Stu1smartcookie

Hi Dougie , heard this before about the AZ-Gti and yes you should have it replaced if you can. Did you buy it from one of the major scope retailers in the UK ? . Quality control seems to be an issue , although i have owned a few of these and never had the problem . Stu

Unfortunately only 1 available at present , might have to go the ADM route , I certainly want another clamp for the other side of the SkyTee ... ( then i can justify another scope 😀)

Thanks John , quite a good price

Hi John , if you dont mind me asking , where did you get the upgraded clamps from ? Stu

I feel your pain in searching for targets , but , look at it another way ie as you have fairly dark skies , star hopping is a great way to learn the sky . And don't be put off when you cant find an object ... it WILL be there , and eventually you WILL find it and when you do you will be thrilled . With the winter constellations rising there are some fascinating things to see at this time of the year . A GOTO system might provoke envy but , having had GOTO systems i believe the thrill of finding a target without the use of a GOTo system is amazing . It took me ages to find one of the easier targets in the sky namely M13 . As for the planets , i've still to view Neptune too, but its favourable this month so stick with it .

Agree with that , Malcolm ... as we all eventually realise , there is always something to buy and although we set a budget , we very often exceed it .

OK , so you said you want to try astro photography ? And you want the set up to be portable ? Maybe you might consider the AZ-Gti mount . Sure it only has a maximum 5kg payload and you would only be able to use small scopes ie a 127 Mak or a short tube 4" FRAC or a 130 Newt , but you could also use your dslr on the mount with a suitable bracket . Also , just to stop the purists ranting at me , you may wish to buy a wedge and update the firmware on the az-gti to put it into EQ mode . The AZ-GTi is a great mount and a lot of people have taken some great photos , using it as their tracking platform I think you can buy it for aroung £ 450 including a 102 Mak . Not a bad start and i would say a lot better than what you previously used . Just my opinion of course , but , hey , thats why you asked

Have to say , i'm really happy with the set up , Joe .. of course i missed a clear sky last night 😕 but hopefully the weekend will first official light ... might be able to see some fireworks 🤣

hmmm , now theres a thought Steve 🤣

Doh ! That makes perfect sense , just put it down to first night nerves for me

So , do you mean another shaft and weight under the 72? I do have 2 eq 5 weights but not another shaft

Altair Starwave 102 (f11) and a skywatcher 72ed I am really happy to have wide field and a planetary / luna scope . I was going to use the 72ed for photography but I am now going to stick with visual (excuse the mess lol unboxing can be an untidy operation 😄

Thank you to you both, I too think that the long scope is better on the side, so, that's 3 of us

Just setting up my SkyTee for the first time .. I have a long frac and a short frac , so the question is . Should I put the long scope on top and the short scope on the side or vice versa The counterweight will go either on the side or underneath

Well I collected the scope from a very nice guy on in Saturday , thank you, Neil And, by popular demand the skytee mount and tripod duly followed today with a swift visit to the Widescreen Centre.

Another update !!!!! So , after buying the Altair Starwave , tomorrow will see the arrival of the SkyTee + Tripod The wife doesn't know yet , so i will keep the box , just in case i need somewhere to live !!! 🤣 ( i really dont know why i am laughing )

Well, I bought the scope!!!! It was too good to miss..or so I hope.

Brilliant post David. Thanks. I've bought a sturdy tripod so I'm getting there lol

Thank you all for the Input guys I have decided to put on hold the purchase of the scope, which I am sorry to the seller on SGL , but you all raised some important points about the mount which made total sense. As someone who prefers smaller scopes, generally it was an ambitious plan by me. @badhexI am on a very similar path to you so I especially was interested to read that the ed80 was too heavy for your gti . Thanks guys.

No need to apologise The SkyTee looks a great mount

Just one problem , costs outweigh desire ... I am sure you are right about the mount but it means buying the mount,tripod and the scope. Not something which was in my plans . Can't believe I'm being so sensible for once. Thanks for the input though . Really appreciate it

lol yeah , to be shared equally between 2 families !!!

lol Stu , thats like telling someone how good a cake was , but its been eaten so you can't have any 🤣 🤣 Thanks for the input though . A bit "caught between the devil and the deep blue see " at the moment with this .

All about timing though isnt it ?... @Franklin its a bit oif a mare as i saw a couple of those mounts come up recently , ce la vie ...

Thanks guys , really good advice on here, as always ... although not what i wanted to read lol ... might have to rethink my whole strategy here which won't please the seller of the scope . I have a budget ( like most ) to work with and the scope and mounts suggested put me over that line . Got to be practical and realistic .