Alan White

More good progress made, makes my own efforts feel minor.

Indeed it is, even more worrying with the storm warning just given on tonight’s news ! fingers 🤞 it’s as watertight as the roofer assures me it is.

Now you have done it John….. next 3 months all solid cloud 😜

Thanks for all the images and share Nigella, I have been unable to observe this week as roof being removed on house and too much dust for optics, so very much appreciated.

I just rely on my backsides own padding on my one. @johninderby, I do like your solution and to be honest it would be better for this addition. But my back side is well upholstered in its own rights, too many pies....

Well got a spare moment, which is rare as hens teeth at the minute, so got the pier fixed down, chemical fixed fixings m16 and a lot of various mastics to help level out my slightly wonky concrete lump. All I can say is what a solid job it makes, very pleased and managed to just miss the showers. On a side note showers make me nervous, as we have half our roof under a temporary cover as its being lifted and re-laid. Managed to get a cable for 12v pulled through and 3 additional draw wires for future use, better safe than sorry.

Pete the Postie has delivered my latest smaller purchase to make a binoview pair up. I had one and just received this fine one from a fellow SGL member.

I was thinking the seeing was proabably differening between each scope and that could be the only difference.

Well the pier arrived at the start of the week, all on a pallet and in one bit and undamaged, which is good. Life of course got in the way all week, but managed to mark up the concrete base where the old pier sat and cut out a duct route to run power from The Khazi to the pier, now cemented and drying awaiting the big drill and bolting. Small progress but very satisfying.

Good catch Neil 😉 Sorry it had to be done…. Watching space craft can be quite something, I recall watching a SpaceX deployment of Starlink satellites, which was amazing to be able to see. We are living in quite amazing times.

If you want true grab and go for very short sessions, then I use binoculars, small, portable and instantly usable.

Good news to see Meade secure as a brand for one and nice to see @FLO stocking them PST making a return will be good

That is indeed an incredible event, amazing watching the animation. Our Sun is such an interesting thing to observe.

But doing alt az does not guarantee it will be solid in use with a refractor for visual, it clearly might and change the way we all do things, jury is out But a long heavy refractor vibration free ?

I think there will be places for all mounts to be honest, the lighter ones are great for lighter set ups in my view, something solid and heavy, needs to sit on a solid mount and a solid base. I wonder how much weight the tripods can take? on a brezzy day hmmm. Something designed for astro imaging will be different to something for visual use without shakes and wobbles. Let's face it imagers dodn't touch the kit, ley aolone go outside if they can 🤣 (I jest). This thread is about the Pegasus mount and Harmonics, not other mounts so lets talk about that shall we....

Now that is very nice indeed, Lucky you and Happy Birthday as well.

Ok not the Postie Pete, but Palletline instead, new arrival for the pad Pictures etc on Observing Pad thread will follow soon … A1200mm tall galvanised steel pier from Greg at White Star in Cornwall, nice guy and makes a good range of piers. He is on ebay and online, small business, big products. I must note, that huge shake up the Oak post looks terrible in that picture.

These mounts look most interesting and the competition is warming up, I do await the Skywatcher entry and price point, that might be interesting.

Nice images, love the grid overlay one. Thank you for sharing as not got to look today.

LV are / were nice EP, well made, small and very good optically. I would love an decent LV zoom for solar, when one comes up I might get lucky.

I got to see firstish contact, then I went back to bed for a while and of course woke up after thing had been and gone, typical. It would not have all been visible due to the tree lines near me, but, sleepy head will never know.

Looks like decent progress, interesting to watch others graft. Have you a final plan or is this being flexible in build? Material wise, costs are indeed rising as everything else, but some materials go in and out of stock for no imaginable reason, so good luck on the materials supply, just take your time.

The next installment of the ongoing saga..... I have managed to source another pier at 1200mm tall this time, so suitable for refractor use and a larger one in years to come. This is on its way so that will be the next posting, but to finalise where I am. I have made a pinboard for maps etc in the rear of the observing cupboard, red of course to not spoil night vision 😉 I have also produced a first version name plate, for the cupboard and made the name official 'The Khazi' is now adopted hence forth.

Light Pollution from Insecurity Lighting by far, followed as per Jeremy, Undercuts.

I have no idea why I made the swap out Jeremy, a moment of madness, but some calm returns now.