Concretedan

I know how you feel mate. I've not used my gear in nearly three years. I've not sold it and never will but I know when the time comes it'll be there waiting for me as will the stars. Don't put any pressure on yourself. Sometimes I just head into the garden if it's clear at night and have a look up and I know one day I'll reach for my stuff again and I'll be away.. until the next lull. Just enjoy it for what it is, a hobby. You'll get the passion for it again don't worry about it. And as for money you've spent, well, you can't take it with you! Just my opinion bud. All the best. Dan

Hi all, Wow! So many words of encouragement and advice that I can't thank you all enough. I bought my first telescope from my first ever wage packet when I was 16 so it's always been with me. Even when I went through my 20's & 30's partying, getting married, buying a house and building a career I would always look up at the night sky wishing I had never sold that first scope! Over the past four or five years I've got back into it and built up an awesome collection of gear which I won't ever sell again! Maybe I'll take a break from it for a bit. With that in my mind it will take the pressure off as well and I won't be moaning about the weather so much. I have lots of other hobbies I enjoy (I'm just about to start building a model railway in my garage) and when the moment comes again I'll be ready for it! Thanks again to you all. A wealth of knowledge and wisdom I can only hope to achieve. Dan

Hi all, As we know the weather this past two winters has been terrible (well for me anyway) for astronomy. My gear has stayed packed away all that time and I'm really struggling to muster the enthusiasm to "get back into it". I've got some great kit and a permanent steel pier in the garden but the two past seasons have really dampened my spirit for this hobby. Anyone else feel like this? If so, what did you do to rekindle the passion (for astronomy that is!) Many thanks, Dan

Hi All, I'd like to use a wide field lens with my Hypercam 183c to image constellations, etc. using the Altair Astro DSLR adapter mounted on my EQ6 R. My question is whether anyone does this, what DSLR lens should I be looking at or if I should be looking at another telescope? All advice gratefully received. Thanks in advance. Dan

Hi all, Has anyone used WebEx (or equivalent) and shared their screen with friends and family whilst observing? I'm thinking about doing this for some friends who have just started in astronomy and some family who are curious! I'd have a list of targets and even take some requests from them but I just wondered if anyone had done this and had any tips please? Many thanks, All the best, Dan

Thanks for the advice. I decided against heating and added two 5v fans to the pier on timers (so they only work at night). I think this should work well and will keep the air circulating under the cover to reduce chances of condensation. I'll look at adding a dessicant cannister of some sort as well. Thank you. Dan

I was actually thinking a fan rather than heating. I'm going to be supplying mains to the pier now so I could use the fan with a timer to only come on at night. Thanks for all your ideas everyone. Always good to get different perspectives. Dan

Hi All, I've just bought a Telegizmo 365 scope cover for my EQ6 R mount (which I'm now going to keep outside permanently) which is fixed on my pier. I'm doing this as it's very heavy to keep taking off and on! Security isn't really an issue although I will be taking precautions. My question is, should I add some low power heating to the pier (under the cover) in order to keep condensation down or will this not really be an issue? Has anyone done this and, if so, how? Any advice/guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dan

Thanks for the advice Ian. I'm going to do just that I think before I rush out and get any more equipment. I've looked at astronomy tools and my setup and camera suitability look okay. I'll give it a go and see where I end up. Thanks for all your advice guys and I may post some pictures in the reports section, who knows! Dan

Cheers for the info mate. Much appreciated

Hi Martin, Thanks very much for coming back to me. Really useful info in there. I've checked astronomy tools and my scope and camera aren't listed but I believe there are other sites that do a similar job so I'll check them out. I have a 0.8 & 0.6 focal reducer/flattener for my scope which is an F/7 so will give me a F/5.6 or F/4.2. I use CdC, Sharpcap Pro, EQMOD via bluetooth module and PHD when I can bothered to guide! I suppose the real question is what would you recommend if starting from scratch for two and a half grand? A very open question I know but DSO's are my preference and I'm not sure my frac is ideal for this with EEVA? Thanks again. Dan

Hello, After being in the hobby for some time I have decided that I would like to get into EEVA rather than continue with the astrophotography side of things. To be honest I've never really had the patience for it and I really like showing friends the laptop screen and the reaction I get! I have quite a bit of equipment already but I'd like to know if it is better to sell all/part to get something more aligned to EEVA. I have the following; EQ6R, Starwave 102 FPL53, Hypercam 183C, Sharpsky focuser/dew controller. I know it's a great setup for astrophotography (I purchased most of it from a friend who upgrades every couple of years and sells me his gear!! He is very talented and is very serious about it!) but how does it sit for EEVA? Should I get a reflector for the mount? Should I sell and get a GOTO dob? I'm really after some advice and guidance please if possible. Thanks very much Dan

Hi, I got out for a couple of hours with my binoculars rather than my scope as I pulled my back a bit earlier in the day! It was good to meet Kev though (albeit for a brief period) as I've not met anyone from this online club before so it was good to put a real face to a name! Skies were great with a lovely view of the Milky Way. Hopefully we can arrange something similar between us all in the not too distant future.

Cool. If anything changes I'll let you know Dan

Probably get there about 8

I'd be up for meeting at Creech Car Park although I'd probably only do a couple of hours (visual with my LX90) as I do have work on Monday! Still it would be good to get away from the lights in Poole for a bit! Let me know if you're heading up there.

Did you get out last night? It was very windy so I gave the garden a miss! I think we're expecting a fair bit of cloud for a few days now

Looks very similar to my setup except my mount uses a Bluetooth interface rather than a cable to the USB hub. My USB hub is powered by a Tracer 12v LiPo battery (with 12v and 5v output for my dew heater/focuser and USB hub respectively) rather than from the mains. My cameras are plugged into the USB hub and then the hub is plugged into my laptop so I can control the focuser, dew heater and cameras from the laptop whilst the mount talks to the laptop over bluetooth. As long as your all balanced up properly it's works fine so I don't think you'll have any issues Dan

Hi All, Has anyone used their scope lately? I don't think I've used mine properly for months! The nights are slowly starting to draw in a bit so I'm hoping to get out again. Perhaps a meet up in the near future? All the best and stay safe, Dan

Hi All, I'm trying to have a stab at imaging Jupiter at present and would like some advice if anyone can help? I have an Altair Astro 102ED Starwave and Hypercam 183C. I have removed my 0.8 reducer that I use for deep sky to give me a longer focal length. I can achieve focus on Jupiter with the camera plugged straight into the back of the telescope but as soon as I attach my 1.25" adapter to the camera and stick it into my 5x barlow the image goes black (even aiming at the moon). I don't know if this is a focus issue or because I am attaching a 1.25" adapter to, what is as standard, a 2" camera. I also tried my 2 x barlow and the same thing happened. I'd really like to "zoom" in on Jupiter but I don't know enough about focal lengths to work out what the problem could be. Also, to be cheeky, if anyone has any settings for Sharpcap they would be happy to share with me for planets I'd be very grateful!! Thanks, all the best and stay safe, Dan

Thanks for all your suggestions. A fellow astronomer friend has suggested the tap method as well so I will try this first. There isn't enough space within the recess under the mount to fit strapping to the clamp. It is cast aluminium so won't be easy to weld (though not impossible) and, to be honest, as it's going to a home where it won't last long (but may spawn a life long interest), I wanted a cheapish homemade solution if possible. Thanks again all. Dan

Hi All, Thanks for your comments so far. I wanted to avoid any specialist repairs as it's going to my nephew's and they will likely destroy the scope after a while so I don't want to spend loads of money getting this part repaired although it would be a shame for them not to have use of the goto and tracking functions. As you can see the top threaded part has broken off. I have tried to pin this together and use JB Weld (hence why it doesn't look great) but as the force is linear it just pulled apart when I tightened the RA screw cap. If anyone has any ideas I would be most grateful. Thanks, Dan

Hello all, I am looking for some help if possible please? I have a very old Meade SCT which I am planning on giving to my nephew's as an introduction to astronomy (they're not getting my Starwave & EQ6R though!). The problem is that during a good dusting off and clean up I have overtightened the RA screw on the mount and sheered off the cast metal clamp that locks the RA. I don't know the name for this part but when I opened the bottom of the mount and removed the black metal plate it looks sort of like a bare metal (perhaps aluminium?) mini tripod with a screw thread at the top which the RA bolt screws into to pull the clamp up against what looks like a disc (could be the gears?). I've tried JB Weld but as the force is linear on this clamp and not rotary it pulled apart when I tried to tighten the RA plastic screwcap thing (clear as mud I know! Apologies). Has anyone else had this problem or know what the cast metal part is called? Whether I can get a spare? Ideas on a repair? All suggestions gratefully received as I've run out! Thank you and keep safe, Dan

Hi All, Just a quickie and a daft question possibly. If the moon is full and bright but doesn't rise above the horizon until say 2am does it still make the sky bright before it rises? Cheers

Thanks very much for the info guys. Much aporeciated