Stu1smartcookie

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 .

Hi everyone, I have just purchased an EQ 5 along with the SynScan upgrade . Fitted the motors on ( 2 hrs 💤) and it seems to work fine . The only thing that worries me a bit is that the mount is a bit “stiff” in both axis . Whereas the Heq5 that I had was very smooth . I seem to remember way back that my last EQ5 was a bit like this . Is it just because it’s new ? I’ve not tested it in anger yet as since I’ve bought my 72Ed it’s been cloudy ( 2 bloody weeks ) I did do a dry run indoors and it did seem to slew to it’s supposed targets ok , with no apparent stress . Surely these mounts come well greased ... I have reported the issue to Widescreen Centre where I bought it . Anyone else had a problem like this?

Interesting thread as I have just ordered a skymax 127 ( coming Monday ) I too was wondering about fitting a 2”diagonal to the scope , so thanks for the info . And thanks to the OP for starting the thread .

hi , lol last post from this thread was a year ago , but , hey , at least you have an answer from me . I have owned the WO Z61 and it was a brilliant little scope ... i was never very successful at imaging though , but that was due to my imperfections rather than the scope . You might want to consider the SW 72ED as mentioned on this thread ... i have just bought one of these and it looks like an absolute bargain , and a great intro into imaging . Of course the skies are cloudy ( my fault ) so i cant try the scope out yet . the thing about these small scopes is that they are still good for visual ( although the limitations will be there , but for wide field viewing and for the larger planets and the moon they are great ). I seem to remember the WO Z61 being a bit heavier than the SW 72ED but also a bit more compact . If you want to see a review , try Astro Backyard over on You Tube . The AZ-GTi is a great little mount ,and can be upgraded into equatorial mode . i have owned three in total , two were spot on , the other one had a problem with it "slipping" . I actually bought a steel 3/8" tripod for mine and it was rock solid although it did have an impact on portability , to a degree . I have now gone full circle and got an HEQ5 Pro mount which is too bulky to drag around .

hi oliver ... just looking on SGL with reference to the skywatcher 72ed ... which scope did you get ? Since ive been in this hobby ive had about 7 or 8 different scopes !!! Its a minefield lol

Hi Mark , i am getting this scope on Monday ( they are like gold dust at the moment ) .. done a lot of research regarding the field flattener . It seems that ovl do a flattener which is a lot cheaper than the dedicated flattener for the 72ed . you will need either an extension tube ( as mentioned earlier on here) or a flattener to gain focus when using a camera , apparently . If you are using the scope for visual then a diagonal and eyepiece will be sufficient for focus. I was a bit worried about the focus travel on this scope as it only extends around 38mm but , lets face it , so many have been sold and the scope gets a great review so it must be good . Anyway the SA is a great little mount for the scope . I hope you enjoy your purchase lol just noticed when this thread was posted origianally ... so you will already have had your scope for many months .

It’s a fine effort . The planets are not that high in the sky so there will be problems with atmosphere .

Yes it’s an achromat but apparently it’s quite good at hiding CA .. I am looking forward to viewing the moon and Jupiter and Saturn , when they are up at a reasonable time . For now I’m just getting used to using it with the mount .

Hope you have been able to use the scope since you posted this .. I was out last night with my new bresser 127/1200 , for its first officially light , M3 was my target .

Lovely scope that I have owned in The past and sorely regret getting rid of .. sigh , maybe just maybe ... no , must be strong 😂

Such a great feeling isn’t it ? Buying a new scope .. I’ve had that feeling twice this week .. don’t ask lol .. but tonight it’s quite clear in Hertfordshire so I’m getting everything set up .. the only thing i would say is .. buying in the summer is a bit of a double edged sword .. nice warm(ish) nights but it doesn’t get properly dark until after 11 !! Even later in the north ! .. can’t wait until late august into September and October .. dark at a reasonable time and hopefully clear skies .

Thanks guys for the replies.. I was beginning to think I was alone on here .. well here is an update , my bresser 127/1200 arrived two days after I got the 150 pro . That gave me more dilemmas lol as both these scopes are good for planets .. but , my head ruled and I took ( drove 140 miles to Rother valley optics ) my skymax back today . I did of course buy a couple of accessories for my frac ! But I’m happy , the bresser is a great looking scope and to be honest I had a sneak peak the other night , very nice crisp views . I know I will get some CA . It’s mounted on an heq5 pro . I am now setting my sights on a skywatcher 72ed , which I hope to buy ( stock willing) this coming week .. after that I’m scoped out !

Hi all , just wanted to announce my new arrival , I have , today , taken delivery of the skymax 150 pro. . Initially I wanted a large refractor and tried to purchase the bresser 127/1200 ( but the supplier still hasn’t delivered )so I changed tak and bought the skymax, mainly for the long focal length , to use as a planetary scope , which I know they excel at . So , the delivery came at 4pm ( Thanks Rother Valley Optics) and ever since it’s been cloudy and raining zzz . Whilst I’ve heard good things about this scope I am still a bit in two minds about it , mainly because there has been quite a bit of negativity regarding cool down times and dew . Also it obviously has limitations regarding FOV . So , I am hoping for a little bit of reassurance on here from other users of Maks . I have read interesting threads from a few years ago but , I want to know if anyone else has bought one recently ( last year or so) and their experiences with it . To be fair to the supplier they have said I can return it ( unused ) I like the scope from what I see , it feels like it’s well put together . Just need a bit of practical advice . I , probably like many people are finding that owning one scope is not enough . I plan to pair this scope with a very short widefoeld refractor wife permitting . Until then I really want this scope to be a “success” . It’s easy to store , a nice weight , and built to last . Thank you for reading this , I would value your constructive comments , for or against . After all if I can’t ask fellow astronomers then I can’t ask anyone . Stu

Hi , I acquired an HEQ5 Pro mount very recently , in great condition . One issue i have though is with the internal polar scope . When i turned the focusser it turned the whole barrel. Also the illuminator no longer works , which is annoying me no end . How easy is it to take the polar scope out of the mount and replace it .. or repair it ? I did think about getting the Polemaster or the ioptron equivalent , but thats for another day !

yes ,sorry , got off track there ...but thanks for the advice .

To be honest i really wanted a long refractor , so the 127 or 152 long tube would be excellent ( the skywatcher ones come with better accesories but i like the focusser on the bressers) , but the reason i listed the short tube versions was because they are a bit "wider "... ive never owned a long tube refractor so i am going on reviews . I would like to put a dslr on the end to take a few pics , so the short tube may be the way to go , but i really am impressed with the longer 127 & 152... any thoughts? i am not great at imaging ... i havent the patience to sit for hours in front of a screen teasing a galaxy out of a photo that i took where i could actually see nothing . Dont get me wrong , im really impressed with the photos i see on this site , but for me its mainly about observing .

yep , Can't argue with that ...a really nice shot ! .. hopefully the weather will pick up next week ... its been appalling today ! Im ready to buy (again) but i'm just weighing up whether this scope will be a luxury item for me . I was either going for a 127/1200 or 600 or the 152/1200 or 600 (bresser)... then this came into my view. And you have not made the choice any easier John lol An evening of planned expense ... nice

What Magnification did you have on those Moon pics ? Really impressed with those especially through a phone camera