Kev M

I think there is a society based in Grimsby/Cleethorpes might be worth dropping in some time for advice.

Are you sure it not 48 inch focal length f8, this would be quite common for a 6 inch mirror

I have one of these, the same one in Gold, it works just fine for astrophotography.

"In my opinion"

It is a much better visual scope than the shorter focal length ones.( eg 80-ED )

It will beat these shorter focal length scopes on brighter objects such as planets and brighter galaxies and nebulae as they will be larger and will also have less colour distortion.

Wont be as good on fainter diffuse nebulae ( horses for courses ).

Suggest your best investment before a reducer is to sort out getting a guide camera. ( small ZWO ones seem popular, there are many others ).

Also you will need a astrophotography camera of some sort, again best budget option is a canon DSLR ( anyone with "liveview" is fine to start with EOS 450D onwards, readily available 2nd hand )

You have a bargain there indeed.

Hi Tom, welcome from a wee bit to your right..

Is the mount in EQ mode and the handset in AZ mode ?

(Don't know if this is possible )

Very well done...much better than anything I have 

Using USB3 cables will make no difference at all to reliability.

Its just a USB2 cable with additional wires that USB2 doesn't use.

( Assuming both cables are of the same quality ).

Next chance you get run a small pipe across to the observatory, it just has to be deep enough so you don't trip over it.

Run some external cat 5 ( less than a quid a meter...from a well known auction site ).

You can get connectors and crimp tool for pennies.

All problems will go away for ever.

A very nice scope indeed....enjoy

There are options there but none in use.....

I must have done something weird ?

When I take Light Plan Images with APT they are inverted ( top right becomes bottom left etc ) from when I just take an image using the shoot button.

Never noticed this before and cant see any option to invert image.

Is this normal or have I screwed something up ...again ?

( windows 7 with a Canon 450d ).

Altair  state that the 110ED is FPL-51

However don't know if this is the V2 version or not .

If its not in manual mode APT will tell you that.... I do this al the time accidently.

What has changed since the last time it connected...have you installed anything or changed to a different USB port ?

I would suspect that something else has grabbed it and refuses to release it.

Cant remember the last clear night....

6 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

They key player, here, is the extra light.

Olly

That was my point ?

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

Here we have the antidote to the F ratio myth conversation because we have different apertures at the same focal length, meaning that the F ratio becomes a truly meaningful number. The increase in speed is pretty spectacular, as we'd expect.

 

I read that as the other way around.

F ratio would only be meaningful at "the same aperture" surely ?

4 minutes ago, kirkster501 said:

I'm more concerned seeing above the UK perma-cloud TBH

I cant see the clouds because of the Fog...

47 minutes ago, Gina said:

I found a damp patch on the floor of my scope room when I went out to open up this afternoon - no sign of anywhere there was wet coming in though.

Damp coming up.....or wet coming down ?

Arrived  and installed.....now fully working again .....just in time for the rain...

No identifiable manufacturer marks on it....just HM5GT which is skywatchers name for it and a serial number.

(pic shown is from website )

Replacement stepper motor for HEQ5

Let the clouds roll in...........

Very Nice.....

Ordered and awaiting delivery …...

Absolutely, if it does come and all is ok, I will put as much info on here as possible to relieve the heartache for someone else if their motor dies.

I think I may have found one......waiting for the supplier to come back...🙏

Will try and borrow oscilloscope to check voltage/current levels into existing motors to be sure.

Going to get one and give it a go.......cant wait 4 months....😱