brantuk

Nice one Guy !

How I wish more folks would adopt your approach - taking time with very sensible research and physically looking at a few scopes before deciding.

Everyone seems in such a rush these days to have it immediately after only getting the idea from a friend yesterday.

Well done :)

I hate to say this but AZgoto mounts aren't the right tool for tracking and imaging nebulae, galaxies, etc - for that you need a good solid equatorial mount.

And a dslr is the wrong tool for imaging planets - for that you need a modified webcam.

It might be a better idea to ask questions in the open forum on the "Beginners Section". You'll get more visibility and more replies. Blogs don't work quite so well on astro forums in my experience.

Pm me if you need some help. :)

Congrats - very nice purchase.

That's a cracking little planetary scope which you'll really enjoy. Saturn's due south around 11pm at the moment - but it's low in the atmosphere so you'll need a fairly clear night - avoid over magnifying it cos it'll get "grainy" - enjoy :)

Fabulous photo Mel - gotta get myself some decent filters - did you have much processing to do?

Fascinating report - especially so cos I just got a s/h Tal100rs that I'm tarting up with a decent focuser. I'll be sure to look this one up with it when the scope's ready. Your sketch wil make a great reference. :)

Nice one Tibbs - Congrats :)

Congrats on your decision CJ - both are smashing scopes that will give you years of pleasure. Look forward to meeting you at Sawley/Belper :)

Hi Crune - I sent you a PM which can be found if you click "Private Messages" at the top right of any page :)

Hi Adamski - welcome to SGL. You have the exact same scope I started with 3yrs ago. It's a smashing little scope and you should get several years of viewing pleasure from it.

Feel free to pop any questions you have in the Beginners Help section in the main forum - someone is sure to answer you soon :)

Sounds like you are well on the way - welcome to SGL :)

Feel free to ask any questions in the Beginners Advice section on the main forum. Someone is bound to answer soon :)

Hi Garry

Just a quick bit of advice. You may get more responses sooner if you start a thread with your question in the Beginners Help section or Equipment Help section.

I'm not familiar with EQmod or I try to help :)

Hi Apollo - try putting a question in the "Beginners Help" section and you may get responses a bit quicker.

The 6SE is a very nice scope - the Celestron optics are superb and the tracking usually spot on. Very nice gift you have there.

To test the collimation, focus on a bright star. Then defocus one way slowly then the other. You should see perfectly concentric circles of light in both directions. If so then the scope is well collimated. If not then collimation is required. Do the secondary first (Bobs knobs are usefull for cassegrains), then do the primary. Look in the Primers and Tutorials section for Astrobaby's collimation guide. The principles described apply to all reflectors.

Hope that helps :)

Can't help with the repair as I've no experience of doing that.

However if you put your question in the main forum under "Beginners Help" (just under the "welcome" section) you should get a faster response :)

I would suggest a trip to a star party. Pop over to Kelling Heath star camp (10/11/12 Sept) for a day/night out. Loads of equipment to see and astronomers on hand for advice. Also trade stands and presentations on various astro subjects from well known astro publishers. :)

Found your blog at last lol - nice garden for astronomy - do you have a clear (ish) view to the south?