Stu1smartcookie

Hi you could do worse than look for an AZ-GTi mount with a small Mak ( 102 or 127 mm ) the AZ-GTi has GOTO functions , so finding targets are easy ... the Mak will show planets , double stars and the brighter Deep Sky Objects ( DSO) .. the whole package is around £500 ... you may have to buy an optical finder ... but they are not that expensive .

Love reading posts like yours . I am due for a 2 hour clear sky this evening, so I will try also . The beehive is one of my favs . Well done on the Leo triplet .

As someone who has owned both of these scopes the one I would go for is the bresser , not only for the fact that the aperture is larger. I really liked the EVO but the bresser seemed aesthetically more pleasing ( shallow , yeah I know ) .The bresser finder is absolutely rubbish but as John wrote , this can be changed . One thing I would mention is that the bresser is larger than the Evo . Also the focuser on the bresser is certainly superior .I’m not trashing the Evo .. it really gave me fine views , but IMO the bresser is a fine scope , if you can get hold of one .

The best , sharpest , most colourful , largest planetary views are ..... from the likes of the Hubble , translated into photos that are in most Astronomy mags . So , thats it ...end of . I will expect to see a whole host of astronomy equipment posted on here in the FOR SALE section . But .... hang on .... we knew that , didnt we ? You know ... before we bought the small frac ... before we purchased that 130mm heritage ... before we got the 90mm Mak etc etc . Of course aperture is king , i'm sure its written in the Old Testament somewhere . But the truth is that no matter what size scope you have , seeing a planet a lot closer than with the naked eye is amazing . Teasing a bit of detail from Jupiter or Mars in a small scope is in fact just as satisfying to the observer as is wheeling around a huge Dobsonian ( i have done both ). Seeing a crisp view of Saturn in a small apo refractor when you positively see the cassini division is amazing . Preaching to the converted ? Maybe its a timely reminder . If you want to see the best views then get the biggest scope, AS LONG AS CONDITIONS ALLOW . Although i favour Chris ( Lockie's) viewpoint in that the OP has a great planetary scope already . The real question is surely , what are the cons as well as the pro's in buying a large scope like , do you intend to to travel to a dark site ( larger aperture dobs will also increase the light pollution in a light polluted area , moving them to a dark site can be a pain ) . What about the increase in Mount size to cope with a 180mm Mak ( as well as cooling time )

Obviously i was looking at the wrong blurb ... thanks for that . This looks like a lovely " clean " ie No Fuss mount . It's just what i am after .

Hi ... lovely mount ... looked at the blurb but it doesn't give the payload capacity ,unless i missed it .

I am going to experiment with the encoders and check the accuracy. But not tonight as I am trying to set up in EQ mode .

Do you ever have any issues when the encoders are on?... I haven't touched on this facility yet but i did read that it makes slewing a little less accurate . It would be good to know your experience on this Stu

not wishing to hijack this thread , was there any collimation issues with a classic cass

I like the look of the StellaLyra classical cass scopes . F12 (FLO) 6" version ... quite reasonable price too .

I owned a 180 Mak in a previous life ... have to say it is somewhat dwarfed next to the CC8... and i thought the Mak was big!!!

Lovely pic , Neil ... i kind of feel part of it lol

You can have an expensive , expansive set up , and the biggest scope money can buy in this hobby, the stars will still be just points of light . I like reading reports like yours . Nice one

Happy days

Lol I have to admit , I used the 10p price because I couldn’t really remember the exact price .. as someone that grew up in the pre decimal age ie I was 9 when decimalisation came in I’m sure I had chips in that price bracket too 😂😂😂

Topics getting too heavy ! To summarise .. prices have gone up .. some have gone up too much in a short space of time ( no astronomy pun intended) . We all have a choice . Pay the money or not . There are deals out there , if you shop around and now is probably the best time to ONLY buy what you need rather than all you think want . ( I am guilty of buying , quite frankly stuff I don’t use ) . Also a very good time to look at your intended “path “ in the hobby . I think higher costs , whilst unsavoury for everyone can have a positive effect in valuing the equipment we already have and certainly making us think more carefully about future purchases . Not easy for new enthusiasts to get into an already expensive hobby ( yes it is !!!! Just because some people can afford top of the range equipment , there are most that enter the hobby with a predetermined budget ) , but , although I doubt prices will drop much ( why would they ? Companies are in it to make money , after all ) .. there will ALWAYS be a healthy second hand market .. maybe even more so as a lot of people entered into astronomy during the pandemic but have decided that they do not wish to pursue it anymore . Phew , that was my summary .. no politics , just a bit of a reality check ! By the way , I used to be able to buy a bag of chips for about 10p ! There , that’s inflation for you .. £2.50 now !!!

Meant to be clear for about 3 hours this evening , Lee .... followed by a few nights of obligatory cloud . I think we can all accept the weather here as long as its fair with us ... ie 2 or 3 clear nights every week? Its not too much to ask , is it ? lol

That's a very good point. I'm sure that goes for most of us. I know its obvious but after the initial gear is bought , astronomy CAN be a relatively inexpensive and calm pastime . A dark sky , a pair of eyes ... = zero cost and hours of wonder .... makes one forget the strains of normal life . ( of course until you want to buy more gear lol)

March 24th Update ... another lovely evening , whilst i really love looking at our moon , its a shame its so prominent , whilst we are experiencing such "steady" skies .

Looks a great fit .. I’m going into the packing business lol

I like the second photo which has the exposure toned down a bit . You can probably push the magnification on the moon ... try it next time

Hi Josh , Welcome to SGL And congrats on the new scope Firstly , don't worry , nothing is broken The image in the finderscope will be upside down , you don't actually tighten the screws on the finder ... they are there just to adjust it when you turn one of the screws inwards it shifts the image as its designed to do . When you have centered it on a distant marker and made sure your scope is showing you the view through the eye piece then its all done . One thing i should mention is , there will be an "O" ring supplied with the finderscope ... this ring fits into a groove on the finderscope and stops it from moving about . If you haven't got one of these then an elastic band will suffice for a while . Don't put your eye too close to the EP Stu

Never assume anything in life lol ... to be honest it will be used as much for visual ( until i either get a Mak or a nice Dob that i have my eye on ) as photography.. but of course i will take a few cheeky frames .

Wow... I took my new scope outside for the first time last night . A Williams Optics ZS73 on a AZ-Gti mount , sitting on an aluminium tripod ( the tripod is an embarrassment to the mount and scope ) First look at the Moon and noticed the atmosphere was as still and clear as i have known it . Of course with the Moon high up it washed out an already LP sky , but i was still very happy to observe most of the bright star clusters . The AZ-Gti duly performed its GOTO tasks well , the Scopes batinov mask made sure stars were pin sharp , and despite the glare of the Moon the colours of Aldeberan and Bettlegeuse were beautiful, as were double stars , and of course the favourites such as the Orion Nebula , Plaides and the Beehive ( although a little washed out by the Moon ) . Even Mars in my small frac was a pleasing orange , although very tiny disc . Of course , the main objects were all high in the sky so that did make a difference . Later on a haze appeared which meant viewing returned to the Moon . Only a little report , i hope everyone else had a great evening of viewing . Just wanted to share a real positive . Lets hope there are many more clear skies to come Thanks for reading , Stu

watched the ISS pass by the moon as it sailed from west to east ... absolutely brilliant video ..