ScouseSpaceCadet

A review I can agree with. My BST 8 & 15mm eyepieces were a massive step up from the supplied Skywatcher items and Acsension plossls I had. I don't have experience with high end eps but the BST units definitely improved observing with the 130PS, ST120 and 200P significantly at a relatively low £42 each new. Definitely keepers.

Soz Wookie. I cannot confirm. I fully *intend* to come and I've requested the time off. Unfortunately I'm still awaiting a response because both managers are off this week. 🙄

Yea thanks Wookie. I should have read the whole site first before asking. Does say parking next to tent if the ground isn't wet... 🙄

I'm definitely interested if I can arrange the time off. My long suffering partner said she would like to come to. Just one thing. Is it parking next to a tent pitch or a separate car park?

Terry, a great pic and a mini tutorial thrown into the opening post. What's not to like? It sure beats my first photo of the moon through a mobile phone!

Finally some clear(ish) skies and life positively clashed. So out came the new AZ-GTI for first light. Brilliant it was too. Observing the moon at 150x whilst silently tracking felt like sorcery! The stainless steel tripod is KIA, so I resorted to the lightweight aluminium job I had from an AZ5 kit. The combo felt quite steady until I brushed the eyepiece with my belly and my old goalkeeping reflexes lept into action. Saving the day but raising my pulse far too much! The AZ-GTI and an old freebie Acer A1-810 tablet are powered by an Ipossible 24800mah power bank. A Qutaway 5v-12v step up converter cable plugged into the 2.1amp USB socket and the AZ-GTI. The tablet plugged into the 1a socket and running Synscan Pro and Sky Safari Pro. The power bank slotted into an old pouch and strapped to a tripod leg with Ganvol velcro cinch straps. The telescope is a Sky-Watcher Startravel 120 with a very effective Baader 2" semi-apo filter screwed into a Sky-Watcher ED80 2" dielectric diagonal.

Happy New Year. Stayed in. Working in the morning and too old to cope with drink and early starts. 😕

No plans to acquire any more kit. A Dob and a wide field refractor are enough for the moment. Definitely getting the camping gear out and heading for Snowdonia, North Lancs & The Lake District for short breaks with observing thrown in. A couple of star camps are on the list including Spring SGL hopefully. Once again I'll attempt to infiltrate the local astro society and master the secret hand shake. Mars is top of the observation list and the July Mars 2020 launch with my name etched onto it is childlishly exciting! Good luck with all your projects and plans!

One of the joys of this hobby is showing others what they're missing. If one can ignore the occasional eye rolls and bored looks from some, there's lots of pleasure to be had enjoying the wow moments. Nice one Alan!

Nice pic. This remind me about Sunday evening. Around 4.30pm I left a work cafe, stepped outside and the crescent moon looked great with a very bright Venus next to it. On returning to my unit, the sky had darkened a little and my first floor vantage point was perfect. Before too long I had several staff, a couple of patients and some relatives all staring out the window! 😁

The postie wasn't involved in the first purchase, but walking past a market stall, these fingerless gloves with grippy palms caught my eye for a quid. A bargain! To compliment the gloves, the AZ GTI expected to arrive on Monday came today. Wahay! Fuelled by frustration I may start poppin into the work's chapel on the way to breakfast and praying for clear skies.

Ooo some nice pressies. My partner treated me to an AZGTI mount from FLO. Wahay! Can't wait to try it out sometime in 2023 when the clouds roll away. 🙄

Belated Christmas best wishes one and all! (and Happy Birthday Andrew). I hope everyone had a good time. 👍

Good luck but keep a spider catcher handy... (shiver)

Hmm. Blue eyes and despite the night vision killing brightness of the moon, I tend not to use my filter. Stopping down the aperture does the trick.

Weather's pants here MKHACHFE, but I definitely know that, "just one more minute" feeling very well! I daren't look out the window during a nocturnal toilet visit. It's almost guaranteed to be cloud free right at that moment. So frustrating...

A used Skywatcher Aero ED 30mm 2" eyepiece. It replaces a Vixen NLVW 30mm which despite the quality view in my 8" dob, wouldn't focus in my Startravel 120 without fiddling with the draw tube and I don't have the storage space or wallet for two eyepiece sets! I've managed to try this once and the view's rather nice for the price.

The diagonal you have is a sturdy dielectric with a compression ring to hold eyepieces. I use an ED80 diagonal (it was going very cheap and I was looking for a dielectric) with my Startravel 120 scope, the views are great, the eyepieces are secure and not marked by screws. It looks nice as well... Unless you're trying to shave a few grams in weight off the setup, there's no reason to change it. Also it gives you the option to try a 2" widefield EP in the future.

There's several dark sky sites just over an hour's drive from you. https://gostargazing.co.uk/regions/yorkshire-humber-england West Yorkshire Astro Society meet in Pontefract. https://gostargazing.co.uk/events/locations/rosse-observatory/ Give them a visit. They may be able to provide advice.

A lot depends on your husband's restrictions. When you say "bad back", do you mean he can't lift heavy weights, can't bend/twist, can't stand for long periods, or a combination of all those? I have a dodgy back (I can carry heavy weights but too much bending kicks it off) , but I'm still able to carry and use an 8" Skywatcher Skyliner. Although it' too low for me, therefore it's propped up on an upturned water butt base and I plan to buy an adjustable observing chair. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html My most comfortable viewing has been with a Skywatcher 130PS reflector and AZ5 mount. At 6ft tall, with the tripod legs extended fully and tripod extension attached, the eyepiece height is perfect. Allowing me to stand for hours without bending. It's also super lightweight with the tube being only 2.7kg and the mount/tripod approx 5kg. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az5-deluxe/sky-watcher-explorer-130ps-az5-deluxe.html

Or.. the Heritage 130p? Still very small and portable and easy for you both to carry and a big saving over a 150p. Getting yourself to Exmoor and plonking that on a picnic table will give great views. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/skywatcher-heritage-130p-flextube.html

If your spare tripods are 3/8s photographic fittings then the AZ Pronto will bolt straight on and as your dovetail is fixed underneath your telescope, rather than on the side, a good option if you want to avoid awkward finder positions or the need for tube rings. You could contact a retailer and ask if they will split the package and supply a mount only?

Hi All, I recently purchased a 2" Vixen NLVW 30mm and tonight decided to try it, with problems encountered! When inserted into a 2" Skywatcher dielectric diagonal attached to the SW Startravel 120, the focuser does not achieve enough inward travel to reach focus. So, I tried it with the Skyliner 200P and I had focusing problems (resolved see edit below). I do remember Alan White commenting he sold his because he had the same problem with this EP and one of his scopes, replacing it with a 27mm Panoptic. However before I give in, is there a chance I'm doing something wrong...? EDIT: I've managed to bring the EP to focus in the 200P, by discarding the 2" adapter and not fully inserting the EP into the draw tube, leaving an approx 5mm of the eyepiece bottom on show...

Bought used in nice condition, for less than a third the new price.. 😀. A Vixen NLVW 30mm 2" 65 degree eyepiece primarily for the Startravel 120 & shared with a 200p Dob'.

A nice collection, but save yourself £25-30 and buy a cheshire collimator off ebay for less than a tenner. With £250 to spend, a Skywatcher AZ GTI might be nice with spare change as I already have a suitable steel tripod and extension, but the 120ST plus accessories would just exceed the mount's weight capacity, so I keeping putting it off. Otherwise there's nothing Astro related I feel I *really* need...