Cleetus

Setting up the SXP2 permanently last night I experienced poor pointing accuracy after initial setup. Aligned about four stars using a 12.5 mm eyepiece with cross hairs so confident the alignment stars were accurately centred in the eyepiece. I then started to test the pointing accuracy after GOTO. Sadly, this was way off for the rest of the night by about a third as seen through the finder - so slightly over 2 degrees every time. I think I've checked the obvious possibilities here - location, time, and polar alignment wasn't an issue - but there must be something else I'm missing. Last night was my second attempt, the first showed similar results.

Wise decision. Lesson learned.

Might do that as it is probably the easiest option - a bag of decorative stones or small cobbles should fill the hole nicely. Also, was thinking of installing a softer floor in the obsy as standing on a hard surface can be fatiguing after a while and, hopefully, will help when I drop stuff. I'm a bit behind schedule at the moment as the obsy was damaged during the recent winds so will now have to sort that out.

It is but very easy to overthink things too when the simplest route is very often the best. For ages I was deliberating on whether to go for the J bolts in the wet concrete or wait for it to cure and use bolts and resin. Another thing was deciding to go normal concrete or quick setting. I chose the normal because I didn’t want it going off before I was finished and I mixed it one bag after the other. Apparently, quick setting concrete has more of a tendency to crack I set up the telescope on a tripod and experimented with various tripod heights before deciding on 6 inches below ground. I factored in that, mostly, the telescope would be pointed in a southerly direction. Also had to be aware of the telescope hitting the inside of the dome during slewing and that I needed to keep Polaris visible despite the roof apex. So, yep, a few balls to juggle there.

New pier install I bought a 1200mm pier from White Star (Cornwall) some time ago. I had it delivered just as I moved house and, as there was a lot of house renovations to carry out, didn't get a chance to install it until recently. When I could devote some time to it I decided to paint it black using a paint especially formulated for galvanised surfaces. I chose black because the Vixen mount is white and I like the idea of contrasting colours. Having ordered the 1200mm height I slightly regretted not opting for the shorter version instead. I hadn't taken into account the height would be increased by a further 50mm with the obligatory adapter plate. Moreover, I like sitting while observing and I had been considering a new, short tube design, telescope. It wasn't a problem though as the pier could be installed below ground level so I didn't worry too much about it. Just wanted to give a big thanks to Greg Sanders at White Star who was incredibly helpful and made two 3d printed adapters to ensure my Vixen sat snugly in the Pulsar adapter. Very happy with the pier and the customer service was above and beyond. When you buy the pier you also receive a few pages of instructions, with all the necessary fittings, covering all aspects of installation and Greg is always on hand to answer any queries you might have. I installed four wheels on the pier when it was indoors to make it easier to move about. For those not wishing to dig holes and mess about with concrete then this is an option - wheeling it in and out of a shed or garage. The pier was to be located on a small patio, a step up from a much larger recently installed patio and it would be placed roughly in the centre. I live in a bungalow and my roofline is very low as the design of the roof construction is such that is impossible to stand up anywhere in the loft without hitting your head. I also live on top of a hill and there are many other bungalows in the street. From an astro point of view that's all very good. However, as luck would have it, at the very location where the pier was to be installed, the apex of the roof was in a direct line of sight with Polaris and lowering the pier too much would mean a more awkward process when it came to setting up the equatorial as Polaris would be obscured. First job was cutting the slabs slightly bigger than pier's footprint. Not too difficult as the slabs are not mega thick but a mask and goggles are a requirement here. Having done this I removed the patio sub scructure and started digging soil. Taking everything into account I decided to lower the pier about 6 inches below surrounding patio so I dug down approx 20 inches and poured in 8 bags of ready mixed concrete. I chose the ready mix as it is just more convenient than mixing sand/cement/ballast and as it is only a small area the extra cost is minimal. Filled the hole until it was 6 inches from the top. I had made a template using 12mm MDF and I used four galvanised J bolts, 200mm M12, with the hooks turned towards the centre and supported above and below by nuts and washers to keep them at 90 degrees. When pressing template down into concrete I jigged it about a bit to ensure the wet concrete completely covered the hook of the J's. I made sure the template was level before leaving it to set. I didn't obsess here as I am not a fully paid up member to the one cubic metre, rebar, 100% level brigade. I'm all for taking the easy route if I think it will do and, as I am visual only, I didn’t bother isolating the concrete from the surrounding slabs unless being 6 inches below the surrounding slabs counts in this respect. After three days I undid the nuts and removed the template. There were a few minor hollows in the concrete but nothing to stress about and the nuts holding the J bolts upright were completely immersed in the concrete. I placed the pier over the bolts and tightened down with nuts and washers. Bubble levels indicate we are tiny bit out but nothing to stress about. It's an equatorial anyway so levelling wasn't a priority. Set up a 4 inch refractor and had a look at a few stars in between the clouds. Gave the pier a whack or two with my hand and I'm pleased to report that whatever movement there was very quickly settled down. I'm renovating a dome at the moment for the pier and telescope but if it was to be located outside then I would need to do something about the hole the pier sits in so that rainwater doesn't collect in the bottom. Next job is to put the dome back together, place a Mewlon 210 on the pier, and then gaze at the gathering clouds.

Thanks for posting and welcome to SGL. maybe this could be the start of something??!! It was the great fireball in the spring of 1969 that bit me.

About 12 minutes past 6 this evening I saw an unusually bright meteor heading from south east to north west. Magnitude would have been -5 or -6. Observed from Essex/Herts borders. Brightest one I've ever seen. Anyone else?

Hi Jeremy, I've just read your piece about renovating your dome in the BAA. I just wanted to say I have been looking into replacing the wheels myself and you can now obtain the proper wheel size with 8mm bore (instead of the 6mm) from Castors on line. However, these are 24mm in width rather than 20mm. That should not make any difference. Interesting that you chose to double up on the roof wheels - I was thinking of using slightly bigger roof wheels, if possible, and keeping with original size for the side wheels. How is the rotation now? Mine has been a bit sticky for some time which is why I am considering larger wheels. https://www.castors-online.co.uk/product/bil-50mm-grey-thermo-plastic-rubber-wheel-with-8mm-ball-bearing-bore-50kg-4796

That looks very nice - it doesn't look like an add-on at all. So, if you wanted to use on the Mewlon then the adapter is necessary?

Never thought about it much to be honest. Mine was permanently set up so it was on very rare occasions I actually went through the set up process. When I did have to I would not switch on until I had loosened Dec and RA, centred Polaris and then move the tube down to roughly parallel to the ground. Tighten the RA and Dec drives, switch on and just do a two star alignment. Always got very good goto's. After the session I would PARK and the telescope went to its HOME position ready to continue the next clear night. I know of some people who would use spirit levels to ensure the tube was precisely horizontal. No need to do this. All the stuff it wanted to do before alignment like finding level and home I didn't bother with. Worked a treat for twenty years or so.

Control Panel facing south. No need to let it do the dance, level north etc- just do a two star alignment.

I am in the process of renovating my old Pulsar at the moment and interested in what others have done. In my previous house I could never prevent water ingress underneath the walls. Silicone was useless so this time I was thinking of a damp proof course running all along the bottom. Also, it’s a little trickier this time as the observatory will be located on an Indian Sandstone patio and, for those not in the know, these slabs are riven, not smooth. The other difficulty is I live on the top of a hill so it gets windy and I have yet to work out how to best anchor the observatory down. Might just bolt the walls to the slabs and hope for the best. This week I hope to cut some of the slabs in the shape of the pier base. Plan to dig down a foot and lay some concrete. A foot should be sufficient as I am visual only. The octagonal cardboard cut out is the shape of the pier base. Change of colour from green to blue.

One thing I would urge you to consider is the addition of the Vixen tray for that tripod. It seems to make the whole rig somewhat more robust and it's useful for the odd eyepiece or two. For Vixen, the tray is cheap as chips. Why not an SB10 for only £900!!!!

Yes. When balanced properly the Dec can swing from one side to the other with a simple finger push, whereas, the RA needs pushing all the way. I wouldn't describe it as stiff but certainly not as free as the Dec. The Tak puck is causing me some concern though as I'm paranoid about the tube slipping down. I'm sure it is safe but was going to ask what others used in this situation. Maybe something with a double clamp? Don't want to remove the fixed dovetail as it involves removing the mirror first. So that rules out any rings.

Vixen on Vixen. That's all the Vixen I have.

Vixen on White Star pier.

That's a hell of a saving but you are 100% correct. You will regret it!

Don't forget Bresser has 20% discount today and tomorrow.

I know you were thinking about the SXP2 so if you can get the AXJ for less than 5k then it would be silly not to go for it. Same as the SXP2 but bigger and more capacity? Will it come with the wireless unit or the SB10?

No manufacturer name on those eyepieces - they were bought when purchasing telescope - and were selected for their focal length. Two of them had 0.965 barrels so it was long ago. The Kellner was like looking through a Biro refill and if it wasn't for the Ortho I may well have given up with the hobby but that eyepiece showed me what was possible with better kit.

These days I will buy: Eyepieces: Televue only. Telescopes: Takahashi only. Mountings/tripods: Televue, Vixen and Berlebach only. Diagonals: Televue and Baader only. Accessories: Whatever fits the bill. An accessory for a Tak telescope will be a Tak accessory if available. So yes, definitely will only buy big stuff from above manufacturers. I guess everyone’s opinion will differ and the cost of certain equipment will be a deciding factor. Also, there are some manufacturers I wouldn't touch with a barge pole because of past experience. I started out observing with a 6mm Kelner eyepiece, a 12.5mm Huygens and a 25mm Orthoscopic. The first two were unbelievably bad and that's part of my rationale for only buying TV these days. Of course there are many wonderful eyepieces other than TV but I'll never get to look through them.

Thanks Jeremy. My dome is approx 25 years old so I haven't done bad with the wheels really. Bought it at Kelling Heath. The walls came in three parts which I thought was a good idea. I thought you had sanded it down as it looked so bleak in that picture. I would imagine Pulsar have now ironed out some of the kinks with the originals. Looking forward to getting everything in place for the autumn when the planets come back.

Looks really good. The second picture is what it looked like before doing anything or after sanding down? How did you apply the finish? Are those hasps original? I replaced mine with a pair of galvanised hasps as the Pulsar ones rusted quite quickly. I have now decided to change all the wheels on my dome as they are almost worn. Will also have to think about the shutter as it can be quite sticky at times. There is no pulley on mine so might invest in one of those as well.

Yes, it was Holly. I had the same idea and chose a colour which I thought was closest to the Pulsar green. When I finished painting it looked lighter in colour but I liked it. Perhaps you could ask if they would supply a sample?

Found a picture but unfortunately it has me in it! Anyway, I bought two tins of the MSP for about £70. Slightly lighter green than existing and chose the matt finish.