Mandopicker101

So, feeling like I’m on a roll this week having overhauled my humble Celestron Powerseeker 80 refractor with a new AZ4 mount and tripod not made of wet spaghetti, I decided to try photographing the most obvious celestial target - the Sun. Even with the most basic of basic kit (whitelight solar filter, smartphone adapter and smartphone) the first shots look fairly decent I think. I’m now wondering how I might float the idea of a Lunt scope to my wife as being in the ‘household essentials’ category…

Yes this is where the tripod with the cheapo EQ1 failed. Not making that mistake again…

So it’s delivery day. Scope mounted onto AZ4. The bar is…large but I’m thinking future upgrade and the difference from medium to large was minor. I had a bunch of M6 bolts from, er, mountain bike brake callipers. These fit perfectly. Rings went onto the dovetail fine. A quick lunchtime spell with a solar filter showed the sun in great clarity and stability. Focus and the setup stops quivering quickly. So far so good… I ought to have sprung for the steel tripod though…

Exactly this. New kit arriving tomorrow or Friday!

Thanks for some really good advice. I’ve ordered accordingly. As a bonus, the AZ4 mount includes a bracket for binoculars. I have a pair of Celestron Skymasters in need of a better mount.

Hello I’m about to take the plunge and buy an AZ4 tripod and mount for a Celestron Powerseeker 80 OTA. The original EQ mount and tripod are shot but the tube is good. The mounting rings are a little odd in that they don’t attach to a dovetail plate but screw direct to the mount. I’m thinking I can recycle the rings by screwing them into a dovetail. Will this work and should I opt for a longer plate?

I'm not often moved to write reviews but... Last month I purchased a pair of SkyMaster bins as a grab/go sort of affair. They're replacing a 35 year old pair of 10x50s I bought from Boots as a boy, so I had a little more than just money invested in them. I succumbed and bought from Amazon, purely due to budgetary pressures. They were great when they arrived but one look at the moon and it was clear that were out of collimation. Amazon steered me to the seller who didn't wish to know or deign to reply to my requests for a replacement pair. Onto Celestron UK then. Within 12 hours Celestron were a) apologising for the issue b) asking for a copy receipt and c) issuing the return paperwork. Second set arrived today. In a huge box. Filled with packing material (recyclable!). With the retail box shrouded in a heavy outer sleeve and in bubble wrap. Wiser as to what to look for, so far, they're perfectly collimated. Full marks to Celestron UK. Null points, and Caveat Emptor, to Amazon and their seller (not Celestron!).

Hello world and indeed universe... I'm resuming/returning to an interest in astronomy by resurrecting an inexpensive PowerSeeker 80EQ refractor I bought ages ago for not very much (£25 max). This is combined with bins and, er, a long discarded SW Infinity 'space penguin' scope my daughter once had (no one can see me in the dark in my back garden, so hey...). The Celestron OTA is in good nick, focuser is pretty smooth and no scratches to objective etc. The EQ1 mount is ok if not exactly smooth and the slow mo cables have a habit of loosening off (threadlock maybe?). The tripod is much much less ok, with 2 leg catches being bust/non existent. Currently a couple of G clamps suffice to secure it but it's a faff... Happily I have some accessories left over from a previous scope - so the diagonal is now a dielectric, I have a range of decent of Plossls and filters, a fairly good Barlow and a red dot finder. Question I have concerns the mount and tripod. Before burning any cash, are there any fixes I could reasonably make to improve the EQ1 mount and the alu tripod? I've read about people filling the legs with sand or even cement - does this work/improve things? Or is it a case of accepting both the mount and tripod for what they are, enjoy the scope and start saving up for a better package?

Reading this excellent article convinced me to take the plunge with purchasing a scope and fired my enthusiasm. Seeing Jupiter and four moons with my 4.5 inch scope from my suburban garden was an amazing experience.

I have a 30-year old pair of Boots 10x50s (acquired when I was 10 years old!) and an even vintage-ier pair of 16x50 Welmy binocs, given to us by my father-in-law. Really need a tripod though...