2STAR

Beyond my simple mechanical no go mind Marci, but its interesting to read and I look forward to seeing it all in action on a visit to Winscar or elsewhere, good stuff mate eric

The battery will do over 4 hour easy outdoor cold evening.

I have seen through it !! its absolutely fantastic, Damian just needs to make some steps now to complete the job lol

Hi again, any thoughts on what I should set my slew limit to when I have my focal reducer/t connector or visual back and atik infinity camera connected, I have it at 70 deg at moment, but yet to use out in the field so to speak eric

Yes, mine is exactly the same as yours, i get the same movement as you do, been like that a while now but hasn't seemed to get worse, and tracking etc appear to be unaffected. Eric

Being relatively new to astronomy and over 65yr in age , EAA suits me fine, GOTO mount/Ipad scope control/Laptop Camera control, no straining at the ep, easy quick set up, and colour images for me to look back on and show to family & friends, ok, so not works of art or even very good, but they are images lol. ( and many extremely difficult or even impossible for my eyes to see via just the ep What I do know from reading on SGL & other related sites is that when it comes to equipment etc discussion, each to their own as it does appear quite a subjective matter lol regards Eric

WOW !!!

At last John, everything is now 100% with the evo , just need the weather now

YKSE, I replicated what I saw in your photo, it appears to have solved my problem , many thanks for helping I appreciate the time and effort you made to assist me with this problem. Eric Member WADAS

Many thanks, I will give this a try & let you know,

hi again John, did you have any fuss with raci when aligning with your scope, I just cannot seem to get it spot on with both adjustment screws tight with my scope, I seem to need the raci Finder to move further left toward my scope but the adjustment screws won't screw in any furtherI am finding this nearly as difficult as that handset holder !!!!!! .( well not quite lol)

Not sure if I mentioned that the handset holder was not compatable with tripod legs , flo sorted it for me by sending correct piece out to me. Eric

Just a mention on 'goto' scopes, as stated there is divided opinion and I can only say from my own beginners experience that the system I developed really did help me locate and identify quite a few night skies wonders!, on a couple of sessions I would use 'goto' to find my planned objects for the evening viewing, on the next couple of sessions I dont use 'goto' I would use a Star Map and knowing approx where and at what time the objects I had viewed previously on 'goto' were located I began to find them by ' star hopping',so much so that I only use goto now to find something new to explore in the night sky and then making notes I repeat the process as mentioned, this way I get the best of both worlds not much frustration and the ability to locate via a star chart at the same time.

I am a beginner and joined my local society (WADAS) last month, which is solid advice for any beginner, find and join your nearest society, reading up on astronomy is essential, but not as essential as choosing your kit to start observing, look around, listen to others, do some research(LOTS), look on SGL, and then decide what you want your telescope etc to do for you. I have found that the discussions for a starter in astronomy on what telescope and to a lesser extent what eyepieces to buy is very subjective and can be confusing, yes there are basics to consider, but at the end of the day its your enjoyment and interest that matters and what you feel comfortable with. I eventually want to get into astrophotography, but not for a couple of years, so its out of my mind at the moment, the number of nights we actually get outside in this country makes it sensible to just start with observing and learning something each session by yourself or in the company of more experienced observers, its trial and error but fantastic!! when you have a bit of success and your confidence starts to develop.

I was given good advice regarding turn left at oriion, buy the copy with 'ring binders' pages stay open better when outdoor .

Just attached the RACI finder scope, waiting for reasonable weather to align it . Eric

Hi again John, The Celestron RACI 9X50 Illuminated finder scope just arrived today, Celestron must be the worst company in the world regarding lack of assembly instructions!! for their products!! Eric

Hi John, great night at winscar last night, I wasn't at all optimistic as I was driving down the M1 motorway in driving rain ,spray and gusty wind, however, what a pleasant view on arrival, to find Milky Way and all clear sky, even I could see m31 with naked eye !!. 2 hours of great viewing with 4 other members of WADAS. The evo 9.25 showed great potential for use when I am more familiar with it, great scope no doubt. The saga of the handset holder finally sorted, I had received the wrong assembly piece that the handset sits in, no wonder we couldn't 'click' it into place lol. FLO have sent me another and I have returned the 'wrong' bit showing obvious signs of wear and tear after numerous people had made numerous attempts to fit them together lol.

The plastic RDF has to go John, my old eyes just don't get on with it, I have just ordered the Celestron RACI 9X50 from FLO, that was a really good gesture they made to you when you got yours complimentary lol, mine has cost £102 with post !!, still FLO price was as cheap as anywhere else. Being retired I have time on my hands, today I have set up, & taken down the OTA/MOUNT/TRIPOD no less than 8 times lol , I found marking some points on the mount with a bit of white ducting tape made it a lot easier for me, I am now practicing in the dark which is more realistic !!. The advice you gave regarding lowering the OTA in from vertical was appreciated, I was a little nervy at first but confident now every time. Holding the mount handle whilst releasing the manual alt clutch is a must also. We are hoping (weather permitting) to travel down to our darkish site at winscar tomorrow 8/12/15 where the scope will get its first real outing, Cant wait to get observing, it seems like an eternity since we had any clear sky at all here. Regards Eric ps: FLO are sending me a new and assembled handset holder, its looking like its us old fools here are no good at jigsaws lol !!!!!!!!

Just been practicing and messing about with evo to familiarise myself, ,good advice John regarding sliding OTA in from vertical , lot easier cheers Eric Where are the clear skies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks again John, no luck, tried, hands are sore lol, thrown both bits on settee, it just will not click in, I will drop FLO a email for Monday Positioned exactly as your pics , but no joy, anyway, the scope etc all look really good and looking forward to some clear skies for us to get down to our local dark site at Winscar Reservoir. Will drop you a line when sorted, and again many thanks. Eric Member WADAS Ps: No one else from our group has the scope lol, just my luck.

Hi again John, I have had 4 people 'have a go' with no success, general opinion is about the same that the plastic mould pinpointed in the pics is obstructing the holder from clicking into place. I will wait until I hear from you before contacting FLO, just in case we may have it wrong !! Eric

Hi John, have taken pic of the said piece, is yours the same please, there seems to me to be a piece of plastic mould out of place. Eric