Geoff Barnes

Hi Jazzo, just to be clear, you say you removed the top and bottom caps, you know you have to remove the whole large cap and not just the smaller ones?

Oh yes, well before the move to this server.

Yes I get that too, it seems to be the Imaging Challenge banner loading as a white square before it loads properly. Not a problem at all.

Can you explain for the uninitiated (like me) what exactly we're looking at there John, mineral wise I mean. The orange/brown parts are iron based presumably?

I fitted the Lacerta Micro Focuser today, easy and straight forward job. Yes, the plastic insert from the SW original came out and slotted perfectly into the Lacerta. Once installed the focuser feels really firm but ultra smooth and no adjustments were necessary once I'd tightened the grub screw to a suitable tension. Now looking forward to trying it out but not hopeful for a few days with poor weather forecast.

Ah thank you Mods, that looks much better!

😉 My psychoanalyst assured me everything would be okay and I just needed to be patient.....

Hi Neil, If I recall correctly the video I saw said to take the existing strip out of the Skywatcher focuser and insert it in the new Lacerta one. I will have another look and confirm later. There are no instructions included with the Lacerta so I need to refresh my memory Edit: Yes, you take out the block with the Teflon pad from the original focuser and insert it in the new Lacerta one.

I've been thinking of upgrading my focuser for a while now. As always budget limitations dictate what I can afford so rather than getting a whole replacement focuser I thought I'd try one of these. The Lacerta adapter, gets very good reviews and certainly feels very solid and chunky, and surprisingly heavy. I'm wanting more precise focusing at high power for planetary viewing in the coming months, so we'll see how we go with this.....

Welcome to the club, you know it makes sense! Really a great all round scope.

Hello and welcome! Given your location and viewing preferences I would definitely choose the 200p. Easy to handle and capable of fantastic views of the solar system as well as deep sky objects, you can't go wrong really.

Good to hear laudropb! With which scope do you use it, or find it works best and at what magnification?

I tend to be a sensible sort of person who thinks things through before acting, ie. not impulsive, so my decision to buy my 12 inch Dobsonian was based on the two main criteria mentioned above - cost and practicality. I bought the very biggest scope I could afford and also the biggest I could sensibly handle, and I'm very pleased I did! ?

Arrived today courtesy of FLO. A bit of an experiment really, to see how far I can push my 12 inch SW Dob on the Moon and planet's without breaking the bank. My 6.5mm Baader Morpheus gives amazing views, but they are still sharp (when seeing allows), so I'm going to try this little beastie for starters. In reality I think that 5mm will probably be the sensible limit most nights. Just have to wait another couple of months for the planet's to be up in the evenings. Initial impressions are it feels solid and well made and surprisingly weighty. The rubber textured grip feels reassuringly secure to hold. A nice big eye lens which I like, and the rubber eye cup feels firm but has a bit of flex as well. For a budget EP I'm pleased so far.

Thanks for all your suggestions chaps! As advised I had a good look through my binoculars today and am pleased to report that I'm sure I was seeing with both eyes, which presumably means binoviewing is going to work for me. Now comes the problem, as far as I can find, no astro suppliers in Australia stock binoviewers except one in Sydney and they're out of stock. So it looks like a trial run before buying is out of the question. I'm quite prepared to order a pair from FLO, they have the special offer on the OVL product at the moment. Will give it a bit more thought first. Many thanks again.

I must say I've been thinking quite seriously of getting a pair of binoviewers for some time now, peoples reports of their 3D image effect is very appealing to me. However, I have a slight squint in my right eye so my eyes don't see in stereo, I always favour one eye at a time, usually my left, which presumably means I'm seeing in mono. Does this mean I won't get any benefit from using binoviewers I wonder? There doesn't seem much point investing in a pair if I'm only going to be mostly using one eye. Does anyone else have this condition who uses binoviewers, and does it make a difference?

You need to spend more time in the bathroom Louis! ?

Better quality glass on the left if you ask me! ?

What was wrong with the old one Gina?

Can I join in? Better than I thought actually, now if only I could cut down a few dozen huge trees..... If I could get the 12 inch Dob about a half hour drive east of here I would be well into Bortle 2 territory, if only.....

Here we go folks, this is my 12 inch Dob wearing its posh new Astrozap cloak pointing straight at Sirius this evening. Gives you an idea of the elevation of Sirius and Orion too.....

I had exactly the same issue with my Skywatcher dob when I first got it. It turned out the problem was simply that the AZ Power Cable was not fully inserted into its sockets, it felt like it was but I had to push extra hard to get it to "click" into place, then all worked perfectly. Just make really sure your AZ cable is fully connected. at least it will eliminate one possible cause. Good luck!

Hardly any need for a telescope with those! ?

Last one on the list, number 5, is Series 3..... Antares Speers Waler Series 3 80° Wide Field Eyepieces 1.25" Superior quality 80° eyepieces. Compared to eyepieces almost 3 times the price, the Series 3 SWA eyepieces compare very closely indeed. They feature a very high build quality and stunning optics. ONLY £159.00buyDETAILS

This will make you laugh (or scream in horror) but I recently cleaned a bit of dust off my 12 inch Dob mirror by sticking the vacuum cleaner hose down the tube, and while holding it really tightly sucked the dust off without getting it any closer than 2 inches from the mirror. Worked a treat and left the mirror spotless! ?