FLO

We also received details today and will almost certainly be stocking it but we are all in the warehouse today stock-taking(!) so are unable to assess it. We will check it out Monday then add it to our website, we will also post details here at SGL. Thanks for asking Steve

It is a different mount, not related to the Sky-Watcher AZ5. We considered sourcing the same from the manufacturer in China but when we heard the Sky-Watcher's AZ5 was in the pipeline we chose not to.

I didn't know they did one, what a good idea We'll order some for stock. Steve

You have been actively bashing Crayford's since around 2011... Moonlite are faithful to the Crayford design and there are a lot of happy Moonlite owners here at SGL. It is okay for someone to own and like one Steve

I didn't realise you were still running your anti-Crayford campaign We offer all the brands discussed in this thread so are as neutral and objective as any retailer can be. I do understand why, Olly, in your circumstances a Starlight Instruments FeatherTouch R&P focuser is the right choice. It is beautifully engineered and bomb-proof but it's price (around £600) puts it out of reach for most astronomers. Fortunately, for most applications, it isn't necessary. I like the Crayford design because it can be made to a high standard at an affordable price (it isn't possible to make a good R&P focuser at the prices most Crayfords sell at). And, when done properly, a Crayford is a delight to use and is more than enough focuser for most astronomers. Even Starlight Instruments acknowledge this - their more affordable focusers (around £400) are Crayfords. HTH, Steve

Our thanks to Chris Vaughan at Space.com for mentioning Clear Outside in his article Turn Your Smartphone into an Astronomy Toolbox with Mobile Apps. ?️?️⛅️☀️?✨?

The scrolling issue on some Android devices should now be fixed. You may need to completely close the app and reopen. The issue was due to an update to one of the system components of Android that caused a conflict with the way scrolling works in Clear Outside. For now we just wanted to fix this issue but we are working on improvements and new features to the app

Grant has replicated the problem so will soon have a fix for it, probably sometime tomorrow. HTH

Grant mentioned this earlier, something about an update to the Android OS causing a problem with Clear outside. We use IOS here at FLO so only noticed it when Android users started posting negative reviews. Grant is working on a fix. HTH, Steve

Please see this notice regarding cloud data displayed at Clear Outside

No, but the arrangement between Es and ourselves is working well so we will probably obtain a small sticker that he can apply to telescopes he has tested, or something along those lines. It will happen. It involves pixie dust. Lots and lost of pixie dust The testing is done on a 12 inch aperture collimator with a reflecting ball source at the focus of an F9 parabolic mirror. A telescope under test is pointed at the collimated beam and a short, 4 or 5mm, eyepiece used to assess image symmetry, longitudinal correction, residual colour, coma and astigmatism. He also checks with a 25 lines/mm Ronchi grating and sometimes a knife edge Foucault test. The scopes are rotated to check for consistent images around the edge of the field of view and adjustments made, where possible, to reduce variations. Not all aberrations can be adjusted out. Sometimes it is not possible to achieve a decent image due to, say, colour errors where the individual lens element powers are not balanced correctly. If the surfaces are not figured spherical, as most optical designs would require, there can be over or under-correction and this can rarely be adjusted out. In situations like this the telescope is rejected. No telescope is perfect, regardless of price or brand, and optical tests are subjective. But over time, and enough samples, we will gain an increasingly clear understanding of what is/isn't acceptable and ensure the ones sold by us (and tested by Es) perform well. That is the purpose of this exercise HTH, Steve

Our first delivery of new William Optics Star 71 II 4-element telescopes has arrived. We will dispatch them to Es Reid today for testing. They will be listed at our website tomorrow with price and specs. Meanwhile, here's a couple of photos

You are being mischievous. Carole placed her order Friday evening, we dispatched all three items Tuesday for delivery Wednesday. That's only three working days. Steve

I meant all three items (I wasn't aware of the third item until you mentioned it). I only called out from my desk "Carole is chasing her order" then heard a response from the warehouse "already packed!"

Don't worry Carole, all three items are already packed for dispatch so will be with you tomorrow HTH, Steve

We have ordered a quantity of the new 4-element Star 71 but we have not yet been given an ETA. (Apparently there is also a triplet model scheduled for launch next month). Thank-You for your patience, Steve

A number of people have requested this service be made available for Skywatcher Esprit telescopes. Esprit triplet optics are rarely faulty (quite the opposite, in fact) but we understand someone wanting the peace-of-mind that comes with having Es Reid check a telescope prior to dispatch, and we are here to serve With WO triplets we 'only' offer Es Reid checked telescopes but for the Esprits we have made it an option. To select the service simply tick the 'Pre-Dispatch Optical Bench Test' box before adding the telescope to your shopping cart. HTH, Steve

Mert's Stargate 450p is now setup at our premises in Exeter, if anyone would like to come take a look they will be welcome Steve

James has chased them for an update but, based on what we last heard, we will have a price and ETA in a week or two. HTH, Steve

I think we put Ozone in because we had it available in the data we use We don't have it in the mobile app and it doesn't play a role in the traffic light rating system. I guess you could argue, more Ozone in the column above you would affect seeing but I don't know by how much or when/if that would be a real issue. We will remove it completely next time we do an update.

To be fair to your Dad, a Stargate-450p is a lot of telescope for a beginner I am sure he'll get the hang of it. Steve

Just found it at Amazon: Super Lube Synthetic Grease

This is the grease Sky-Watcher recommend.

This one does

A number of people are asking us about points raised in this thread so, rather than wait, here's an update from us. Mert has three concerns: His focuser sticks, his finderscope falls out of it's shoe and the Dobsonian base isn't as smooth as he'd like (this he says is subtle). The focuser is the same one fitted to every Skywatcher Dobsonian with an aperture 8" or over, it isn't unique to the Stargate-450p. We aren't sure why it is sticking (we'll know when we have collected it) but it will no doubt be an easy fix or replacement. The same is true of the finderscope, if you own any Skywatcher telescope with a 9x50 finder, it is the same. They don't normally fall out of their shoe but we are confident it too will be an easy fix or replacement. The base not running smooth was a mystery until Mert noticed it should be greased, but his is not. Somebody else had assembled it for him and hadn't applied the grease (perhaps the pot of grease normally supplied with the telescope was missing). I am guessing any good lithium grease will suffice but we have asked Skywatcher for confirmation. We are dangerously close to a happy ending We don't know about Raanany's Stargate-450p, it isn't one of ours (he lives in Israel). HTH, Steve