fifeskies

I have a Losmandy 380mm (15 inch) plate on the Orion Optics CNC tube rings for mounting to the NEQ6.

A vixen style dovetail would introduce too much flex for astrophotography though you might be fine for visual use.

For a more secure connection, it needs the 3in wide Losmandy style.

I previously had my CT10L on a dob mount , (which is alt/az) . 

For purely visual alt az is more convenient as it keeps the eyepiece orientation the same at all targets. With an EQ mount the eyepiece will end up under the tube  and at other inconvenient places depending on target.

 (which  you can resolve by rotating the OTA in the rings to bring the eyepiece back to a more convenient position.)

Large OTA are a bit of a sail for catching wind , now I have a ROR observatory , the high side walls prevent any issues of that kind, but my NEQ6 was fine out in the garden on calm nights before the build.

(a beach type windbreak can be useful to reduce wind issues as well)

Yes , you will need extra counterweights, I got mine second hand , but they are not a major expense even new compared to the mount cost.

With my CT10L , guidescope and camera , I need 3 with the extension bar fitted , or 4 with the bar kept shorter without the addition extension piece.

(My CT10L has a carbon fibre OTA but the weight soon mounts up)

I have an Orion Optics 10inch Newtonian (CT10L) , I use it on an NEQ6 pro and it is very suitable with minimal settling time after slewing. Its now on an observatory pier but I previously used it out on the tripod in the garden before I built my ROR observatory.

I also have the EQ5 but would not consider trying to use such a big scope on that mount.

If you try to find an NEQ6 in good condition second hand it is within your budget (under £1k), buy from a reputable source such as on here or a similar forum. The alt -az versions are also good 2nd hand but don't appear as often as the NEQ6.

May be worth measuring the output voltage of the power tank , if there is a bad cell it could have low voltage.

I was having led drop out when slewing on a standard mains supply.

I was using the adapter to 12v indoors with an an extended 12v line to the mount in the garden.

Voltage drop on the longer (thin) cable from a 12 volt initial level at the adapter was dropping the voltage at the mount too low.

I resolved flickering red led by upgrading to a higher quality lab supply at 13.8 volts. and thicker cable to the mount connector.

I now use this higher quality supply in my ROR observatory for everything.

No flickering even with both RA and DEC motors both running.

posted this before but its a handy quick reference

This is most likely heat haze between telescope and moon , probably rising from nearby roof , road or something similar that had heated up during the day , or perhaps a heating vent with a rising plume of hot air in the way.

Might be useful for you to tell us exactly what you were originally using.

Was it supplied with the mount. The adapter should list its voltage and current rating.

A photo of the adapter may help.

Have you tried using a leisure battery rather than a mains supply , the 13.8 nominal volts is better than a 12v supply.

I upgraded to a regulated linear 13.8v lab supply and this has solved the issues I had with the power brick type adapter I used at first (on a NEQ6 pro) where the power light would flicker as the mount slewed showing undervoltage issues when I extended the 12 v line out into the garden.

(keeping the mains unit dry indoors).

This supply now powers everything in my ROR garden observatory.

Aled asked about magnitudes

The apparent magnitude of an object only tells us how bright an object appears from Earth. 

It does not tell us how bright the object actually is as a big bright object far away will look dimmer than a less bright object much closer.

Its a logarithmic not a linear scale

Absolute magnitude is defined to be the apparent magnitude an object would have if it were located at a distance of 10 parsecs

ie all at the same distance which lets you compare how bright they are when beside each other

The lower the number the brighter the object is.

Mag 1 are bright stars , mag 6 cant be seen by most people unaided

Galaxies like          M81 are Mag 6.8 , too dim to be seen by naked eye

                               M51 is Mag 8.4 so is a LOT dimmer    

a difference of 1 Mag is about x 2.5 brightness     2 Mag is     (2.5 x) x ( 2.5 x)       or x 6.25

this means M51 is about 5 times dimmer than M81 which is why it is a lot harder to find in smaller telescopes.

It wont be too long till M13 the Hercules cluster is back in the night sky

(at a reasonable hour , its there now for night owls)

This will be a good target for you to try.

M44 the beehive is good for the varied colours in the stars but it is an open cluster whereas M13 is a nice tight group.

Like Nerf_Caching just said above as I said well back probably be a better idea to target M81 and M82

"  M51 the whirlpool is dimmer than the (relatively) nearby M81 which is easier to find and has a companion galaxy M82 which is smaller but can often be seen in the same view with low magnification eyepieces.   "

It is tempting to try to chase the objects we see in the glossy colour images from nice big telescopes but it is better to explore the capability of the scope you have .   There are always good things to enjoy with any size telescope.

"

Aled

I would say M51 whirlpool is not one of the easier targets with a scope of 100mm aperture , especially when we are in (bright) summer skies.

Also the "seeing" has not been great of late due to a turbulent jet stream above the UK last few months making it more difficult.

You will also need to allow 20 to 30 mins for your eyes to dark adapt fully before chasing a dimmer DSO.

Is there any light pollution around you as a Bortle 4 sky can still be ruined by nearby bright floodlighting.

Nothing beats going out and just seeing what you can do with the scope you have.

Take the time to get to know how it all works and there are some good summer targets to enjoy.

It is of course summer with short darkness and bright night skies  (I am now in twilight until august ends)

Winter is always a joy when Orion comes back as there is so much to see in that area of the sky , not the least of which is the Orion nebula and its close companions.

there are a lot of factors to consider and what works well one night may be hopeless another

start on low mag to find it and try higher mag until its getting less good , often x 100 is about the best you can hope for unless its a very good night.

this is why it helps to have a range of eyepieces covering different mag

and what works well for 1 object may not be as good for another

for DSO you need to get used at how to look at them as well

looking directly at them middle of vision you are less sensitive

by looking slightly off centre (averted vision) you can see them better , just needs a bit of practise

magnification is obtained by dividing your telescope focal length  (yours is 500mm) , by the eyepiece focal length.

so for your 25mm eyepiece      mag =    500/25     or x 20

for the 10mm                            mag =    500/10    or  x 50

(corrected my maths error 500/10 = 100 ??? in what galaxy is that then)

As miguuel87 says if you want to chase deeper galaxies you will need to be buying a larger aperture telescope

but get a feel for things with your perfectly good first scope,

(beware the aperture fever though , enjoy the scope you have it will let you see plenty before changing to another ……….. says the person who went from 90mm to 150mm to 200mm to 250mm within a year …. all second hand , they were bargains ….. honest)

the barlow will indeed effectively change your 25mm to an 8mm ,

but this will dim down your galaxies by 9 times as well

(3x wide x 3 times height so spread out 9 times thinner)

be good for the moon though which has plenty brightness to spare

You have good dark sky and a very capable scope that should let you see the DSO like M51 and M81 as long as you have a nice clear steady night.

Your 25mm eyepiece will give you 20x which is the one to use for finding the galaxies.

Both the 10mm and the 25mm are "starter" eyepieces and you would benefit from upgrading these.

The zoom will be good for brighter targets like moon and some of the star clusters but is less suited to DSO.

You are lucky enough to have good dark skies and that is a great first telescope.

Use the 20mm eyepiece (20x mag) to look and you will certainly find M81 and on a clear night M51 should be visible.

Use stellarium (free) or a free phone app to help locate the area of sky they are in , both these are well placed at the moment being high overhead where there is less distortion and the sky tends to be darker at this time of year.

the supplied eyepieces are very much starter ones and benefit from upgrading.

Your zoom is good for brighter objects like the moon and globular clusters but less suited to DSO.

When I started out I upgraded my supplied 25mm , probably the same one you have , to a better 25mm.

I got a Celestron X-cel 25mm second hand and it made a big improvement especially looking for galaxies, these are available fairly often on here or other similar sites. 

With that telescope you have do not be tempted by anything much over a 30mm eyepiece as the exit pupil will be too wide for most eyes and you will be wasting light.

I use a premium 30mm eyepiece now for locating galaxies.

Aled ,

Welcome to the hobby.

It will be necessary to know what scope you have before anyone can give you a definitive answer.

It will also depend on your location (Bortle rating for your sky) , you need to give this in order to be able to help you properly

You can look up your Bortle value here   http://clearoutside.com/forecast/50.7/-3.52   just input your location (it defaults to the FLO location.)

Just let us know the Bortle value , no need to post your actual location. Higher values are poorer skies.

(you need good dark skies for the dimmest of the Deep Space Objects like galaxies (DSO).

generally you want low magnification to find most of the dim DSO

I use 40x or 50 x with a 6 inch refractor and an 8 inch Newtonian in order to find the fainter fuzzies , but I have reasonably good Bortle 4 sky here.

With smaller scopes you probably will need to start on lower magnifications than this to find the fainter objects , if you magnify them up too far they get spread out and too dim to see.

You are unlikely to see eg whirlpool galaxy if you have a very small aperture scope and/or are in Bortle 6 or above skies. , though often a small change in location (not allowed just now of course) will enable you to take your scope out to a site with much darker skies.

M51 the whirlpool is dimmer than the (relatively) nearby M81 which is easier to find and has a companion galaxy M82 which is smaller but can often be seen in the same view with low magnification eyepieces.

F C Brundle track is top quality (I used it or my ROR)

Not had any problems with it.

Once you check its aligned and screw it down is very reliable.

Has very low running resistance , a very light push is all that is needed.

Not much leeway on the USB type (5v) adding a diode might just reduce the voltage to the point the LED wont light evenly, or even not at all

Some electrosurgery to add an inline resistor may still work , but both interventions might upset the control chip.

Another option might be to break the rope into 2 sections with a switch midway.

You only need a single pole switch to break the power line out of the 4 wires.  (Power , R return , G return , and B return).

I have also seen some cheap Chinese inline USB dimmer on a certain auction site , but these wont be available at the moment.

Some baffles to block direct light is perhaps a more predictable solution.

I use RGB LED in my ROR and it does operate with a dimming function but even then the low setting was a bit bright.

It all runs on 12v lines , I added in a diode and resistor in each colour line to drop the brightness after some basic test bench experiments to establish working values

Every installation will be unique and require a specific resistor value

You do need to work out the resistor value carefully and be wary of the heat dissipation in the resistor, make sure its within specification , but it works well.

I also made sure its all concealed LED tape behind wooden "L" covers so its only reflected light , even dim LED will give you afterimage spots.

I used 4 x 2 beams for the floor and 25mm rough treated floorbords (cheap) overlaid with a sheet of 9mm ply to level it out smooth for the floor mats