AdeKing

Thanks Dave, fortunately I shall be volunteering at the Sixpenny Handley star party on the Fri and Sat nights with Fordingbridge Astronomers and Wessex Astro. This is probably very true. Ade

My 8 inch dob tube gets wrapped in a duvet across the back seat and is seat belted in. The base is an Orion Optics one and is small enough to go in the boot. All of my Fracs have flight cases. Mounts tend to go in the rear footwells in pieces.

You might still be right Stu, I'm just guessing that the 13.2v battery kicks out quite a bit more than that when charged. I also don't think that the RJ11 plug is a particularly snug fit so that may also be contributing. I'll know more when I can find where I left my Multimeter and can read some voltages.

I've done some limited testing and I think that is is a power issue causing the problems. I can't find my multimeter to check voltages, but I've previously tried using the GPS mouse with a Tracer 12v 10Ah battery and also a Maplin 13.8v ( XM21X) regulated power supply without success. However, this afternoon I tried connecting to a 13.2v NiMH battery pack, which I'm guessing kicks out more than 13.2v when fully charged, and when this was connected the v3 handset recognised the GPS every time. I just need to find my multimeter to check the various voltages to be sure.

Thanks Stu, I have managed to source a bar, its just the weights I need because as soon as you add weights the Astroboot shipping charge skyrockets. I have the standard EQ3/5 weights but the bore is too large. Not to worried at the moment as am having fun with a mini ercole and finding things manually. Thanks for the heads up though. Ade

That is a nice stable combo which I use too, it wasn't so much the stability but more the fact that the mount started making a slight clicking noise when tracking, that I guessed was due to payload imbalance, which was absent with lighter scopes. I'm not sure of my total payload, but the Moonlite CR2 must add almost a kilo as its a solid lump. As I said, with the stock focuser all was fine. Ade

I've used a 100ED in its stock form with a 2" diagonal and 1.25" eyepieces on the AZGti without too much of an issue, but I found that adding a Moonlite focuser took it over the edge. I've now got a counterweight bar but need to find some counterweights with the correct sized bore as mine are all too big. This was set up on a skywatcher EQ5 steel tripod though as the stock tripod was rather too flimsy for my liking with the 100ED attached. Ade

Thanks Steve, I'm loving the ED120 and I'm grateful to @Grumpy Martian for selling it to me. I do have a Moonlite theme going on now, which is an expensive habit. I'd like to fit one to my ZS66SD to replace the awful stock focuser but as that setup is pretty back heavy anyway, I'm worried that a Moonlite would make it too difficult to balance. Ade

Well, it seems to be a problem with the combination of GPS Mouse, Handset and AZGTi, which is frustrating. The GPS Mouse works correctly with a v3 handset if only the GPS mouse is connected. It also works correctly with a v4 handset and EQ5 mount. I've updated the AZGti, v3 and v4 handsets to the very latest firmware versions, but the combination still won't work correctly. I think that I may send a support request to Skywatcher to see what comes of it.

Thanks Stu, I'm going to try updating the handsets and mount to the latest firmware tonight when I get home to see if that helps. The v3 is about 2 releases out so I'm hoping that updating it might help. Ade

I've just received a used Skywatcher GPS mouse to use with a v3 handset and my AZGti mount as I have loads of issues with the WiFi disconnecting. If I power up the v3 handset directly from a power supply with the GPS plugged in then the handset recognises the GPS and obtains a fix as it should. However, if I connect the handset to the AZGti and turn the power on, the handset will not recognise the GPS. I have also tried plugging the GPS in when the mount is powered up with no luck and have done and have pressed the escape key to get me back to the initialising message but again no joy. The handset is on firmware v03.39.03 which is newer than the v3.32 that the user manual states is a requirement. Plugging the GPS into a v4 handset doesn't always work if its plugged in at power up but if the GPS is unplugged and then plugged back in the GPS is recognised without fail. The GPS mouse is obviously not faulty but I cannot work out why it stops working when the handset is plugged in to an AZGti. My testing was done using a Tracer 12v 10ah battery. I haven't tried it with a bench power supply, does this sound like a power supply issue? Any help or suggestions would be gratefully received. Ade

PM sent.

Not the postman, but yesterday I met a friend and collected two new (and hopefully final for a while) additions to my astro arsenal. 1) a new to me Giro Ercole Mini and counterweight bar. 2) an ED120 of the gold coloured vintage complete with a very nice red Moonlite dual speed Crayford. Unusually the weather gods smiled on me and we had a cold but clear night down here in Dorset and I got to use them both. How often does that happen? The mini ercole was fantastic to use with much more progressive tension on the axes unlike the Giro GR2 mini which I find a very much on or off affair. Now just need to decide on the fate of the Starwave f/11 which hasn't seen much use.

Exactly the same reaction here so I'm replacing my Tripods with wooden ones and now have a family of Fracs rather than Newts. They've all got the thumbs up though I'm not sure she pays enough attention to realise that there is rather more than One Frac even though they are different coloured. The only thumbs down was that the Starwave f/11 "wasn't the pretty red one like the photo on the web" even though it was used and cost less. can't win them all I guess.

I managed to get about an hour on these in both Ha and WL this morning but it's blowing a Hoolie here so the view was jumping all over the place. Still glad to have got a look in though. Nice to see some detail in WL again. Ade