Stu1smartcookie

I had the sony F1 which included a Betamax video recorder ( in two parts ... linked by a thick cable ) and the Sony F1 camera ( which was akin to the size of the old tv cameras .. but somehow listed as portable !!!!) My back still aches just thinking about it . Having said that Betamax was the better system but the power of multiple companies producing for the inferior/cheaper vhs market (spit) won out . I aggree , David , knowledge is now more easliy obtainable and the S@N has stood still , so to speak . Its become nothing more than an occasionally interesting watch , but in effect has become even more niche . The program should imo concentrate on attracting new people to the hobby , have a section on astro photography and one based purely on visual astronomy . A real shame .

Great ...for them ! But , no disrespect , whats the point of a program being made for a British audience , being filmed in Australia . Its a complete waste of our money . Far better to concentrate on northern hemisphere skies, clear or not . Also they could revamp the program to include things that actually matter to ametuer astromomy enthusiasts . Thats why i like their monthly video on YouTube which gives us a guide to most of the interesting celestial events happening in the night sky . A very interesting 25 minutes . Its far better than the Sky At Night program , incorporating that into the SAN would be a worthwhile addition ., imo .

As a keen "watcher of weather " ...even more so now , for obvious reasons , i doubt whether the weather ,be it wetter or better , will listen to any forecaster . But full marks for giving us all hope .

Very neat .

I "looked " at Ceres on stellarium early evening and really wanted to get the chance to see it through my 150 frac ... Alas clouds and rain prevailed . So glad you were able to see it Magnus . Nice one Stu

Wow , my first clear evening in about 2 weeks . As I am having a bit of bother with my Mak I decided to put it on the AZ5 and show it to the masses out the front of the house ( which I hate doing ) because Venus and a very low Jupiter were around . Of course the Mak required cooling but 35 minutes later and with cloud menacingly building we were all set to go . A low power EP was used and Venus showed it's phase ... Nothing too interesting of course as it was brighter than 10 Stephen Hawkings put together , bit Jupiter was surprisingly sharp considering it was very low in the west . I switch to Sirius and was pleasantly surprised with the lack of disco ball colours , whereas Betleguese showed it's lovely orange colour . I did a star test and collimation is definitely off a smidge , the rings are concentric but twisting the focuser the other way showed the mirror needs a bit of adjustment . Still it's not far off and a lot of what I saw was very pleasing . Orion Nebula was as usual a fine watch . Mars is laughingly small now but I didn't push the mag tonight as I was just happy to be outside and looking at stars . It's actually still clear outside now ... Unless it's a mirage ! A surprisingly impromptu early evening .

Just a case in point , Eyepieces are supplied with a dobsonian , usually (25mm & 10mm ) ... they are fairly decent to get one started in the hobby although i have to say those EP's recommended by Mike are very good .

Hi , Welcome ... Firstly do you live in a flat or a house with a garden ? If you have easy access to a garden then i am going to say that a 200mm Dobsonian would be an ideal starting scope . In fact for some a scope like that can last a lifetime . The Dobsonian design usually means manually finding targets , but that also means one gets to learn the night sky . Although there is no telescope that is best for everything , a dobsonian comes pretty close . The only very small downside is the fact that the mirrors need re-aligning every now and then , but this really isnt that complicated . There is a saying in this hobby that Aperture is king so an aperture of 200mm is a sweet spot . Anyway its my suggestion , ... be prepared to be bombarded with many others Oh , and the Dosonian is priced around your budget area too . Stu

Wait for the tube before you build the base ! But isnt it annoying how one parcel can reach you and the other one comes later ?

a real mean beast !

Yeah , you could certainly give someone a whack with that frac ... oh and the dog helps of course

As above , the ST102 is a tried and trusted Achromat that shows star clusters and bright dso's very well ... but of course there is no substitute for aperture and the Dob also excels on planetary viewing . With NO chromatic aberation . I have a 127 Mak ( bresser ... true 127 mm ) that shows stunning planetary and luna views so i do get where Jules is coming from . The Maks do have their own issues though of narrow FOV and longer cool down times . Remember the saying .... No one scope excels at everything .

I have an 8" Dob , which i honestly love ( hope wife doesn't read this ) ... and ive had an 80mm APO ... the 80mm is a fine scope but the Dob is so much more , in fact i have a 150mm frac but the dob still gets more use at present . Mind you if i was to give advice on what Dob to get then i would certainly say that the StellaLyra dobs offer the best "extras" in the package . Dual focuser , Fan , nice bearings on the base and a decent 30mm EP .

I certainly used a 130 pds on the AZ-GTi without any issues, ive also had an evostar 120 on it !!!!( although it was only to see if it could carry a long scope ) ... it worked but i would not recomend long scopes on that mount ! The counterweight system does indeed take the strain . I also bought a weight arm from TS optics ( Germany ) which sat the scope above the mount , with a counterweight underneath ... it seemed to work fine . But , there is a reason why the mount is listed as a 5KG payload ... I think we all want to believe these little mounts can carry more but if you look at the construction and , lets face it fairly weak motors , reality kicks in .

Hi Francis ... this has got me very interested ... especially as flo are now selling the 80mm at a reduction of £44 ... i have a couple of scopes on a skytee but also use an 8" dob ... so interchangeble starsense unit would be perfect . and , it seems a fairly simple mod . ( luckily i have an engineering place opposite where i work , who are very keen to help in such matters as i am completely useles at DIY) thank you for the post .. very helpful Stu

I hope the OP is following all the above , or , doesn't think he's reading an exert from a topic on Cloudy Nights ! ... all getting a bit heavy , isn't it ? Pretty simple question of a suitably widefield EP wuithout breaking the bank ! two suggestions , Nirvana or Explore Scientific , both proven . Just personal choice ! Reviews can be gleaned on this forum , somewhere , i imagine .

Hi Marc , i am hopefully giving the Mak its first light tonight , although we have a hundred mile round trip and a chinese buffet to negotiate first , so i wont be home until after 8 ... who knows what the sky will be like then lol ... message to everyone , leave a bit of clear sky for me pleeeeease ... report to come on both the Mak and the 152 Starwave

So the postman has been busy again ( got to get in before the next strike ) Actually it was the DPD man who made me wait right until the end of the working day before delivering an ADM clamp for my skytee 2 and a nice little Bresser 127 Mak which I have been busy upgrading with a 2"baader clicklock and a decent red dot finder of course the obligatory clouds were present in the box zzzzz

seems like you are losing your head in one of those photos Magnus

So like others I have been conscripted to a restaurant where I have spent precious astro money on , admittedly, a decent meal .. I was desperate to get the new scope (starwave 6" ) out but as we know , rushing stuff isn't advisable in this hobby so I contented myself with just a quick peek . Almost stumbled on the Beehive which looked fantastic , a couple of bright stars did show a bit of CA but it's expected . Can't wait to see how it fares with globs. As with all purchases it looks like clouds are guaranteed for the next few nights zzzz I need to upgrade the saddles on the skytee as although it held the scope , I am a bit nervous with the stock saddles . . Can anyone tell me if there is a knack in removing the slow motion knobs , after removing the grub screws they still feel like they are welded !!!! Looking forward to a proper nights viewing .

So , let’s see what arrived this morning ! DHL , thank you ! Altair Astro , many many thanks for your help . A bit of a beast but a beauty at the same time 152 mm Starwave … and a small bag of Haribo … a lovely sweetener .

Nice report , Lee …. I’ve been clouded out all weekend zzzz . The ST80 is a great little scope isn’t it . I rate all the ST “gang” … really great value . Stu

So. , trip to Widescreen Centre , and a delivery from Altair Astro ( although a few niggles to sort out ) has got me a new scope and mount . A 6” Classical Cassegrain and a skytee 2 mount ! Of course the skies are cloudy … and I think the scope has arrived slightly out of collimation , plus I am waiting to hear back from Altair regarding a rather annoying dust spot on the primary and some rather rough areas around the edge of the mirror . But all things being equal it will hopefully have 1st light tomorrow evening . 🙏 EDIT ** Altair Astro , take a bow ... after emailing yesterday , Ian from Altair emailed back , great service ... and on a sunday too . In the end and from a discussion this morning Altair are taking the scope back and replacing it with another ... although if i can add , watch this space for what turns up . In an era when companies very often do not care about customer satisfaction and service , i have to say Altair Astro have addressed a problem and rectified it , no arguments , no issues , just good old helpfulness and positive action . 2nd EDIT** So , New scope arrived , 6" CC , will be returned today .

Nice , Lee …. Glad you have clear skies too… very cloudy in Cambridgeshire… which is my fault .. details soon .

So , despite the advice I have gone with a skytee 2 … as I indicated I am very much visual only and like the idea of having 2 scopes on show . But , watch this space … the Dwarf Labs 2 scope is due out soon .