Stu1smartcookie

Hi Michael... firstly , thanks for the reply . i have a skymax 127 , using sharpcap (which i honestly havent begun to understand yet) i changed the visual back to 2" so i have put in a 2--1"1/4" adapter , and i inserted the cam into the adapter ( i also tried with a fairly cheap single lens barlow) I pointed the scope at jupiter , focussed visually , and then replaced the EP with the cam. Result = black screen ! i tried to up the exposure by changing the parameters on the software . i too am sure the cam is working .. as when i point the camera directly at my laptop it pics up the light from the screen ( albeit out of focus of course).

Hi All , So i have the QHY5-LL (colour) ... i have downloaded everything but i cant seem to get the camera to work. When i put the cam in the scope it doesnt pick up any light .. nothing ! so , if anyone thinks they know what is wrong , please tell me before i go completely mad . The pc says the camera is connected and when the camera is not connected to the scope i can point it at a lght source and the camera portrays a blurry light image on the pc screen. Any help would be most welcome

Also your elevation

interesting thread with two popular scopes "in the frame " .. if i can add , i once owned a 130pds which still remains the best scope i had for imaging and for a bit of visual , but i now own a skywatcher 127 mak which is fantastic at planetary ( ive not had chance to view the moon yet but ive heard that its superb through this scope), and a few DSO's . Both scopes will serve you well. But , i have had the same dilemma on more than one occasion regarding what scope to buy... Indecision can cost you a lot of money ! Take your time before choosing , the sky isn't going anywhere ! I now have two scopes , one for imaging and the Mak for viewing . I second , third and fourth the above sayings ... there isn't a scope that does everything .

lovely photo .

I have owned the z61 and now own a 72ed .. personally i think they are both superb . Williams optics gear has a build quality second to none , but , you do pay for it ! .. I think there is a z61 MK2 out now and its in excess of 400 pounds ...add the dedicated Field Flattener to it and you are looking at almost £600 , which is almost taking you into Redcat territory ( of course you dont need a Field flattener with the Redcat) . If you want to do a little visual as well as imaging the 72ed also has the advantage of a bit more aperture . I too bought the ovl flattener which is £ 100 cheaper than the dedicated one for the 72ed . I posted about the quality issues with the latest batch of skywatcher field flatteners ... it put me off buying another one as mine was faulty. In truth you cant go wrong with either scope .. but the saving you get with the 72ed and the great results which are on par with the z61 swung it for me in the end .

The weather has been awful lately .. there is a possibility of clearer skies later in the week .

Hope you were able to use the scope last night ... once again i was clouded out zzz .

Think its back in stock at FLO ... so i had better put my order in ! .. I saw a couple of You Tube videos where people were impressed with it ... and its £100 cheaper than the dedicated one !

thanks Louise ... dust is everywhere lol .

which i probably have done ... if there is a bit of dust on the sensor , how can i clean it ? Would i use a small soft brush ? or even a lens blower ?

Crazy how the view can change in just a few metres ... from my little garden the planets just clear the roofs ... 30 mtrs down the road they are literally riding high in the sky . All down to elevation of the viewing site of course .

Thank you for the reply ... when you say leave the glass window alone , do you mean , leave it on the camera ? So sorry for appearing dumb on this .. lol i cant even remember if it was attached to the camera in the first place , as i tried so many combinations . . ... DOH ! ive just watched a vid that i found on you tube .. quite clearly you are right Louise ...feel a bit less dumb now lol Thanks also , Bryan for your input . Its good to know that people can get help really quickly .

true enough but i get a real kick out of seeing great pics on here, from others .. its the best incentive for me . I posted a single shot of M3 last night (on instagram) . It certainly wont win any awards but as a single shot i am proud of it .

Hi ... i have just bought a QHY5-LL planetary camera ... i have downloaded the software and drivers ... and , as far as i know its working ( although all i am seeing is light and dark shades rather than images... ) i should point out that i have not connected the camera to the telescope yet . I am pretty sure i have done everything right so far ( i watched a qhy vid and although i got a little lost i came to the same end result. so far so good ... so now i want to connect this little camera onto my 127 mak . There is a little lens on the front of the camera .. do i need to remove that , exposing the sensor ? after all the telescope will be the lens surely . Do i need to put the small extension tube on ( that came with the camera ) ... after that , do i just put the camera into the place where the normal eyepieces usually go?... Then , how do i achieve focus ? is it a case of just using the telescope focuser ... do i still keep the diagonal in place that i use for viewing ? I know to most of you these will be basic questions but this is the first time ive used one of these cameras and the instructions might just as well been written only in chinese , and the vids ive watched were not much help . Any help will be much appreciated .. and will stop me going insane !! thank you in advance .

thanks ... im actually going down the route of the OVL flattener , its not a reducer but so many people have commented on how good it is . Its a shame about the dedicated one though ... im sure most wont have the problem i had .

As a follow up to the above , i have returned my FF ... There was , apparently , some assembly problems with the current batch !!

Binoculars are a great tool for astronomy , that often get overlooked .

Great thread ... so tonight i am going to try and hook up my 127 mak with my camera . Love seeing photos like those above . Don't know how you guys see it but i would rather look at "real" stuff like that than glossy images in a magazine .

I am a proud owner of the lovely Skywatcher 72ED ... a fine scope . I purchased the dedicated field flatener and i tried to use it for the first time last night . The trouble is , even with the supplied adapter and the correct T Ring for my Canon camera i still cannot achieve prime focus . Having spoken to the supplier this morning they have informed me that some of the FF were faulty ! I am a bit surprised to say the least , and they have said they can rectify the problem ... the thing is , i was so close to focus . Has anyone else had an issue with the dedicated FF for this scope ?

What a fantastic challenge ... we can't do much about the weather but this is the sort of thing that i bought my telescope for . Brilliant.

Steve , I am delighted with the scope .. very well built .. but .. I am gutted about the weather here I haven’t had a clear evening to test it yet .. although later on today the skies are due to clear so I am hoping that I will give it its first light tonight ! Lol I’m beginning to despise summer ... short nights and lots of cloud ! Bring on the autumn and the rise of the winter constellations eh ?

hi michael , when i rotate the mount with the clutch fully released it seems " balanced " even when it certainly isnt ( it seems to be freeing up a bit now , but its certainly not as "free" as my other mount . Using the mount as i write this and everything seems to be fine ... its tracking superbly , with no strain to the motors so i guess everything is fine .

many thanks for the reply bobro .. to be honest its easy to turn with the slow motion controls , i reckon it will free up a bit , if i ever get chance to use it !! Set everything up about an hour ago only for some really dark clouds to completely swamp my patch of sky .

Thanks for the reply , yes it was before the motors were fitted .. I also hope/ think that it might free up with continual use . Just a bit strange when my Heq5 has such free movement ( that was a second hand mount though ) . The thing is , I don’t want to put unnecessary strain on the motors .. it seemed fine , although quite loud compared to the Heq 5 but that mount had the rowan upgrade .