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AdeKing

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Everything posted by AdeKing

  1. After a couple of months waiting, this was supposed to be delivered on Monday but turned up from FLO today instead. A Berlebach Report Module 1 and module wrench. To convert my Baby Berlebach Report 723 from this: To this: Hopefully the flat plate should make it a more stable setup for my solarquest mount and solar scopes. Ade
  2. Aha, I hadn't thought about using it for my AZGTi and accessories so thanks for that, it's now got a second use.
  3. Is that for your AZ100 @JeremyS , I have the same for mine, though it's a bit of a snug fit with both saddles attached. I also have several Oklop bags now and they are very nice bags indeed.
  4. I do, but I'm not telling 🤭 But your latter two statements are correct Dave, and it will definitely look great.
  5. That'll give me plenty of time to save then 🙂
  6. Thanks for the heads up @Alan White, I had a quick look through the ED100 before we had to go out. Nice to see a fairly large and nicely complex sunspots in WL. Ade
  7. I have most of mine stored horizontally on garage storage hooks on the garage wall. Nice and secure and out of harm's way. Ade
  8. Thanks Stu, I'm very pleased with the outcome and it is reassuringly solid, though not exactly lightweight. Thanks Jeremy, these AZ100s deserve to be on a Berlebach so I'm glad that mine is finally able to be mounted where it deserves to be.
  9. Finally, several months since ordering it, my iOptron EQ6 Pier Adaptor has arrived. This means I can finally put the AZ100 where it deserves to be, that is mounted on top of my Berlebach Uni18 tripod. This tripod is set up for my AZ Pro mount and I didn't want to faff with swapping the legs to. Different top plate when I wanted to use the AZ100 so I got the adaptor instead. Here are a couple of shots.
  10. I have a vague recollection that Mike may have sold it on Alan, though I could be mistaken.
  11. I'll also be keen to hear how you get on with these. I've been trying to decide between these and the Maxbright IIs but haven't heard much about these ones. Will keep my eyes peeled for your thoughts on them @Knighty2112.
  12. Yes, reading your thread, everything seems to have fallen nicely into place Steve. I'm only half considering getting it done really as it involves effort and expense, but never say never. Ade
  13. Absolutely Dave, surely you know by now that I'm a fully subscribed member of the Scope Handle Appreciation Society founded by John Handleby (@johninderby). Ade
  14. This is a great idea Steve, I've been toying with the idea of getting the tube of the TAL 100RS I got from Dave (@F15Rules) earlier this year shortened by a local company but get it done in a way that the tube length can be restored,, but haven't yet got around to it. Like @RobertI I shall also be on the lookout for a mangled ED100 or another 100 mm f/9 to follow your lead. Ade
  15. I think the general Rowan recommendation is for the heavier OTA on the left and the then the instructions for the plate suggested that it should be used with the lighter OTA. I have pan handle on the left side and the adjustment plate on the right side which works for me.
  16. I upgraded my ZS66 with a Moonlite as I couldn't initially get on with the stock focuser and got a lot of movement of the FOV when racking in and out. However, I later dismantled the focuser, cleaned it and carefully reassembled it and through careful tweaking managed to get it working nicely before I sold it on with the stock focuser. Moonlite do, or did offer a specific ZS66 flange not sure if it's still the case with their recent announcement and changes, but you could put out a wanted Ad for a Moonlite dual speed focuser. If you decide to go that route then PM me as I may be able to help you with the ZS66 flange. Ade
  17. Thanks for the heads up @JeremyS, I managed to get a brief glimpse between the clouds with my 10x50s. Glad to have seen it, but the forecast is better for tomorrow so I'll try again.
  18. My new Rowan Alt Az adjustment plate was delivered on Thurs and I fitted it to the second clamp yesterday afternoon. As @Stu mentioned previously, it was a bit of a fiddle to make the necessary Altitude and Azimuth adjustments with the mount loaded with two OTAs, but I managed to get the top of an electric pylon (located about 1/4 mile away) centred in both FOVs. Most of the trouble I had was my head telling me to adjust the wrong grub screws and by far too much. Once I got my head around which screws moved the object in which direction and by how much it was then a fairly quick job and being able to see the object move as you made the adjustment was much easier than my previous approach. For the record, my previous bodge approach was to remove everything from one side of the mount, add a shim behind the clamp for Az adjustment and repeat until the Az position was about right, then tilt a bit for Alt, tighten everything up, attach the scope, look through the eyepiece to check alignment before dismantling and repeating. I Performed the alignment with both my longest (102 f/11) and shortest (ZS70 f/5.7) Fracs attached, and used an eyepiece to give reasonably high magnification to get the tubes aligned. I'm expecting a bit of tweaking when I test it on the stars, but hopefully not too much. The adjustment plate is brilliantly engineered and makes what is otherwise a laborious job much much simpler. Ade
  19. M10 and 3/8" are very close in dimension and thread pitch but are not identical. However, I use my 3/8" threaded photo tripod heads on my M10 threaded astro tripods all the time. Just be a bit careful when you start attaching them to ensure they don't get cross-threaded. I've never had a problem with mine. Hope this helps. Ade
  20. I haven't yet spent much time on planetary or doubles as have been too tired to wait for Jupiter and Saturn to clear the rooftops and the weather hasn't been that good of late. But, I'm interested to see how I get on as well Stu. I have got very accustomed to having the Vixen GPD2 or iOptron AZ Pro keep things perfectly centred for me without any intervention for hours on end so when I've put in some serious planetary or doubles time with the AZ100 I'll see if I still feel the same way. You did mention that the adjuster plate was fiddly Stu so I'll let you know how I get on with it. It should be delivered either tomorrow or Friday as I've received a notification from FLO stating that it has been sent. True, tracking will also mean batteries and cables. However, I have an iOptron AZ Pro that does a pretty good auto orientation just needing the user to centre the selected alignment star in the FOV. It is low input from the user, has a built in battery and needs minimal setup and user input BUT is not as stable as the AZ100 and doesn't cope that well with my heavier or longer tube Fracs. I was also under the impression that you could manually slew and let simple tracking take over so am watching for any news of the up and coming beta testing, though I've heard that the Beta Testers have been asked not to write reviews because it is a product in development which is fair enough.
  21. Yes it does, darn those "Tight" Rowan engineering tolerances . The ADM Vixen clamps are nice and are definitely a step up from the stock clamps you get, but I have to confess that the engineering of the Rowan clamps raise the bar to another level. I'm not really complaining as this is supposed to be a lifetime mount for me, but have to confess that my wallet most definitely is protesting somewhat . I'm a bit gutted at how little I've been able to use the AZ100 due to the weather and work, life and general exhaustion getting in the way, which is why I haven't really yet posted my full thoughts about it. However apart from a couple of minor niggles with a small amount of backlash that needs adjusting out on the azimuth axis and the requirement for the adjustment plate to get an object 100% centred in both FOVs of a dual scope setup, which actually needs doing with any dual scope setup, I don't have any real complaints about the AZ100. When I've been using it, I haven't really missed the lack of tracking and when using the slow-mo controls its so effortless that the mount just seems to disappear in the same way that a well aligned tracking EQ mount does. The bonus with the AZ100 and Nexus DSC combination is that it operates in absolute silence, I can slew to and locate targets much more quickly than any EQ mount I've ever used and don't wake the neighbours when slewing from one side of the sky to the other and a big plus is that I don't have to faff around with any cables at all. Whilst I do generally take the time to level the mount and tripod before aligning the Nexus DSC, and use a sprit level to ensure the OTA is vertical at the start of alignment to keep things as accurate as possible, I tried aligning without levelling and just using my eye to point the OTA vertically the other night and targets were still pretty close to the centre of the FOV of my 17.5mm Morpheus, even when using the Altair 102 f/11 which is pretty impressive. It interfaces with SkySafari perfectly and the catalogues on the Nexus DSC are pretty exhaustive. Its such a good pairing of the Nexus DSC and AZ100 that I have to keep reminding myself that they are products from two different manufacturers as they work so well together. Before getting the AZ100, I had just assumed that I would want the GoTo and tracking functionality when its released because I've got used to an EQ GoTo, but having spent a little bit of time with the AZ100, I'm actually not so sure that I will (wallet utters a huge sigh of relief 😀). Ade
  22. As mentioned in the "Postman" thread, I did some experimenting with a standard ADM clamp and milk bottle shims on the "other side" of my mount to see if I could get good Alt & Az alignment in my two solar scopes at the same time as I didn't want to keep making adjustments when switching from WL to Ha viewing. Whilst I could achieve that with the ADM Clamp, I'm sad to admit that due to the tighter tolerances in the bolt holes on a second Rowan clamp that was delivered yesterday that there is sadly insufficient wiggle room in the bolt holes to get the subject in the centre of the FOV of both telescopes simultaneously and so I've had to dig deep and put in an order for the Rowan Alt-Az adjustment plate . I tried with the Lunt LS60DS and little ZS70 in white light at lunchtime and even with the sun in the centre of the FOV in one scope, it was right at the top of the FOV in the second scope which I found irritating so decided to get the plate as this is supposed to be the One Mount that Rules Them All in my household so I figured that I might as well do it right. Strictly speaking, if the sun was centred in the FOV of the ZS70 then one of the fuzzy reflex images was nearly centred in H-a through the Lunt. However, in H-a only one of the three visible reflex images in the Lunt shows nice sharp detail and as this was right at the top of the FOV, even after using up all of the Alt wiggle room around the bolts, this was a deal breaker so I caved in and purchased the adjustment plate. Ideally, I want to be able to use the AZ100 for higher magnification solar observation in WL and H-a with binoviewers on both setups so near perfect alignment will be essential to achieve this. Hopefully it will arrive before the weekend, though looking at the forecast the day of arrival probably makes little difference as the forecast isn't great.
  23. The haul for this month arrived from FLO this morning. Two Oklop bags, one for my eyepieces and another for counterweights and a second Rowan saddle for the AZ100.
  24. I think RW Cephei might be a potential culprit for the red star as it's in the right part of the sky.
  25. I'd second this. I have all 3x BCOs and actually have a bino pair of the 18mm which I use for solar binoviewing. Cracking eyepiece for not a lot of cash secondhand.
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