DaveL59

Didn't think to mention yesterday but if you feel the accuracy is poor is that because you're not tight on target when you align the camera? You should be able to use pinch-to-zoom to expand the area of interest so you can home in better. If you mean that when guiding it's poor perhaps that's the sensitivity of the phone sensors and magnetic interference. You may need to reset the compas sensor which is usually done by waving the phone around in a figure of 8 pattern for a few mins.

that's odd as I can adjust so I can get a picture in daylight moving the 2 indicated to the left This was just handheld at my desk rather than on the cradle and with night mode off, but effect is much the same. On a bright day tho I can see this could be problematic if you can't slow the exposure enough. Out of interest which phone are you using?

ah well he didn't want to ship and I figured I wanted it enough. Very nice chap with an old Moggie Minor van so we chatted about that for a while too. Funny it was like an echo of my regular drives around the country for work in the past but without the pressure to hit an arrival time etc 🙂 My resistance on getting an R held but I did end up winning this earlier just have to hope I can fettle it 😄

Always nice to buy from someone who's cherished it, mine was the same hence driving to Coventry to pick it up a couple years back. Do let us know if you find the optics better in the R tho, then again do I want to know and then get tempted? 😉

was this the one Trevor mentioned? I managed to resist the temptation but then I already have the 100RS so I'd have only got it to compare the objectives (mine's a light green rather than purple).

Can't say how that'll perform but I have a vintage 3-inch with a spalled lens which I used black paint to cover the damaged area. Still a very usable scope tho its lost a little aperture so fingers crossed for you that it all works 🙂

I'd hazard that if the lens ring looks chipped that its maybe been apart before and the lens edges and rings blackened? So could just be paint flaking away that is now floating about in the air gap. Only way to know would be to dismantle but that of course implies a risk of the lens ring is indeed bakelite or any thread lock has been used. Probably safest to remove the field lens as you'd have more space to work?

maybe Tommy did make it to the moon after all, tho he'd have been out of O2 a long time ago

actually looks pretty neat, like the design of the telephoto side and the early price makes it very affordable for a wider market.

I wonder you could almost retract one leg completely and have the remaining legs either side of you and use the shortened leg as a handle? I assume you can set the legs to wider locked positions? A trigger grip is easier in use tho than a regular ball head, at least for speed and simplicity esp on colder nights.

Is that Matt Damon? no wait, he was the Martian wasn't he... 😉

Are you getting a pure white screen in daytime or a pure black screen when it goes to the camera view? You might need to go into the advanced camera controls and adjust the settings.

Reading that piece I kinda agree that a less controversial name would have been better. In current times we're seeing a lot of backlash against certain past events and figures, rightly or wrongly. It is the past and needs to be remembered for its effect on peoples lives but it does also need to be put behind us else we never move on to better times. That said when you look at attitudes in some military and other organisations, in Webb's case I do agree with that article.

That's one heck of a long USB3 cable too, hope nobody trips over it and pulls it out of the connector...

ahh you're braver than me then. While I'd take on a pair that are out if they were at the right price and have a fair few in the collection here, I balk to recommend to someone who's never tried/done this to avoid disappointment if things don't work out or get damaged 🙂

I believe they use some sort of fluid lens/prism to achieve the stabilisation Canon Stabilized 15x45 oil leak . How and what oil raplace ? - Binoculars - Cloudy Nights The other thing to check is the battery door and compartment

don't forget the 1/4 day, probably the meteor window...

oh fun, a friend of mine over here had one similar to that, kept tripping out the house mains! Enjoy the new 'Lunt' , so long as SWMBO is happy and all that... 😉

Not having a DX mount I don't know if/how you set the tension on it to allow smooth movement on the Alt axis or if there's a SloMo facility. You could add a weight to the objective end of the OTA (underneath) to counter-balance the mass of the heavier eyepiece combos but I've no idea if the DX would reach a load limit where it's movements become less smooth. Ideally perhaps a weight on a slider so you can fine-tune according to eyepiece, EP+barlow etc.

If you wanted them professionally collimated that'd cost several times more than the purchase price which on a cheap pair isn't worth it unless they are rare or of sentimental value. You might be able to align the prisms so that they work for you (conditional alignment) but a lot would depend on how they are built/assembled. I don't know if that one has tilt screws under the outer covering on the body or if you'd need to dismantle and use thin shims to tilt the prisms until they are aligned. There's info out there on the web, but random fiddling with the screws can make things much worse or even chip the prisms. For sure a lot of patience, a good understanding about how to adjust and appropriate tools (good jewellers screwdrivers etc) would be needed as well as a suitable target to test against. Stars at night will do pretty well for the testing tho since its much harder for the brain to match up the dissimilar images in each eye with so little detail to stitch together. Personally I'd pass, I think those often sold at Lidl so better to wait till they have them again and go in, check several pairs carefully and buy a pair that is already right 🙂

funnily enough I was doing some online admin so never fired up the stream. Next thing Sky News switched across at the point they started to show the images and analysis so I didn't have to do anything or listen to any early rambling 😄 Impressive images, very nicely done!

I'd be expecting a bigger discount tho considering the defective gyros...

hmm interesting idea Bruce, but then the centre column on that tripod ain't really long enough, tho there's other more pro tripods it could work with. This gives some guidance on rigging a tripod that may be useful to Dave: Build This Simple Binocular Mount - Gary Seronik I have come across another type that was like 2 vertical/angled handles forming the two vertical sides of a triangle with a pair of horizontals at the top which clamped to hold the binocular barrels and this could be used comfortably when seated/reclined. Can't find a pic or listing now but they have come up on the bay from time to time. Was tempted at one point to buy one to see if they're any good but never did.

I'd agree, much the same with any plastic material as it can deform as much as cut. Also make sure the tap is clean and sharp if you want to create a good thread. A well used tap that has been used in metals will have dulled a little, still usable but in plastic might not perform too well. What sort of screws are you planning to use in the threads? I've used nylon when I've tapped threads into acrylic tube which worked fine but they weren't really carrying any load.

only 16", I'd have thought 16 ft 😉