RT65CB-SWL

Hi @Fintan and welcome to SGL.

Thank you @FLO for letting us at SGL know what goes in or on behind the scenes at TeleVue HQ! 🔭

Nice!

Can’t say whether I have seen it with mine, which is the 1.25” No harm in contacting Hotech. Please do report back, if you do and get a reply.

Hi @SaserPuss / Jerry and welcome to SGL.

If you have a smartphone or small tablet, then ‘AstroHopper’ is a web-based tracker. It is written by SGL’er @Artik Honourable mentions of other apps that I use are: ‘StarHopPro’ by SGL’er @Kevdog ‘PushToCam’ (sorry, I cannot remember the author). I have them installed on my iPhone.

Apologies in advance if I appear negative. If your ETX-125 motors carry on being problematic, you may have to ‘bite the bullet’ and de-fork it. It can be done, but requires a bit of effort and patience to separate the OTA from the forks. They are good scopes optically, let down by poor quality drives and nylon/plastic gears in the drive train.

Hi @Dibp and welcome to SGL. If you have not done so already, then download Stellarium. The PC/laptop versions are free. Smartphone/tablet versions are paid for. I use Stellarium on my PC and laptops and SkySafari on my iPhone and iPad. Also lets you see beyond or through the clouds in ‘real’ time… or in the past and future.

Good idea @Stephen196360… but here’s my thought. Would it better to add some ‘pads’ to the threaded bar for when you are on a lawn/grass surface? (similar to what are found on office chairs or mobile cranes and trucks with Hiab or Palfinger cranes have fitted), as it will prevent your OTA sinking in to soft ground. I place the plastic lid from a used Jaffa Cake tube or custard powder tin under each leg when I use my camera/video tripod or monopod when doing photography on a soft surface for that reason. And another thought… I don’t know whether you observe/view from a tarmac/concrete area, but it generally is not a good idea, as it will release the stored heat and may cause thermal issues at the e/p. Not only that, it will prevent your eyepieces or other accessories getting damaged if they fall out of the eyepiece port when they hit the ground. Please accept my apologies in advance if you knew the above suggestions already.

I purchased a Wi-Fi camera for my ‘scopes. I could not get the damn thing to connect. I tried a cheap Tesco CMOS webcam many years ago and a Phillips Toucam ll and although I did not do any imaging at that time, the views certainly made it a great tool for outreach events. Only downside is the length of the USB cables. I now have a secondhand ZWO ASI120MC, so I am looking forward to see how that performs.

Hi @RFaber / Rasmus (plus son) and welcome to SGL. In my opinion a ‘Dobsonian’ would be the best value. With larger ‘Newtonian’ you would need a very stable mount and that may cost the same as or more than the OTA. Another point worth mentioning is the finder and focusser do get to some awkward angles when mounted on an EQ mount.

If you have about a six inch square missing from the body of your T-shirt, then that will be my free lens cloth! 😉

Nice!

I don’t regret buying either. I have not done an in depth comparison or a non-biased opinion between the two. Some of the things that I have noted so far are: the SV is a little bit taller than the TV. the ‘extra’ lengths… ie 7 and 8mm. wider FOV… 56deg. [SV] v 50deg. [TV] the twist-grip for changing focal lengths on the SV is about twice the height of the TV - the diameter is about the same. the SV twist-grip is ‘smoother’ when changing to other focal lengths than that of the TV. build quality… the TV is solid. I can hear slight rattle if I shake the SV. I think other SGL’ers [and astro-forums] have commentated on this issue, but I don’t think it’s going to disintegrate or come apart that easily… unless I do something drastic or stupid to it. both are optically very good. I find the relief isn’t to bad either. I wear glasses/spectacles, but not when observing. Some have said the SV & TV planetary zoom e/p’s are a bit tight in that department. the SV is about two-thirds the price [or less] than the TV.

Hi @jp1977 and welcome to SGL. Congratulations on bagging a freebie ‘scope! As per what @bosun21 suggests, post an image of the manufacturers label and SGL’ers can advise what you may need next. For aligning the finder with the OTA, do it during the daytime on a distant object, (ie a TV or FM radio aerial/antenna), and preferably outside in the garden, as setting up inside the house and looking through a pane of glass my cause unnecessary artefacts and reflections, etc. Wishing you and family clear skies & 73’s.