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Stu1smartcookie

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Posts posted by Stu1smartcookie

  1. I tend to veer to reviewers of equipment , although i think i subscribe to nearly all the astro tubers . BD Observatory  reviews some nice stuff for entry level . The old favs like astrobiscuit , and astro backyard .. although i  like their earlier stuff more than the newer stuff. The astro biscuit video where he had to explain the £4k of gear to his wife was priceless . But , when he went a bit too nerdy and the videos got a bit intense it lost some charm . Pleased to see Astro Stace back on the scene . Small Optics is another youtuber aimed at the beginner . His vids are a bit hap hazard but are farily watchable ( see how mant times he says "OK" in  a video ) 

    To be honest we are blessed with a lot of good people keeping us entertained . Most seem to concentrate on Astrophotography rather than the visual side . 

     

    • Like 2
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  2. Just a quick shout out to sing the praises of Altair Astro , Norwich . 

    I ordered a small refractor which they duly delivered 24 hrs later . The box was completely sealed , but , when i opened it one of the screws on the 2" to 1 1/4" reducer had completely sheard off . 

    There were a couple more minor issues with the scope so i contacted Ian by email (8;30 pm) . Ian responded that very evening and after a brief to and fro of emails we agreed to talk the next day , which we did and it was agreed that the OTA would be replaced ond the original picked up by the same courier . 

    I am now the happy owner of a perfect little frac . But , just as important , i am also delighted by the service at Altair Astro. Once again they have speedily rectified something that wasn't their fault , with NO fuss , NO  argument and with curtesy . 

    Sure the product is paramount , but the service is a close second . 

    Stu

    • Like 5
  3. Did anyone else feel like the Dwarf Labs Presentation was very ameteurish on YouTube yesterday ?

    Also they are updating the list of targets to , wait for it , 500 objects !!!! assuming 250 of those will be in the southern hemisphere , thats 250 for us in the NH .

    This Isn't the update that i expected .. The ZWO SeeStars is to have a database which includes a "Tonights Best " viewable from the users location . Thats how it should be done , surely . 

    I  love the Dwarf , but the presenters even described the interface as "rough" . Maybe the software should have been perfected before releasing it . After all the new interface does look better . Its just a shame about the limited target list . ( yes i know we can enter co-ordinates but thats fidly and time consuming and something that goes against the concept of simplicity of the product for the user ) 

    I repeat ... i love the Dwarf , but it doesn't mean its above critisism . 

     

    • Like 1
  4. 2 hours ago, SwiMatt said:

    The postman brought me my first telescope :hello2:

    SW Mak 127 with AZ5, and additionally I ordered a dew shield, a barlow and the BST 15mm. In the day the difference between the super 25 that came with the scope and the BST is already impressive (and the 10mm is... poor). I'm thinking of taking it out for a spin tonight or tomorrow (clear skies expected) but at 58N there is "darkness" for barely a couple of hours and then again, it's probably not dark enough to see anything beyond some double stars.

    I expect this to be the first of maaaaaany visits from my postman :grin:

    Lovely set up , and whilst waiting for those gas giants to appear at a reasonable time you will fall in love with the moon and some double stars 

    • Like 2
  5. 3 hours ago, bosun21 said:

    I’m pleased to see you reunited with “Big Red”. I knew in my heart of hearts that you were a reluctant seller. Nice CC as well Stu.

    Hi Ian , yes … went to Alan’s house to collect it .. we had a nice chat . The CC needs the extension tubes to reach focus but I can get aaay with using just the 2” tube as long as I use a 2”diagonal . 
    I must have missed Big Red as I set it up as soon as I got home last night lol .. had an enjoyable 45 minutes or so looking at the Cygnus region and the constellation Lyra  . 

    • Like 1
  6. 3 hours ago, Ratlet said:

    Is that a Sky T mount they're on?  Need to have a look at one.

    Yea indeed … I have had three of these mounts , so I must like them . As you can see from the photo I have a modified Starsense unit occupying the top clamp . I can indeed put both scopes on the mount but prefer just the one . The frac is for deep sky and the cassegrain for the planets and the moon . I can recommend the mount . 

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  7. I own the bresser Mak and it’s a very nice scope , but , being a Mak the corrector plate is a dew  magnet so get a dew shield , also the c6 will suffer from dew  as well . Although I kept the Mak I actually bought a stellalyra 6”classical cassegrain which I intend to use for planetary and Luna viewing . .. the advantage being , NO corrector plate  and so the scope is less likely to be affected by dew . 
     

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  8. 1 hour ago, John said:

    If my setup / take down times were more than a few minutes I doubt that I'd still be doing this hobby 🙄

    i suppose the worst conditions apart from the obvious blankets of clouds are spells of showery weather . Panic stricken quick teardowns of equipment that took 30 minutes to set up ! Only for the rain to last 3 or 4 minutes . Almost makes one start to cry ! 

    • Like 1
  9. 46 minutes ago, Mike Q said:

    Its weird here.  The clouds roll in come November and stay with us pretty much all winter.  January and February can have clear nights and when they are its awesome, but since cold and I dont get along i am not out much.  So far it seems to me that our best month for observing is August.  When it cools off after dark the skies clear up.  Basically we get 3 months of good skies, 3 months of maybe skies and 6 months of crap lol

    We say in the UK we have three months of winter and 9 months of bad weather 😂,which is a little unfair as we had a fantastic summer last year ... this year is more normal , cloud , wind , a bit of rain here and there . We take what we are given of course . But the good news is , the skies will slowly start to darken as from yesterday . 

  10. On 18/06/2023 at 14:18, Mike Q said:

    Sometimes I wonder why I decided to get into this hobby lol 

    I think a lot of us can echo your sentiments , Mike . So many variables have to "line up " .. if its clear then the sky doens't get truly dark at this time of year  or its partly cloudy or rainy or too much wind . 

    TBH unless its luna or planetary i tend to steer clear of setting up , in the height of summer . 

  11. 12 hours ago, Nik271 said:

    The 3 days old Moon looks great tonight, just high enough to be still above the treeline for me at 10pm. The elusive Vallis Snellius is showing rather well as a sequence of indentations in a straight line going between the craters Snellius and Stevinus. 

    Inkedcomp_4126.thumb.jpg.e27b4d17b77c2a3518e633aae9e2ecce.jpg

    Great Pic Nik , saw the moon last night and really wanted to view it through my scope , alas , living on a new development which isnt finished i refuse to put my scopes out the front of the house because its like the Sahara out there, so , no moon for me at least until i can view it from the back garden . :(

    • Like 1
  12. 14 minutes ago, LDW1 said:

    Nothing wrong with the arguments, disagreeing but its the deriding of this new sensation that can really make one wonder where some fellow astronomers come from !  I don't know what they think they are doing, gaining out of it ? Maybe change some minds ?

    The "purists " ( not all of them) who are mainly into astrophotography scoff at the whole EAA idea . Maybe it twas ever thus , i can imagine when scopes started to be mass produced , "purists" dismissing them as "toys" . I do find an undercurrent of aloofness which tends to infiltrate the hobby . (personal opinion) . Strange really , after all , we are all in this hobby together , whatever equipment we use , whatever standard we are at ( i for one  still class myself as a beginner ) . Indeed this forum encourages newcomers to the hobby to ask a question without being derided and ridiculed  even if the question be a basic one . Surely we owe the same courtesy to a new product that brings another fascinating avenue to the many people who will be put off buying the larger variants due to cost . As the hobby evolves so does the equipment albeit at differing levels and quality .

    • Like 8
    • Thanks 1
  13. 18 hours ago, AstroNebulee said:

    My new AzGti mount and extension pillar arrived today very speedy delivery again @FLO.

    A quick test in daylight, tested with a quick North level alignment which I always find the best, yes I know it's daylight but it was correct in goto to Venus and the moon and seems good. Maybe a little stiffness in RA but I'm going to leave as is for now and not tinker with it until its had a proper first test. It'll only be used in az mode as I said for visual, then lunar and planetary imaging so all good. Updated the firmware to 3.40 left hand as when I updated to 3.36 RA dual mode the ST80 didn't sit right with the vixen clamp knob obstructed.

    Going to figure out a way of making it a dual setup for my ST80 and SM90 (4.64kg with all attached cameras). By fixing a dovetail clamp to the counterweight bar, seen this on a thread before. 

    Another happy az gti unit in my family now. During the update of firmware via my imaging set ups eq dir cable the two mounts got along quite nicely. 

    Lee 

     

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    Nice , Simple set up , Lee . The az-Gti in alt az mode just as it was designed to be . You never know , it might catch on :)

     

    • Haha 1
  14. As a Dwarf Labs scope owner i am totally in favour regarding the See-Stars . If , like the Dwarf it manages to bring more people into the hobby than its a win for me . 

    I can only speak for the guys producing the Dwarf , but they are upgrading their product "on the fly" although the updates seem to have slowed a little . 

    The one thing missing is a complete database of objects to slew to . And that has to be updated to use the location of the user . 

    Hopefully the See-Stars will incorporate this . 

     

    • Like 2
  15. On 19/06/2023 at 02:49, Jim L said:

    IMG_1918.thumb.jpeg.bba2d9401d527d8db65ebb7166f138d2.jpeg

    Almost stepped on this handsome fellow at an observing site. He was buzzing away but I never heard him because I had earbuds in listening to a podcast. Fortunately we parted friends.

    I will NEVER worry  about clouds again 😂, after seeing this i am more than happy that we don't encounter such creatures (generally) in the UK 

     

    • Like 1
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