Alan White

Very neat and tidy indeed.
Being a Visual only observer it is at odds with my way of being under the stars,
but as an Imager, yes fully get the whole setup.
 

11 minutes ago, johninderby said:

I was thinking the same thing. Could afford the encoders now but not the Nexus DSC.Would expect they could be fitted afterwards but would like to know for sure.

That's easier option John, as the Nexus DSC and shelf are all add ons, they have made a fixing hole for the ball head.
Adding th encoders will be the possible challenge.

No body parts sold yet 🤣; so for me remains a bit of a one day item, for now.

On 26/09/2019 at 16:57, FLO said:

Accessory prices are: 

AZ100 Renishaw Encoders : £259

@FLO Steve,
Is the unit able to have the encoders retro-fitted?
If bought first sans encoder, then encoders added at a later time at all?
This would make the expansion route easier for some such as myself.

Love the setting circle Phil, looks wonderful.
Where was this made?

Clever and very nice John.
In fact superb.
I wonder why Berlebach didn't so something as simple?

Calling @Lockie 
I have only just seen this now older thread Chris. 
A shame i missed it at the time, but was busy being unwell.

What a spot on pair of scopes, much as I would choose too.
I have owned several f5 150 Newtonians and always wonder why I sold them on.
Have also owned several f7-f9 4" ED Reflectors and still do own a Vixen Ed103s f 7.8.

I do always wonder about a 5" or 120mm Refractor though or the Hallowed Ground of a Tak 4" Fluorite.
But as a one only, then yes a 4" for ease of use as you say 👍 

Goodness me. only somehow seen this Mike.
You, A Dob.......... well I never.
Wiping Tea splats off my monitor as I type!! 🤣

Sounds as interesting a plan as the overall roof design, I really hope it works for you as it is a ingenious design.

Looking forward to seeing how you waterproof that roof Shane as for the life of me,
I cannot work out how you will do it? 😖

Post Person attended today with a little delivery.
OVL 2" twistlock to 1.25".
Intended so all my 1.25" EP will have one capped off for use on the dob.
No levers, screws or bits sitting out to offend me and NO UNDERCUT.  Yes I did mean to shout it out.

Not as 'nice' as the Baader ones I have just sold to Magnus, but do the job and
will make fitting into the EP case less problematic as just a barrell.

Did I mention NO UNDERCUT???
 

A very neat and reversible solution John 👍

2 hours ago, Carbon Brush said:

I considered (a long time back) an eyepiece/adapter that deals with astigmatism. But never bought one.
To me having to keep the EP aligned to your eye may be a bit of bother when the scope moves around the sky.
Then what if (like me) you have different astig in left/right eyes and you swap eyes while viewing?

The solution I opted for was contact lenses.
They sort the differing astigmatism in both eyes and can be used away from the scope.
They are for distance & astig correction, which means cheap reading specs for small fiddly things around the scope.

Following the thread with interest.

David.

 

Now that's a thought.

11 hours ago, Paz said:

Unless you are using am alt az set up with a permanently upright eyepiece that keeps your head upright all the time, your attitude to the eyepiece will be a constantly rotating/changing requiring you to realign the Dioptrx.

I will only be using alt az mounted scopes, mainly the 10" OOUK Dob.
Do you find it a nuisance at your 14" Dob at all?

12 hours ago, Scooot said:

I use a dioptrx Alan, mines 1.25. I can get away using my 10mm Delos without using it or glasses but it’s necessary on all my others to sharpen up the view. I use both the dioptrx and a paracorr on, as you know, the same scope, and I’d notice the difference without the paracorr, particularly with the 17.3mm eyepiece and above. Dioptrx is cheaper so maybe try one before buying the paracorr, at least you’d be able tell if you think you’d need the paracorr or not.

A question please Richard.
When using the 10" seated, does the dioptrx have to be rotated as you move the scope to keep the correction working for you?

I find I am seeing odd thing on low power EP with my 10" dob, thought my mirror was out, but it's fine.
Compared views against another identical Dob and swapped EP with the other observer and the same 
anomaly shows at low powers, I think I am seeing some coma but it is f4.8, so surprised that I do.

I wear glasses for driving and star spotting, I am a low tech star hopper with a Telrad,
But cannot get on wearing them to observe.

Having had a good read all over the net, I think I am seeing my own astigmatism, which my glasses of course correct.
Its not massive but would require a 1.00 Dioptrx.
Would this be a worthwhile addition for me, it will require a few EP changes, but I am happy to do this.
Because is its more Astigmatism than Coma I am seeing then Dioptrx is a far cheaper alternative to a TV Paracorr.



 

I agree John, I stopped using the RA on my Dob as it sits too high.
Looked at surgery, for the bracket, but being pot metal was not sure I could do a solid job.
I know what you mean about that Vixen bracket!

@johninderby tyres by post, interesting, do they self fit? 😂

I had a sudden deflation yesterday on a major A road while driving between sites yesterday, had to drive a mile on a flat to get safe place to stop, wrecked the nearly new tyre, grrr. 

On the Astronomy theme, post person delivered a fine used booked as recommended by @Wookie.
The practical astronomers deep sky companion.
A bit like the O'Meara books in that is shows you what the objects look like, work for my simple brain.

Bought used from World of Books just over £18 used.

Double posted, had glitch as it posted!
Can a Mod remove please 😘

In answer to the OP as I have only just seen this post.
To tell someone else what scope to buy is akin to telling someone else what car to buy, we are all different.
But, based on your question and my multitude of scope changes I feel ok to comment.

I have found reflectors far more comfortable to use and therefore use them more, 
it's the seated position that I find easy on my back and now knees.
The reflectors are also more cost effective £ per mm of aperture.
If dobsonian mounted even more cost effective.

I own a 10" OOUK dobsonian and love it, good aperture, light for a 10" and a sublime metal dobsonian base.
I also own a C8 SCT that does not get used in favour of the 10" and a 4" ED Vixen refractor that I love when I use it,
but I pass it by for the 10" based on comfort for me and the aperture.

So in answer to your question an 8" Dobsonian such as the Skywatcher 200p Skyliner is well regarded as a great all rounder
and superb value for money. 

 

Sounds like a cracking session Nick, you were lucky to get such a decent sky.
When I looked out at 10 here last night it was still clouded out so made for my bed.

Love your writing and sketches, it brings the session to life.
Thank you for sharing.

@tooth_dr was that First Class delivery?

Looks wonderful, good luck with the base build and assembly.
 

15 hours ago, JamesF said:

Spent a bit of time in the observatory this afternoon finishing off some of the network cabling which seems to have improved the reliability and speed a fair bit compared with using wifi.  Now the only wifi link is back to the house; everything inside the observatory itself is now on a gigabit switch.  I've also mounted the monitors on the wall in the warm room which has freed up a fair bit of desk space.

James

So what about the eyepiece James?   😂
 

Looks like I might have found an interim solution with the offer of a working OC1-M single speed.
This will get me back observing for now, which is great.

Thank you for the offerup of the focuser. 😁  You have to love SGL for the camaraderie.

5 hours ago, Moonshane said:

I have Moonlite and the Baader Steeltrack and both are excellent. I'm visual only though 

So am I Shane.
Visual and very happy with that sitaution too.

So what focuser to buy then.

A Feathertouch, sadly, no. Way outside my funds as much as they are so nice.
A Moonlite OC1, I am used to the single speed?
A Baader Steeldrive Diamond NT?
A good old R&P unit of some kind if I can find one?

Your experience and thoughts please folks.