AdeKing

As you say, the Lacerta is not the normal 90 degree angle and depending on setup can make viewing the summer sun a bit more uncomfortable. However, I tend to use a short tube Frac (ST102) for my white light viewing and I never found the angle of the wedge to present me with any real problems, even in midsummer. However with a longer OTA I can see that it could be more problematic.

The BCO 18mm is a cracking eyepiece, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I have a pair that I use for binoviewing with my Lunt LS60 and they are great when the conditions allow. I also use it regularly when mono viewing. I certainly wouldn't be without mine.

This is something I've been meaning to do for a while as I currently have both the 2" Lacerta and the Baader Cool Ceramic. I only got the Baader because I got a good used price on the imaging version last year and I had funds available to purchase. I'd intended to use a quick changer and my Maxbrights to binoview with the Baader wedge but the setup won't reach focus in any of my OTAs with the 1.7x GPC that I have and I don't want to do a @Peter Drew and cut any of the tubes down 😉. If the weather stays clear and the sunspot persists I'll try to do a side by side this week. Back to the original post, the Lacerta is very good value for money and. Is also very good quality. Ade

I've fallen asleep and fallen off my observing chair several times. The other night I nodded off whilst using binoviewers and got a rude awakening as I nodded and became very closely acquainted with a bair of BCO Orthos. That smarted somewhat and well and truly woke me up but no real harm done.

I have a couple of Telrads and I think both of mine light up towards the end of the potentiometer travel range and don't kick in instantly when you turn the dial. It looks like its going to be clear tonight so I'll have check for you when I go out later. Ade

The weather down here in Poole looks to be breaking too. Like you, my solar scope has been out pretty much every day since lockdown began, and to boot I've been out pretty much every night as well. The spreadsheet that I keep a tally of observing sessions in is looking impressive. Fingers crossed the cloud won't persist for too long. We certainly cant complain too much about the weather for the last 2 months. Ade

Wow, stunning time lapse. Ade

Me too 🙁

Hi and welcome, Lockdown and working from home have actually slowed down my astro spending a bit and has made me use what I have a bit more. But I have spent a huge amount of time with my solar setup and working from home has enabled me have weeknight observing sessions and yes, really helps me to unwind as well. Like John says, your NHS work is very much appreciated and I'm glad that astronomy is helping you to relax and unwind. Enjoy the hobby and your time at SGL.

I really like the Vixen NPL30s and pretty much exclusively use a pair in the Maxbright BVs that I use with the Lunt LS60. They are incredibly comfortable to use and don't feel like you're looking down a drinking straw, which I can't say about the pair of Celestron Omni 32mms that I also have. Reasonably priced too. I do have a TV 32mm Plossl, but certainly don't rate it as the best eyepiece that I own, even though comments to that effect were why I purchased it. Don't get me wrong, It's a nice eyepiece but I needed the £30 eyecup extender to make it useable which annoyed me somewhat. Just my 2p worth.

The Skysensor 2000/2000PC handset for Vixen mounts had a satellite tracking feature, but I haven't tried it with mine yet. Ade

Fantastic news Stu, doesn't look nearly as bad now you've got the front ring off. You must be very relieved. Hopefully it won't need too much more work to get it back into commission now.

So sorry to hear of your misfortune and see photos of the aftermath. At least the mirrors are ok. As others have said, hopefully you can get the tube sorted at a body shop when lockdown is over. Keep your chin up buddy.

Yes, they look lovely and very tempting. I was interested by the claim that they could be mounted on an AZ5. Although the OTA is light, I'd have thought the moment arm of both might make mounting on an AZ5 a bit optimistic. I'd love one but then reality bites when I consider how little use my 102 f/11 gets due to its shakiness on my EQ5 and Vixen GP mounts. 🤔☹️😢

Thanks for this, I parked my scope last night then set up for solar observing with my Baader Wedge and issued the command to go to the Sun and it was way out. I was a bit miffed as I’d been very careful not to move the mount when I’d covered it last night then when I uncovered it today so had a bit of a sulk. Then I read this thread and remembered that I’d just accepted the date when the handset started up, so parked the scope, again, powered off and on, put in today’s date not yesterday’s date and everything is spot on. An easy mistake to make, D’Oh. 😊

Sounds like a great idea guys, thanks again.

Nice report Stu, I forgot to look out for Mercury and Venus early on as I had other stuff on, so hoping to catch it tonight. I've seen a number of these stationary / slow moving flares recently though have not really paid attention to where they have been. Next time I see one I'll pay more attention to times and locations. As I hadn't seen these prior to this year I just assumed it was associated with the Starlink nuisance but hadn't followed it up.

Looking very nice indeed John. Before your thread I had placed an order for one of the Hawke Frontier ED 8x42 monoculars as the price on Wex was very good (£78) but they're out of stock so I'm still waiting for mine to arrive. I really wanted the 8x42 version of the Opticron that you have, but I couldn't justify the additional outlay as the 8x42 and 10x42 Opticrons cost the same price and the extra cost over the Hawke wasn't worth it for the amount that I'll use it. I am however very jealous as that setup looks very nice indeed, so please try not to rave about yours too much or I'll be regretting my decision before I've even received mine and opened the box 🤣. Ade

I have visions of @John recently acquired T-Rex mount giving chase now, that's brightened my day. On a serious note, those are fantastic images Dave, like Stu I really enjoy Ca-K images and also wish it worked for visual.

I'm glad you've finally had "first night" and it's good to hear that your efforts have transformed your experience for the better.

Thanks for this lovely sketch Mike, my own efforts are rather more crude but show the narrowing phase well enough. I've thoroughly enjoyed observing this year and have been locking on to Venus with a goto mount in the mid afternoon and observe it into the evening as the skies darken and before it disappears behind trees at the end of the garden. I've still to see any cloud detail, but I'm sure I will eventually but that won't be for another year.

Really sorry to hear this Novella, but thankfully your equipment had already been moved and is safe. From the advice above, it does sound like the damage could be repaired though. Good luck and I hope the perpetrators get their come uppance.

I have to confess that I've been cheating and have used the AZ Pro to find it early in the afternoon (14:00'ish) after I've finished observing in WL (well there isn't much to see) and have synced the mount to the Sun's position. Today I also managed to observe Mercury in full daylight, though it proved very tricky due to the amount of haze and high cloud up there. Needless to say, after executing a goto on Mercury, I carefully check the view with the Herschel wedge in place to make sure that the sun is not in the FOV before I switch to the star diagonal. Venus was a lovely thin crescent (9% illuminated) and the tiny disc of Mercury was clearly showing a gibbous phase being about 80% illuminated.

Very nicely done Alan, a "Proper Job" as they say down here in the West Country. Nicely done, and the Vixen Frac just tops it off beautifully.

I regularly use a Televue 3-6mm Zoom in my ED100 and ED120 which gives mags of 150x (6mm), 180x (5mm) 225x (4mm) and 300x (3mm). When I got this EP, I considered it an itch that I needed to scratch and in all honesty thought that it would see little use, but the opposite is true, it's a permanent fixture in my eyepiece case. I regularly use the 3mm (300x) setting on the moon and for double stars, but have had success recently using it on Venus early in the evening before it gets dark. A few years ago, I'd not have gone above 200x with the ED100 but reading posts here on SGL encouraged me to try it on and I'm glad that I did.