michaelmorris

I concur. From my experience, finderscopes are rarely of sufficiently high quality to use as a stand alone scope. There are a few better quality finder scopes around, but you'll pay a premium for them. http://www.stellarvue.com/stellarvue-9x50-top-rated-ra-correct-image-finder-scope-matte-black-f050m2/ http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/baader-vario-finder-10-x-60-finderscope.html http://sciencecenter.net/hutech/borg/miniborg/index.htm

Do you use the same exposure for all three filters?

I'm just starting on the long road of learning narrowband imaging with my new Atik460 ex mono camera. I have the standard set of Baader narrowband filters. With the Atik460 being a relatively commonly used CCD camera and the Baader narrowband filter set being very popular, I presume there quite a few people out there with this combination. What relative exposures do people tend to use when using the Baader Ha, OIII and SII filters? Thanks

OUCH! If it has bled underneath the nail it could start hurting in a day or so.

Congratulations to you both. Have a wonderful life and cherish each other.

Have you tried Astromart?

You may be able to have your cake and eat it! You could probably pick up a HEQ5 £450 and a 130PS for as little as £110 if you're prepared to go to the secondhand market. That's £15 cheaper than a new 130PS on an EQ3.

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana" Groucho Marx.

Hi Niall Putting all the small stuff together in an easy to carry/move box certainly helps. If you make the box/case useful in the field this makes the whole experience so much less hassle. In days of yore my only scope was a little ETX90. This was stored in a foam-lined wooden box with carry handles on it and and plastic runners on the base to make it robust and easy to handle. Inside, all the eyepieces were in bolt bottles in size order down one side of the box. I installed at battery powered swan-necked red light into the lid and my star atlas lived in a pouch in the underside of the lid. The lid then doubled up as a stand for the star atlas or a small table top. Nowadays the huge variety of plastic tool chests available mean you could do the job with a lot less weight and some even come with wheels. You could also build in lithium 'Tracer'-type battery pack as well with input and output plugs in the side of the box to cut down the clutter even more..

First off is learning how to use it all! The whole idea is that the new set up is multi-purpose. The 80 mm ED refractor is my main DSO imaging scope. This will be used mainly for narrowband imaging (with some LRGB as well) of DSOs with the new CCD camera and filter wheel. The 66 mm ED refractor serves as a guide scope for DSO imaging, but can be used for wider field DSO imaging with the new CCD camera and filter wheel + a focal reducer as well. In this configuration I could also add my astro-modified DSLR to the 80ED and add a finder guider and do simultaneous colour imaging and narrow band imaging of the same target. The 66 mm can also be used for Ha viewing/imaging of the Sun with my Coronado 0.7Ao etalon with adaptor + BF10 blocking filter. The C 9.25 is my main visual scope, used mostly for double star observing. It also doubles up as my main lunar and planetary scope for both visual observing and imaging. Thirdly, I plan to try out DSO imaging of distant galaxies and planetary nebulae through it with the new CCD camera and filter wheel + an off axis guider. Of course, how on earth I'm going to fit all this stuff in to my life is another matter!

My new EQ8 mount is now back from my mate Chris. Chris made a 15cm high pier extension to raise the whole kit and caboodle so that the observatory walls don't get in the way so much. Because the whole mount + cameras/filter wheel/focal reducer + counterweights weighs in at an estimated 82 kg, the pier extension is made from a solid block of 19cm diameter alumunium! With this concentration of mass, gravitational lensing will now swamp the punny effects of 9.25" mirror on the C9.25". One the subject of counterweights, Chris got hold of a Celestron CGEM 7.7kg counterweight and bored out the central hole to 1.25"so that I can use it as a third counterweight on the EQ8. This allows me to push the two original 10 kg weights far higher up the counterweight bar.

I got one a cheap wireless game controller from Ebay, less than £10 delivered. Works a treat. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282267137128?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Camera lens to 2" filter adaptors Matched pair of 52mm to 48 mm (2") and 48mm to 52mm adaptors. Allows you to fit a 2" (48mm) astronomical filter in front of a camera lens with a standard 52mm filter thread and still use a 52mm thread lens hood on the camera lens. £5 for the pair + £2.00 postage to UK mainland

On the matter of stability with a relatively light weight tripod, one option is to have a hook on the bottom of the central pillar of the tripod. From this you can hang a bag which you could fill with sand or rocks. Alternatively you could get a screw-in peg such as used for securing dogs to. Screw this into the ground underneath the tripod and attach it to the hook with bungee cord. I hope this helps.

Withdrawn from sale.