DaveL59

or just for fun, suggest one of these to her https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NPZ-TAL-35-Newton-telescope-souvenir/184188387873?hash=item2ae27bc221:g:yjQAAOSwnuxeV5FZ

How about going vintage tho, something like: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TAL-M-80mm-3in-Newtonian-Reflector-Telescope/223928563928?hash=item34232eb8d8:g:-XAAAOSwNBleVqi1 manual tracking but if set to EQ mode you'd only need to move the RA control as you swap user. Sadly this one's got a broken tube ring and no clue what the reserve is but it seems to be complete incl the original wood shipping box and given it's wee size they're not bad at all. Only thing I've not managed to source for my one is the extension tube, parts ain't so easy to come by and the broke ring might be fixable to add security to the tube when fitted. Eyepieces are non-standard 32mm rather than modern 1.25-inch. These aren't light tho esp in the box, but that does make it easy to pack away and pop into the boot of the car

to add to what Joe has said re going EQ mount, if your wife and daughter plan on watching together and swapping at the eyepiece to share the view of something, a tracking mount will at least keep the object reasonably well in-frame rather than the second person at the eyepiece having to track around to find it again.

Yeah wasn't sure as I do have a Zenith that has the tripod screw in the hinge end which I was surprised by, but other ones didn't. Hence thought it might be worth a mention just in case

The one I got was branded Yaber off amazon, 20Ah capacity if I recall correctly

good plan to hard-wire to the battery, saves accidentally getting the terminals mixed up in the dark I went with a LiPo jump-start pack as its so much lighter/more compact and that works ok, but check what the max power-draw is on the 12v output and also the min as some apparently can shut off the output if the drain is too low. I added a buck converter tho since open circuit it was reading >15v and I didn't fancy risking the GoTo boards. Now it gives a stable 12v and the mount seems quite happy. If you do stay with lead batteries, the leisure type is a far better option than car or small SLA's. Another choice is LiFePo tpes, much lighter and safer than LiPo but quite pricey.

my 100RS is on an EQ5 now with GoTo added tho I do keep an eye out for one of these mounts from time to time. Funds and other priorities have kept me away from the buy button so far, but one day... Of course you'll have set the kids high expectations when they come to go buy their own gear with that setup, unless they're lucky enough to acquire it as a gift

bear in mind from a post earlier that the screw may well be 12v +ve rather than the 0v rail, hence a short when you touch an earthed item to the mount body. You'll need to trace the 2 pins along the board and try to determine which is earth (likely one goes to the -ve on one of the capacitors and then onward from there).

oh, that doesn't sound like fun then

believe so, tis a bit of a long tube to see clearly without removing the mirror cell but the ones further up are so I assume same for those. Just don't overtighten when you refit so you don't risk breaking them away.

the orientation of the mirror cell relative to the tube is important, since if you replace it in a different orientation you will find the collimation is out, possibly by a fair margin. If you replace it in the original orientation you may need to a slight tweak but not much more. I don't have the 130M but the older 130EQ2 long tube, had no issue removing the mirror cell, but for sure work with the tube on its side just in case. At least if any nut does come loose and drop it'll not land on the mirror.

ah but he'd still have probably said it's flat and that it was just the distance that made it look curved, a trick of the eye and all that. Sounds like he/they got their "formula" very wrong tho if the chute opened while it was launching.

should ask, are the objective barrels still properly square to the body? or has one jumped a thread and so slightly skewed? A pic of the binos in question might help. Its just possible that one barrel just needs to be unscrewed and refitted properly threaded. Shoulda asked that earlier, sorry

you'll never really get true collimation unless you have access to the correct gear, unfortunately. Best you'll achieve is to correct the alignment for your own eyes and if lucky they'll still work ok for others if using close to the same IPD (inter-pupil distance) as yours. Doesn't sound too far off tho if you're able to use them in daytime, tho might after extended viewing. I had one pair where it felt like my eyes were being ripped out as soon as I looked thru them! Have you adjusted on both sides or just the one? Ideally you want a distinct distant target with bold horizontal and vertical line (A roof or gutter and downpipe say or at night a street lamp) that you can focus on with the binos mounted so they aren't shifting position while you check/adjust. Then try to see how well the 2 images appear on first glance, or better, use a card to blank one objective and see how it looks when the card is removed while looking through them (winking one eye will show the difference too but blanking with a card works better if you can do it). That initial image should show how far out and what direction the 2 sides are from each other. Problem in daylight is the brain can quickly merge if not too far out and they may seem fine. At night tho there's no background data so you end up with doubles of stars offset and then its a strain to get a decent view. Trick is to figure which side is out and then try to adjust it to bring it back into alignment, but that's not so easy as it may sound. Once you're sure the prisms haven't become dislodged then you could try checking the image of the exit pupil in the eyepieces and adjust only the side that is most off-centre. Once you have them adjusted so you can comfortably view without getting eye fatigue, test against a single distant streetlamp and then the stars as a double-check. You'll likely find that a further minor tweak may be needed to get them just-so. I realise those who know real collimation will cringe at the above, but if it makes them useable again for you then it might be worth a go. Just take things slow, don't force the tilt screws and make small adjustment then check the effect and repeat. You should back the tilt screw off if you do need to reseat a prism so you start from a neutral setting and then adjust from there. Do keep track of how far you've moved the screws tho and listen carefully as you don't want to damage the prisms by overdoing things 🙂

if you do decide to go for them, worth checking if they have the facility for a tripod mount before committing, some have a removable cap on the end of the central hinge that you can screw the mount into, makes it much easier if you decide you need this feature later. The alternate would be the adapter that fits on the central hinge bar. Also and importantly, check the optical alignment, are you seeing a well merged image across both eyes without eyestrain, esp if possible when looking at the stars. In many ways if you can find a later type that is armoured and waterproof they'd serve you better in the long run for astro use I think, but a lot of the vintage japanese models are around at low prices and are of fairly decent build and performance for the money.

I guess too that part of the problem is that they induce a signal in the big loops of house wiring which will radiate out to some degree. Tho the noisy so-called energy saving (and pocket emptying) bulbs can be as bad or even far worse at doing that lol

in case you've not already seen it... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skywatcher-EQ5-Synscan-Goto-Telescope-Mount-Tripod-With-Weight/223910611937?hash=item34221ccbe1:g:HbkAAOSw0P5eRuQr

worth checking the devices hanging off the EoP also - the NIC on the PC/NUC and also the router

oh, another thing to check with your EoP setup, is it being aflicted by any other electrical devices? Some LED and some CFL lights can be a noise nightmare and seriously affect the speed in a negative way. Over the distance your signal is travelling that could cause it to drop out too. Likewise fridge compressors, washing machine etc, worth checking the effects while monitoring the link speeds.

I'd not leave regular cat5 exposed to UV/weather as it'll degrade. Cheap yes but hassle when you least need it usually. I also used regular Cat5 but ran it in copex to protect it from the weather. Also worth making sure you get proper cat5e and not the cheapie CCA type that turns up a lot. Esp if you are running power down it (PoE). CCA degrades much more in extreme conditions, but you may not notice much it unless you're pushing lots of traffic across it.

which Devolo unit is it as 10Mbps is pretty low, tho I've not tried linking the shed with it here as I ran a cat5e cable in copex out to it instead. The later MIMO type EoP are ok, I generally see 450-650Mbps internally here across rings via the TPlink GBit units I have, primarily for 1080P CCTV. Wireless for that would be useless (tried it and found it doesn't handle live CCTV streaming on 8 cameras particularly well, even at 4 it wasn't good). The UART in some EoP units can tend to drop out so a periodic ping helps keep the link established, in fact the TPlink ones I have had a similar issue if the link idles, but I run a network monitor that regularly polls out to every device as well as disabling any green/power-save features (EoP, Switches and the PC's connected). Oh and do not mix EoP types, if you place older (slower) and newer (faster) on the mains the entire set will slow to the lowest standard/speed. If you do go with running ethernet be sure to put surge arrestors each end just in case. Ubiquiti do them and they're well regarded.

is there a consumer unit in the obsy? You can get issues crossing the fuseboard from ring to ring and I'd expect the same if crossing consumer units esp if fitted with an RCD. Another thought, if it works when you first power them up, are the units/network ports configured to sleep/run in green mode? If so then disable that and perhaps have the obsy NUC run a periodic ping to the main router to keep the link alive.

depends, are you asking about the various tracking speed or the fast-slew rates?

depends how fast you want one, they do come up on the bay fairly often as a complete head+tripod tho you may need to go collect given weight and bulk of the EQ5 plus tripod. IIRC I paid £160 for mine and as a bonus it was reasonably local. Occasionally just the upgrade kit comes up but new they are >300 at the mo. edit: No idea on these but... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EQStarEQ5-GOTO-EQ-drive-upgrade-kit-for-equatorial-mount-EQ-5-CG-5-MEADE-LXD-LX/312879931732?hash=item48d918e154:g:Gc0AAOSwLIZeDGB5 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EQDrive-UPGRADE-KIT-EQ-5-CG-5-MEADE-LXD-and-others-GOTO-telescope-control-system/223856727627?hash=item341ee6964b:g:NK4AAOSwrqBbqgHq

I guess I had it easier on installing as I bought a used EQ5-goto. But testing it once home it struggled, had been unused for a while. Removing the motors I found the EQ5 was reluctant in parts of its travel so I swapped the motors and electronics over to another EQ5 I already had after which it ran just fine. Take your time when installing the gears and motors so you have them aligned nicely and then manually run the mount using the handset at moderate slew, tweak the motor/gear installation if needed, then do the final assembly of the casings etc. You may need to adjust the clutch lock levers too so they stay cleat of the housing when the mount is rotating. One day I'll pull the other EQ5 apart and service it, but as its pretty much spare at the mo I've not been in a rush to do it 🙂