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DaveL59

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Everything posted by DaveL59

  1. easily done, I'll admit I didn't either but luckily didn't make contact. My rig the lens is quite close to the dome itself so its only the top 1/3 that matters in terms of the view. Clear RTV will do ok just take care clamping the dome down. Removal later would need a craft knife under the dome edge probably. Also let it set and air well if poss before fitting the camera/lens to avoid any outgassing affecting the optics. Or try getting an RTV that's ok for optics use. Re the lens, yeah they ain't cheap, I think Gina has the Fuji one on hers and tbh it's likely the best but are real pricey and IIRC CS mount not M12. I swapped the M12 for CS with switchable IRcut on the 5MP cctv module I'm using just to try a larger glass area but not sure it made a lot of difference. The hard bit is to get a fisheye lens that is F2 or faster that suits the sensor size, sadly there's few good choices and they're more expensive. The one I'm running at the mo is I think 2.1mm F1.8 and it seems to work ok but gives more like 150 degree rather than a full 180, so I run the camera inclined toward SE as that's gonna show a bit more of interest for my location.
  2. actually thinking about it, if the scratches are light, then brasso might work just as well too
  3. you might be able to polish the scratches out with something like a car headlight refurb kit, but then a new dome probably works out cheaper and won't result in any optical irregularities. Depends if the marks are in the visual line of sight vs the camera lens position. Defo worth taping over the dome next time, perhaps. What are you planning to seal under the dome edge with? I used a nitrile wide flat washer which seemed to work well on my el-cheapo rig and means the dome is easily removable compared to silicone RTV. You do want to avoid capilliary action drawing water in under the edge tho but don't want the clamping force to be so great as to distort/crack the dome rim. Some stainless washers might help spread the load a little? As for a lens, I think that's the harder part, what fitment is it, C/CS or M12? I guess lens speed is less of an issue given its an astro camera so can run slow exposure, but a decent F1.4-F2 can be pricey and you'd need to match against the sensor size if you want a full-360 with no clipping of 2 edges. I've seen fuji CS lenses come up but they're in the £90+ region. I guess you'd also need a lens with IRcut filter built in or you'll get some odd colour effects in daylight
  4. Enjoy the scope, was after one of those myself a while back but wasn't to be 🙂
  5. the Prinz 660 refractor? Lucky as that's reputed to be a very nice vintage scope. The filters would be 2 separate round components, one moon and one sun, that would screw into the bottom of the eyepiece as banjaxed has said. best to bin the sun one or at least seal it in a bag labelled "never use!". Not sure if this scope uses the older 0.96-inch eyepieces, in which case it may be hard to source replacements if they are missing, but IIRC you can mod the focuser to work with 1.25-inch EP's which makes obtaining better EP's a lot easier.
  6. almost sounds like its not coming to focus as you should find it'll snap into focus and be able to make out detail. Did it come with any filters, sometimes there's a ND moon filter which may help reduce the brightness if its overpowering your eye. When you had it in focus in daytime, was it a distant object and how far in/out did you have to crank the focuser to achieve? If you were near the end of travel then perhaps there's not enough travel for focus on astro targets with the eyepiece. If the focuser doesn't have enough in/out travel then it may not manage with just the eyepiece, was it configured for photography use I wonder? Tho I'd have thought modern scopes would have adequate in-travel for photo use without shifting the mirror so I may be well wide of the mark with that train of thought...
  7. should also add... what's the condition of the scope? If the mirrors are good and the controls all work fine, a DIY overhaul of the moving bits and some minor tuning may be all it really needs. Cosmetics like paint aren't that important and could always be re-touched/repainted. So long as all the bits are there and undamaged and the mirrors are good then it may serve you well for some time 🙂
  8. it all depends how much you are into the hobby I guess and what you plan to be observing and budget you're thinking of. I started not so long ago with scopes and went the used route but mainly looked for TAL since they've a good reputation for being solid build and good performers. Been happy with the ones I've collected so far, tho I do have a skywatcher 130 on EQ2 with RA drive that I got for a bargain price too. Things to bear in mind will be that a kit bought new may still need upgrading, better eyepieces and maybe finder. Mount perhaps also. In which case you're adding extra/future costs. I'd suggest that adding some better EPs and barlow for the scope you have isn't a bad investment as they're 1.25 inch std type and could then be used on another scope if you do upgrade later. A red dot finder isn't expensive either. If you keep a lookout you might be able to pick up a better tripod and EQ5 mount for reasonable money and can always add RA/dual-axis or even SynScan to that if you wish to later on. Then to upgrade you'd only need an OTA and tube rings and use that mount and accessories you already own.
  9. not sure which would fit in what's available new, looks a similar arrangement to my EQ2 the motor gear engages to the large wheel and the motor slots onto the silver bush to the left of the lever, spring adds the tension to keep it engaged. That lever with the part-disc acts as a stand-off for when you want the motor disengaged. So might be a current EQ1/2 motor may work but I'm not qualified to say for sure. Will see if I can get a pic of the EQ2 with motor later if that helps.
  10. the RA motor drives that large silver wheel 🙂
  11. looks similar and different to the SW EQ2 that my 130 is mounted on, but has the same sort of arrangement on the RA so you could add an RA motor to aid tracking if you decide to stay with it. I guess you could get an EQ2/3 to make it more stable if it turns out to be too wobbly in use, but since its already bought give it a whirl as-is and see how it performs then decide what's best to do. If it used std 1.25-inch eyepieces then no harm in buying a couple better ones and barlow as you can always use these on other scopes, since most supplied ones aren't all that good anyway. If its the smaller size then they're hard to obtain at a decent quality nowadays tho you can sometimes find the odd S/H one and build a collection over time. I'd agree re the finder tho, a red-dot one would make it a lot easier to use.
  12. same here, oh well I just ignore most cookie notices or block em when they get annoying enough
  13. also are you starting with the lowest power eyepiece, the one with the larger number on it? and without the barlow lens fitted. Too much magnification will darken the image so always best to start with low power and then work up. None of the mirrors came fitted with a protective cover on them to protect them in transit did they? Never bought a scope new hence the question. You should be able to look down the tube and see a nice clear mirror at the bottom and the reflection of the smaller secondary. With no eyepiece fitted and aiming in daylight away from the sun, you should see light down the eyepiece tube which would at least confirm that light is reaching the main mirror and reflecting off the smaller secondary and up to where they eyepiece would sit, assuming they are at least reasonably aligned.
  14. except that for the infinity the channel in the barrel is for focusing the EP by rotating the EP itself... You'd have to modify the holder to use regular EP's which apparently can be done, but perhaps not for a beginner
  15. the second link (cloudynights) shows the order the lenses go in if you scroll down just under halfway. The double (thicker) in first then the spacer and then the thinner single at the top of the tube. More curved sides facing each other when fitted up into the tube. Handy that the prisms are still in place as that'd be more fiddly and they can be easily chipped so looks like hopefully a simple refit task
  16. in this thread one was dismantled to remove the prisms, is this what yours now looks like now?
  17. also found this forum thread which might help. I'm not registered there so can't actually access it but you may be able to without registering... http://www.astronomyforum.net/skywatcher-telescopes-forum/173647-skywatcher-infinity-76p-300-eyepiece-come-apart-help-please.html
  18. Hi Clair might be worth posting a pic of the eyepiece to give us a clue You can hopefully reassemble but if can be a bit fiddly getting the small lenses into the body and staying the right way up en route, worth giving each a clean with lens cleaner and avoid handling with fingers as you add each back in if poss too.
  19. Hi Louise yeah that was the one, at that low output hopefully it'll be fine then Must admit I looked at the photos of its build "quality" and toes just curled. You'd expect a better finish in mass produced boards but then at that price... Having said that the rats-nest wiring in some items at much higher prices leaves me speechless too, surprising what can lurk beneath a nice classy fascia that you don't get to find out till something stops working.
  20. yikes, don't like the fact that there's no drillings for mounting posts in the board nor any heatsinks. I guess for the price it is dirt cheap, make sure its in a well insulated enclosure and cables secured with suitable strain relief. You might want to have some ventilation also to assist cooling if running for extended periods, guess you'll know once its up and running and you can carefully check its operating temps.
  21. so long as its dry and reasonably ventilated you could well be fine. I'd say at the back tho away from the main door might be best. You'd need to take precautions against creepy crawlies and dust/grit blowing in under the door but at least temps should remain reasonably stable and near ambient at this time of year.
  22. no reason a scope can't be used thru an open window, so long as the room isn't heated and causing thermal currents around the tube. So long as you can pan around the part of the sky that interests you it's fine. I often use mine aimed thru the conservatory door, saves getting too cold
  23. silly question, but cap on the end of the main tube removed? Just like with a camera, easily forgotten Also use the lowest power eyepiece without the barlow - the one with the higher number, usually 25mm or 20mm in the supplied set. as above, once you can see something then do align the finder on what you have got centred in the main eyepiece, will make life a lot easier when trying to target points in the night sky.
  24. yeah so far mine has been fine in all weathers, no misting or frosting as the CCTV module runs quite warm so acts as its own dew heater 🙂 I have another camera that's in its regular non-outdoor housing with lens that's been running for over a year to monitor the area I put food for the hedgehog, hanging under an old ready-meal tray to keep rain off. I did cover all the case joins and SD slot with dielectric grease and it all still works fine, no frosting or misting up at all. For my main el-cheapo cam I've used a different poly dome than the original as it was smoked, as well as to improve weather sealing on the inverted CCTV dome rig with a neoprene seal between the lip and the dome body, so far has worked really well. The smaller cheaper housing looks like a seal has failed and unfortunately that one now has condensation coating the inside and after rain has water sitting in the base of the housing. That one's gonna have to come down altogether I think, might be usable to house the hog-cam perhaps but I don't think I'll be running that housing inverted again.
  25. how well does the housing stand up to being "inverted" with the dome up? I DIY'd mine using a ip-CCTV module and adapted a housing to suit and that works reasonably well so far. Another cheaper dome housing hasn't faired so well at resisting water ingress so I'll have to pull it apart and see what can be done, one day... The Sony starvis sensors (assuming that's what this one has) do a reasonable job at picking up the brighter stars even with the fast minimum shutter speed so like you I find its a handy day/night sky view. You might be able to polish the dome to improve it, car headlight polishing kits might work for that, but you may also be able to source a replacement clear dome for relatively low $
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