jock1958

Yeh the seat is easy to adjust and sits perfectly in the horizontal position. Must admit looking at my video it does look as though it’s slightly tilted, it must be the angle I took the video at 🤨

Great images Geoff. I haven’t had a chance to get out for sometime now due to the poor weather here, and typical that Mars is receding so quickly. Looks like we will have to grab all the opportunities when they arise now, also any chance of a pointer on your pic of Olympus Mons?

Hi @Second Time Around managed to take a short video adjusting the seat and removing it, hope it’s of some help. Bought mine on offer from @FLOa while back so keep an eye on their deals. Cheers FullSizeRender.mov

If don’t think you could manage the Hyrda what about the Berlebach Charon?

It doesn’t require that much pressure to squeeze the locks together however you have to adjust both sides at the same time.

A few pics with seat fully down (just under 10”) nearly full up and removed. The way I adjust and remove the seat is to squeeze the spring loaded locking mechanisms together with thumbs and forefingers at the same time. Apologies for my video my usual cameraman (wife) said Strictly is much more important 😩 Hope that helps. IMG_0749.MOV

@Second Time AroundI’ll put some pictures together of how it works and post on this thread, it’s great bit of kit which I find easy to adjust. Cheers

Just looked on eBay and it doesn’t look like it’s been taken down to me? Or has it gone back on again as a different listing?

Thanks Don you answered my question, have just acquired a pair of these 26mm plossl’s and assumed they were there to fill the groove or maybe to give eyepiece caps a snugger fit?

Nice sketch @John was tempted to go out but it keeps clouding over and with high winds decided to bin it for tonight ☹️

Sorry cant comment on the Sky Watcher Mercury 707 having never owned one but arguably "the best bang for your buck" is a Dobsonian, you have the aperture (Light Gathering Ability), ease of use and low relative cost. Have a read of a brilliant SGL thread below by @Qualia Rob, funnily enough I bought a refractor off him a few years ago, he tried to persuade me to get a Dob for the very reasons I described above but I had it in my mind to go down the refractor route.

Warm welcome to SGL. Like to echo what’s been advised and although the Heritage 76 has good reviews I doubt you will see the rings of Saturn. Like @Philip R says for a bit more the Heritage 130 or 150 will show a lot more! If you haven’t already have a look on the FLO website for feedback on the Heritage range, also there’s lots on here as well. Cheers and all the best.

Same over here John, I persevered for close on 2 hours with barely any improvement, the cold wind not helping either!

Excellent images Geoff!

Another night on Mars with my Tak FC-100DL + new to me WO - BV’s!

Had a quick blast (30mins) with my BV's last night before clouds came over and was immediately impressed by the size of the moon. Used my Tak FC-100DL & Baader T2 with supplied WO barlow screwed into the diagonal nose piece, no problems with merging or focusing the image, although rather soft compared to my sharp cyclops images. Like Dave @F15Rules says I need more time for "preparation and experimentation" before I see the full benefits of these BV's.

Like you @RobertI been dithering around with which bino’s / extenders to buy, I eventually bought a second hand set of WO’s for my Tak FC-100DL, however haven’t had a chance to check them out due to the endless stormy weather. As soon as weather clears up will give them a go and see what they are really capable of, barlows & extensions included!!

There’s a very nice Takahashi TOA 150 for sale in the for sale ads 😉

Great job with no fuss and drama! I had similar muck on my lens thought it might be a combination of tree pollen and dust stuck on with dew.

Thats exactly what I do and how I first saw the Veil. Got to admit this technique hasn't worked for me on M33 or M101 yet, probably due to my Bortle 5 skies & continuously bad weather 😩

That’s excellent. Yep I can see the elusive Olympus Mons in a few of your frames, something I’ve failed to do as a visual observer!

Excellent sketch @dweller25colours are same as what I’ve been seeing, it’s like a salmon pink? What eyepiece were you using?

Bought my little Tak FS-60C/Q second hand a while back for airline travel and trips away. All I can say it’s a little beauty and for a scope with only 60mm aperture it punches way above its weight. I had it out last week and it was showing some outstanding detail on Mars & Jupiter. I bought mine on the back of Mathew @DirkSteele brilliant reviews on the FS-60 range and mighty glad I did!

Hi there I have a 2" UHC Televue Bandmate & 1.25" O-III Lumicon filters. From my experience the O-III works best on likes of the Veil nebula and a UHC on other targets like the Dumbbell Nebula (M27), Orion Nebula (M42) & a variety of Planetry Nebula. Televue, Astronomic & Lumicon are expensive but probably the best and cheaper filters by Castell & Baader have had good reviews. If you keep an eye out on SGL or UK ABS you could pick up a good second hand one like I did. Have a read of David Knisley's in depth filter review below. http://www.prairieastronomyclub.org/filter-performance-comparisons-for-some-common-nebulae/

Thanks Mike. Any particular make on those filters you mention or will cheap & cheerful do? Looking at the incredible detail in your sketches am I right in saying that additional items like bino-viewers, filters & extenders are the way to go?