LukeSkywatcher

"A kind gentleman from this forum 3D printed some filter holders for me so I have OIII and UHC on here"

Nice. 

On 23/07/2018 at 21:40, Stormbringer said:

I really think you will like the pistol grip mate

I am. It feels more natural.

4 minutes ago, Gina said:

Lovely ??

Not the full family. Good God, i have astro gear stashed away all over this bungalow...............it may take me yrs to find it. I cant find my SW Heritage 130P.

Must in the shed obsy or attic.

My lounge is becoming a bit of an astro store showroom. Good thing I'm single. 

Left to right: Celestron 8se tripod and mount, Ravelli Pistol grip mount and tripod, Bresser AR 102 XS and AZ5 tripod/mount.

Buy a dew heater strap. They work well. 

On 25/07/2018 at 11:49, LukeSkywatcher said:

It's here. 

Great tripod and pistol grip. I had it out with the big bins last night having a look around. Very solid build and excellent quality. Takes a bit of getting used to the pistol. It can take a load of 11 pounds. 

It's here. 

12 minutes ago, Charic said:

I thought the norm was 1.5 times the aperture, but no harm in experimenting.

Its 2.5x, 2x is good.

Dew shields, should be about 2x the diameter of the aperture of the scope.

So lets say your scope has 80mm aperture.............make a dew shield 160mm long.

Tomorrow my Ravelli Pistol grip mount and tripod arrive. It will replace my Horizon 8115.

Im noticing a common theme here on this thread. Most people have a refrac with an aperture of less than 90mm. Do you think this is because even small aperture Fracs are just so good or is it because as the aperture increases,so does the price. 

*or is it because as the aperture increases,so does the price*. 

Not strictly true. My 1st frac was a 90mm Celestron on EQ mount. I think it cost me just shy of 400 euros (they saw me coming). My latest Frac is a Bresser ar102xs and cost me about 250 euros.

I must admit that i think Fracs are the best looking scopes.

18 hours ago, Anderscn said:

Hi,

Here my Istar 150-12 on Ayomaster ll and Berlebach Planet.

Best Regards,

Anders

 

Go BIG or go home,eh!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats a whopper.

24 minutes ago, avtaram said:

An Orion Apex 102 Mak and an Astrozap Dewshield arrived today.

I used have a 90 Mak for grab and go and as a travel scope but sold it a few months ago and have regretted it ever since.

The apex 102 is it's replacement. I wanted to get the Skymax 102 but I have been told there are none available until October. 

The pouch hanging on the tripod contains an Hyperion 24, the diagonal is a WO erect image with helical focuser and the eyepiece is a Baader 8-24 Zoom. For mounting I'm using a Ravelli photo tripod and a TS AZ mount. The day time views are sharp and crisp and the focuser is nice and smooth. The whole setup is light enough to carry around with one hand.

Hoping for some clear skies tonight to get first light.

Avtar

 

Im pretty sure the dew shield is meant to go on the front of the scope.

*tongue in cheek*........i cant be bothered waiting for the emoji to load.

Pan & tilt ................really annoys me with bin viewing. Im really looking forward to the pistol grip.

"Some creative maths then tells me the 10" only cost around £50".

Ive no new purchases in mind, but a lot of sales. My petty cash bank account is starting to run low.

One thing ive learned here on SGL over the yrs is that there is never a problem with astro gear................only solutions.

6 minutes ago, DRT said:

I have a brother-in-law who is a panel beater by trade.

Dent? What dent?  

I was going to say that if you have any panel beating skills or know someone who has................

Dent be gone.

16 minutes ago, DRT said:

Correct! But it is the Altair-branded version  

There is a lovely dent in the bottom half of the tube which doesn't encroach on the light path and attracted a suitable discount. Very nice CNC dual-speed focuser and sturdy rings which are now attached to a 15" ADM Losmandy plate and the handle that you can see in the picture.

Very pleased  

I could not live with a dent like that (even with a discount). Im a bit OCD about things like that. Id send it back. Love the observing chair. It looks very comfortable.

20 hours ago, DRT said:

Can you tell what it is yet?...

The box is 137cm x 47cm x 47 cm

 

Going on what people are buying of late, im guessing its a Takasushi of sorts.

Nothing delivered today, but i know whats on its way. Will be here on Wednesday:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adjustable-Trigger-Ravelli-APGL4-Professional/dp/B003SQEAY0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532183620&sr=8-1&keywords=Ravelli+trigger+grip

Having recently given my Celestron 70mm Travelscope and Horizon 8115 tripod to the kid across the road, i was in the market for a new tripod which i could use with my 20x90 bins (and anything else i own that will fit on it). I saw this posted on the thread "Show Us Your Bins", and thought it was a great price for the whole setup.

Ive long lusted after a trigger grip (particularly for binocular astronomy), but never had a reason to buy one until now.

65 euros.............cant go wrong, worth the punt.

On 20/07/2018 at 15:13, alanjgreen said:

I am "in the process" of buying a Skywatcher AZ5 GTi Wifi mount to give me GOTO capabilities for my Borg (and Night Vision) as its difficult to identify all the things I can now see by manual star chart means

My wife bought me the new Skywatcher 3/8 steel tripod and extension which has been with Fedex for the last 3 days!!!! (while I sat inside waiting for repeated NON-delivery!!)

There are not many pics of the new steel tripod with the extension fitted, so here are some...

 

The tripod itself is nice and solid, it's very lightweight indeed. The extension tube makes a nice tight fit so should secure the mount head solidly...

Needless to say, the AZ5 GTi mount went "out of stock" after I ordered it and I now have to wait another month for something to fit onto the above

Alan

I recently bought an AZ5 tripod and mount (B&W with a splash of lime green). It has the extension tube etc. It is extremely well build and solid as a rock. The tripod is pretty light to carry on its own (as is the mount). 

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

"You should clearly see and feel the  difference whilst  using a trigger grip. "

OK..............GOOD THING.

4 hours ago, Charic said:

Paul, I've got an expensive all singing pan and tilt system on my three legged thing ( honestly, thats what their called ?) and it hardly ever gets used, but my  Manfrotto 222 is always in use when I'm using binoculars, even on my 8x40's? Just makes the entire view that much more stable, making the image appear sharper.
Once setup the  binoculars stay exactly where I place them.
For me, the Manfrotto 222 is a solid bit of kit, discontinued now, but if anyone comes across one, I'd surely recommend  their purchase. 

You should clearly see and feel the  difference whilst  using a trigger grip. 

So, are you saying its a good or bad investment. 50 quid............worth a punt.

Just pulled the trigger. 

Aye carumba!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Just checked Amazon. The Ravelli trigger grip,mount and tripod...............about £50.

Yes please, i'll have some of that.