Greymouser

I ordered the 6" claasical Cassegrain telescope on Tuesday as it showed in stock and was a very good price. It was dispatched the same day and arrived here in Cheshire today, which is not bad at all, considering it came from Germany. So far, so good, with only one fly n the ointment, when they demand you order via PayPal, even with a credit card, which added their fee to the transaction. I have not come across this before, but perhaps many do it when converting from Sterling to the Euro. Good and indeed express service.

I got this over a week ago, but have had neither the time nor the inclination to get it out and sorted atop my tripod, yet. I have just been too tired, achy and busy. Someone else bought it for me, which was nice, but I have already got an upgrade for one of the clamps, ( got myself this time, ) not sure which I will replace first. Top or side? Its a Sky Tee 2, just in case you are unsure... Aaaannnd today I had to go for another bout of laser eye surgery, on my left eye this time, ( hopefully the last time I will see him! ) which was very uncomfortable and has left my eye feeling very odd. Hopefully it will be better by morning. However as we got back, we were just in time for a delivery from DPD, which had come from Germany. I ordered it on Tuesday and it arrived today, which is not bad coming from Germany. It showed as in stock, it was and was dispatched the same day it was ordered, which is better than some retailers and is not half bad at all! It is of course, the six inch classical cass, which has a very good price at the moment. I cannot wait to try it out, perhaps on the above new mount. Not sure what to make of it yet, but things seem to be a little loose and it may need a little fettling, so I will have to pick the brains of the apparent resident expert on these here Classics... ( I wonder whom I could mean? )

Got to admit I found these very tempting after reading the thread by @johninderby, but would probably consider the 6" version, ( the price is superb... ) certainly at first, but even that is a good twice the weight of my little C5 which puts me off a little bit, it is even heavier than the C6. Of course if it proved to be much better, I would then probably get the 8" to replace my C9.25. Perhaps, but the 9.25 is very good. For my needs, it is a shame they do not do an even smaller one for that added mobility. I don't suppose anyone knows of anyone who does an even smaller one? I guess there are worse problems to have, than worrying about which astronomy direction to go in next eh?

Hard to argue with what has already been posted, other than to say that AZ is without a doubt easier, if just observing, but not very good for imaging obviously. Of course you have the option of a mount that can do both, if you have the budget and the availability, such as this from the UK and FLO They do send all around the world too, so could be worth looking at. Edit: Welcome to the forum too!

Hello Jon and a warm welcome from an ex Lancastrian, now exiled to gloomy Cheshire...

Yeh, as I said I just missed one second hand and will continue to try the second hand market, but I was just surprised that there was not one ready made for the mount from the retailers. I have seen one on the Chinese version of Amazon, what ever that is called, but I really do not want to go down that route of importing myself. As for improvising, that would be the cheapest, either as @knobby suggests or a M12 coachbolt, even if the longest I can find is only 240mm. The whole thing brought to mind someone who I used to know, who was given an old Hillman Imp in poor condition and was determined to get it back on the road. He went all over the country, finding and buying old ones, to get the spare parts to renovate his owe little car, he was given by a relative. He was lucky to have a big yard/garden, but his wife was quite unhappy, as he filled it with Hillman Imps! He had six or seven of them when I last heard, mostly in pieces! That memory further made me wonder if anyone does similar with Astro gear, you know buy several telescopes in poor condition, in the hope of getting one good one of of the project. I have also just realised that I last saw him about 15 years ago! Where does the time go eh?

You mean you have clear skies and you have no intention to have anything to help you celebrate? Other than those clear skies...

Yes good one, happy new year everyone! ( I wonder how much astronomy is happening tonight? ) 🤔

Well, I am considering it, as a last resort... I actually want a counterweight shaft ( and weight, ) for my AZGTi, so I can get more versatility out of the mount, but have found it hard initially to sort it. I am told one designed for the job, has not been made, which is odd but hey ho! I am certain I could improvise something, after all it is only needing an M12 coach bolt of a decent length, but I would prefer something that looks a little better, intentional for the job as it were, if that makes sense. I am also told that a counterweight shaft from an EQ1 would fit, so have been looking for just that second hand, just missed one by minutes... Now whoever, I have seen a new National Geographic Telescope ( it seems to be on an Eq 1 ) for sale in my local Aldi, it is a shockingly low price for a scope and mount; accessories, especially considering I only want the counterweight shaft and weight, but I am afraid I am tempted. I will look for a second version for a while, but cannot leave it too long, or it will be gone. Am I the only only to buy a relatively large product, for just one element of that product? Well tempted anyway!

I have every sympathy with people getting what we perceive as bad delivery drivers, I have had them too from Amazon logistics and the dreaded Yodel, but it is not laziness I would say, but the horrendous long hours and the pressure some of them have to put up with. Never mind the poor pay and support and things beyond their control slowing them down, like traffic. They often do not get paid an hourly rate it seems, but paid by the number of deliveries, which they have to complete, to get paid a half decent wage. I try, ( often fail, I admit, ) to try to consider their predicament, to be patient, but is hard. if you want to blame anyone, blame their management, some of whom couldn't organise a **** up in a brewery! No, I am not a delivery driver, but may I humbly suggest we all consider: Especially at this time of year?

I would say it is all fascinating and great to watch. Never mind watching via an onboard camera, it does make me wonder how long before they allow a passenger and how much it will cost... Thank you for posting the link.

I was trying extra emphasis, to make the point as strong as possible and no, it seems not as the OP still does not seem to get what several people have said, several times. I think I will stop trying to help with advice as it seems pointless and just adds to the confusion, even maybe causes offence...

Merry Christmas to you all too and thank you for the information.

I think there may be a misunderstanding from the OP here, a faster scope, is not the one with the higher F number. ( Slower is not a lower number. ) I was told that the Hyperions are not very good for telescopes with F numbers less than 7, that is 4; 5; 6 etc. I am pretty sure a F5.9 is not slower than a F10, for instance, but in fact faster. I was under the impression that Hyperions, to give their best, need a telescope of F7/ F8/ F9/ F10, or slower. ( Higher number. ) Maybe it is me that is wrong here though... Either way, maybe I am just biased by my own experience, because I did not like my 10mm in my F10 SCT.

I am not sure, but I might just get the headlight, to give it a try. I will also be interested in how @JamesF gets on in his observatory. The Marine did say that whichever colour you use, there is a payoff, particularly when looking at a map, because it alters the colour on the map! He said that the best idea was to use an ordinary torch, with gaffer tape over the end and a pin hole ( 5mm? ) in the tape, to make it a very small amount of white light, which made reading maps easy. Of course, even then for him, in his line of work, he said you have to very careful to not make yourself a very large target. ( Not a problem for most amateur astronomers, I suspect. ) He did say that red was the worst, because it could be seen from the furthest away. I have also been told that they use pale blue on Airplanes, by the cockpits, at least military, but can not verify this. Either way, I thought it was an interesting article and bears some investigation, which does not have to cost much, because you can get a suitable torch, with filters, for about £4! Not that, that is the best quality...

It always baffles me what logic, some use when deciding what packaging to use. Wit Amazon I have sometimes had the reverse of that. Not too long ago I had this incoming from FLO, to help me decide the future direction I intend to take: SCT or refractor? Only given it the one try so far, which proved to me I need to get a proper focuser on my C9.25! It was clear out a bit ago, so will spend a half hour looking at Luna...

I own the 10 mm and to be honest I am not that impressed with it, finding the 10mm Baader Claasic Ortho better. Others disagree but the Baader Orthos come highly recommended by many, it won't be long before I get another. However I also have two of the ES 62 degree eyepieces and can say these are wonderful, my most used eyepieces, others of those are on the horizon soon. My favourite is the Baader Morpheus, of which I have one, the 12.5, but they are a lot more expensive. Other peoples mileage may vary, as some say on here...

Welcome to you both, to the forum. A very dark sky can have that effect I would say...

Having seen a post by @Alan White, in the what the postman brought thread, about a new headtorch he had got, my curiosity was aroused. I have always loved torches, since being a small child, so it did not take too much. I was expecting an expensive bit of kit, but it was not, which was good, but his torch when I looked it up on Amazon, led me to another from the same manufacturer: Black Diamond Storm This is a little more expensive, but what caught my eye was the fact that: That night vision mode in red; green; blue, brought back a memory of a comment from an ex Royal Marine, who once told me, back in the day, that red was not very good for night vision, nor for being discrete. I am sure he said they used blue light at very low levels for very great discretion. I decided to look further, via Google and came across this article: ( Found via Amazon I think. ) Go For The Green It seems to say that red light being best, is a myth. Interesting. Was that Royal Marine right all along? Only one way to find out I guess, try the green light and see! So what do you all think? Worth a try or is it just me finding an excuse to buy another torch? ( Not that I really need excuses... )

Happy birthday Stu. Got any plans? Other than trying your new tripod out of course. Hope you have a decent weather to properly christen the tripod...

I didn't even know such a thing existed. I had considered digging out the old fashioned ones ( that you light the charcoal for? ) that I have lying about somewhere, but otherwise would do as Alan does in future. Perhaps a combination approach is needed.

Yes, a very interesting thread, thank you for posting. You do indeed have no fear in modifying scopes do you? I doubt I would have the confidence unfortunately. Certainly plenty of food for thought though. Have you ever thought of offering your services out to others, for money etc.?

It is too cold, or maybe my tolerance for the cold has got less as I have got older. Certainly I used to go night fishing when the temperature would be -10, or worse, seemed to cope fine, but of course that was 30+ years ago! Tonight though is super clear as was forecast, so I had to have a little look, didn't I? I have done my back in again a little bit and didn't plan ahead anyway, so did not have any big optics handy, so thought I would just go out for 40 minutes or so, with my eyeballs and my little ED monocular. I only had four layers on, with a hat and thin inner gloves, so only expected to last a short while, which turned out to be the case. My fingers are still slightly numb! But my little 8x42 monocular got me a glimpse of M42 and the Pleiades, so me is happy. ( My super light tripod helps here too. ) But it is cold out there, not sure how cold, but too cold for my fingers, with the thin gloves on. So what do you people do to keep fingers warm, but still fairly dexterous? I can easily keep them warm, just multiple layers of good gloves, but then of course I lose all dexterity, don't want to risk dropping an eyepiece. Is there a solution? Still a good little session though, the views tonight sort of reminded me of back 40+ years ago, looking through my first scope a cheap 50mm one, which I still have by the way! One good thing about the cold, it makes you appreciate the warmth of the house!

The only thing I can say about this mount, is that be aware that there may be some quality control issues with it. I am on my second one, the first I could not get to work at all, the second is temperamental, to say the best. I have only used via the app, in AZ mode, but except for the great service from FLO, I think I regret getting it. I am far from the only one who has had issues either it seems, if what I have read here and elsewhere is true. If you get lucky and get a good one, it seems it is a fab mount. I intend to persevere with it though, because it just ticks so many boxes. With this second one however the tracking is excellent. I use it with my C5 and it copes well with the weight of that, which to be fair is not that great.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Good choice joining.