Stu1smartcookie

2 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Had a set of the TS springs but they were a bit short for the dob I wanted them for.

 

I think the factory springs are too short ... but , hey they must work .  

16 minutes ago, johninderby said:

Telescope express does some HD replacement springs but shipping is as much as the cost of the springs.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p6967_TS-Optics-reinforced-springs-for-main-mirror-cell---set-of-three.html

still a bit cheaper than RVO ... but only just ... thanks John . I just sourced a video on YouTube . The guy used springs bought from Amazon . They are a bit longer though (20mm) as opposed to the RVO ones which look like thay are about 10mm . Still if the screws are long enough then they will work .

Hi , I have just purchased a set of Bobs Knobs (12" meade) for my GSO 12" scope ... the screws were a bit tight but fitted ... anyway the springs supplied with the scope are nothing short of useless ( why do manufacturers do such things?) ... Can anyone advise me on replacements ... Rother Valley do offer 3 replacement screws that look heavy duty but are quite short ( and expensive when you take into account delivery ) . Amazon do a colour co-ordinated spring range , i really am not sure about how much tension  the springs should  have . 

Any ideas ?

Stu  

On 23/08/2021 at 00:46, John said:

Some fine views of Jupiter tonight with my ED120 refractor. Varying levels of cloud cover but very nice during the clear patches !

I don't image at all or sketch much but I've been playing around with an image editor and recent Jupiter images to try and simulate the level of detail and tone that I am seeing tonight at 180x magnification. The image scale of Jupiter below is much larger than I see it in the eyepiece of course but, having compared this with the view through the scope several times now, I feel that the overall picture is quite an accurate one of what is on show, including those dark barges along the north edge of the North Equatorial Belt and that dark "eyebrow" type feature framing the Great Red Spot in it's hollow within the South Equatorial belt.

This is the refractor view so north at the top but east and west reversed. This is the view from around 45 minutes ago:

 

 

lovely image ... it was so clear last night but , alas my scope is still not ready for use ... but , looking at images like this is brilliant . 

A no doubt ( as long as they are the right size ) welcome addition to my 12” revelation Dob … delivered by the DPD man who was far too cheerful for a Monday lol 

7 minutes ago, Piero said:

This is how I take my 16" to my garden. It's about 20 meters each way and the telescope remains assembled.

Assembling the telescope involves attaching the trusses, the UTA on the trusses, and put on the light shroud. That's about 5 minutes.

Collimation with HG laser and 1/4” white Catseye triangle (which helps indicate which bolt to turn) takes less than 5 minutes, whereas day or night time.

Assembling those ramps takes another 5 minutes (the actual difference from solid tubes). 

Lifting the telescope via wheelbarrow handles is like lifting about 6-7kg.

 

Love the ramps ...i will need something like this to move mine from a shed to the garden . Nice One . ( Maybe my next purchase will be a Dob like this but as Stu wrote , they are not as popular here . Every now and then i see Meade versions advertised . 

10 hours ago, Piero said:

To me a solid tube makes sense up to 8" - 10" with f.l. of 1200mm. These sizes fit the back seat of a car. With a focal length longer than 1200mm, I don't see any advantage in using solid tubes, whereas I do see many advantages in a truss design.

I am aware that this comment will be confronted, given the fact that here in the UK people seem to prefer solid tubes no matter what.

I wonder whether this preference is primarily due to the design of the UK Orion optics VX solid tube dobson, and people willing to stick to UK brand / choice.

Not sure that’s the reason … I have no preference between the two but as you know I have a solid tube dob … that wouldn’t prevent me from buying a truss dob in the future , if only for the small footprint . I suppose one advantage albeit small is that a solid tube and base is just a 5 minute set up whereas a truss takes a bit longer . 

29 minutes ago, Wiu-Wiu said:

The topic made me think of this  

 

 

 

I live in the center of town so my garden is not the place to be when hunting fuzzies. 

There is a better spot about 20 minutes away so I usually go there and take my stuff in the car. The car is big enough but that's good for 1 night, and no extra luggage. 

When portability is in mind, AND you need to save some space, your best bang for the buck comes from Sumerian Optics. 

 

My big scope collapses to this :

 

 

And when going on an airplane, I can take my 12" (but I leave the cover at home), which collapses to this: (not my pic)

Always been intrigued by a truss tube dob … maybe mrs Stu1smartcookie would be more impressed  🤣… I’ve even had to buy a new shed !  Lol

I think we all go through this stage where uncertainty breads uncertainty. I think if you take your scope and “do” a star test it will give you clear indication if the mirrors are lined up. 
As others have written , it’s difficult  to see properly in the photo … I think ( putting my own opinion in as usual  ) maybe the centre spot is a little to the right , but … you have the best view of this , not me . what are the views like ? If you can focus on a star or use high magnification on the moon then I reckon you are already collimated . The point is , please don’t let the collimation issue spoil the hobby . 
 

6 minutes ago, Nerf_Caching said:

Taken a couple nights ago with a stock Celestron Nexstar 5SE on its alt-az mount, featuring M2. Camera was a stock Canon 650d without any LP filters used. 30x15 seconds at iso 3200 under Bortle 9 skies.

Great …. Love this thread . 

Yes good idea .

Ed I admire that you’ve got this off to a fine art  

Well , having just acquired a 12”revelation dob I can tell you , it’s a faff . I had to drive around 125 miles home after collecting it and I was so nervous doing so . Sure , it was packed tightly enough but I had to lower the seats and pack it in coats and blankets to stop it rolling around . Put it this way … it’s home in my home … and the only travelling it will do for the foreseeable future is into the garden  I think your heritage is nice and compact so you can indeed belt it in . Don’t forget to check the collimation when you set it up though. 

A fair answer to a very fair point made by @Shimrod. At the end of the day it’s your decision . But it’s great to get different viewpoints , that’s why you posted on here, right?  The point about the table top  mount is very pertinent in this case … finding the right height to use the virtuoso would mean an extra table . That may not be a problem if you intended to view from one location ie your garden but if you wished to go to a dark site then “said “ table would probably have to come too . The az-gti mount is a good suggestion but I agree with you that these are all extra costs .. and I also agree that you get a new scope with the virtuoso . Difficult call isn’t it .. personally I would go for an az-gti giving you a goto mount which is very cost affective . 

Good point above made by Alan … the Mak will also give great views of the planets  . Get the Mak for planets and the moon and use the Meade for wide field 

well i would certainly be happy with that , Alan ( conference does exist , but its called the National League now   ) 

As written by @ONIKKINEN  , mirrors can take a fair bit of wear and tear without degrading the views in a scope . I can speak from experience of owning a seriously( imo)  degraded mirror still showing very good views . Put it down to experience , don't beat yourself up over it , and carry on using it .  Good Luck and clear skies . 

Welcome to SGL , HyFy

5 minutes ago, Jimbo64 said:

 I've also got a magnetic inclinometer to add to my scope

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 . 

15 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

Hi Stu thanks. Hope everything is good with you

Very Good thanks , Neil . And likewise with you  

49 minutes ago, Roy Challen said:

Lots of good comments above. All I can add is that when I started out, I had a cheap alt-az goto mount with a 70mm achro (Meade ETX70). It was very easy to set up, lightweight, and reliable. Using a compass was definitely 'good enough' if you couldn't see Polaris. The optics were fine, I didn't know that eyepieces needed upgrading until the internet told me what I had was poor quality, and I was perfectly happy with what they showed me.

The telescope showed me all the major planets, in 'good enough' detail, plenty of Messier objects (some of those, I have never even looked at since, even with larger telescopes), much detail on the moon, and even sunspots - you MUST use the correct filter when doing this though. In the 10 years I used this telescope, I never thought that it lacked in anything, and I found it invaluable in helping me learn the sky. If  your daughter can operate a mobile phone or tablet/computer, I doubt a goto mount will present any difficulty.

So, to conclude: lightweight is a necessity,and alt-az mounts would definitely make life easier (directions such as up/down left/right are intuitive). Goto is nice to have. Whatever you choose, just get out and enjoy it!

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  🙂

3 hours ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Although I enjoy using my Heritage 130P I really wanted a smaller scope that I could take away on holiday and use it on my Pronto mount. I decided on a small refractor but although I fancy an APO or ED I did not want to spend a huge amount for only the occasional use.

So I decided to get the SvBony 90mm f5/5 refractor which only weighs about 2.5kgs. Because I would also use this scope for terrestrial viewing I bought the StellaMira  erect prism diagonal and the SvBony 7-21mm zoom. My package for observing would then comprise the SvBony 7-21mm zoom + 3-6mm Nagler + 24mm ES68 eyepiece.

Well the scope and equipment arrived a few days ago and I am rather pleased. The focuser is very good and the scope has an extended hood. Collimation seems spot on and at the moment no apparent CA - Moon not yet observed. I have checked out a few objects M13, M11, M57 and with the TeleVue Nebustar filter  M16, M17, M20 and M8 and both parts of the Veil. Using the 3mm part of the Nagler zoom I split the double double in Lyra.

I did observe Jupiter and observed surface banding and also Saturn but could not see the Cassini division.

 

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