brantuk

Hurrah!! Looking forward to seeing the final touches of the build. 

Been following this thread quietly but enthusiastically - very very nice build Mike - work of art. Hope I get to see it in the flesh and have a look through one day. Excellent job - and a big congrats!

Smashing build Mike and great thread - keep it coming.

Envious of your skills and I'm even more convinced I need to build a 20" or 22" dob myself now lol!

Following.... there should be an "Eagerly Following" button

Oh sure Steve - I wasn't doubting the evidence - rather i was querying if you really need to go to all the trouble when WO should take the responsibility. But I can see that the turn around would be horrendous and the problem being solved is more of a logistical one than QA. And I'm sure I would prefer to pay a little extra for such a check and fix, rather than waiting ages to get an overseas return sorted out.

All sounds like a great arrangement given that it's necessary. My only concern is whether or not it actually is necessary...

Won't WO take them back under warranty and fix/replace/refund if a scope is poorly aligned?

We watched it on and off for around 4hrs this afternoon. It started with a few high whispy clouds fuzzing the view - but great views in the gaps in between - almost like Jonks Slooh image above at times. And we saw the sun spot group in Stu's image very clear and sharp too. Had a good 2hrs worth of stable, clear views.

And to crown it all off nicely the Moonlite focuser I ordered from RVO on Friday arrived at 9:30am in plenty of time to ditch the old GSO supplied one and fit the new. Excellent service from RVO, a superb bit of kit (my first ever Moonlite), and a fabulous event to Christen it with. Brilliant day all round!

Superb solution - looks neat and professional and does the business! Excellent!

Unfortunately my mate drew a blank as well - but I thought it was a long shot. If it's any consolation I did have to wait a few weeks when one of my issues was late when I built mine - but it wasn't such an early one as yours. They did always come through in the end - sometimes it's worth giving them a call to speed things up a bit.

It's fun to build though, and very satisfying when you finally switch on the finished product - even if it is a bit dear.

There's a whole one here for half price:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Orrery-Brass-Storage-case-all-magazines-Build-a-model-Solar-System-/331817575755?hash=item4d41de654b:g:-~4AAOSwAvJW-9wm

And this seller may have the spare issue you need:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Earth-Moon-Sun-Orbiter-or-Build-a-Model-Solar-System-Orrery-Spares-Kits-Units-/121940434986?var=&hash=item1c6437602a:m:mSPx1YQMV1efRTUhAg9O5tw

Ahh yes that's the 65 tooth gear issue along with planet Mercury and it's arm, two grub screws, and a 6mm self tapping screw. It's literally completion of the first stage, and without it you're pretty scuppered to build the rest of it. I just checked what spares I have left and no issue 4 I'm afraid.

I gave a load of spares to a friend who was short of some bits - so I'll see if he has any issue 4 bits left over. The other place he sourced spares was on ebay - you might even find a whole model (or part of) being junked or sold off dirt cheap cos of shortages. It's probably a much cheaper way of getting one unless you want all the magazines to go with. The bits are all brass and can be nicely shined up and rebuilt.

I'll post back here once I've heard from my mate - there might be a very slim chance.

You can get a good quality 16" Lightbridge for £1900, a Lukehurst standard 18" for £3600, and a Summerian 16" Alkaid for £3200. For the price of the Stargate, and the quality intimated in this review, it's difficult to see where exactly Skywatcher are trying to compete with their new truss dob in the market place.

The mere hint of plasticy bits, and mods on essential working parts, would put me off for sure. At five hundred quid shy of four grand I think they are gonna realise that folks spending that sort of cash are a bit more discerning and demanding on quality, even if it is built to a price.

If you get stuck and need some local help setting up Dave, just send me a pm and we can arrange a phone call or meet up - I'm in your neck of the woods.

There's a couple of Youtube reviews of the scope in daytime here Dave:

Yes divide focal length by eyepiece length to get magnification for a given eyepiece/scope combination. Twice the aperture in mm is regarded as a reasonable guide to maximum useful mag - it's also usually stated in the scope specs. I generally find working under 80% of that gives best results. Be careful using barlows - yes they will double the mag, but depending on the scope, eyepiece, and barlow quality, they don't always give improved higher mag views.

Great advice above - Welcome to SGL Marsman.

Yup - I'd go for a cheapo Telrad from Astro boot, or a second hand one from UK Astro Buy Sell or SGL classifieds. You can always borrow a raci from a mate at your local astro club until you get your own - at least you'd find out how you get on with finder scopes in the meantime.

(It's hard to beat a Telrad on a big dob)

Hope you don't mind James - I've reported your post and suggested the mods do a merge. Thought I was answering the same thread every time I post lol.

The original one that I purchased was real brass - can't see this one being plastic or they'd soon loose customers.

But small Tak? No way lol - more like a low quality achro.

@stub: Yes it is impressive once all put together and running - it's just the constant dusting that cheeses me off lol

@mcolbert - yup that's the identical one - dunno what that price is in UK sterling but gotta be somewhere near £300.

I built one of these on the original subscription. It's a nice piece but as you say - it works out over £300 all together. This new subscription appears to include a few extra things (like the scope & planisphere) that weren't available before.

The moons are mostly decorative for the planets - only Earth's moon is driven and only Earth spins. All the planets otherwise just go round the sun. The brass parts are nicely made and professional looking, and most stuff fits together easily with no modification. There was an odd glitch in the timing or sequence of the parts over the one year it takes to build. But they mostly dealt with any problems just by sending a replacement pack and not asking for the old/wrong one back.

For a total beginner in the early stages of astronomy who likes making stuff - it's well worth it with all the magazine information and tool kit that it comes with. But for a seasoned astronomer who just wants the orrery then maybe the £300 is better spent elsewhere on a more substantial piece. Or pick up this one on the used market for half the price.

I just had a read of this link and I think it should answer your query:

http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/LRGB.html

Hth

Neat solution! - I use one of these:

http://www.365astronomy.com/Amici-Prism-for-Polarscope.html

This chap has had and compared just about every solar scope going. I don't see a direct comparison between the 50/60 on his site - but if you send him an email I'm sure he'd send you some sound advice. My 60 has the 1200 filter and d/s and it's superb for viewing but not tried imaging yet. Soon I'll get chance to compare the 50/60 side by side when my buddy gets his 50.

Ahhh... desktop mode - that explains why it didn't seem to work on my ipad air the same way it works on the laptop.....