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Excellent, many thanks for the suggestions. In following them up I have just found a plastics firm in Biggleswade that seem to have every material under the sun in all sorts of colours and finishes. They also do a cutting service and are only about 6 miles away. Hopefully they will be able to sort me out Best wishes, Linton

John, Many thanks for the link, I will give them a try. Best wishes, Linton

Hi, Can anyone point me towards a U.K. supplier of ‘Kydex’ or something similar. I think I have the name of the material right, it’s the black plastic used by Obsession and other makers to line upper tube assemblies etc. Basically any thin (ish) black plastic material would do but preferably with a Matt finish, ( I suppose I could cover it with flocking but would prefer not to) . Many thanks if you can point me in the right direction. Best wishes, Linton

A Keter shed should suit you well, they come with an internal thick plastic floor and are pretty warm. I use mine to store a couple of dobsonian, been up for 6 years just free standing on slabs. No leaks or problems. Double doors on mine so easy to get kit in and out. Took about 2 hours to erect, mostly just working out where everything went. Linton

Saw a 9’x9’ roll off by Home Observatory UK the other day. It was 4 years old and in great condition very solid. Roof rolled very easily, several well thought through points about the structure and it had the look of something that was put up with pride. It certainly made me think I could go with them in the future at some stage. Linton

Both now sold thank you

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Now reduced to £80.00 for the pair. Best wishes, Linton

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Very much a long shot but if anyone has a spare single tube ring from an Orion optics 14” Newtonian please drop me a PM Many thanks, Linton

So the 5 element version with rubber grip and eye cups do exist! Perhaps it was just a short production run. Maybe sometime I will come across one, thanks for the tip about the 01 code. The pair of 5 element smooth side I have really are a pleasure to use. Best wishes, Linton

Meade ETX drive base and legs in excellent condition. This is the original version, just flick the on switch and it tracks. No ‘goto’ has manual adjustment knobs for RA and Dec, table top legs with latitude adjustment. All ready just to slip a Meade ETX 90 OTA back in or could be adapted for all sorts of other uses employing the simple sidereal drive. £45 cash on collection from Bedford or I can post at cost.

The Meade 4000 series eyepieces have changed several times over the years. The originals were 5 element Japanese Masuyama design (So not plossls even though labelled as such) They were smooth sided and without a Rubber eyecup. Japan stamped on the black body. in my opinion these are excellent eyepieces and I am lucky enough to own a pair. Production then changed to a 4 element version but now with a rubber grip band and rubber eyecup. These were still made in Japan and are stamped on the silver barrel. These eyepieces are very good and it’s a pair of these that I am selling. I have read that there were some 5 element versions with rubber grip and eye cups produced between the two versions above, but I have not come across any and have not taken my two that are for sale apart just to see if they have 4 or 5 elements. If anyone knows more about this intermediate version I would be interested. Production of the 4 element then moved to Taiwan and more recently China (and Mexico?) Quality seems to have varied over the years. I have a Taiwan produced model which is good, but some of the early Chinese versions were less so, although still decent starter eyepieces for the price. Anyway if you have got this far you at least have a passing interest! So back to the point of this advert: I have a matched pair of Japanese 4000 26mm (presumed 4 element) eyepieces in bolt cases. Excellent eye relief and very comfortable to use in binoviewers. I have seen these advertised at silly prices but I would be happy with £90 for the pair cash on collection from Bedford. Or postage at cost. Best wishes, Linton

Worth pointing out that this mount has the upgraded altitude adjustment casting made by Peter Drew. It’s the grey plate on the side with three locking set screws. One of the main faults of the Super Polaris was this casting used to break. The replacement is much more heavy duty and will not let you down. If you fancy a retro session using setting circles they are much larger and easier to read on the SP than a GP. I still use my SP regularly bought new in 1986. If the buyer contacts me I may have a spare green plastic end cover for the RA motor which looks to be missing. Good luck with the sale! Linton

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