Sky-searcher

Hi, I got a NeXYZ a few weeks ago. Not had a lot of chances to use as yet, but picked it as heard good reports & it’s movement in all axis’s was the decider. Good clamping range, fits on my Baader Morpheus eyepieces easy & clamps ok. Good idea from John to add a strip of foam/rubber to add more grip. Adjustment was loose when arrived, but there are small screws for adjustment. But hit & miss, but makes it better. Had a play on looking at the top of a hill around 3 miles away & using it was easy compared to placing phone on eyepiece. I use the phones own exposure adjustment & edit the pic, but also have nightcap app also. Would recommend the NeXYZ & FLO was the best price I saw & in stock at the time. Hope that helps!

Didn’t arrive today, but several months ago. Secondhand 16 inch pillar extension, we’ll used, but cheap. Tried it on my mount after arrived, but several mods required to fit. Had a look at it while on lockdown. Trimmed the North tab on the tripod, had the pillar tube cut in half, modified the connection on top of pillar to 3/8-16 instead of M10 to fit mount. Painted the pillar tube after cutting, but remembered I had some carbon fibre wrap left over. Tried it on the off cut pillar & liked it, so wrapped the tube today. Like the end product. Only need to adjust legs now to level tripod & I can feel a frac coming shortly so will be handy for extra height. 😊🔭

Just to add another option, Orion do a 9x50 RACI illuminated finder that would go on the Baader base that John recommended. Part No 07020e.

TS-OPTICS T2 prism diagonal & 20mm SC-T adapter arrived very quickly from Germany. Really great build quality & nice price. Fitted my Baader T2 helical focuser & mounted on my MAK127.

Best option, will work out for the best in the end. Annoying no replacement for few week though, longest 2 weeks of your life 😂. I have the 150P & it’s a great scope. Easy size to move & store. Punches well above it’s size. Good choice!

I have had a hyperflex for a couple of months now. Using it In my MAK127 it’s given really great Luna views. Tried it against my Morpheus eyepieces & although not as good (should hope not at the price difference), it’s not that far behind. Bought it to try out before getting a second to use in my binoviewers. My birthday on Friday & my misses has got the second as a present. Can’t wait to try them out in the BV’s.

Right decision to return for exchange. My 1st scope ( heritage 130p ) had a dint in the tube. Outer box ok, inner box had damage. Contacted the supplier ( well known here ) & they sent another ASAP with no quibbles. I was gutted at the time & the 3 day wait felt like an eternity. Clear skies for 3 days then the clouds rolled in when the replacement arrived 😂.

Nice colour match 👍 i also like when the setup is as pleasing on the eye as the view through the eyepiece. Looking at that setup is definitely a pleasure John.

Use a 2” dielectric at present, but with now getting the t2 micro focuser i have taken a look at t2 diagonals. Only Baader & TS optics giving options for diagonals , but like the ability to able to make connection changes as lots of t2 adapters available. Also seen lots saying the prism is better for planets in slower scopes.

Hi John, do you see an improvement with using a prism diagonal compared to a mirror/dielectric unit with the Mak?

Another better thought out version of a Skywatcher then! Will look into flocking the central tube sometime to see if it makes any difference, but happy with how it performed the other evening. A Baader t2 micro focuser arrived yesterday so waiting for a clear night to give that a try also. Maybe waiting for a while though 😩

Hi John, thanks for your reply. I have read your thread on this previously. Is definitely a good idea. happy-kat has sent a thread on a halo problem seen with Celestron C6 etc, which eventually has been located to the focuser baffle/tube in the middle of the primary. It refers to several flocking the inside of the tube, but leaving several millimetres unflocked at the ends to stop vignetting. Small tube diameter, so would be awkward to do, but wondered if acetate maybe the answer? Are you going to flock your Mak you got recently? Thanks Andy

Thanks happy-kat, read through the thread, definitely interesting. Something to look into. Did you try it yourself with acetate for backing? If so how did it go?

Hi, had the Mak out last night & did a star test. Nice tight rings on test, collimation couldn’t be better. Marking the front cell before removal & aligning on refitting should not alter anything. The inside of the tube sure is darker inside now, got to improve contrast for sure. I have & do use a astrozap dew shield for extra light shielding. The strips at 200 mm long where perfect to get the flocking as close to the primary, but still leave enough space to slowly place you fingers to attach the flocking without touching in any way the primary. Didn’t take long once in the groove. Took a couple of pics of the moon last night & got to say they are the best I have got with this scope with a iPhone handheld to a hyperflex zoom lens. I have recently improved on the focuser knob with a outside tap fitting I adapted to make it easier to focus. Hopefully all the mods are making an impression. 👍

Definitely a good night last evening. Clear as a bell here in the Isle of Man. Put the MAK127 out early evening to cool & went out around 9.30. Moon was the star of the show with a star just to the right side made a great view through the eyepiece. Details could be made out on the shadowed part due to earth shine. Myself & the wife took a few pics through the eyepiece, which is tricky as you say. The wife has ordered me a Celestron NEXYZ phone holder for my upcoming birthday, so hopefully that will help in the future.

Thought I would take the plunge and remove the front lens as the secondary mirror black bits in it when looking at the reflection on the primary. Didn’t seem to be causing any visual problems though when using, but knowing that they’re there was always on my mind. Placed 2 strips of masking tape between the tube & lens mount for realignment. Used a strap wrench to loosen lens mount from tube & slowly removed. Lots of bits on the secondary. Used a bulb blower & thankfully they all removed. Blowed the primary & tube to remove any dust. Moved the primary to farthest position & measured for length of flocking required. Cut strips of 200 x 50mm & applied around the tube. The difference in light reflection is massive. Refitted the lens mount to original position & cleaned front lens. Happy now knowing that it’s clean inside.

Just ordered the same today from FLO 👍

The focuser on my MAK127 is nice & smooth, but fine focus is a bit hit & miss with the small focuser knob as standard. Had thought about a dual speed SCT 2” Crayford, but awkward to fit as standard focus knob in the way. Also not working at present due to lockdown a cheap (free) solution is a good idea. Seen a few threads on SGL on increasing diameter of the knob using bottle tops, etc. Had a search around the house & garage & found a outside tap adapter in my tool cabinet. Near perfect fit when pushed on. Cut the back off to leave the knurled ring & flat sanded the back. Fitted to the focuser knob nice & snug. Should hopefully give my a bit more control over the fine focus now.y

Decided to drag myself out of bed at 4.15am this morning to hopefully get a view of the morning planets. Missed seeing my favourites Saturn & Jupiter over the winter months. Checked on Stellarium last evening as to when they would rise & position with the moon. They are very low at present & I have hills in the S to S/E position unfortunately, but don’t block out to much. Popped my head out of the door & the moon was visible, although the only clouds in the sky where in the area of where I want to see 😩! Setup the mount & MAK127 & waited with a coffee while the clouds pasted. Poor seeing on the moon at 1st. Could only make out larger craters & getting focus difficult. A bright pinpoint was visible to the left of the moon which was obviously Jupiter. Could make out the bright planet & 2 moons(100x mag, hyperflex zoom at 15mm) but no signs of any features. Further over to the east, a small red dot could be viewed (Mars), but again poor seeing. Saturn not yet visible as behind a tree in the distance. As the morning wore on & the sky lightened just before sunrise, seeing settled down some what. Saturn came into view & the skies where totally clod less. Focusing on the moon, I moved over to Jupiter. 3 moons now visible with hints of 2 bands on the planet. Turning to Saturn, the disc & rings where now visible. Mars had now gone from my viewing position. Took a couple of phone pics through the eyepiece before the rising sun made viewing harder. All packed by 6.15am with a smile on my face. Good the see Saturn & Jupiter returning to our skies again, have missed them over winter. They are definitely the planet’s with the WOW factor!

Won’t have a problem, the heritage has a vixen type dovetail attachment that will connect with all mounts with vixen clamps. The AZ GTI will be suitable.

The Starguider lenses are great value for money. 60 degree, large lens, adjustable eye cup & really good quality build & views. Good upgrade from the eyepiece’s supplied with scopes. I have 5,8,12,15 & 18mm & Baader Morpheus in 6.5,9 & 14mm & the Starguider compare well at the cost.

Clear night in the Isle of Man tonight Stu. My 7 year old son joined me for a peak at the Moon and Venus. Also the misses came out for a look to!

Been a while since getting the SW150P out for an airing. Social distancing at its best. Orion Nebula M42 for 1st view with Morpheus 9mm. Switching to my Morpheus 14mm for wider seeing. Checking sky safari, located M35, pinwheel & starfish clusters. Found the Crab Nebula with averted vision. Watched ISS brightly pass over from the west, catching it in view several times in the eyepiece before it faded out. Moved on to Ursa Major & located merak. Found the dark blob of the Owl nebula & then looked for M108 spiral galaxy near by. After searching for a while, catching sight with averted vision. Decided to call it a night, but enjoyed every minute & a few new targets found.

Cat & dog 😂

Hi Mark, won’t be necessary I think. The weight threads on nicely & the movement of the mount won’t turn the weight off the thread. Will probably purchase second weight & the two will lock each other anyhow. Well made as you would expect of ADM.