DaveL59

That's very interesting, plenty older M42 lenses about that can be had for peanuts, tho some may be best avoided, the Meyer-Optik Domiplan 50mm f2.8 for example. Its a dinky little lens but this one you need to centre the rear element cell using 3 set screws to get best image, tho they are often very cheap, possibly why. Also not great in infinity focus as the one I have just doesn't quite get there. Many of these older M42's may be manual/pre-set aperture which makes them even simpler to use, no aperture pin to poke you in the eye 😉 

I'd considered Ali for objectives when I was looking for a replacement for the vintage 3-inch scope but they didn't have anything in the 76/1000mm range, certainly a good low-cost source if they perform well optically.

went for a quick smoke a few mins ago and was very surprised to see Saturn already over the rooftops and looking very bright, a bit twinkly tho, hmm. A few seconds and I realised it was moving towards me, bloomin jet with its main beams on. Man I must be getting old and doddery already!

no harm to try that out during the day and just accept stars it offers, then at the end hit Esc and see if it lets you select targets and swings to them. At least then you've good light to see by to check stuff, much less frustrating than trying at night 🙂 

1 minute ago, andrew s said:

The extra mass is in the battery' or more specifically in the chemical potential energy stored in its charged state.

Regards Andrew 

ahh so that's why my phone keeps pulling my trousers down when I've charged it and pop it into my pocket, always wondered about that 😉 

20 minutes ago, Greymouser said:

 A strange sound, only beaten by some of the strange sounds out of some of the other babies! One sounded barely human!

and that post just as a film about exorcism starts on the TV 😮 

One option might be the JWST images that are being aired on the web? Not quite the same but is something and likely way better than we'll see from on-planet. Not so real-time tho and no interaction with someone who is sharing an EEVA session that would maybe give some commentary. 

2 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

Hey Ho! If the re-wilders get their way we’ll have to look out for wolves, bears and lynx ….. and lions, why not? In for a pound …. 😉

well I guess one upside might be the adrenaline pumping might tighten the membrane over the cornea and sharpen your vision, giving cleaner sharper views in the eyepiece in the brief moment before fight/flight kicks in, or you get eaten 😉 

only thing you need to make sure of...

that you can run faster than the other guy 😉 

Doubt we'd get to see anything this far south even if the clouds cooperated. Street side would give my best N aspect and all LED lighting so no real chance anyway I expect.

Having seen the marks on yours I just took mine apart to see if its the same. Seems its different and the metal tabs stay within the earth/shielding tracks:

A relief, but seems its a different (earlier) version to your one. Also hasn't breached the varnish layer.

Artemis: Nasa readies giant Moon rocket for maiden flight - BBC News

Scheduled to go on 29-Aug, wonder how much extra junk it'll be leaving in orbit or will they have set things up to de-orbit nicely?

I have the older EQ5 upgrade kit rather than the already fitted one but is essentially the same and its been fine. Light stays steady when there's enough volts/power, I run it either via a 12v5A switched mode PSU or a car starter LiPo pack fed via a 12v5A buck converter to prevent the voltage risk of frying the board since at no-load that pack sends 16v.

As to the scratches, yeah I can believe that, is very poor manufacture to assemble a board into a casing where metal brackets can rub away the varnish and then short sections. They should've put a gasket of some sort in there or designed the bracket so it stayed within bounds of the earth/shield area.

hmm that makes me want to check mine out now too as this one that metal bracket could almost certainly bridge the thin track to what I presume is the larger earth/shielding, probably wouldn't be a good thing.

The other corner probably less of an issue since that's all the eartl/shielding and looks like is intended to connect to the plate hence the silvering around the mounting hole.

44 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

Snap!! me too.

Alan

handy thing to have, so long as the battery is alive when you need it. I tend to take the battery out now and put it back when using it even tho I've a fair few of that type kicking about spare. Bring back proper on/off switches I say!

for me, hopefully starting a new job so late nights will be limited anyway. With luck tho some clear evenings to view the planets now they're starting to rise before silly-o'clock will happen 🙂 

If it helps, under the end-caps of the hinge that are really just trim you'll find something like:

The red arrow points to where a tine set screw should be that locks the large screw once tightened to the required level as I'd mentioned before. Finding a suitable screwdriver for that large brass screw can be harder as its brass so easy to chew up. I use an old woodwork screwdriver as its an ideal fit.

Take care with the set screw however, old and may well split the slot head if too much force is used, they you'd need to find the size and order a replacement, or as I did, re-tap and use what you had available...

1 hour ago, Astrobits said:

PIC

Nigel

ahh I have the same caliper, do you find it has a habit of turning itself on when stored and then you've a flat battery next time you want to use it? I tend to use the lock screw to stop the sliding part moving now as that turns it on when you don't want it to.

I've a couple bits that have a compression ring, rest is thumbscrews and only a couple eyepieces that have undercuts. Have noticed that they catch if I don't back the screw off enough but never had one end up jammed. Now I initially lift them gently and if any resistance back the screw up a bit more. Not seen a need to get a click-lock as not sure of the benefit for that price and having read of a couple that did jam decided too much trouble for me thanks 🙂 

Might give the copper foil tape trick a go tho just so they're all evened up 👍

Hi and welcome to the forum 🙂

Some lovely shots there and even better to come I bet with darker skies. From those you sure seem to have picked a nice setup and how to use it, well done!

1 hour ago, SthBohemia said:

I am sure Dave59 will chip in sooner or later with good advice 🙂

Cheers 'A Bruce' 🙂 

Not in this thread old chap, no experience of Tak other than what I've read here extolling their virtues. There's plenty like Stu and others who've had several in the range that can offer way better advice than I, so I'll sit in the back and take notes in case I ever get close to obtaining one 🙂 

As Ian has said, if you set the OTA so it points downward before removal that'll prevent more falling onto the primary, before reassembly tho I'd run a vacuum cleaner over the DIY shroud and velcro fixings to get as much loose fibre off, in fact I'd have done that before first fitting but too late to suggest that now, one for the next time perhaps. I do the same when flocking too as there's always some loose stuff that'll find its way where you don't want it to go. No need for max-power, low would be fine and using one of those attachments with a brush at the end will prevent getting the shield/flock sucked in and crinkled up.

On 09/08/2022 at 11:34, Swoop1 said:

I regularly went where people didn't want me, armed with a bit of paper that said I could be there.

Never used dark sky quality as a grounds for a search warrant though.....

I once went where they didn't want me to be too tho no bits of paper. I blame the mini-cab driver that got himself lost, crossed the M4 and drove us into an army base. Of course we were then stopped a few hundred yards in by several folks in green and carrying guns! What a fun start to the day and getting to the IT course I was suppose to be at, tho the tale did amuse the other students and instructors greatly 🙄

Agreed @Astro_Dad my viewpoint has subjective elements too, in part the ease of use of the StarSense kit as you also know having the dob version. Add in the low cost of the frac that can be quite easily improved from its wobbly nature it fit the budget as well as giving an easier intro to a hobby that might/not take longer term. Also then still useful after upgrading to bigger/better as one to take on trips etc being light and quite compact. Either way its someone else's choice to make once the wide amount of advice and suggestions have been digested and hopefully a new family group added to the future of amateur astronomy 🙂 

46 minutes ago, SthBohemia said:

Not bad eh @Dave59, you started this thread 24 hrs ago- 95 replies and over 1k views! Very well done...

What's the next pandoras box you intend to open? "Tell us what you think of your current mounts (I might get very self opinionated ova dem apples)", "Meade VS Celestron", "Present your backyard", "Are Questars and Astro Physics scopes worth the loot" or maybe go BIG time and a lovely thread, "Is Imaging anything more than glorified use of Photoshop".... 🙂 

no plans to start another controversial thread like I knew this would be. Thankfully we steered clear of the landmines that might have locked it tho 🙂 I thought it was useful to see why things were the way they were and hopefully find a middle ground when responding to the "what should I buy" type questions. Maybe I was misjudging some who'd replied and they did consider more than just the mahoosive dob before suggesting same, but time will tell if balance changes, not much a couple folks can do about it but we'll see...

There is of course a validity to lots of aperture, just isn't always appropriate to someone else's circumstances or needs is all I wanted to get across. If money was no object something like the Unistellar eVscope at nearly 4K might have been perfect, being compact, simple setup and EEVA so you can see  and share hubble like views of the faint smudgy stuff and wow the kids, but that's not in many people's budget, even used things like that come in at 2K or so. Too small for the kitties to curl up inside the OTA tho 😉 

can't help either Ash and sorry to hear about your difficulties. 

While a great idea if EEVA users could share, allowing someone outside to connect into your network may not be something others would want to do for security reasons, tho perhaps if they could stream to a web page that is published that you could see then that'd work. Of course you're then limited to what they're looking at and if they're even looking but its something and a lot better than nothing.

Another option tho expensive might be one of those all-in-one little units that you pop outside and connect to via a tablet (or PC maybe) and does the whole capture thing for you remotely. Would mean clear skies and popping out to set up and then bring in but it may work being very short duration exposure to the elements. I'm thinking something like the Stellina or the UniStellar eVscope, sorry but they're pretty pricey tho.