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laser_jock99

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Everything posted by laser_jock99

  1. Thought the aurora pics were from Birmingham.......I was about to rush outside!

    1. GyCx

      GyCx

      You never Know ?

  2. looks like a solid build- hopefully no 'leveling bolts' in this design?
  3. Had a bit of kit from Nevada this week- none of it really astro related (although it is destined from my obsy/radio shack!). A Scanking Discone antenna and an antenna tuner amongst other things. Quote
  4. Mine cost about £90 for the materials (6 foot long piece of 9" diameter tube) and a few beers for the welding.
  5. An outside pier is a good start - mine is a 6" diameter steel tube bolted to a concrete block. When not in use - I remove the scope and cover in BBQ type covers.
  6. A good, clear southern horizon is the main requirement.
  7. I found it fairly easy to 'knock up' my obsy- don't think I had aything other than basic skeches and a few ideas in my mind. The main focus was efficient use materials. For example- the wood beams came in 3m lengths, so the obsy & deck is 3m x 6m! Less cutting, lees waste. The steel wall panels and roof panels were 1m wide x 2.5m- a perfect fit for my 3m x 3m frame..... You might want to consider siting the secondary pier outside? My so called 'widefield pier'. I use this for small scopes and camera lens work. Good for times when I don't want 'fire up' the main obsy
  8. The weather has been disapointing- that's why it's important to have interests other than astronomy that aren't so weather dependant. Dark & raining? Spin some vinyl !!!!!
  9. Galaxy season is definately upon us........
  10. Not sure I understand your problem. The normal 'cure' to extend the point of focus outwards beyond the current travel of the focusser is to move the primary mirror closer to the secondary (i.e. shorten the the tube).
  11. I don't recall having this issue- although I use mainly the Baader MkIII Coma Corrector which is a much shorter device than the aplanatic CC. You could always move the primary up the tube say 10mm by taking a slice off the bottom end!
  12. The long dovetail is pretty much a must have. You'll also notice in my photo a short ED80 refractor top mounted on the Newt. The extra mass can be used to offset the weight of the camera somewhat. Balance never needs to be perferct though- a slight load is better for tracking stabilty I understand.
  13. LOL. The standard Skywatcher EQ6 is capable of an ED120- a positively lightweight scope in fact! I've been running a 35kg 12" Newtonian on an EQ6 for years. It does 600 second guided subs routinely. An EQ6 will therefore handle the combined weight of an ED120 (6.5Kg) & Mak180 (7.5Kg) with ease.
  14. A 120 mm frac can do longer FL views something that a 70 mm can't.......
  15. Great rigs & pictures- keep them coming! Since I'm being held to ransom by Photobucket I'll re-post my scopes from Flikr 12" Revelation Astro F4 Newtonian 6" GSO F4 Newtonian (with Starwave 80ED refractor piggy backing)
  16. Very professional looking pier. Nice!
  17. Have you seen the price of a tin of Hammerite- powder coat for £30 is probably cheaper!!
  18. Best DIY pier I've seen for a while- no cardboard tube full of concrete or 'wobbly bolts' for leveling in sight!
  19. Great video- must try that- timelapse from an EQ mount!
  20. With good polar alignment you can get half decent results. Heres a single unguided sub of M42 with a 750mm FL ED120 , exposure was 120 seconds.
  21. You'd be surprised at how many 'townies' move into rural properties seeking the country dream and are then scared by the darkness. The 'For Sale' sign comes down and the 24 hour 'insecurity lights' go up shortly after. Many a rural location has been blighted in this way......
  22. I bought a set of 1.25" narrow band filters and ended up having to buy 2" filters a year later......... Clip filters- again you'd have to re-buy if/when you upgrade to CCD.
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