Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

Knighty2112

Members
  • Posts

    6,209
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    4

Everything posted by Knighty2112

  1. Be very interested in this when it is finally released. Much prefer alt Alt Az mounts to Equatorial.
  2. Chuffed with this photo of the transit from my IPhone 6+. :) 

     

    image.jpeg

    1. xtreemchaos

      xtreemchaos

      and so you should be mate, its a nice record of the event.well done.charl.

    2. Knighty2112

      Knighty2112

      Thanks Charl. :) 

  3. Weather forecast for blue skies up in East Yorkshire for the Mercury transit tomorrow. Yippee! :) 

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. xtreemchaos

      xtreemchaos

      thanks mate.

    3. David Smith

      David Smith

      Good luck. Looks like it will be cloudy here :hmh:

    4. xtreemchaos

      xtreemchaos

      100% cloud here, but im going to setup anyway,cos you never know there might be a gap,i only need a few secs to get a pic. hope its clear for you.charl.

  4. Yes, I ordered a couple of things from FLO the other week, and arrived the very next day via Postie. Weren't large items, but still quick service.
  5. Update: Scope now fully flocked, and looks like the black hole of Calcutta in there now! ? Now for some clear skies to test it out on some fuzzies!
  6. I guess buying upgrades for your telescope that didn't come originally with the scope is similar to when you upgrade things on your PC too (motherboard, graphics card etc), and then find that some things don't work the same after the upgrade, or software doesn't run on it anymore. I hope the new diagonal lets you get focus with you Barlow lens in place too.
  7. OK, pictures of the 1.25" adapter supplied with my 2" diagonal in and out of the diagonal itself. The well that the EP's sit in when in the 1.25" adapter itself keeps the focul point of the EP's in the same position as when using any 2" EP's, so there is no need to compensate for any diffence in the focuser itself when using 2" or 1.25" EP's. With your 1.25" adapter in your diagonal it moves the focal point further away when using your 1.25" EP's, hence you need to compensate for this by racking in more inward focus. Add in to this your Barlow too and this is most likely the major reason when using your Barlow that you can't achieve focus with it.
  8. Ah! Your 1.25" adapter to allow your 1.25" EP's be used in your diagonal seems to be quite large and add further height into the position of your EP above the diagonal itself. From the picture it seems like the 1.25" adapter sits about 15 or 20mm higher, so this moves your 1.25" EP's further away from the focal point, meaning you have to compensate by having more inward focus. My 1.25" adapter on my diagonal doesn't alter the EP position at all as it has a well that allows the 1.25" EP's to sit into the diagonal at the same height, so there is no shift of the focal point position at all for either 2" or 1.25" EP's. Your diagonal moves your 1.25" EP's higher up due to the making of the 1.25" adapter that goes with it. I'll post a picture of my diagonal showing an EP fitted that sits in the well part of the 1.25" adapter. Hope that makes sense.
  9. Hi Dave, I always put all my EP's as far into any diagonal or Barlow lens as far as they will fit into them with the EP collar. Do you not place your EP's in as deep as this, and only put them in so far in with some of the lower collar of the EP still poking up out of your diagonals? If that's so then that will affect your focal point and possibly also why you can't achieve focus with the focuser. Does your diagonal not allow you to push all of the EP collar into the diagonal?
  10. Here's where I got mine from. http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-altair-astro-2-inch-quartz-dielectric-diagonal/p1543258, although I paid less than what they are asking for it now. Was out last night using the focuser for the first time on Jupiter and some galaxies too. Worked great. The fine control on the focuser means you can get spot on with your focusing (as long as good seeing conditions apply). The TMB Plantary II 4.5mm EP I have worked great on Jupiter.
  11. Hi Dave, I'm sure there are perhaps barlows with a compression ring rather than just the screw, but don't know of any as such. All my EP's ranging from 32mm down to 4.5mm work OK with the 2xbarlow too. The diagonal is a 2" Altair Astro diagonal too. Still awaiting some clear skies to test it out fully on stuff, but it is smooth as silk, so I don't think I'll have any issues with it. Supposed to be clear tonight, so going to check now to see if I can get the scope out.
  12. Yet more damn clouds! When's that Zarkov cloud buster gun going to arrive from FLO? Sheesh! I ordered it 10 days ago! Need to blast those pesky clouds away! ;) 

  13. Clouds! Clouds! Clouds! Grrrrrr.............!!!

  14. Thanks to the prompt service by FLO I received my new synta finder scope shoe today. Drilled two new holes, fitted the new shoe and ready to go! Next weekend I plan to do the flocking!
  15. Hi Dave. Ordered a new synta mounting shoe for my 6x30 finder. This will require to drill a couple of 3.5mm holes in the tube to attach it. Am going to place it as far back on the black telescope tube as possible. I'm thinking of also getting a Telrad Finder to fit too, but with that if I get one I will probably not screw it in place, but use large tie-wraps to hold it on. However, that is for next month if I go ahead with it. Now I just need some clear skies to test the focuser out on Jupiter or the Moon.
  16. Waiting to use my new dual speed 2" Crayford focuser. Please let the sky be clear and dark tonight! Double please! :) 

  17. Update: focuser arrived today April 1st (no joke! ). Fitted like a glove into the telescope tube. Screwed in place within 5 minutes. Looks nice and dandy, and it is as smooth as silk when you focus it in and out. No slight play upwards like there was on the stock focuser. One thing I didn't realise about it was that you can rotate it around in the telescope too! Handy if you use an Equatorial mount with your refractor. You can just rotate the focuser around as you move your telescope around on the mount and always get it at the correct angle to view it (see pics below). This should stop you having to move the whole tube assembly or the EP and diagonal in the focuser. Tested it with my 2 x Barlow in as well on a distant chimney breast, and I can achieve focus easily with all my EP's. I still have around 20mm inward focus if I need it too. All in all very happy so far with the focuser. Well worth the money paid. Now I just need to get a clear dark sky to go and and use it! Oh! And now I won't get sticky rack and pinion grease on my fingers accidentally when reaching out to focus the telescope in the dark like it used to happen with the stock focuser. That used to be so annoying! ? This focuser is free of that! ?
  18. Focuser ordered. Should arrive tomorrow hopefully! Yarggg! Got the date wrong! It arrives April 1st, so arrives Friday, not tomorrow as I first thought! Grrrr......????
  19. Done all my number crunching for April, and I can just squeeze it in to get a focuser, so tomorrow I get to order it up when my wages go in. I'll see how my Barlow goes with the new focuser when it arrives.
  20. Just done some testing on my stock focuser using my 2" dielectric diagonal and combinations of EP's with and without my Omni 1.25" 2x Barlow. The average distance using a calipher to measure the distance from the tube of the focuser is around 20 to 22mm (measured to the inside points on the focuser) with my EP's and also with my 2x Barlow too. The shortest distance I get is when I use my 2x Barlow with a stock Skywatcher 20mm EP (which I rarely ever use at all), and with that combo I get a distance of just over 19mm outward travel required. I'm hoping that this minimum 19mm setting is big enough to cope with the extra length of the focuser so it will allow me to still be able to achieve focus still when using my 2" diagonal with my 2x Barlow and EP's. Of course I won't fully know if this is the case until I actually get the new focuser itself. Fingers crossed! Note; the image below shows just my 2" EP in the 2" diagonal, and not the 2x Barlow and 20mm EP which has the shortest outward travel of all my EP's with the 2x Barlow to achieve focus.
  21. Thanks Dave. I gues at a push if one wanted too then trimming an inch off the actual tube of the scope would overcome this if required. I'll see if my Omni 2x Barlow when attached into my 2" dielectric diagonal suffers the same issue when I get my focuser. I may just be able to squeeze it in this month after all, but need to do the number crunching still before I know for sure. Thanks for the pics.
  22. Dave, is the focuser longer than the stock focuser fitted? Looking at it it doesn't seem longer, but might be a little hard to know for sure unless measured?
  23. Sadly, an emergency has cropped up so will have to hold off getting my new focuser until May now!
  24. Looks nice. A little worried about the Barlow. I have a Celestron Omni 2x Barlow, and it would be a shame not to be able to use it with my 2" dielectric diagonal. Not a deal breaker, but something to consider at least. Thanks for the feed back.
  25. HI DRT. Ive heard people rave about the Telrad, but to be honest i prefer a little magnifiction when I use my finderscope, so most likely will never use a Telrad or Orion.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.