russ

3 minutes ago, CraigT82 said:

No I think it is 1/4" 20TPI UNC top and bottom. Though I have m6x1.25mm bolts and they do screw in too, but not quite as well, bit 'rattly'

That's awesome, many thanks Craig

On 25/09/2019 at 08:25, CraigT82 said:

M6x1.25 I think, it's an odd size and difficult to come by as most m6 bolts have 1.00 thread pitch

Edit: sorry wrong holes! 

Sorry to drag up an old thread but are the dovetail threads on the bottom M6x1.25 with 1/4" 20 UNC on the top of the rings?  

The BST Starguiders will be a nice upgrade from those 10mm and 25mm eyepieces. Will be well worth it. 

Also worth mentioning collimation with it being a Newtonian telescope. If the collimation is off the view will be degraded and even the supplied eyepieces may have more to give. 

Its quite a surprise jumping up to 12" aperture after a smaller scope. I had the Revelation 12" dob which i also bought in the knowledge the coatings had gone. Took the mirror to Orion Optics and had their Hilux coatings applied. It wasn't cheap though. I paid as much for the recoat as the entire scope. It was worth it though. The Veil Nebula with an OIII filter and this scope from a darkish site was amazing. 

Enjoy the scope, hope you get some clear skies soon.

8 hours ago, fozzybear said:

yep i hold my hands up does indeed a basic hand controller albeit not pictured on FLO website 

In fairness the photo does give the impression of only being the motors.   Plus your link is for the superior set with the enhanced handset.

3 hours ago, fozzybear said:

That is just for the motors as you would need a control box to move the motors if not then this the one you need albeit no computer control (goto) same as the link you poster albeit from Rvo

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-mount-upgrade-kits/enhanced-dual-axis-dc-motor-drives-for-eq-5.html

 

If you are good at diy electronics then have a look at onstep with an arduino wemos R32 and shield plus a couple of stepper motors then you can have full goto at a reasonable price  https://onstep.groups.io/g/main/wiki/19670

The link in the original post did include the handset, it's a complete kit but it's the original handset without the ST4 port.

As with Gus above, I would caution against spending so much on your first scope. I can say this from first hand experience from 4 people I have known through local clubs. The last one spent close to £6K. Used it all 4 times, decided astro wasn't for him after all. Put the lot on Ebay and lost close to £3K in 6 weeks. You can put together something half decent for a fraction of £5K, just to get a taster. Buy used to limit the loses to a minimum. Everyone chops and changes their setup, I don't think anyone has stumbled on the perfect setup first time of asking. So buying used allows you to chop and change with minimal loss. Just a thought. 

1 minute ago, jonathan said:

That's what I've read elsewhere too and seems like the best option.

I think given that the actual hole in the back of the 102 Mak is as vlaiv said, about 22mm, it doesn't follow in my mind that attaching a 2" visual back onto a 1" hole would be of much help, it's surely only going to produce vignetting (particularly noticeable during daylight, and negates the effectiveness of the extra field of view) especially considering that the 102 Mak is quite a narrow field of view instrument in the first place.  At night it might make more sense, but for daylight use I think it would produce disappointing views.  Anyone actually tried this (in daylight) and can confirm?  I'm very likely going for the 32mm anyway at this point, but there's always room for more adjustments!

My nephew has the Skymax 90mm but we haven't used anything lower than 25mm. He uses it purely for the moon and planets. The 25mm is just a finder eyepiece.

12 minutes ago, Bongo said:

@mikemarotta Thanks for all that. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner - things have been a bit hectic around here.

I think I definitely need to let my telescope acclimatise for longer. I have a bad habit of popping my head out of the back door, spotting a clear sky, rushing for the 'scope and cracking on. Not always the best bet!

To answer your direct questions - I have the EPs that came with the scope, plus the BST 8mm (which I'm very happy with indeed!). I inherited a 3x Barlow, which can be nice with the stock EPs but I've had no luck combining it with the 8mm BST - hard to focus and/or track. Gives options with the other EPs though.

I know that magnification isn't everything, tempting though it seems, but I did wonder whether something like a 5mm BST might work with my scope. Especially considering planetary viewing options in the next couple of months. What do you think?

The 5mm BST will work beautifully with your scope, not over powering it in the slightest. But we are at the mercy of the atmosphere and sometimes even 130x is not possible. As others have already said, let the scope cool and spend time at the eyepiece. With some decent skies the 5mm BST will work a treat in your scope. Just make sure the scope is well collimated as well. If the collimation is off you'll never get those fine details on the planets, not matter how hard you try.

4 minutes ago, Louis D said:

If it has the same rear thread as the 127 Mak, and you're willing to plonk down "silly" money, you can get the Mak to SCT thread adapter, a 2" SCT visual back, a 2" diagonal, and a widest field 2" eyepiece to vastly increase the true field of view with mild vignetting as seen below:

The difference is breathtaking at night when viewing rich star fields.

I was going to suggest that myself bu then couldn't remember if the smaller Skymax had the same thread on the rear or if the rear aperture was a wide as the 127.

Certainly looks impressive. The only other eyepiece offering those specs is the old Speers-Waler zoom with its constant 80deg afov.

The 32mm Plossl will give the widest field possible with the 1.25" focuser on the 102. You can achieve a lower power with a 40mm Plossl but the true field of view will be identical to the 32mm, just at a lower power. Hope that makes sense.

That is a great looking scope for £495. Not much more than i paid for a used ED100. What a bargain.

I love my 4" ED Frac. So much less hassle than the SCT i have. And massively easier to get on with compared to the 250P I had last year. That thing on the HEQ5 was a nightmare. Couldn't get to the eyepiece for half the stuff.  

1 minute ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

I've nothing to sort really. It's slightly uncomfortable knowing you're being watched but they're certified idiots. They're probably trying to work out what I'm doing looking into the metal tube on legs.

I feel sorry for those who have real problems with their neighbours besides the usual lighting issues. 🙄

I think that is it, they are uncomfortable not knowing what you are doing at that time of the night looking into a tube. Which was all it was for me. Once i knew that was the problem I ignored him too. All sorted. Then we moved and the neightbours were great. Actually came and asked for a look in the scope. And then bought their own.

6 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

All the hassle. I despair sometimes. My neighbours just get together at an upstairs window to watch, turn to each other muttering and point. I'm surprised they haven't thrown me a banana.

I know its all hassle. There's always one that has a problem. Hope you get it sorted. 

Yes I would, that's a nice image. The C8 has done well.

You could always book time on a remote telescope. You won't be there in person but you will be controlling the telescope and capturing the images yourself. I have never done it but something like this:

https://www.itelescope.net/

They have telescopes in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

We use to have this problem in our old house. The second I setup the scope the neighbour would clock it. Turn on his security lighting. Then shout out the window later that I was keeping them up. I one occasion i wasn't out, I had already quit for the night but left the scope in the garden. And yet he still yelled out at an empty garden, probably thought i was hiding in the shadows. In the end my wife (i know how bad is that) went and spoke with them. She got on with his wife, so it was easier. Turned out he just didn't like the scope being setup, felt uncomfortable. Nothing to do with noise. I even changed the mount as I was convinced it was the "coffee grinder" Celestron mount that was the problem.

Definitely worth a chat with the neighbour. I find it hard to believe that the tracking HEQ5 or the DSLR are making that much noise.

Great report John. Sounds like a nice observing session. I've not tried Neptune (or Uranus) in years. Now i'm dying to get out again. Our weather forecast was for thick cloud last night, so never put the scope out. Looked out the window at midnight, crystal clear. Wish i just went out anyway.

Stunning images, really nice processing again.  I used to have the M603, such a great scope. The M500 looks to be equally good.

That's a really nice image with some really nice processing. Not heavy handed at all. Really nice.

I have the Celestron C6S, which is basically an identical scope on a different mount. I can safely say the 6" SCT is an amazing little scope. First class optics. Truly great views of moon and planets. Surprisingly good on DSO's as well. It also images well, both DSO and planets. But I have to move the scope onto a different mount to get the best out of it. The SE mount that mine is on, isn't a first choice for imaging. So I have an EQ5 with dual drives as well. 

The downsides to the 6" SCT is cool down and dew. Sometimes it can be out there for hours and never seem to clear the warm currents. And the dew is an absolute nightmare without active dew heater (the dew shields are 110% useless). What this means is I will tend to reach for the ED100, despite the smaller aperture. It just gets up speed so much faster. And for some reason only the worst dew conditions affect it.  But we have owned the C6 for 11 years now and wouldn't part with it. Lots of scopes have come and gone but not the C6.

On 10/07/2021 at 14:20, Stu said:

Don’t miss out on one of the best features of these little scopes; widefield views! A 24mm 68 degree 1.25” is not big and would be great under a dark sky.

I had the Astrotech AT66 with the ES Maxvision 24mm 68deg eyepiece. Amazing 4.1deg true field. And with the little Giro mount it was a take anywhere setup. Including sneaking it onto camping holidays when all astro was banned. 

That sounds a great session indeed. Just a shame they rise at silly o'clock at the moment. But worth it when you get a good view. A few more weeks and they will rise sufficiently by midnight. 

Some great spots in the New Forest. A group of us from SGL used to meet at Turf Hill on the North side of the Forest. Not too bad a drive from Southampton. Come off the M27 at J1 (Cadnam) and head out on the Fordingbridge road. Didn't take me long at all from Southampton.

Superb work. Especially like the Jupiter images, really nice.