onto the mount with 3 M8 studs through the Planets top plate
  9. Another Planet, AZ100 and 2 4" fracs, the APm is a 107 - FPL53's ok4 me
  10. The bearings will be greased at manufacture but providing you dont overpack them flipping out one seal and adding grease does increase the bearing lifetime, regularly do this with motorcycles after noticing that 3 new hondas i owned ran out the first bearing at 10k miles, i doubled this by adding extra grease. I can see why its not acceptable for something like aviation though with high rotational speeds possible. It was explained to me by someone that grease will expand due to heat and can pop a seal if there is too much in there. Should not be a problem with a mounts bearings.
  11. Is it not reinforced by the thread that it is locked into? Very interested as i have a couple of M10 ones, that i was thinking of using in an HEQ5pro, which would be a much larger load
  12. Thats a lovely looking scope. I can only dream Will the T2 diagonal go all the way into the focuser tube? i had to add a spacer on a different scope using clicklocks on diagonal and focuser tube as they touched.
  13. I used them on a Heq5Pro - 18mm shaft, i think thats the same size as the Az/Eq5 and an Altair Sabre (20mm). So would fit.
  14. Skywatcher weights for the eq3 are 3.4kg and 1.8kg: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/counterweights/skywatcher-counterweight.html
  15. I bought a cheap lighting stand bag and a block of foam and got busy with a box knife to make a bag for a 4" frac, didn't save anything but it offers much more protection than the typical astro bags.
  16. Try a jubilee clip inside some silicone or rubber hose (tube protector), would work as a rotator, used the same on a dob as a bumper:
  17. The North pin is bolted on on my Planet, so hopefully it can be removed from a Uni too
  18. I used to watch Robot Wars back then and remember Hypnodisc took things to a different level in terms of destruction. Razer with its hydraulic arm was the other one to impress.
  19. Thank you John, i did find aluminium spinlocks but they were only for 50mm dia bars. The shelf bolt is part of the DSC kit from Astro Devices so is not really Rowans problem. Many folks would probably prefer the original toolless option as well. I did have it out a couple of nights ago, then my neighbour went out and put on his security light 😡 I may be purchasing a couple of screens next.
  20. Last year, like many before me i got fed up of fighting with an Heq5 Pro and decided to try an Alt/Az mount. An Altair Sabre duly appeared which i liked the simplicity of however i felt it was lacking in control at higher magnifications. Me being heavy handed probably played a part in that as well. So my thoughts turned to an Az/EQ6, then Flo announced the AZ100 and i got a bit excited as it looked very nice. So have had the AZ100 for a week now and have had a chance to examine and play with it a bit. I really like what i have seen so far, very impressed. It moves very smoothly either via the controls or by hand, just oozes quality and has been well put together with care - the bolts holding the end plates for example were greased on assembly.Then there are those anodised covers for the rear of the worm boxes that were absent from the prototype pictures, these could so easily have been rubber blanking grommets. A baader pin spanner fits the front and rear worm box covers. These are only finger tight as i discovered when drying condensation off the mount. Attention to detail is great. As @johninderby has done a sterling job of covering images of the mount so far, i will stick to what i have played with. The Nexus DSC has a wide range of operating voltages i was happy to see it charged off of my powerbank without issue. Its also connected to Sky Safari on my Android phone, just needed the port number changed in Sky Safari and away it went. Still learning how to use it though. I had intended to try using a Primaluce clamp, being used to the PM and ADM clamps i was unsure of how strong the Rowan twin clamping arrangement would be compared to the full length variations. Now I know I should not have been concerned by this. The Primaluce does fit, however only using 2 bolts and i was wanting something a bit more substantial. As its design does not lend itself to additional holes being drilled i then took a look at the ADM dual clamp. This needed to have holes drilled. As @John said it does look a bit feeble compared to the Rowan clamp and mount A slight annoyance with both of the above is you could nip your fingers when mounting a scope as they were so close to the Altitude Clutch Tensioner (which uses a strip of Teflon to do this). So not entirely happy with my current options I placed another order this week for a Rowan Losmandy clamp and 2 counterweights, the white skywatcher one one did not look the part. That was painful as i will likely need a third weight - my C9.25 is a heavy beast. As said the Rowan Losmandy clamp is now machined to take the counterweight bar I have added an addition or modification or two to some to things since I got the mount. More low profile allens for the counterweight bar mount and as I get fed up of unscrewing or dropping counterweight safety bolts despite always using them, i tried a pair of nylon spinlock clamps more normally used on weight bars in gyms. Black may be a better colour option though Does the job and are easily removed, not strong enough to use on a EQ mount where gravity would prevail and broken feet or toes could occur. One thing i did not like was the plastic knob used to lock the DSC shelf in place. Not even a serrated edge to help with gripping it, also likely to wear out being plastic. This uses the traditional 1/4 20tpi photo mount thread, so a half nut and washer were fitted instead. An added advantage with this is it gives a couple of turns more thread into the mount I have never liked these coiled cables once they stretch a bit there is a tendency for them to get knotted. The encoders use a RJ11 socket to a RJ45 in the Nexus, so i made a new cable out of 4 core CAT5 cable. Not the best choice of cable as its solid core, so I dont hold out to much hope on longevity. This is something i will look further into. There appears to have been an extra holes added to the production model, so a Nexus can be mounted on either side along with additional 2 M5 threaded holes. The final things i have adapted are due to me using a different mounting arrangement - planet tripod with a 6inch riser and an altair pier adaptor. First was to use a bit of allthread to make a stud for the M12 centre fitting and just use a flanged bolt to secure it through the top plate. That will save wear on the aluminium mount thread. Since Rowan were kind enough to have added extra holes on the base i put them to use, and used them to secure the pier adaptor to the mount, this in turn uses 4 m8 bolts to attach to the riser. Now if only i can get a chance to use it
  21. I have just escaped from the box after getting lost in the foam things for half an hour, just unwrapping it now 😀
  22. If dpd follow there usual form, Derek will probably get here between 7 & 8pm on Friday I'm going to make up shorter cables for the dsc to encoders connections, take advantage of the positions being fixed.
  23. Mine is on its way, here Friday 😁 What's changed with the counterweight bar that its changed price?
  24. Just remember to file the points of the nails flat for a better fit. A better bodge is 2 bolts and a bit of steel or ally Baader do a small adjustable pin spanner as some of there adaptors have these holes, my motorcycle equivalents are a bit on the big side
  25. I would like to think so too, seeing as i am off for the best part of 2 weeks but the inevitable ☁️ 🌧️ 🌨️ are likely to scupper this. Good to hear it may arrive soon though.
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