Alan White

One thing not mentioned that its success also depends upon is a stable tripod, as yet we have not tried these new alloy ones from Skywatcher (await Johns feedback).

Oh how I hope the Italian website is correct and we can mount this on an astro tripod.

That is looking a fine pier, look forward to the completed pictures soon. Powder coat sounds good, but why not Hammerite it,no one will see it will they?

Jon I also got fed up waiting, according to FLO it will not fit as it has a photo tripod thread (3/8") not the CG5 one!

John I know what you mean about the difference in scope focal length and the mount. That supplied tripod looks too light for my liking, the head looks nice and only £145 hmmmm.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe-alt-azimuth-mount.html#

There is now the AZ5 on FLO at a good price, wonder what it's like...... very tempting.

Mark Nice holiday picture of your scope ?

Very nice completion of this project Olly. The plaque and new cladding is the final touch.

A nice Losmandy or similar mount or Astro Physics, that would be a nice combination.

But at 14kg+ what would you mount it, even if it were a more budget price?

Do you reckon it will be ok on the AZ4? ?

Chris, Step away from the buy now button! Interesting refractor.

Very interesting find, its suitability depends if it's a deep cycle battery or not, in other words will it discharge under demand over a period of time and recharge ok over many cycles, time will tell.

Thanks Steve, the Pentax were top of my list.

Always late to the party me, but here goes: Olympus DPS-1 10 x 50 my main astro set at present. Nice optics of very reasonable quality for the price. Swift Plover 8x 40 Very nice and light and wideish view, very sentimental as a present from my late parents. Nice optics, but more a birding set than astro, however who cares because they are very special to me. I am looking for a second 10 x 50 so I can play nicely with my wife and children when they observe in the summer. Any ideas for up to about £150 mark appreciated.

Well here we go, my latest version, now home to a gaggle of SLV, thank you FLO for the special offer, made the completion all more affordable and quicker.

Sorry to hear the plan has not worked for you. Thanks for sharing the why with us all as we can learn from this issue you have found. Roll off sounds the way to go, I share your thoughts on how it looks, but sometimes function over aesthetic is needed. Look forward to the Mark 2 pictures in the summer.

Good luck with that Dave..... sorry I could not resist!

Jules Great honest review of how you find this scope. The 'forum hype' comment made me smile, I think there is an element of truth in that in any forum on any subject. You look to be on a long journey of gear purchasing to find 'the one' and the 120 is perhaps not it for you. I have been doing similar and find that no one scope hits the spot, the compromise to find one scope is at a cost, if you are not happy at that cost, then it's not 'the one' for you. From other posting you have made over time I believe the light pollution and weather at your location is probably the real issue for you to be honest, not the instrument being used.

Those added pictures, wow what a nice pair of scopes. The new house looks nice too.

Dave No wonder you are happy.

Dave Wonderful. Clearly you were heading toward a special scope and that looks to be a special scope indeed. I look forward to the first light reports. Enjoy. Alan

Balzer, is that 24mm at x24 ish not low powered enough? I would think it would be fine and need no further purchases, but I am sure someone else who knows this scope will be along soon.

Nice build Steve. My PWM's were ordered at start of November and arrived early January. Clearly it's a bit pot luck.