Knighty2112

19 minutes ago, v4cascade said:

Yes, that is very different! 

As another member said there is no right or wrong answer. There are pros and cons to both. The 130 is compact and easily maneuverable but the 8" aperture is hard to ignore. Why not both!  

I have a 10” newtonian (not a dob) however I rarely use as it is a PITA to lug out and set up, so mostly use one of my 3 (soon to be 4) ‘fracs or my C8 SCT on either a manual mount or goto mount. Also as I live in an urban area when I do get the 10” newt out I don’t see much more than what my C8 SCT can show me anyway, so another reason it rarely gets used at home. If I were at a dark sky site then the 10” newt would trump, but for urban skies the 10” is wasted really, so gathers dust mostly in a spare room. So you may find that the scope that is easier/ quicker to set up and running is normally the one that you will use the majority of the time. You are right there is no wrong answer really, as each scope has its own merits, but in reality if a scope is a pain to set up then it normally ends up not been used much, and just gathers dust where it is stored. If like most of us you stick at astronomy you’ll probably end up trying quite a few different scopes over time, and eventually work out which one suits your needs for ease of set up versus the views you get from it. Sometimes there’s a trade off on certain things here, hence why you may eventually end up owning numerous scopes that can cover quite a lot of bases for you observation wise. 

56 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

Not sure that light pollution filters work well with new led lighting that most cities now seem to have. They were primarily made for the older yellow lighted (sodium) street lamp. I tend to use a Baader contrast booster or semi apo filter on my ‘fracs which helps pull out detail a little more on things.

Sorry, didnt look at where you where from. My bad! 😉

Not sure that light pollution filters work well with new led lighting that most cities now seem to have. They were primarily made for the older yellow lighted (sodium) street lamp. I tend to use a Baader contrast booster or semi apo filter on my ‘fracs which helps pull out detail a little more on things.

18 minutes ago, ecuador said:

Polar Scope Align Pro developer here.

Please delete links to that site. It is a scammer site, built by mirroring everything on the iOS store, pretending they exist for Android, then giving you download links to "similar" apps packed with god knows what kind of spyware/adware etc.

Unfortunately, there is no Polar Scope Align that is like the iOS version for Android. I am not an Android developer and have tried in the past to collaborate with Android developers to make a port (which requires lots and lots of work - and it is definitely not a good return on investment, I do it as a hobby), it hasn't come to fruition yet so can't promise about the future.

There is a similarly named app on Android (mentioned in another comment above), it does not have a free version and it has nothing to do with my iOS app, it does significantly fewer things, it does them differently and it doesn't even work properly on my phone, so I can't really recommend it as there are other Android apps.

OK. Thanks for letting us know. I’ll delete the link now. 👍🏻

21 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

So it seems Celestron are about to "up the ante " by introducing an 8" dob with their Starsense " push to " system ... this could be a game changer for people wishing to utilise the scope to its fullest capacity . At £695 its not cheap but i reckon its a winner . Looks nice too in their silver livery and the base has a more modern look .    

And a 10” dob version too. 👍🏻

8 minutes ago, DennisB said:

Thank you, I did an update on the hand controller and everything it working as it should now. Thank you again for your assistance 👍

Hope all goes well for you. Enjoy the scope and views you see. 👍🏻

Hi. I’ve just got the book ‘The Nexstar User’s Guide 2’. Just followed these instructions to load in a custom site from the book. Seemed to work OK. Once set Ok, when you power on next you just need to press Enter to start an alignment, not the Alignment button. Then you just need to enter the correct date (remember in US mode with month/date/year) and time, and wether day light saving time is active. HTH. 😀

Probably an even split between my Starwave Ascent 80ED ‘frac, and my C8 SCT scopes. The former ,cos it’s much easier to get going with for quicker sessions when work and tiredness get in the way. The later for when I have a longer session, normally on one of my goto mounts. If i was pushed which one I use most out the 2 the ‘frac most likely would just edge the C8 out.  

6 hours ago, Nugs said:

And we have a winner!!!!

Having just measured the threads where i would attach my extension tube (M48 internal, M54 external), the thread length on each one is 4.2mm external and 5.7mm internal from the outermost face..... the difference of 1.5mm aligns with the difference between the two WO back focus dimensions stated.

Every day is a school day.

Thanks both. ✌️

Thanks. I’ll PM you my address so you can send my prize! 😉

Looks to me like there are 2 measuring points. A on the external lip seems easier to be able to measure than point B which unless marked up on your equipment looks like an internal measurement.

8 hours ago, StuartT said:

Great to see a fellow Rush fan on here, by the way. Cygnus X-1 my friend!

👍🏻

36 minutes ago, StuartT said:

ok. interesting. thanks. I did not know that.

Having said that, I never look through anything. I just let plate-solving do all my targeting, framing, syncing for me. I never even have to leave my room 🤣 (it can get cold out there!)

I do mostly visual astronomy, with a very small smattering of lunar/planetary/double star imaging when the feeling suits. 😉

21 minutes ago, StuartT said:

I'll happily admit that I don't even know what this gizmo does. But I like it anyway. Congrats!

It allows you to have an imaging camera or DSLR attached to the back socket of the flip mirror, and an EP in the top socket. You can then centre in on any targets you want to image with the EP first, then when central in view you can flip the mirror out of the way and you can then image the item with your camera attached as the image will be central in the lower socket too. 😀

From Mr Dean Hale a fine Omegon flip mirror arrived at my door post haste. Sadly cloudy out there tonight, but hoping to test it out soon. Thanks Dean! 😀

I have an Starwave Ascent 80mm ED ‘frac and when seeing allows I can push the magnification over its theoretical limit when observing lunar formations & double stars etc, so you should be able to do that Ok on the nights when the sky is steadier.

Nice work. Well done! 👍🏻

2 hours ago, markse68 said:

😁 QR counterbalance weight

Might have helped if you posted a picture of the full thing rather than just the latch pin?  

4 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Strange my copy although being Volume 2 does not have the map on the front or anywhere. 

Hi Wookie. The double star charts were a seperate item bought off them, not part of the double star atlas I got from them. 

Nice images. Well done! 👍🏻

1 minute ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

I got the 4/5SE version on Good Friday ... lovely mounts for lightweight scopes .

 

If I didn’t have a C8 OTA I would have gone for the same 4/5SE version too and just used the smaller Mak on it mainly.

Took a chance and got a good deal on 2nd hand (but in very good condition) Celestron 6/8 SE goto mount. Been looking for one to get for a while as used to have one before but sold it on. Just testing it out with some solar observations. Seems to be tracking the sun nicely. Always liked the fact with this mount you could do a solar system alignment rather than having to use the stars. Great for daytime if you want to nab Venus. Got a smaller Mak that will fit on this nicely for when I need to get near to zenith, plus my C8 too as well! 😃

Yeah, both AR’s coming round nicely now. 😀

It depends on the EP been used. Some EP’s are called parfocal & this is usually with EP’s from the same make (i.e. Baader or Celestron etc) which means there is very little focusing change required when swapping EP’s to achieve correct focus. Some EP’s however do require a much larger focus change when swapped (my TV Delight 5mm EP requires a lot more inward focus change). Not sure if you need to turn your focus wheel clockwise or anti-clockwise to achieve focus here, but if focus is that far out between the two EP’s then try doing the focusing in the daytime on a distant object as far away from you as you can see & alter the focus either way until you achieve focus to give you an idea of which way it needs to go. You can normally tell if you’re going the right way as things will normally start to get into focus before you get the final focus setting required. If getting even more blurry then try the focus the opposite way.

Well, apparently you can still do the football pools online! 😳

1 minute ago, The Admiral said:

Ha-ha, do they still do that?

Ian

Not sure. Not seen it for years. Do they still do the Pools? 🤔