Peter Drew

I think mine was the simpler "Intelliscope" version, no motor just push-to. 🙂

I have the XT8i version and have been pleased with the performance of the optics and the "push-to" system. The stiffness of the azimuth action can be adjusted via the central pivot bolt.

I've been aware of this issue for ages, along with methods owners have used to clean the blue filter. What has always puzzled me is that I would have assumed that the outer faces of the filter would need to be optically polished and flat to a good tolerance. Attacking the filter with all sorts of chemicals and abrasives I would have thought might well spoil this. 🤔

Good to go! 🙂

Attempting to improve the cosmetic appearance from something that is going to have no affect on the performance is a slippery slope and could result in circumstances that could have a significant impact on performance. I'd advise leaving well alone unless you intend to sell it on at some stage, however I don't bear the cross of OCD. 🙂

If less than one meteor per 15 minutes I tend not to bother. Last night my 15 minutes was nearly up when a "belter" passed from Lyra through to Bootes at 12.10am. 😀

The Sun is currently lacking in all visual departments due to the point in the solar cycle. No comparison with the appearance a few years ago. Things will improve! 😀

It could be that the 4.2x Barlow built into the Quark means that you will need an extension to reach focus. Blurry white blob doesn't sound right to me, a Ha image should be red. I'm sure things will sort out. 🙂

@Alan White. Good question Alan and one I've often pondered about. The 4" needs to be put on a mount, taken outside and set up, I also don't get on with small telescopes these days, eyesight not good enough. Ditto really for the 5" triplet. The 8.5" is on a big mount and in its own observatory, not used it for a couple of years but will probably give it a go on Mars later this year. Main night time telescope usage is two 16" SCT's, each in an obs and you just switch them on and you're on your way, a 20" F3.5 Dob takes care of DSO's. 😀

I have several refractors including a 4" Vixen fluorite, 5" F15 triplet and a 8.5" F12.5 achromat, apart from my 6" F10 solar telescope they are my least used telescopes! 😀

Although from your image description the collimation appears to need attention as this will have an impact on the overall performance, 18 years is quite a good innings for a Newtonian mirror. I would remove the mirror and give it a clean. Afterwards have a look to see if you can see through the mirror from its back, if you can then a recoat will be beneficial. 🙂

2" extension tube ? 🙂

Does the mirror really, really need cleaning? 🙂

If you get OCD over diagonals try not using one. Perfection. 🙂

Just to recap. The blue filter is not the blocking filter, it is the ITF (induced transference filter). True, it does have a blocking action but only to reduce the thermal load on the actual blocking filter which is a completely different component. 🙂

I doubt whether the laser beam would be bright enough to show but the spot might. There is a photographic version of the film that has less extinction. 🙂

It will get better value as the solar cycle progresses. 😀

Waiting with bated breath!, I'm not an imager but I like images, specially solar. I have a bit of a "horse" in this race having goaded Rusted into this position for some time. 😀

Spent some time with my 60mm Coronado setup this afternoon, caught the lift off of the recent hedgerow prom. First decent, as you watch, activity I've seen for some time. 🙂

As Don rightly says, unless a very high end example is used there are some noticeable fall offs compared to regular high end diagonals. However, it is a balance. I too find it more convenient to observe the Moon in correct orientation and use a home made Amici unit incorporating a high quality ex WD prism. 🙂

A 6" F8 parabolic mirror would have to be very bad to give a blurry image. My bet is that something to do with the construction is spoiling it at the moment. This should be possible to improve. A photo or more construction details will help us help you. 🙂

I have had one. Never had the option of a coma corrector or modern eyepieces but it gave wide fields and bright images. Difficult to get high magnifications convenientltly but was meant for wide field visual use anyway. Colour correction was of course perfect. 🙂

Hello JayA. Welcome to SGL. A little more information about your telescope please. Aperture, focal length, commercial or home made optics? 🙂

Planets are best observed when high in the sky, be it morning or night. Early morning seeing is often very good compared to evening. Planets above 30 degrees elevation start to show at their best. 😀

Having presented 1) The Todmorden Pier, 2) The "rubber band trick" to cure Crayford focuser slip, I now offer 3) The AZ3 mod. 😀 I have often recommended the AZ3 alt-az mount, it's inexpensive, sturdy and has decent manual controls. Its main, and significant limitation is that the weight of whatever equipment is fitted lies above the alt pivot. This results in balance that is ok in the horizontal plane but gets well out of balance as the mount is raised towards the vertical, mitigating this requires either tightening the pivot bolt or some form of counterbalancing. Several solutions have appeared over time in the DIY section but not everybody has the facility to engineer them, being currently in lockdown has put me into this position. I have a 60mm solar telescope that comprises a 60mm Coronado etalon and BF10 blocking filter fitted to a Skywatcher ST80 refractor, the eyepiece is a Baader zoom so the whole rig is quite heavy. Too heavy for the holding power of the AZ3 alt bolt grip even with the telescope fitted as far forward as possible, it kept sagging backwards. Nothing suitable to hang on it as a counterbalance and not even a spanner to tighten the alt bolt nut. Rummaging through the odds and ends drawer I came across a Bungee cord, thinking back to Bodge2 in the series I wondered if a similar principle might apply. I attached one end of the cord to the front of the telescope and the other to a tripod leg forming a flexible "Hargreaves Strut". It works perfectly! You adjust the tension so that it just holds the sag, after that the more the telescope tries to sag the more the Bungee resists, the tension existing in the pivot eliminates any play. The advantage of this mod is that anyone could do it and it's cheap. 😀