michaelmorris

I know the feeling.

Okay, your post has prompted me to look at the website. I've now booked for general entry + the talks by Patrick Gilliland and by Prof Hilary Downes.

I'm probably going, probably on the Saturday. - (decisive aren't I?!)

Unless you intend to keep moving it in and out of your van every night, a good waterproof cover for your scope is an essential. Many people cover them with a toilet/utility tent.

Not so much 'great minds ticking over searching' as 'drunk befuddled minds groping hopelessly in the dark'

Nice image.

I wouldn't go that far. The old EQ8 was the more or less on it's own at the circa £2000 price point in having such a high weight capacity. My guess is that they've decided to aim the mount a higher spec market, hence the belt driven Dec axis and all the built in power and USB features. Perhaps there just isn't a big enough market for a high capacity mount at this price point to make it worth making them. However, personally I think it's a shame that this option of a (relatively) inexpensive high capacity mount will now have disappeared. Perhaps there is a new low cost, high weight capacity mount in the pipeline (EQ7)?

Looks great, but that is quite a price difference from the old EQ8.

This is the sort of thing I use https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F352464212909

Thanks Stephan.

Would acetate work on a touch screen?

I already have some red safety specs that I use for the very same purpose. However, unless I issue pairs to 100 people they aren't going to help at a star party! 😀

The idea was to put the filter on the light box to correct the colour imbalance of the light source.

Whilst I can use software to make the screen of my Windows Tablet and Android phone red, in neither instance does this work all the time. What I'm really after is a red film that can be taken on and off the touch sensitive screen of the phone or tablet so that I can ensure that neither will ruin my night vision. The only products I've found so far are Xtra Dark Cling by Sirius Products. https://www.siriusastroproducts.com/products---red-eyes-computeriphonedslr-light-shield.html?m and a red screen protector by Astrogizmo http://www.astrogizmos.com/TransPVC.htm However, both of these products are quite expensive for what are just basically plastic screen protectors + you have to add shipping costs from the USA. Does anyone know of any cheaper alternatives that can be used with a touch sensitive screen? Thanks

Late last year I bought a ZWO 294 MC Pro cooled camera. It's a great camera. However, I am a little concerned about the flats I am getting with my light box. I'm aiming to get and ADU value that sits right in the middle of the histogram. However, peaks on the histogram for R G and B are a long distance apart, meaning it is impossible to get all three colours near the centre of the histogram. So here are my questions 1 - Does this matter? 2 - Should I be looking to introduce a coloured filter in to my light box to even out these differences a bit?

Thanks

What length of time would you describe as "a good nights session"?

ad nauseum.

Hi Daz It certainly would make sense if you have permanent set up, less of an advantage if you have to set it up every night. The real advantage would come if you want to do imaging through both scopes simultaneously. The ADM dual mounting bars are VERY solid. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-losmandy-type-d-series/adm-losmandy-style-dual-mounting-bar.html

Polefinder is excellent and has a large range of polar scope reticle designs. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.techhead.polarfinder&hl=en_GB

The mega cheap Angeleyes finder bracket has arrived from China. First impressions are that it's a product in two halves. What I mean by that it that the shoe and riser are nice and solid. No problems there. The rings are also solid with nice plastic-tipped adjustment screws. The thing that lets it down is the joint between each ring and the riser. The rings are not flattened at this point, so you have to tighten the bolt between them very tightly to make it solid. I plan to file down a small flat spot on each ring to make this connection much more solid and straight. I'll probably take the opportunity to replace the connection bolts with stainless steel Allen bolts as well. In summary, these rings are remarkably solid considering the sub £12 price tag and a little tweak here and there should make for an adequate finder/guider bracket at a fraction of the price of any of the alternatives. 

No, not really.

If you're looking at long exposure imaging with an Schmitt Cassegrain telescope at prime focus, you are going to need a high quality, heavy duty mount. I suppose you may well be able to use an C8 or even a C9.25 on an EQ6, but for imaging, that is probably going to be your limit. It's not just a matter of carrying capacity, it's also a matter of the focal length of these large SCTs. Longer focal lengths require more accurate mounts. You also need to consider the usability of your system. If you've got to set up a large, heavy mount and a very large SCT tube every time you want to image, my guess is you will probably quite soon be put off by the sheer palaver of setting it all up. There is an old adage that hold very true - "The best telescope is the one that get used". IMHO, for most people, the EQ6 is at about the limit (weight-wise) of what constitutes as a portable mount.

Lovely shot.