Oldfort

Through my PST, I reckon the proms look better, but gong is some way ahead on surface detail.

Without pictures, it's hard to say, but I'd guess £400- 600.

Really great views this morning.  Large prominences to E/ESE plus considerable surface detail and filaments.

Shame about the cloud, and wow, is it cold (for the time of year).

Just checked.  I only have this size with a button head, which is probably not what's needed.

VilleM

If these are hard to find in Finland, I've probably got one that I could send for the cost of postage.

Back in print. Direct from USA to UK in about a week. 
 

The mirror is locked down to protect it during shipping.  For ordinary day to day movement it is not needed, and I think only the C14 has the mirror locking screws.h However I think all the Meade SCTs have locking screws, but again only for shipping.

Covid induced boredom and a few glasses of wine have a lot to answer for in the spending department.  Saturday night is the worst because you have to wait so long to get whatever it is you've bought.

There are these suppliers

https://greentree-eng.co.uk/product/product-protection-finishing

https://mocap.co.uk/cat-caps-friction.html

I have this little manfrotto jobby.  It’s spring loaded but it can be locked. 

I have tried to do the same, but with fewer lights.  I'd say you have a good result.  I can't really comment on the processing as I am a novice in that field.

I'd guess that high cloud was your problem.  A couple of nights ago I could see Rigel and Betelguese clearly, but I couldn't see Orion's belt, let alone M42, with 10x50 bins.

The following night they were all as clear as a bell, and I'm in a bortle 8 area.

I have one of these.  It's a 10-24 UNC, and quite a snug fit.

There's a thread on here about bolts and fixings with plenty of suggestions for UK suppliers.  My first port of call for this sort of thing would be Modelfixings.co.uk

Or this might be better

https://www.digikey.co.uk/en/products/filter/screws-bolts/572?s=N4IgjCBcoOwAxVAYygMwIYBsDOBTANCAPZQDaIAzABxgAsYMIAuoQA4AuUIAyuwE4BLAHYBzEAF9CYAEwRoIFJAw4CxMiABsjFiA5deg0RKlUKiBWix5CJSOXrS4VbW06Qe-YWMkgYtAJzmisrWanaUGtJ%2BAKzMrvqeRuLJQA

If you could find a used Televue 3-6mm Nagler zoom in your budget, that would be a great combo.

I loved Steinicke's book on the origins of the NGC (but it may be too dry for some ), so getting the detail on Herschel was an easy decision, although not bed time reading., due to the weight.

Direct from Sky Publishing to UK.

35 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Thought I'd add as I have a mk1 I made my own version of the new style mounting bar. 

Interesting.  What have you used for the spacers?

The plates are not threaded, so the bolt just pushes through.  Just find the smallest hole that works, without forcing things.  It helps to know if you are dealing with imperial or metric, which you do, but if not you can figure this from the threading.

BTW, I should have mentioned that the Axminster gauges are a bit flimsy, just to manage your expectations.

Good luck

On the C8 the front and back fasteners are 8-32.  For the edge 11, it's hard to tell from the photos, but I remeber being surprised to find all the holes were the same in my C8 (except those holding the end parts to the tube).

I have found this gauge quite useful (even though it's not very robust) and cheap.  It has holes for the diameters ar well as the thread sizes, metric and imperial.

https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-4-piece-universal-thread-gauge-set-102551

On the C8, the fasteners are 8-32.  The edge 11 looks the same.
There are a few suppliers in the UK for Imperial sizes, eg Accu and Westfield fasteners. 

I'm now not so sad about it being cloudy where I am.

21 minutes ago, JamesF said:

That so sounds like a euphemism.  Like "one sandwich short of a picnic" or "one can short of a six-pack"

James

Yes, I think I've lost my plossls.

15 minutes ago, Space Hopper said:

My Nexus DSC must be worth a mention.

I agree, especially when coupled with an AZ100.  It's so easy to set up, and accurate, so I know that I'm looking in the right place.  With Bortle 8 skies, I know that if the target is not visible, it's not because I'm looking in the wrong place.

9 minutes ago, Ags said:

I am proud to say I have the complete set of Type 3s!

🤣

And I'm just one short of the full set of Apollos.

I’m a bit puzzled because my gear transferred across automatically.  Or maybe it was logging into Livesky that enabled it.