Stu1smartcookie

Loving this thread ... a really good read . It does highlight that no matter how good the equipment , the conditions usually win . I have achromat scopes and of course viewing Sirius is akin to watching a Russian variety tv show ie ...bling bling bling with lots of bright blues !(believe me i know lol ) However i am heartened by the fact that even smaller scopes can get "the Pup " .. although i haven't been successful yet. Thanks to Pixies for showing the orbit diagram , very helpful.

Well , i had a much better night ... Skies were clear ALL evening ( i've marked the date and day in my diary to celebrate it every year lol) . Despite the moon being full ( i really have no problem with that as there is ALWAYS something to see in the sky ) . I did swing to the beehive which ( admittedly faint due to moonlight ) is still one of my favs . I started with the EVO 120 and a zoom EP that i bought off a fellow SGL member 8-24 mm , i have to say i was a touch disappointed . The Moon was hidden behind the house at this time . The EVO is a lovely scope but its a bit of a cannon , so out came the little ST80 which sat excitedly on the AZ-Gti , awaiting instructions ... it slewed beautifully in Alt Az mode .. all in all a care free few hours and of course finishing on our near neighbour , the Moon . I was never a fan of the Moon .. but now love it .. always something to see , even when full .

The amateur astronomers bible

Lovely scope ... i owned a bresser 250 , i now regret selling it ! You bought yourself a bargain . I can't offer too much advice on EP's i'm afraid as its one of the areas that i have neglected . Therefore i will take advice too .

Update alert !!! .. well indeed the skies did clear ( cold , wasnt it ?) But i had an absolute nightmare with the AZ-Gti. in EQ mode according to last night , Mars is about 10 yards in front of me and set !!!! 😕 lol ... i then found out that the wedge i was using ( omegon ) was set wrong ..zzzzz . So i was in Alt Az mode on the Moon after all those shenanigans . I Still love the moon even when its almost full . Here's to clear skies tonight again though ... and a more , pleasant experience , plus a chance to try out my "new" Zoom EP

I’ve got absolutely no patience lol .😂😂😂 . Wife and I decided to go for a walk . To be fair it’s a bit better out here now . Thanks Smartie .

So , I’m all set .. both scopes ready .. but .. a large clump of cloud has decided to plant itself over Bishops Stortford. Of course the weather app gleefully proclaims clear skies . I can’t even see Polaris . I’ve been waiting over a week for tonight .. and now this !!! There may be a chance later of a clear slot . But let’s not hold our collective breath . sorry , but I just had to share my frustration .. I hope everyone else is having more luck !

not knowing Jason's position regarding wanting to spend more its difficult . There are a couple of nice tripods on the forum that are for sale ,... an EQ6 for a start ... just an adapter from FLO to make it work with the AZ5. ( get the right one though ) .

no offence taken ... i must admit i know nothing about that tripod ... but i imagine its an imperial thread .

Sorry . I resign my comment .

It will connect if its a 3/8" thread .

You will love that AZ5 .

Great thread ... i am very guilty of going out without a plan . Mind you i haven't got an eastern sky as such , so i am a bit thwarted , and have to take whats on offer at reasonable times in the evenings . But , at the weekend ( clear nights permitting) i am going to give this a go . Enthused by this .. thank you all

I saw your post when you got this scope .. I think you mounted it on an AZ-GTi .. I see you have a more conventional mount now .. how did the AZ-GTi cope with the length of the scope

I think that looks great ,John . In fact you have almost convinced me to buy this scope ... but FLO only have the F12 in stock at the moment and I’m holding out for the F15

I have the adapter , which I use to convert an EQ5 tripod to a 3/8” mount (Az5) it works great .. sorry I can’t be more specific about your mount but just letting you know about the adapter

I was lucky enough to to buy an AZ5 mount head for the lower price , literally a week later they went up by £40 !! As for counter weights , well I really don’t throw the technical answer but if you’ve experienced a heavy scope on an EQ mount and swung it around to an awkward angle then let it go without a weight .. wow ! Not good ! I suppose with an az you don’t end up in those awkward scenarios.. it’s up down left right and so as long as the scope is balanced on the mount then it doesn’t need the weights .. maybe the mount acts as the counter weight in the case of Alt-Az mounts . As I said I really don’t know the answer , just giving my opinion ( which I expect to be shot down lol 😂but I am here to learn as well so feel free )

As far as I am aware , the short focal length achromats will show CA on bright targets .. generally the longer the focal length the less CA is present . However it actually depends on you how much CA bothers you . The extra aperture on the 102 will be beneficial but if you are mainly looking at wide field targets then magnification isn’t really an issue . You already have your Mak for planetary and the moon . The st102 was the second scope I bought and I concur that the focuser became a bit sloppy after a time . I think bresser gear is well built ( apart from the appalling finder but you can change that of course ) As you don’t want to go down the photography route I’m not sure the ED scope would be needed . But of course the choice is yours . Maybe others have a different opinion

So do coma correctors come into play with these scopes ?

Maybe they were more popular due to costs .. lets face it , although costs are rising now , Astronomy was an even more expensive hobby for much more basic equipment .

So, an F5 scope ( 150 /750) spherical mirror newt would be considered as a wide field scope . Only suitable to use with high focal length EP's ?

I was looking at an EQ6 tripod yesterday and another member on SGL had one for sale ... StevieDvd, in Stevenage had one for sale .. i had already secured an HEQ5 one before he posted ... try him mate .

is it just the EQ6 tripod you need , Rob?

I had a 102 ... its a really long story , but , basically someone wanted a 102 and an eq3 , .. he had a 120 ... we did a deal . Both of us really happy as i still had my AZ5 ... Just purchased a steel tripod to mount it on . Just looking for some really nice EP's now ... does this expense EVER end?