RT65CB-SWL

You probably may experience some dew forming around the secondary mirror if coming from a warm room inside the house to outside where the air is cooler. Allowing the OTA to acclimatise for a few minutes before viewing, unless stored in a garage/shed/outbuilding. Adding a dew shield is a must accessory if you own a Makustov, SCT, Kletsov, Maksutov-Newtonian, open truss tube, etc., though these are/can be more expensive than the conventional Newtonian/Dobsonian OTA. I allow thirty to forty minutes for my Mak. & SCT before viewing to acclimatise with a dew dew shield attached. When I have finished viewing and back inside, I leave all caps off and let them dry out naturally before refitting while I am resting/sleeping. If you smoke, try and place in a room where the smoke/fumes will not interfere or settle upon the optical surfaces. You can get heated dew bands that wrap around the outside of the OTA near the primary mirror, and eyepieces, etc., or for Mak's. and SCT's, etc., heated or un-heated dew shields that wrap around the OTA near the meniscus cell [Mak.] or corrector plate [SCT].

Hi @bayarealondoner / Chris and welcome to SGL. +1 as above as said by @PeterCPC. I used to own a Tasco 114 many years ago, then upgraded to a TeleVue 70mm refractor, Meade ETX105 & Celestron C6/SCT-xlt. After many years, I still have all three ‘scopes after giving away the ‘114 to a neighbours son, as he was doing a school project about the Moon. Above are images of my three ‘scopes as mentioned. Should you purchase the C8, two additional items are needed... a dew shield... this is a must have as Mak’s & SCT’s are notorious dew magnets. an f6.3 FF/FR (field flattener/focal reducer) for asto-imaging. Other things, like a sturdy mount, polar-aligned, patience, etc., are also part of the list. Though for imaging DSO’s you may have to think about a wide field refractor. My ETX105 looks different from the Meade one, because several years ago, it fell from a mount after the dovetail bar snapped and damaged two of three mounting points and cracked the rear ABS back. Luckily it was on grass/turf, otherwise it would have ended up as a landfill statistic.

Hi @Jm1973 and welcome to SGL. Mak’s & SCT’s are great for lunar and planetary views, though they do have a few downsides... they are notorious dew magnets so a dew shield is a must have. they require a minimum of thirty minutes to acclimatise to the outside air temperature. narrow field of view for some DSO targets. long focal length = long exposure time if planning on astro-imaging now or later. Some of the upsides are... short and compact. great space saver. smaller ones can be used for other outdoor activities/pursuits. Below is an image of my Celestron C6/SCT-xlt and a ‘re-modded’ Meade ETX105. Since this image, I have sold the Vixen GP, and I now use either an AOK-AYO or Tele-Optic Giro. Another image of my ETX105 in its ‘portable/lightweight’ guise which is also airplane cabin friendly.

Hi @falcrum and welcome to SGL. I understand your frustration and what you say. I started this wonderful hobby in my early teens, (I am now in my late 50's), with a 40mm refractor. After owning a few other 'poor quality' refractors and reflectors, I purchased a TeleVue Ranger... (f/l: 480mm / obj: 70mm) during mid-1998 (images below). I took it to Varna, BG for the 1999 solar eclipse and it still gets a lot of use. <--- Tele-Optic Giro <--- Universal Astronomics DwarfStar <---Benbo ballhead

+1 for the UHC. I have the Explore Scientific... (because I like the pretty outer boxes they come supplied in). Another useful filter and my most used filter is the Baader Neodymium. I often call/refer to it the 'Swiss Army knife' filter.

Hi @Krakon and welcome to SGL. I am assuming you live in the Royal County... if "yes" there are there are few local astronomy clubs/societies in the county and neighbouring counties, though 99.9% are holding the astro. meetings via Zoom. I have attached a link of astronomy clubs/societies within a 50miles radius of Reading... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/locator.html

Hi @Shimonu you could also try https://www.astroboot.eu/AstroBoot

Variable polarising filters are a godsend. I have 1.25" and 2".

Hi @starklutz and welcome to SGL. A parfocal ring simply attaches to the nosepiece of your chosen e/p's and held in place with a grub screw or set screw. Some e/p brands are parfocal throughout the series, i.e. TeleVue Plossl's... e.g. they are particular useful if you have Plossl e/p's of different brands and saves having to re-tune the focus if there is a big difference where they reach focus. If it is say <1mm then no need to use one, but at >4mm then parfocal rings may prove useful. Out of interest, which port of your ETX125 are you using? - I found there was a focus difference between the rear port for the visual back and the e/p port on top of my ETX105, before I re-modded it and a parfocal ring helped.

Hi again @Joe beaumont. Depending on your 'scope and budget, the BST Starguider series: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces.html are good value and have a good following by SGL'ers. Next and possibly the cheapest, is the Vixen NPL series: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/vixen-eyepieces/vixen-npl-eyepieces.html. If you don't mind a slightly narrower field of view, Orthoscopic's, (a.k.a. Ortho's), are good planetary and lunar eyepieces. I have two 1.25" Circle-T and a 0.965" If you want wider field of view than what I have mentioned above, then TeleVue Delite's or Nagler's https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tele-vue-eyepieces.html is what I would choose. They also hold their value pretty well, (about 2/3 of RRP if you decide to sell and upgrade at a later date). Alternatively, you could start with an 8-24mm zoom. My recommendation, though I don't own one, would be this one: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/baader-planetarium/baader-hyperion-zoom-eyepiece.html then from there find which or closest fixed focal length you like and then start/build your collection.

For all the Jeff Wayne's - The War of the Worlds fans that replied and reacted to my posting/topic earlier, there are two remix albums available (CD only) as well... For The New Generation album, this is what Jeff Wayne said in 2012...

Hi @Wayneman and welcome to SGL. Oh gosh! 😱 ...another ETX with the 'infamous' gear issue. If you cannot get hold of the replacement drive gears, you can give the ETX90 a new lease of life. The OTA can be remved from the fork arms with patience and some brute force, then you can attach a Vixen type dovetail on the underside, but don't overtighten, otherwise you risk the mounting points becoming loose in the ABS plastic flip-mirror housing. Though it does mean sourcing another mount and tripod, which is easier to obtain. Below are a few past and present images of my ETX105, before and after a 're-mod'... and video showing removal of an ETX from the fork arms...

For me personally... yes! ...as it screws directly to the backplate with an appropriate SCT adapter ring (shown below) and peace of mind. <--- this is the Baader ETX-SCT adapter ring that I use with my ETX105. <--- this is the SCT adapter ring for the 127 Mak's and available from FLO.

I use a 2"/SCT star diagonal with my ETX105...

Hi @HutchStar and welcome to SGL. I do most of my observing from the communal garden or parking area of my home. If I do go away for a weekend break to visit my father and step-mother or elsewhere, I will pack my ETX105 or TeleVue Ranger and a few e/p's plus one of three alt-az mount's and tripod.

Jeff Wayne's musical version of 'The War of the Worlds - The New Generation' on vinyl LP to accompany the 'original'.

To be honest @Dimitry don't know, as I rarely use a Barlow lens; (mine is a Klee 2.8x); in my ETX105 or Celestron C6/SCT-xlt, but it does get used in my TeleVue Ranger. I do have an Astro-Engineering 'MagniMax' which is 1.6x and this screws in to nosepiece of my eyepieces to give me that little bit extra.

Hi @Dimitry and welcome to SGL. As mentioned above, a Maksutov or SCT will serve you well for lunar and planetary viewing. They do however have a few downsides. they are notorious dew magnets, so a dew shield, either ready made or DIY is a must have accessory. require time to cooldown before use. I give mine a minimum of thirty minutes [minimum] to acclimatise to the ambient air outside. narrow field of view. long focal length, i.e. f/10 or over. Below is an image of my 're-modded' ETX105. It has has focal length of 1470mm @ f/14.

Well done!

Hi @Ryaen and welcome to SGL. +1 above, as per @andrew s. To add to the confusion of which Barlow lens... I have a Klee 2.8x Barlow and a 1.6x Astro-Engineering 'MagniMax' that screws into the filter thread of the eyepiece.

Hi @Rishabh and welcome to SGL. Looking at your attached images it does kook if it the collimation is out of sync. I think you are supposed to see the mirror clips in the reflection on the secondary. Did you have the camera/phone dead centre? At the back of the OTA there are three sets of two screws to adjust. One of the screws does the adjustment and one does the locking. Though I am not sure which is which. You will need a collimation tool: a 'cheshire' collimator, a collimation cap or a laser collimator. (note: if using a laser collimator, you will need to make sure that it too is collimated). A collimation cap fits in the eyepiece holder and should be more or less accurate. A 'cheshire' collimator is usually the preferred tool by many die-hard amatuers. There are tutorials here on SGL and elsewhere on the internet. Search for 'Astro-Baby collimation' ...or something like that. Other SGL'ers will advise what is the best method, as I have two catadioptrics and one refractor.

Hi @turboscrew and welcome to SGL.

If you remove the finder scope from the bracket, there maybe a groove. In this groove, normally resides an 'O' ring. If it is missing, then you can either purchase them from DIY stores or online, or use some electrical/insulation tape wound around it a few times to the desired thickness.

+1 one for it being a favourite binocular object.

Hi @vhscar and welcome to SGL. Depending what you want to observe depends on what 'scope you choose. Unfortunately no 'scope does all. For visual and no-frills, then a Dobsonian maybe the only 'scope you may ever need. Whilst you are deciding what 'scope to purchase, then get yourself a copy of this book... Turn Left at Orion.