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Posts posted by toilandtrouble123
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Today was my first time EVER, yes I did pop my solar observing and imaging cherry, and for once (super low self esteem when it comes to photography) I'm abso-frickin-lutley chuffed with myself with a couple of my shots. For years I've wallowed in self pity over my ineptitude and kack-handedness, but today's given me the joy and wonder I'd always felt as a kid when gazing up at the stars. Even making the filter was an achievement I'm proud of not screwing up!! Hope others had as an amazing day as I
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What a great thread, particularly when I use my AZ4-90mm refractor set up more than my hefty 150mm/EQ5. I'm hoping to try and get some DSO's this summer, any tips for my little setup? Would love to contribute to this thread sometime soon. Details in signature. Thanks, Nat xx
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why thankyou russ, im quite pleased with it myself i'm gonna phone pulsar optical when i'm on my lunch, cos only got 20mins til I gotta leave the house for work, and makeup and hair not done, so asking about the antares barlow will have to wait... thing is, how do you pronounce it? lol
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ha i wish...only money for my 3x barlow left. shouldnt be too greedy, im buying a celestron eyepiece filter set off paulo at the end of the month, so i got that to look forward to too.
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and i appreciate it, and i hope my report has helped someone else out. well i is off to check out that link u gave me and to do somr web window shopping. i'll probably be on again before bed to check out the new posts. ciao
Nat
xxx
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really? cool, i'll do that in the morning then, thanks russ. maaaan... i must like such a muppet, your always helping me out!! geeez....im useless haha!
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i think that the one the woman offered me, (had a voicemail whilst I was at work, but it was very garbled) and she said it was £39.99, but 30 is all i can afford, 35 at an extreme push...im poor again lol, my phone died so had to buy a new one- an unexpected expense which i didnt budget for...meaning less i can spend on my scope setup
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cheers for the heads up, i'm gonna call them in the morn before I leave for work ( doing the 10-3 shift, whoop whoop!) and see when they think they'll get it back in, cos they've got the Meade 3x going for £30 atm and isn't the RRP something like £40?
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I am, muc thanks. Starting to get abdominal migraines again (stopped having them after I turned 14), had a splitting headache, and boy did I vom- the Exorcist had nothing on me!! And then I had to drag myself through managing the shop on Sunday, when all I wanted was my bed. But I'm better now thanks, just abit annoyed that my Meade 3x barlow from pulsar optical is out of stock, and is taken them a week to tell me, especially since I've been racing home each day hoping its there waiting for me, onlt to be disappointed that its not there.....hmmm....
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Natalie,
can you get the telescope to point more or less straight up? I looked at the picture of of the AZ04 on the FLO site and it looks like it might have issues going above about 60 degrees.
cheers
Alan
hey oceanheadted, I can get my scope pointing up to basically almost the zenith, but what it would be like for other scopes, I wouldn't have a clue.
Cheers
Natalie
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Sounds great Natalie - thanks for the report.
One of the issues I find with many mounts is that they are rather too short, or at least the tripods are rather too short (I'm 6 foot and my back does not like stooping for too long) - I'm wondering how tall the AZ4 is with the tripod extended - say to the dovetail where you mount the scope ?.
I'm glad you got a successful 1st light with it.
John
hey sorry took so long to get back to you, wasn't feeling too good yesterday and had work today. I measured it tonight, and its 140mm from the dovetail to the ground when fully extended.
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Sounds great Natalie - thanks for the report.
One of the issues I find with many mounts is that they are rather too short, or at least the tripods are rather too short (I'm 6 foot and my back does not like stooping for too long) - I'm wondering how tall the AZ4 is with the tripod extended - say to the dovetail where you mount the scope ?.
I'm glad you got a successful 1st light with it.
John
when i've got outta bed, i'll hunt for a tape measure and find out for you.
p.s. morning everyone!!!
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Hey All,
Well here is my report on the Skywatcher AZ4 Stainless Steel Tripod:
Firstly, despite my whinging about the lack of an assembly instruction leaflet, setting it up was very easy for my other half, who didn't even need the manual links given to me by a couple of members of SGL. Maybe it was because of my general ineptitude regarding putting ANYTHING together without an idiot-proof step-by-step diagram. Once the head was attached to the tripod, for me, carrying it outside was abit of a struggle due to the weight (at least I won't be having to pay for gym membership to get fit!), though I doubt anyone else would have any trouble. I also doubt that anything less than an F5 tornado would shift it, so Russ, your describing it as sturdy is abit of an understatement!
When it came to attaching my scope to the head, getting a good balance was no trouble at all, even with my Skyscout Planetarium on board too. Unfortunately, because of the position of where the dovetail bar is clamped into the head of the mount, meant the screen of my beloved Skyscout was facing straight down towards the ground. This meant for me that I'm not able to use it because of a bad neck, which actually caused some frustrated tears ( I blame PMS- girls you know what it's like)!!
Moving on from that little mishap, I give the handling 10 out of 10. Compared to the mount that came with my Skyscout Scope 90, the movement is buttery smooth. The main problem with my previous mount was that the axis were controlled by twisting the clutch, and once I had tightened the clutch and let go of the panhandle, the scope sagged, resulting in the loss of my view through the eyepiece. With the AZ4, this problem is completely non-existent, and as a bonus, I could detect no vibrations either (bearing in mind I was using a max of 132x tonight, and with not even the slightest breeze where I am).
So first night using the AZ4, well for the first time ever, I was able to get a steady view of Mars, without it dancing about, and despite my Meade 3x barlow not arriving today, I managed to distinguish the slightest difference in colouration (whether or not it was because I WANTED to see it, I don't know) at 132x. But with the light pollution and the constant dewing on all my kit, that was just about it for the night. The best part of this evening however was when I was walking out my backdoor with my beloved Babyliss hairdryer and the extension cable, I caught a beautiful metoer streak across the sky right in front of me, and I was surprised to see a whitish-blue tint to it.
So, all in all, despite the problem with the positioning of my Skyscout Planetarium, I am absolutly estatic about my new tripod, and consider this to be the best £180 I've ever spent!
I hope everyone else has had a good evening, I'm off to bed with a book.
Ciao
Natalie
Edited by Daz: Language. Sorry, some people are easily offended
Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.
in DIY Astronomer
Posted
Just revamping my flight case now! XD