Andyb90

Just did another check for same location in Shropshire. It's a little bit more of a gamble but is nice and dark. Andy

Yep, sounds good to me. Andy.

I just had a quick look at a location in Shropshire for Saturday evening. Clear outside and BBC weather look okay, but Meteoblue is saying 100% low cloud cover. So I'm a bit unsure. Andy.

My zwo filter wheel arrived today . It's a very compact and light weight unit. I'll be using it as part of a travel/dark site imaging setup with a camera lens. Andy.

Just to check should my mount be tracking at sidereal rate when doing the polar alignment routine? Or does it not matter if the mount is tracking or not? Andy.

There's a link on the Sharpcap website with info about the feature: http://www.sharpcap.co.uk/sharpcap/polar-alignment Andy.

That's incouraging. Will install 2.9 and give it a try next session. I have a finder guider, which should give a wide enough field of view. Andy.

My 14 and 8 Deloi have now been joined by the 17.3 I can't really overstate how happy I am with these eyepieces and the 24 Pan. The views I've had with them so far have been excellent. Andy.

Hi Everyone, I've just downloaded 2.8 to have a go at video astronomy, but noticed version 2.9 (currently beta) has a Polar Alignment feature. Has anyone tried this feature? If so how did you get on? Andy.

I just got a small case for my TV eps. Will be great for dark site trips. I'll sometimes open up the case just to have a look at them. Is that normal? Andy.

I've now put together the various bits and pieces to add extra weight to the heq5 tripod. Here's a picture. With the 7.5kg of extra weight the tripod feels alot more solid. I still need to get the pvc tubing for the tripod legs to aid with damping vibration. h Andy.

Looks really good! I see on the Berlebach website there is an option to select the tripod head to match the mount. So if I did change my mount at some point in the future I could just change the head. Andy.

I'm going to try the mod at 24:30 in the second video posted above. I've ordered a 5 kg and 2.5 kg disc weight and will get the other bits and bobs off Ebay next. The spreader featured in the videos seems quite pricey at $240. http://www.tpiastro.com/Pricing_and_shipping.htm I think I'd rather save for a Berlebach upgrade instead. Andy.

Thanks kookoo_gr that's a very useful link. Eventually I plan on travelling to a dark site for imaging so I think I'll always have a need for a good quality tripod. Therefore I think I could justify an upgrade to a Berlebach. I've read some articles and posts to get a better understanding of my HEQ5, including the excellent Astrobaby guide. I'm thinking of attempting the strip down and clean of the dec axis and ra axis and also the worm engagement adjustment. Andy.

I've thought of upgrading the saddle, possibly to this one: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/adm-dual-saddle-upgrade-for-heq5-neq6-avx-zeq-ioptron.html So I could then use a Losmandy type bar. I see Skywatcher also do a stainless steel tripod for the HEQ5 which might be worth considering too. I use a tablet to control my mount and imaging software from within the house, so that avoids vibration from me being near to the mount. Andy.

Hi Everyone, I'm having some issues with guiding my HEQ5 pro mount. I've posted a recent topic in the 'Getting Started With Imaging' section. I'm going back to basics and looking at all areas that could cause issues or where improvements might be made. Has anyone upgraded their HEQ5/EQ6/NEQ6 tripod and seen improvements with guiding over the stock tripod? I see FLO stock Berlebach Tripods, which from the pictures and descriptions seem very good, but I'm wondering if they would make any difference when it comes to guiding. Any experience would be very welcomed. Andy.

That's the route I took, via the A488. The lanes leading to the site were fine. The skies just got better and better throughout the evening when I was there, but I had to leave early as it was a weekday evening. It was quite windy on that evening but the site isn't as exposed as other locations so it wasn't really a problem. Andy.

Looking at Google maps it's about 20 minutes further out than Carding Mill. It took me about 1hr 15 to get there. I find the distance okay as the difference between my back garden and the site is huge. Carding Mill was my backup plan in case I didn't feel comfortable at the site. Andy.

I've also been further west, past the Long Mynd to this location called the Bog car park: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.5748753,-2.9495897,3a,75y,206.5h,89.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfF86JMeuhEukGaZ0OWGKcg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 Apart from a few small trees you get panoramic views here. The Milky Way is highly visible. This is the best dark site location I've visited so far. There is very little sky glow to the east, as the Long Mynd area shields the site. In fact the sky is so full of stars it takes some time to find familiar objects at first. Not that I'm complaining though as its a great situation to be in Andy.

Hi, I've been to Carding Mill Valley several times. It's much easier to access than the Long Mynd. Being in the valley you have restricted views, but the skies overhead are excellent. The Milky Way is easily visible. Also there are people living in the valley, which I think makes it feel safer. I've not seen any boy racers or signs of other 'activity'. I think Shropshire on the whole is excellent for dark skies. Andy.