DaveL59

sadly my more SE facing conservatory windows don't open else that'd be a more useful view, kinda have to wait for things to cycle further toward the SSE/S and then get a little viewing time before the oak tree starts to get in the way. But for short sessions it works well enough and for the EQ5 I can set it up so the tripod is part in and part out to get more SSE but still be half indoors when viewing. Means I disturb the wee hedgehog less too when he's visiting for his food

yep, making the best of circumstances means some compromises. I did the same with CCTV here, lots said it was dumb to have them behind the glass but they work fine, I just fitted a matt black card to removed stray reflections from indoor lighting and put IR illuminators outside. I can't drill through the walls (rented) so I made the best of the options I had. Downside is the skycam can't be run B&W as the IR makes a total mess of the pic lol

from the conservatory I note v little difference, tho the end of the scope is outside the doorway and having no heating things tend to outside temps very quickly. Added benefit is a handy table and subdues light thru the curtain to see what I'm doing. I'd imagine a window may have the warm air rising off the roof/walls that'd give much the same effect as looking over houses nearby if not a little more. All of my viewing is by necessity over houses but hasn't caused any real issues so far.

didn't frankenstein use a larger version of one of those

I've viewed out of the open conservatory door as with some careful positioning I can view out SSE, could be very handy in mid-winter rather than being out in the open. Summertime not so great as it gets very hot, but with the door left open a while it does cool reasonably well if I'm feeling lazy to shift the gear out into the garden. Makes hooking to mains power so much easier too

we've all done it, nowt like going off fishing and when setting up finding you left the bait in the fridge and its now a 1h drive away...

hmm a 1A fuse on the mains side is quite likely to blow if you have a switch-mode PSU hanging off it tho as they have a fair surge current on power-up, 5A would be the lowest I'd go for the mains. Agree tho regarding line fuses on the 12v side, some sort of fuse/thermal protection would seem a good idea given the value of the equipment attached.

thanks, that does help. Wasn't planning on investing in a DSLR as I've no real need for one much these days so have a Fuji bridge camera. Had considered getting a sony DSLR at one stage so I could re-use my Minolta AF lenses but never got around to that. Once I've had a play with a modified CCTV module or maybe the c270 webcam to start off with I was thinking it may be worth stepping up to something a bit better further down the line. The EQ5 is synscan so in theory should track by itself but was curious if the camera did both at the same time and so might improve things a bit. When I do get time and bits set up I'll likely start with the moon and planets as they come into view, but going a bit deeper once I've got the hang of things might be fun too. I can always mount the SW130 onto the EQ5 if I want a bit more aperture than the 100RS offers, tho its on an EQ2 with RA motor so might be ok also.

A question on these, was looking at the T7C as they seem at a good price compared to something like the Bresser Full HD unit and I might have some amazon funds to burn soon. Can you use the ST4 to guide at the same time as taking video/pics? I'm assuming that it'll link OK to the EQ5 synscan of course...

as others have said, a red dot finder isn't expensive and if you shop carefully you may find one that'll fit the same base as the supplied finder which makes things simpler. Once aligned with the main scope easy enough to use too. Worth checking out astroboot as they often have them and eyepieces at good prices and may have one to suit your scope. For eyepieces, I bought this set for the little NatGeo 76/350 and they're not bad esp for the price, and much better than the ones it came with, tho do check if they'd suit yours. Be aware too, non-standard filter thread so may be limiting if you buy others later on. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-25-Plossl-25mm-6-5mm-telescope-eyepiece-Moon-filter-non-standard-thread/161233779361?hash=item258a483aa1:g:dmEAAOxyJX1TC4rP

Welcome aboard If you want a low resource PC option to get an idea what's up there to see, in-the-sky.org is handy too, simple web browser and easy to use.

hi James those will take an MSATA SSD (if its the USDT/USFF model) which might help if you need to speed things up in the IOPS front and leaves you the option of a larger HDD if needed too. I've a fair few of the USDT types here tho not for astro use and they work pretty well. Standard SODIMM memory so inexpensive, I've 16GB in the ones I run, Hynix IIRC. and loads of USB ports 🙂 The PSU brick can be a weak point tho and being "smart" sensing you can't really just substitute a 19v feed. If you find the PSU runs hot maybe look out for the 180W one as a replacement. Overkill perhaps as that's for if you add the MX GFX card but they seem more reliable than the 135W one. You can also download the service manual off HP's site should you need it.

do you know the dimensions of the prism and if its BAK4 or BK7? I've some pairs that are pretty much spares so might have one that'll fit tho can't recall but likely they'll be BK7, I assume its a porro design rather than roof. edit: just noticed you're in Canada, have you asked on cloudynights also as they may be able to recommend someone over your side of the pond

could be that edge blacking the IR filter would quench the flare, depending how accessible it is of course. Nice image overall tho, very neat mounting idea too 🙂 I'm thinking the spectrum flare at the edge, lens flare across the image isn't easy to lose as it'll be from reflections off the lens surfaces and maybe the dome. Not like we can stick a lens hood on to try to control if when using a fisheye 😉

do you know if the lens edges are blackened? Not sure how simple it'd be to strip down and do that but it might improve things. I don't see that on mine which makes me wonder if there's a flaw at the lens edge? Does it have an IR filter glued on the back of it as that might be creating the flare effect?

More likely that the secondary isn't reflecting the whole primary light cone now its closer to the primary, I'd have thought, but it'll be relatively little lost compared to the convenience of using std 1.25 inch EPs. A larger secondary would catch the bit that's lost and then you may want to enlarge the hole for the focuser (I believe astrobaby did that on hers when she overhauled but for other reasons) but since the focuser tube isn't going to be changed for a wider one probably little point in doing so.

I've similar skies here but get good views from the back garden as its reasonably dark that side of the house. Front wouldn't work for me with LED street light that's v bright. Main view for me is to SE as there's a bit oak tree to the south but I've had nice views of Jupiter and Saturn earlier this year and of course the moon. Impatiently waiting for Orion to be back in view at sensible hours as I had some nice views with bino's last year and can't wait to see how much more the scopes show 🙂

bigger as the secondary is now lower into the light cone if you see what I mean if you consider the primary as the base of an isoscelese triangle and the secondary sits near the point where the long sides meet, the line across parallel to the edges forms a plane of a certain length. Moving the primary up is much the same as lowering the intercept point nearer the base, resulting in a wider plane at that new point. Yes I know the secondary isn't parallel but the result is much the same, closer the secondary gets to the primary, the wider the light cone hitting it... Not a great pic but might illustrate what I mean, if you consider upper and lower red lines as where the mirror was/is tho in the Tal it won't be that big of a difference

thinking about it simplistically and I may be off the mark, but having moved the primary up the tube (I've done the same), you're effectively intercepting the cone of light earlier at a slightly wider point. So a slightly larger secondary might make a bit more of the image the primary is projecting, no? Not sure if the later Tal-1's with shorter tubes used a different secondary to allow for that, perhaps someone else here with one would know or be able to measure and let you know. Alternatively you could always get the secondary re-coated.

what may help is exposure to UV as that'll at least cull the mould hopefully, so it doesn't spread. A UV lamp and a decent exposure time would do if the sun doesn't want to help, don't point it at the sun tho! As for cleaning it off, a soak with some hydrogen peroxide added perhaps? tho I've no idea how that'd aflict the mirror, others with more experience than me may be able to advise better re that. Might be fine with just the usual soapy water routine after a UV session to kill it off, but give the internals of the casing a treatment as well to remove any spores that might still be lurking.

could be fine then 🙂 It is a problem now for shipping LiPo cells, being they can be quite "volatile" so can imaging it's not so easy to source if there are no local suppliers around.

does seem pricey but may well do the job, has mains inverter output which is likely why, do you really need that? so long as it doesn't auto-shutdown with a low-drain load it could work, tho using the AC outlet will reduce runtime quite a bit I expect. I have a LiPo car jump-start pack that's smaller but similar rated power and use the Cig socket adaptor to hook up to a Buck converter to deliver 12v out to the SynScan, seems to work just fine and cost around £65 all in. Just be sure you check the DC output voltage before you hook up the scope as they can be a lot more than you'd see off a regular 12v lead battery, mine showed 16v which is more than the 15v max for the goto, hence the buck converter.

The old TAL scopes came in a plywood box and I've been thinking along the same lines myself, as my smaller Tal-M has the box but the Tal-1 and 100RS do not. Problem I see will be the weight and bulk which won't be helped by the added weight of the box. I'm thinking along the lines of adding decent sized wheels at one end so it can be towed along more easily, esp given the 100RS+EQ5 weighs in around 50KG. I guess another option would be a fold-up sack barrow to strap it onto while moving it around

hopefully it'll be fine then 🙂 I know some have used hot-glue to secure prisms in binoculars so I'd go that route rather than general purpose/cyano-acrylate stuff for any optics having seen the effect it had on a torch reflector one time. Enjoy the Tal, I travelled from Kent to Coventry to collect the 100RS I have, love how well made they are and the views it gives are fabulous to my eyes, not that we've had the skies to do much of late...

yikes I'd not have used superglue, it outgasses and can leave a nasty residue on optics, hope you left it open a good while before you sealed it all back up 😮 Well done on getting it all back aligned tho 🙂