Stu1smartcookie

I have just acquired one of these , and whilst i can't verify spot on accuracy i think its a godsend for a manually operated scope .

As John wrote , i would also favour the AZ-Gti ... even if you update the firmware to accommodate EQ mode , it still has the option to use it in AZ-Alt mode too ! Also , using the wedge allows a "better" set up for photography . Another plus point is the Az- Gti has "dual encoders " which actually allow manual movement of the scope without losing the original positioning . IE at the press of a button the mount will slew the scope back to the target . A nice touch .

Very Good thanks , Neil . And likewise with you

I second the above from Roy ... I was out last night looking at Saturn and Jupiter through my ridiculously cheap 70/700 skylux , and , i had fantastic views of Saturn. I used an EQ2 mount , put into Alt Az mode and within 10 minutes i was observing double stars and the beautiful Cygnus region . A long focal ratio frac will actually give very good views and there is no cooling down time to consider , no faffing around with polar alignment ... just pure observing .

Amazing images , as always Neil .

Great image ... so well defined and clean 🙂

Great little set up ... i have been interested in this scope for a while ... looking forward to your Moon observations , Mark

Be careful , the wife on board thing is a precarious position ... it can go either way , especially if , as most of us do you get your head turned by some of the wonderful gear for sale on here . My wife and i are currently sharing our small living room with a 12" Dob !! Something is going to have to give ... I've made a bed up in the Shed lol... 🤣 Good luck with your purchases Bob

Ok , so the primary mirror had sat in the scope for 15 years ... as the previous owner said , he had used the scope only approx 5 times .. the mirro was completely covered in dust . Of course i set about cleaning it but on cleaning the mirror had some blemishes that could not be removed . The rest of the scope is in fantastic condition . I want to use the scope to its fullest capacity . The mirror needed a recoat , i'm getting it done.. its a simple solution ad hopefully one which will bear fruit . Not sure why you are questioning me , or indeed the previous owner regarding the validity of a recoat ?... i refer to your "finally " quote . The owner sold the scope to me in good faith ... i knew the primary would need attention , i'm happy as i have a fantastic scope which will hopefully have a spotless mirror in a couple of weeks . Happy days all round , in my book . By the way , the reason it wasn't collimated because i used the scope after cleaning the primary and at that point i didn't have a collimation device , but did a star test that showed it was out of collimation . Many people say not to clean the mirrors on a scope unless absolutely necessary . Thats a great scope you have by the way. Stu

Mirror delivered safely to Galvoptics … really friendly service and some good news as I was told my mirror is in fact in really good condition ( ie no scratches or gouges ) now just a wait for a week or so ! #impatient

I was very surprised when i read their price list , i think OO have similar prices too . https://www.galvoptics.co.uk/optical-components/telescope-products-andamp-services/telescope-mirror-coating---primary/

I don't mind at all , Mark ..£160 .

Thats a really good tip , Craig regarding the triangular centre spot . Thank you

UPDATE **** Last night i successfully removed the Mirror from its cell .... it was actually quite easy in the end ... the mirror gets taken to Galvoptics tomorrow for its "treatment " a bit like a spa week for Mirrors Bobs Knobs ordered from Rother Valley ... cork pads ordered from Amazon ... just trying to decide what shape i want the centre spot ... any suggestions ?

genius ... Thanks John , as someone that uses Rother Valley a fair bit i honestly didn't think about them DOH !!!!

Thanks John , already gone down the FLO road ... i want the large 5 point fluted heads ... they are on sale in the USA ... didn't know if anyone stocked them here

Hi , Can anyone tell me if the "knobs " in the photo are available over here in the UK please . Sorry about the quality of the photo... the colli screws are 1 1/4" diameter x 30mm and the locking screws are 1" diameter 25mm KR Stu

Yeah , John , i'm with you on the ease and basic "put down the mount and scope and observe thing" but , i love the idea of innovative ideas . ( i will wait until it gets a lot cheaper though ) lol

Actually i think this is brilliant as well as a bit , if i can use an analogy , like Jurassic Park where the painstaking digging up old fossils gets eclipsed ( see what i did there) by the introduction of live dinosaurs . But we all know what happened in the end ! Having said that, the Unistella is a fantastic piece of kit , but it takes something away from the joy of painstakingly peering into an eyepiece, teasing out detail of that DSO ... hmmm , actually , i'll take one ... just to try it lol

Thanks John , i released the mirror clips a little last night as two of them were a bit tight ... Have to say , the Cygnus region looked fantastic last night ... and i'm sure will look even better when the mirror is remedied .

That's really interesting , John ... and something i will bear in mind ... after the tube will never go past horizontal so the mirror wont fall out ! So the cork pads would be glued to the triangles and just left to press on the mirror ?

Thanks John, so ( apologies for wanting everything spelled out here ) , the mirror cell has to be taken apart ie all the screws out which i presume will just leave the triangles stuck on with the pads ?... what did you replace the pads with when you replaced the mirror ?... Just read the cloudy nights post , John ...thanks for the link . Will look at this tonight , unless its clear outside lol

Been in touch with Galvoptics ( thanks Ed ) .. very polite and informative and to be honest a lot more reasonable on price than i thought . Now i have a question ..., when i took the mirror cell from the scope i could not free the mirror from the cell. ( i cleaned it the best i could with it in the cell .. bearing in mind the mirror does need recoating anyway so i was ok doing this ) .. so , i now need to remove the mirror from the cell in order to take it to Galvoptics . Is the mirror fixed in the cell ? Or is it the case that it hasn't been removed for many years and is kind of stuck ? Or do i need to remove all the collimation screws /springs and locking screws . I presume the "floating "triangular pieces with the pads on just sit under the mirror without any fixing . Any Guidance gratefully accepted here , as this is the first ( and only , hopefully) time i will need to do this . Stu

Hi Ed & John ... Ed the place in Basildon appeals to me as i would also take the mirror to them rather than risk the postal butchers . The bulk rather than the weight is the only issue , John, but hey , i knew that before i bought it . Everything about the scope was A1 ( apart from the mirror of course ) .. even has a dual speed crayford focuser , which is great . Stu

Thank you guys , Craig , my mirror is if anything worse lol ... but i have looked on the OO site and they seem to be the favourite , although i have noticed there is a company in Essex ( near to me ) who specialise in re-coatings as well . I'm heartened by your and Russ comments above .