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Hi Adam, welcome to SGL.

Thank you for your suggestion but the scope was set up outside about 4/5 hours before viewing. Not sure if the 8” Dob has spoiled my expectations of the Mak.

Made an artificial star but can’t get far enough away to gain focus, I will have to try again when Polaris is in view.

Good point John, the Dob was my first scope and has never disappointed me. Maybe I am expecting too much from the Mak.

Knowing the moon was going to be special last night I set the scope up at about 4 o’clock so it had plenty of time to cool down. Looks like collimation might be the answer.

Good idea James I will check it out, thank you.

I finally got to use my Skymak 127 on the moon last night and was left feeling very underwhelmed in comparison to my SW 200P Dob. It is not the size of the image which is obviously going to be different, but the clarity was nowhere near as crisp and clear. There was no dew or anything on the lens so I assume it must be the different type of scope.

Hi Jeff, welcome to SGL.

Only Monday night is forecast to be clear where I am, maybe I should move 😀

Most people including myself fit a lazy Susan bearing which makes things much smoother.

Hi and welcome to SGL.

My 8” Dob is the most used scope as it is on a platform trolley which can be moved in to position and be up and running in 2 minutes, it is by far the easiest scope for me to use.

Hi and welcome to SGL.

Hi Toby, welcome to SGL.

I am no expert but if you are both experiencing similar problems after replacing your focusers then IMHO this is where the problem lies. Could you loosen the focuser screws slightly so it can be moved a little while you are observing to see if it makes any difference?

Hi Richard, welcome to SGL.

Yes I’m sure you are right but it was just a short observation session I was thinking about and the less setting up makes it easier, especially if the clouds appear 😒

Thank you for confirming what I was thinking, I just wanted to make sure.

Hi and welcome to SGL, enjoy your new telescope.

This may be a silly question but if I want a quick session when the clouds clear, is it essential to polar align an EQ mount ?

Hi Craig, welcome from across the Mersey.

Hi Tony, welcome to SGL.

There is one thing this hobby teaches us and that is patience. I am fairly new to this hobby myself and have just taken my time with all aspects because IMO you can not learn everything in a short space of time, in fact you NEVER stop learning. My eyepiece set does not contain any very expensive ones but the ones I have bought over time are as good as I need for the limited time we get to use them. My advice is just take your time to learn and research before you go and spend your hard earned cash on something you might (and probably will) regret.

Hi Tom, welcome to SGL.

Hi Wyvern, welcome to SGL.