PaulM

Started with an 8" and quickly acquired a 2nd hand 12" GOTO which was great. Sold both to fund getting a 2nd hand 14" flexi which will be making visits to dark skies location this year

If anyone has a dob 18" or larger for sale thats transportable or know of anyone selling please let me know/PM me

ive just ordered a 6mm eyepiece i have a 4mm which doesnt work well and an 8mm which is fine so hoping a 6mm gives me closer views of Saturn and Jupiter

Hi,

Plan to go to a dark sky location tonight but it looks like it will be sub zero temps - is this practical? will the temps just ice over\damage the mirror if I am out for a few hours and same for the eyepieces etc - I have a 14" dob

thanks

Paul

Celestron Starpointer Pro Finderscope quite fiddly and cheap feeling but should do the job and looks good

Sebeb laser collimator nice piece of kit took a fews mins to align the secondary then primary in the dark

Great write up thanks fort sharing, I need some clear skies !!

AstroTube

In lower magnification compared to my old 8" and 12" skywatcher dobs I'm noticing the focus is out around the edge of the eyepiece when I focus the central starts\objects in my 350p 14" dob so would a coma corrector address this issue if so are the below good options? 

If so I assume I can only use these with a 2" EP with these?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/coma-correctors/baader-mpcc.html

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/coma-correctors/skywatcher-coma-corrector.html

Recently acquired used 350p 14" skywatcher flexitube

Welcome not too far from me im on the Wirral

Dors anyone know of a mobile mirror cleaning service my 14" mirror could do with a clean and maybe a recoat

Alternatively are there any members on here nesr Liverpool/Wirral able to help?  Not too confident doing it myself unless its not too difficult to clean a mirror with a good guide/instructions.

Cheshire collimator. Collomation was out so hopefully viewing will be better now

we need a dobmob sub forum !!

Sounds like a good viewing session - makes me need to get to a dark sky location asap with by 14" dob

Well after around 2 weeks of torrential rain after buying my used 350p Skywatcher flexitube the clouds dispeared around 10pm last night

Last year I was using an 8" sky watcher and then bought a 12" flexi goto both of which I sold earlier this year to fund the purchase of the 350p 14"

Relocating the scope is pretty hard work, the base can be lifted in one piece (just) and then moved around awkwardly, however splitting the base via the screws is quick and easy. I've attached two velcro handles to the actual scope itself which makes moving that around quiet easy and manageable

Once I moved the scope out of the conservatory into the garden I aligned the finder scope and was ready to go

Sky was clear of clouds and viewing looks good with dark skies away from the light pollution and clear stars

M13 Hercules Globular Cluster : easy to find in the finder with no charts. Appeared nice and bright in the 15mm EP and could clearly see the central mass of stars in the 8mm EP. Also used the 2x barlow on both these EPs to get in more closer. Had a final look through the Meade 24mm to get some perspective of how it looks in a wider FOV

M57 Ring Nebula : again easy to find in the finder without any charts. Started with the Meade 24mm to see it handing amonst nearby stars and then swapped this over for the 8mm EP and then 8mm with barlow, filled up the view nicely - slightly fuzzy around the edges - unable to see the central star. Removed the barlow and kept in the 8mm EP and viewed through the OIII and UHC filters, looked better through the UHC filter

M27 Dumbbell nebula : star hopped starting from Albireo in Cygnus. Filled up the 15mm EP nicely - discernible dumbbell fuzzy shape and again looked best in the UHC filter compared to the OIII filter.

Epsilon Lyrae : the Double \ Double : headed back to Lyra to view the double double. Could easily split the double doubles in the 8mm and more so with barlow, great sight

M31 Andromeda : decided to end viewing M31 and had to relocated to the other side of the garden so more huffing and puffing when moving the base. Started with the 2" 38mm EP and was impressed whith the view. Previous scoped have shown a fuzzy blod but the core seems to be much brighter and able to see faint hints of a much wider structure. Could also see M110 with a bright core and surrounded by faint fuzzy light.

Overall a successful and enjoyable first light session of viewing. Definite improvement in detail and light gathering between the 12" and 14" especially with respect to viewing Andromeda and quickly got back into swapping EPs and navigating the sky for familiar DSOs. Next is to go to a dark sky location in North Wales.

Thanks for all the feedback much appreciated

Ive recently acquired a 350p skywatcher and want to upgrade my EPs

I have a set of BST EPs would the below Baader setup be a good upgrade as I really want to get the most out of the 350p or any other suggestions for upgraded EPs?

Baader Hyperion Zoom Eyepiece

and

Baader 2.25x barlow

Ive also read you can attach a DSLR to the barlow would this work on a 350p for short exposures on bright objects such as planets/globular clusters/bright nebulas?

looks good one of my fav sights in the sky too

Received today from the postie

Astrozap dust cover

FLO multi finder adaptor

9x50 right angled finder

32 minutes ago, Raph-in-the-sky said:

I do not beleive this to be true. According to astroshop.eu the 10' Full tube weighs in at 12kg whereas the Flextube weigh in at 15kg (OTA only). I don't beleive that this difference is significant and the smaller volume when storing/transporting might be worth it for some.

My bad - assumed the flexi would be lighter !!

3 hours ago, mattjanes100 said:

A question for those that have one of those 8" and above Dobs - just how mobile are they? I haven't seen or used one first hand so I don't have a good grasp of it but they seem quite cumbersome compared to, say, a fast Newt?

You can separate the scope tube from the base, flexitube versions are obviously much lighter to move

I have a 14" dob now - had an 8" and 12" in the past, 8" you can move as one unit

Buy used if you can, I know its obvious to say but will get a lot more for your money that way - I have bought large aperture dobs (12" and 14") used which would have been un-affordable new

13 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

My experience has been somewhere between this and Paul's.

A few months ago, two observing visits a couple of weeks apart, taking a friend and my partner were good.The observatory manager Dave was great.

Go home, fill out the membership enquiry and still no reply to date.

Several months later I attend again, but alas the treasurer hasn't been for weeks and noone knows where the application forms are.

Members aren't particularly gregarious and neither am I, but I wouldn't describe them as unfriendly.

Home I go, another online form is filled out and on this occasion, I go to town on it!

Two weeks later, no reply... I'll have to visit again.

I will persevere because I have plenty of enthusiasm and skills to give and in return, knowledge, camping trips and maybe more likeminded friends.

 

 

Its a shame when this happens and clubs are this disorganised\uninviting.

I've always found being involved in a club adds massively to the enjoyment of a hobby

I'm going to try another local(ish) club from the below list, probably one from the Cheshire area;

http://www.astronomyclubs.co.uk/Clubs/Counties.aspx

Took delivery of some Velcro carry straps for carrying my 350p flexi tube 

Turned up at the Liverpool Astronomical Society and was completely ignored and when I tried to make polite conversation I didnt make much progress. Been members of other hobbiest clubs who were much friendlier and welcoming. Suffice to say I duly left and havent been back their loss.

HI Dan

Welcome, I too live on the Wirral 

Clear skies !

Paul