Alan White

Looks great and glad you like it so far, it's a very nice mount. The Nexus II looks very neat fitted.

Don’t be overwhelmed, projects always meet a point like this for most of us. Looking great so far. It’s not a 100m sprint, it’s a Marathon and slow and steady as you go.

Yes, I have directly compared and now only own the XW, but let me explain why; DeLites are very good, very clear and (pun intended) delightful in use, but with two issues for me, Deeper angled undercuts, which snag on the televue diagonal I own. The eye cup twist and slide design sometimes moves when locked. Not an issue but it’s 60 degrees field. A big plus it’s lighter than the Pentax. The XW’s I have owned a number on and off, changed mainly as I wanted smaller and lighter and like to only own one set of eyepieces, not a set for each scope, which in all honesty is best if you can afford to do so. XW are very good, very clear and a pleasure to use, with one issue for me, The range has a gap of a 12mm and a 6mm, which can only be filled by other makes, however that gap is not really an issue in use at all! The XW have undercuts, far smaller, shallower and do not snag on the TeleVue diagonal. 70 degrees field and somehow feel stunning to look through. I recently sold some XW and down sized to DeLites, very quickly I realised for me that it was a mistake and at a cost rectified it very quickly, so now back to some XW’s, the one XW I flat refused to sell was telling at the 1Omm. My set is for my one scope, a Vixen ED103 f7.8, but they were used in a 10” oouk f4.9 scope before and were all excellent. APM UFF 30, Vixen 22 LVW, XW 10, 7, 5 , TeleVue Nagler 3-6 zoom. All I would say is all more premium eyepieces mainly differ in ergonomics, field of view and how they handle for you, rather than in what they show to the eye.

Thanks all for the information, this means I need the 2x to get focus with the scope. So I can now work out the magnifications being used, I hope.

Council folks can often pull out the stops and be most helpful, it's how you ask and how well you make the issue understandable. 10/10 to Durham Council.

I have my observing area, with a fixed pier, works well. Mount under a cover and ready to go for visual in moments, just carry out a scope and eyepieces. I ponder a push away so the scope can sit out, but it would onky save a minute or two, only advantage is the scope is aclimatised straight off or near enough. But with a doublet refractor at 103mm not reasone enough to do the build, but a bigger scope or reflector, things would differ for me. Whatever you do, it will or should make things easier to observe, so if you can go for it my friend.

The AZ75 base has removable outer screws, these can have none fitted, or be moved into two locations giving two different diameters for varied tripods. This is something Rowan discussed with me at my factory visit. Quite clever. So remove the screws and its flat and will fit anything in my opinion, as long as it has no north pin fitted.

It does beg the question, 'What were you doing on the Roof Nigella?' I am sure someone in the know will be along soon and make sensible comment.

Welcome to SGL Home of a friendly welcome and lots of friendly advice when saught. No silly questions exist, we all start with a thirst for answers, so ask away and someone will be along, with in the main sensible answers mixed with light humour.

Roger Perhaps 2x Dust Bunnies... top LHS much more fain than lower one. Thanks for sharing the image as stuck at a PC 'working', this is a coffe break, honest guv.

Jeremy @great_bear Thank you. Could you please measure the legths for me, as I am unsure that both my ones are WO, One certainly is, but I am unsure. Your help would be very much appreciated and informative for other looking at this thread in time to come.

Good old Sol, just keeps giving, makes looking so enjoyable. Thanks for the share of th eimage Paul, sadly no Solar images from me yet until the roof is finished, too much dust about from the roofers.

How about a 120mm visual scope in the future perhaps? Clearly no need for a FLO response on this.

I must add how nicely the AZ75 mount sits on the pier, solid as a rock. This is the testing mount that Rowan have kindly left with me for a while after testing has been completed. If you want to see my thoughts etc and @Stu we both were testers and have threads in the mount section.

I hope I am not joining the ex friend list for this @Stu? 😁

I never realised that name existed to be honest @Stu, you live and learn.... I should not joke on such a thread, sorry, but sometimes it just has to be said.

Final 12v electrics sort out, plugs soldered on, 12v Distribution board wired in, The PSU set up and live. I now have 2 x 12v (13.1 in reality) on 5mm plugs out of the pier. No idea what they might be used for as of yet, other than dew heaters for now, but things always move on, as I have proven with this thread itself. I have started pondering a push away over the pier to be honest, but that's not for 2022, the build and fettle never ends does it, even on a simple rectangle of concrete.

Good progress, very impressed so far. Somedays it is small steps that enable bigger ones, looks like the 15th was one of those days. And as @Swoop1 says, 'Not to be sniffed at' 👍

I had just read the same sad news before logging in. A big loss to The Astronomy community and the TeleVue family. Having owned DeLites, I appreciate his design ability.

Oh dear, the compromise moment I think. Looks like that load together with a very long out focus is your FT focuser, is the undoing with this set up. That's not good. These short length refractors can be very challenging to ballace. Somehow looks like counter weights out front on either a longer Vixen rail or slung under somehow. I am sure it will come together for you.

Looking at the image, surely a longer Vixen rail would allow the scope to be slid further forwards? This must be a very tail heavy scope and set up.

Sadly, the second of the two suggestions.

Indeed it will, Well done on the swift response, it is so variable. A shame we cannot get private lights shielded in the same way.

A very nice neat and tidy job, but as Ed says above, with such a tidy workplace, then tidy work should be produced.

Fully agree, Very nice and we do need to see what's inside.