ScouseSpaceCadet

If you want an all singing, all dancing outdoor power supply, American brand Jackery is very popular. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jackery-Portable-Explorer-Generator-Outdoors/dp/B08RNPYLQW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=2DO5LFYEFCD2K&dchild=1&keywords=jackery+240&qid=1631103705&sprefix=jackery&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRkI4TzRFUktCNUFCJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDU3OTM2M0xIUTJVQk5ZTTlUTSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDM5MjE1MVAzNjQ3NjYxWVNCRCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl Unfortunately you just missed a £60 off 3 day sale. I tried to convince the missus to go halves on one 'for camping' but she wouldn't take the bait. 🙄

Over the last three years I've tried an Ascension 4mm plossl, TMB 4mm planetary and an OVL Nirvana ES 4mm. None of those provided a a view I thought was acceptable and also increased my floaters. Most of this year, for 140x +++ magnifications I've been using a GSO 2.5x ED barlow combined with 6/7/8/9mm eyepieces. However I know my current 102mm ED refractor is capable of better than the views observed so I splashed out on a Vixen SLV 4mm from FLO. Realising the fov is only 45°, my reasoning being a smaller field of view and decent glass, any abberations should be tightly controlled and at higher powers I don't find a wider fov necessary. I'm 'zooming in' afterall. The SLV proved its worth last night on Jupiter and Saturn. At 178x Jupiter revealed finer details to banding not seen before, albeit I noticed some blue chromatic abberation however it was not intrusive. Saturn was a revelation. I've not managed a really sharp observation of Saturn at 150x +++ before, but this eyepiece and dinky 102mm scope managed it. The Cassini division I've previously observed, but I was very surprised to see the cloud banding on the planet for the first time! Despite not wearing my glasses while observing I still twist up the eyecup. I found the eye relief very comfortable, floaters were there but minimal and the eyepiece didn't mist. The view was very tight to near the edge. I did notice some brightening around the outer diameter but I was looking for it! Again, not instrusive. Overall I'm extremely happy I splashed out a bit more than usual.

It must be great not needing to travel 100 miles or more for dark skies... 😀 Welcome. 👍

I was about to take a couple of pics after the session, however I became distracted by the collapsed years old metal garden chair underneath me... while I lay on my back on top of it. My head snug amongst the border pots... The old body sustained a few aches, pains and scratches but is otherwise intact! Do not worry, the telescope is OK! Although watching the Vixen eyepiece roll along the floor in slow motion did nearly give me a heart attack. It was in my hand as I fell and reminiscent of that war movie scene were the apparently dead soldier rolls a grenade from his hand! I kept things simple, deploying the AZ5 and 102ED. Combined with the new Vixen SLV 4mm, I managed memorable observations of Saturn, including cloud bands not seen before. The view definitely justified the expense. The Vixen is my fourth 4mm and undoubtedly the best I've owned. A keeper. A pic from last winter in the same config...

The 7 and 16mm are the same. I resorted to a dew heater band from Amazon.

Both those latter eps were to some degree regretful sales. They were that good to my eyes. However sticking with 1.25" eyepieces just saves a lot of faff. I'm cockerhoop with the Altair 24mm UFF as my widefield ep but I don't know how well it performs in faster scopes. It may be worth some research. There's also a 2" 30mm in the range but it's bit above your stated limit at £185 (and above mine!) https://www.altairastro.com/altair-30mm-ultraflat-eyepiece---precision-barrel-stainless-steel-238-p.asp

The Nirvana's are decent for the money in my non expert opinion. Tbh I didn't get on with the 4mm so sold it however the 7mm and 16mm have been tried on several different scopes from 8" dob to 4" refractor. I've no intention of getting rid of those any time soon. I found the 2" OVL Aero ED 30mm fantastic in my Startravel 120 and 8" dob. Both fast scopes. The only reason I sold it is I decided swapping between 1.25" and 2" eps on the fly wasn't for me. Similarly the Vixen NLVW 30mm was sold for the same reason. Worth a punt if you can find a used one for less than £100.

Nice Kev ta.

For once the FLO 'May contain clouds' sticker is wrong... Just in time for a clear night and an hour or two on the gas giants... A Vixen SLV 4mm... Ooooooh!

"...large tent..." is a slight understatement. More like a mobile bungalow!

Great Nick. A veritable feast! Camping out for a couple of weeks that's dedication... Last night was pants here. The sky was too bright and clouds coming and going until they stopped going about 2am. 🙄 Still, it was a good mount familiarisation session. I'm camping in the Yorkshire Dales next weekend for three nights, so hoping to tick off plenty with the 10x50s. Half that list will do. 😀

The wealth of experience & knowledge available is worth the 96 pence per week. 👍

If you really have your heart set on one of those, then undoubtedly the AZGTI. Very lightweight, portable, with practice accurate gotos and good tracking. I have owned an AZGTI nearly two years and have throughly enjoyed my time with it (after a few hiccups early on with a dodgy unit tbh). Although it's time is nearly up. I don't need three mounts... The AZGTi is also very versatile with some extras bolted on and some research, and again, practice - a fun little equatorial astrophotography mount. It works quite well with the planetarium app Sky Safari Pro too. The modular system is nice, you can use it without the extension tube, different tripods etc. I've even tried mine with 10x50 binoculars on a L-bracket... If you just fancy a look at the moon or gas giants for instance, the mount is fast to set up. Unlock the clutches, point the scope at the moon, lock, choose Point and Track, pick lunar and you're away with no need to touch the button for half an hour or more and if you do slew around the surface tracking isn't lost - a nice relaxed observing experience.

To think we all thought Pete Burns' eye patch was just a fashion accessory...

Great image but for me the light adding depth to the cliffs and ridge lines of the Appennines(?) steals the pic'. There's a very recently updated Sir Patrick Moore article about Archimedes at Sky at Night Magazine Online.

Perfect. I've had two 8" dobs and sold them both. My £500 102ED Apo-lite© gives great views of double stars, open clusters, brighter nebula, planets, lunar, solar etc. It's also a reasonable scope to try my hand at astrophotography. Under my Bortle 7 light polluted skies the dob just wasn't worth having. Plus the refractor can be popped out onto an unpowered AZ mount and get going within minutes or for longer sessions, is very comfortable to use mounted on a goto EQ mount with relaxing tracking while the setup time only really taking as much time as the dob cool down. One day I may get myself a decent dob around 12" and regularly enjoy DSO delights, but I'd have to move house first!

Or as I did go for the Altair UFF. A variant of the APM, snazzy metallic green and a bit cheaper. 👍 A good weapon too should you need to defend yourself against marauding badgers. 😬

I squash my face against the eye cup just fine. 😀 JeremyS picked up the 'original' APM version and posted about it. They're nice eps.

Great review. Thanks. Although I'm v. happy with the poor cousin 102ED guttersnipe. 😀 If I had an observatory I'd probably never leave with a 150mm apo installed. One can dream...

Afaik it's not easy to predict how much one's eyesight will deteriorate... I wear glasses for distance however in my early forties the middle age onset reading sight deterioration arrived. I'm not one for bi or varifocals so the glasses are regularly seen perched on my head when close up viewing is required. Occasionally I have left the glasses on while observing however as I do not suffer with astigmatism, more often than not they're on my head, and often on the floor because I forget they're there while observing! (I really should buy string 🙄) Despite not wearing the glasses most of the time at the eyepiece, I still tend to use long eye relief eyepieces. Current well used favourites in the budget to mid range being the OVL Nirvana ES and Altair Lightwave LER Planetary. My premium wide fov ep is the Altair 24mm UFF for that 'space port hole' experience. All suitable for specs wearers.

That's a good one, nice capture. Gfamily last year I jumped out my skin as an an actual fireball streaked across the fov of my 10x50s while looking for the Coathanger cluster! I put them down and frantically ran to the back of the garden to watch but it ducked behind the roof. ☹️ I'm surprised it wasn't reported even in the local paper because it looked like a reentering vehicle burning up and left a trail it seemed across the eastern sky. I remember my son looking at me through the kitchen window slightly worried and a bit confused at me waving my arms and pointing up!

For my used Celestron AVX I offered 70% of the current new price minus money for my petrol and time. The seller bit my hand off. I should have gone with 60%. 😬 It's not sparkly clean but works, plus a psu and polar scope were included. If an item is sought after or difficult to source new, you will eventually get a fair price, although playing the long game is sometimes required.

Kev your heart is in the right place undoubtedly, however people just cannot be trusted. Thousands die every week in various circumstances because of our ability to detach and think 'It won't happen to me'. Sad but true. Also your, 'made it clear that if you show any symptoms at all then you shouldn't attend.' rule just wouldn't be worth the risk, as so many infections are contracted from people with no symptoms at all. Simply standing close to an asymptomatic infected person while they chat away to you can result in infection. It's a horrible disease, transmitted incredibly easily and how ill one becomes is a lottery.

Niall, I know the extra expenditure is pants. Compared to some here I'm one step from the gutter! However, I've gotten used to the amateur astronomy caveat, 'There's always something else to buy'. Whether that be eyepieces, tripods, power supplies or cleaning cloths! One reassurance I can give, is with a Talentcell battery ( in a bag to keep the dew off), my AZGTI works perfectly as do many others. The battery also has a USB port to keep a phone alive or power a USB dew band and when not being employed as an astro accessory can be used as a normal rapid charging & tough every day power brick that should last many years. The cheap £2 Amazon cables work OK too, but I found during winter they can cause issues, so a Lynx Astro cable is recommended (Yes I know... more money, still they do look rather snazzy...). I hope RVO can sort it for you. As I mentioned, only my third unit was satisfactory and I've read of plenty of others having more than one so don't let the retailer fob you off.

Clickbait extraordinaire. 🙄