jjohnson3803

I've set concrete blocks in the lawn as well, but that required digging down a few inches to set them deeply enough to avoid frost heave here.

I live in heavy light pollution, so moving my scopes a small distance makes no difference.  My club does have two dark(er) sites, but the nearest is a 45-minute drive, so I don't go out there very often - too many things have to align to make the trip practical.

Not very elegant, but maybe a duffel bag with the kit wrapped in open-cell foam?  I used an old camping tent bag for one of my tripods; wrapped the pod in plastic bubblewrap. 

I've seen some instances where people covered the shipping boxes in duck tape and used the original styrofoam inserts. 

Paid, but it was cheap.  I'm told the newer iPhone cameras are very good at low light photography.  But that doesn't necessarily mean good for astrophotography, I guess.

I'm experimenting with NightCap Camera on my iPhone 7.  Seems pretty versatile, but my skies are garbage so I'm not expecting a lot.

Reviving this thread.  Anybody have any recent hands-on experience with the SV48?  I've been considering getting one (visual only) but I've read a few rather virulent negative reviews.

Thanks!

On 05/11/2021 at 08:29, jock1958 said:

I bought some skywatcher ones and they’re fitted to my small Tak FS 60 just now, I find them a bit short & stiff but there’s not a lot of choice out there just now. The Rowan ones look decent but end connections are 8mm and won’t fit your ST 2 (6mm) unless you make connectors to suit.

You might be able to find adapters / reducers on the Web if you Google around a bit.  I haven't actually looked though.

Well... I also have a Twilight 1 with Astro Devices encoders.  To be fair, I should do a side-by-side comparison with the TW on its native tripod and the SW on the Manfrotto.  But I just prefer the ergonomics of the SW AZ5 over the Twilight even though the AZ lacks encoders.

I have a SkyWatcher AZ5 that I use on a Manfrotto 475B (purchased used) for grab and go as well as trips camping and to dark sites.  It handles my ST80 with Crayford focuser (maybe 6 lbs) quite well, but my ~12 lbs ST120 is pushing it's capabilities IMO.  I admit I've never tried to isolate the wiggles - mount vs. tripod vs. observing on a wooden deck.  They're not horrendous, but they are noticeable from time to time.

I much prefer slo-mo over friction mounts, so my options for a mount upgrade are limited on my hobby budget.  I'm thinking of an upgrade to a 90mm or 100mm fast doublet and sort out the mount later.  The weight and size of fast refractors are major considerations for me.

Good luck!

Interesting!  When I was researching mirror mounts for binos, I seem to recall a lot of insistence on 1/4-wave mirrors, which were really cost prohibitive, so I dropped the idea.   I'd be using it with only 15x70s, but tilting my head back can be problematic due to some old injuries so a look-down would really help.

How did you calculate the size of your mirror?

On 19/09/2021 at 11:22, F15Rules said:

When I bought the Tak 4.5 years ago, after many years of buying and selling various scopes, I knew I had  bought my personal "Forever Scope" - and I feel just the same now.  

 

I'm leaning towards a fast 90mm triplet for my forever scope, but not completely sure yet.  Maybe a 102ED - a little more grasp and definitely cheaper.

I really prefer having slo-mo after previous experiences with friction mounts, but this mount looks tempting.

I have a 10mm and 6mm SLV and I'm very satisfied with them.  The 6 is pushing it a bit with my f/5 achro refractors though.

Originally, I hung black polyester shower curtains on a PVC pipe frame for lightblocks.  I switched to hanging the curtains on an 8-foot closet rod on deck rail planter hooks since I usually observe from my back deck.  More recently, I've been using a quick clamp to hold a large but shallow cardboard box on the deck rail at a strategic spot.  Cheap, lightweight, and easy to set up / transport.

I'm at 42N, so there's no midnight sun here, but night doesn't start until 2230 now and astro twilight begins about 0330, so observing time is limited.   Add some trees that obstruct my view to the west and southeast and the "good stuff" in Sgr and Sco can be difficult to observe.  I have better luck before dawn in late spring.

It's been clear, but now we have to deal with smoke plumes from wildfires in the West and Canada.  Pretty sunsets though if you like that sort of thing...  🤪

I'm definitely waffling about trying AP.  Having spent decades mucking about with telecom tech / programming / project management, I'm not sure I want to deal with more technology for my hobby or spend hours doing data processing.  But my skies are garbage with LP and driving out to a dark site is not a frequent option, so being able to see at least a few galaxies aside from Andromeda from home would be nice.   I'd also like to be able to do a quick capture of some of the clusters and such that I see in my scope.

Currently I'm leaning toward some form of EAA to supplement visual.  Or maybe I'll (sort of) bite the bullet and buy a DSLR for widefield constellation shots.

The other thought I've had, and maybe it makes no sense, is to put a small mono cam on a finder and keep using the main scope for visual.

Ok, so the live coverage is a little schlocky, but congratulations to Virgin on a successful mission!

As mentioned, perhaps a Revolution Imager?  

I've read mixed reviews though - they're close to realtime video, but the user interface is supposedly pretty clumsy since they're basically repurposed security cams.  However, they do come with a 7-inch monitor, hand controller, etc., so they're a one-and-done set-up.

Thinking about buying a Canon T7 (not sure if it has a different model number in Europe or Asia) for general photography and limited astrophotography (probably wide field constellation shots and some open clusters with my 80mm refractor).

Just wondering if anybody has experience with the T7 and what they think.  Thanks!

1 hour ago, Astro Noodles said:

[...] but if it's a dopamine hit you're after, surely you can think of a better way of getting it that doesn't involve hundreds of pounds and result in frustration."

🤣  Outstanding!  Never thought of it like that...

I'm continually debating myself about trying AP.  I can see both sides and especially her point about spectacular pix being just a Google and a click away.  But I live in a suburb of Chicago, so it might make sense to try EAA to overcome local light pollution even if I never have the time / energy / money to invest in hardcore AP.

There are also several remote imaging services like slooh.com for those who don't want or can't have their own AP kit.  You can set up an observing run and go off and do whatever (like sleep ) while the scope collects your photons to be processed when you desire.  I guess one could argue that's "not really doing AP" or something, but if professional astronomers can sit in an office and run a scope thousands of miles away, it's seems reasonable to me.

Or I could chuck it all and go back to train watching and modeling. 

If you have a pair of locking pliers (AKA Vice Grips) you might be able to get a hold on it if you tighten the jaws quite a bit before applying.  I've had luck doing that with mine, but you do need at least a bit of metal for them to grab.  Otherwise, I'd go the hacksaw route.

I've been thinking about trying AP and I've been going back and forth among a Revolution 2 Imager, a dedicated ZWO that would require a laptop to run, and a DSLR.

My laptop is very light, but I have a hard time with the thought of dragging it wherever I would go with a cam.  I know ZWO offers a WiFi solution but it's yet another expense.  The R2 is inexpensive, but still has cables and a supposedly user-unfriendly interface to deal with.  So it seems my best choice would be to go DSLR.  I like wide field constellation shots and I could use it for other things if astrophotography didn't workout.

I'm in the US so I can't help with UK vendors, but I believe you'll need a wire harness with an RJ-11 jack that connects to the encoder and then the coiled cord from the Nexus plugs into the R J11 jack.  At least that's the set-up with my Nexus II wireless.

I'd like to put encoders on my SkyWatcher AZ5, but there's no kit available so I'll have to do something like you're doing (if possible).

20 hours ago, KP82 said:

I used it primarily for open clusters. [...] The max mag I could crank out of it was about 92x (w/ a BST 5mm). [...] So this is not the scope to get for planets or doubles.

My primary targets are open clusters, so that would work and my shortest EP is a Vixen 6mm SLV.