DaveL59

often wondered the same. So long as they don't see us as a potential threat or future colony tho... 😉

So, long time since I posted on this thread but last mods I've now done to the LT70AZ have been to add some vintage wooden tripod legs, which much improved the wobbles/damping time but still found that the OEM yoke wasn't all that stable as well as not being all that smooth in the AZ movement. So the other day postie dropped off a new yoke that I'd found on the bay, advertised for 76/700 reflectors but thought I'd try it and see as the measurements were only just a little wider. Fitted up and I may need to add a collar to the pivot pegs on the scope but the screws do seem to hold it nice and stable so maybe not. I did find the AZ was a snug fit for the OEM adjuster rod but it fits and slides fine, I had to loosen the retaining nut a touch to allow the fixed part to turn more easily else the rod binds when trying to lower the scope. Also can't swap the plastic scratch protector over as there's no free play between the rod and anchor point. So here it is, mounted up and on the wooden legs After a quick daytime test it was nice and stable and moves smoothly and with the motor focuser, getting good focus is nice and easy with no wobbling about. Last thing I'll need to sort I guess will refurb the old legs and make a spreader arrangement, probably will just fettle some chain, maybe use the hanging chain arrangement off a hanging basket. Don't have to look too pretty after all, just stop the legs doing a drunken spread-eagle 😉

yep, that's why I bought mine (LT70AZ) tho I've quickly built a carrier to use on other scopes with some delrin sheet and a prism which works great. The LT70 will be going to my daughter and kids after some improvements I've made to it 🙂

I think that was the shocker, that it was pointing out 😛 For a moment I thought the site had been hijacked to a more dubious picture source 😉

Came across this on the bay as brand new stock and while it was listed for reflectors of 76 diameter, the measurements made me wonder if it'd also suit the Celestron LT70AZ starsense scope. Nice and solid so hopefully more stable than the OEM one, will see if I can find some sort of tubing to make up the gaps at the pivot But it does all fit together (I'd previously bought some wood tripod legs that improved the wobbles) May not even need to pad those pivot spindles as the screws did just fine. Quick test aimed at some aerials outside and it seems nice and stable and also the scope turns more easily around AZ too so I think for a touch under £30 that was worth doing 🙂

Wow that was interesting reading and to know somehow you've found a real piece UK space history even, you must be chuffed to bits!

Advantage of them: you don't need to be touching the scope when adjusting focus, so no wobbles. I bought a couple new old stock Tasco ones from the US for IIRC a tenner each, a cheapie compared to these new versions that others have. One is fitted to the Celestron Starsense LT70AZ which is quite wobble on its own and the focus motor makes it much nicer to use. The other at the moment is on the SW130-EQ2 for the same reason.

I seriously can't justify another big scope tho I flirt with the idea of getting a cat/mak just so I've an example of each main type. But then it'd probably need to be something like the TAL200 and I managed to resist that one last time, Mark on here bought that one tho. Then again if the objective is in fact better than the one one the 100RS, could swap that over and re-sell the 100R, hmmm.... No, stop it Dave lol

in case you can't find any eyepieces and just want to get the scope usable regardless, these would work (0.965 fit) 0.965 Inch Telescope Accessory Kit For 0.965 Astronomical Telescope With Three Eyepieces One Diagonal 3x Barlow Lens Moon Filter - Telescope - AliExpress If you shop around on Ali you can find H20/12.5/6mm. You won't need the diagonal on a reflector of course and the SR4mm is pretty much junk so perhaps buy a set with just the H20-12.5-6 and maybe a barlow. Better would be to find Ortho's but they're more rare and likely not cheap. With the above tho at least you'll have the eyepieces to use and pretty much exact same ones the scope would've come with from new.

oooh do tell! In fact no, don't or I just might get tempted lol

wow that's a rare find in this day I expect! Not that I'm on the market for yet another scope of course but heck that'd be temptation for sure.

Hi Trevor judging by the images you posted of it it'll have metal spikes at the end of the tripod legs so shouldn't be a problem unless it's dragged along. Once you have it polar aligned out there you might even consider marking the spots where those spikes sit and possibly even drilling a small depression into the concrete to make future placement quick and easy.

Best to measure the bore of the focuser drawtube and determine if it is 1.25 inch or 0.965 inch. The smaller are the older eyepiece size and are much harder to come by good examples of now. There's a lot of cheap ones that would be of poor quality in terms of the view they'd give, typically H20 H12 and SR4 in plastic bodies. If you shop around on ebay and astro sales sites you may well find some more decent ones, circle-T or V should be good if you can find them but they probably won't be cheap. You can get 0.965 to 1.25 adaptors to enable the use of the current modern eyepieces, but a lot will depend on the focuser being able to be racked in far enough to reach focus, quite likely it can't.

A lot will depend on how you'd prefer to use them, seated or standing. The latter will need a tripod/monopod that can extend sufficiently yet still be stable and ideally not wobble. Adding a trigger grip as suggested above allows rapid changes to where you are viewing, might even be worth checking the bay for Manfrotto #222 which are the same. If you'd prefer seated then a parallelogram mount would be better as the tripod legs get in the way. Either way a good carbon fiber tripod would likely work better than a metal one , tho I do find the giottos monopod works well for me when using binos but mine aren't as big or high mag as the ones you now have.

make sure its on an RCD protected circuit and be cautious handling when wet 🙂 I have made use of those DIY connectors myself, for CCTV gear and they do work fine. Some dielectric grease would prevent moisture tho if you get that on your fingers when setting up don't go handling any of your expensive glass or sensors as its 'fun' to clean off after. unless you like the soft focus views of course, like vasolene on a filter effect 😉

lol ya never know he may already have ordered one with the kit but worth a mention. For my EQ5 I use a 12v 5A regulated one or a LiPo car starter with a 12v 5A buck converter to regulate things. Best to never feed the mount more than 15v lest the magic grey smoke escapes and that LiPo pack can deliver 16v off-load, hence the buck converter. Accidental grounding or connecting into the wrong ports, accidentally hooking up a laptop psu etc has caused boards to blow from other posts so always worth taking care.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Sounds like a nice setup you're starting with and should give good service. As said above, before getting caught up in buying lots of eyepieces its worth getting a feel for what comes with the scope and decide whether a good zoom might be easier than a big set of individual ones. A couple things on the mount, you'll need a suitable power source >2A capable and do be careful of making the right connections, both power and the other cables too. It'd be worth installing the app for the mount as that will give you the location/date/time data you need to enter and in the correct format. Saves the frustration of forgetting its US date format then wondering why it slews to the wrong places etc 🙂

I went the SVbony route after a number of good reviews with the 8-24 and find it works fine for me. I also bought their 7-21 to go with the Celestron LT70AZ Starsense scope which will be passed on to my daughter sometime soon. I don't find the FoV an issue with either but then I never went the wider FoV eyepiece direction, using mainly plossl and a couple ortho EPs. They are very handy in saving swapping EPs in the dark and give decent view to my eye so I'd happily recommend. As above posters have noted tho, the higher end ones are no doubt better as a long term investment, after all others have blazed the trail and weeded out the really good stuff to recommend.

that last looks like maybe a parfocal ring? I guess you'd fit it to the nosepiece of an eyepiece so you can match up the focus between the camera and an eyepiece if using a flip mirror?

Just read this on the BBC, nice to see we'll have launch capability soon UK satellite launch: 'Everything now is about getting to Cornwall' - BBC News Sure it ain't a rocket lifting off the ground but at least we're finally getting into the game of adding more orbiting debris 😉

Hi Trevor I probably haven't gone above around x160 with mine but I guess some may have pushed to much higher just to see if it can. Expect the image to darken and soften if you do but never know till you try, seeing permitted of course. On my little TAL-M 80mm reflector I've gone to x139 and even accidentally didn't take the finder out of the optical path and wondered what I was seeing. That tiny optical finder gave surprisingly good performance with the 15mm and barlow, no idea the mag but not what I'd expected from a 25mm objective lens. I have pushed that scope to I think x189 and things did go a bit soft , no surprise there.

losses in the cable over that length will always be an issue with this type of plug as they aren't really designed to take heavy gauge wire and the plug/socket connection isn't all that great either so more losses per connection in the run. Can you not as suggested either move the PSY closer, or perhaps use a direct run of heavier gauge wire from the PSU out to the far end terminated in something like power-pole and make a power-pole to 2.1/5.5 for the 'last mile' into the ASlair?

Hi Paul nah I find the OEM R&P works just fine so no need to change it. You can probably tell too from other posts I like to keep things reasonably original tho like you I did also fit one larger focusing knob to aid fine focusing 🙂 Yet to seriously look at how best to mount one of the Tasco motor focusers to it but then I don't find it wobbles that much when focusing compared to the SW130 or Celestron LT70 starsense scopes. Another Dave has swapped his focuser out and made up a collar to suit

I had thought they were ally too, but a magnet does stick to the OTA on my 100RS so I'd say steel it is. The other TAL reflectors I have are all ally tho. No idea if the idea of barlow-diagonal-eyepiece would work but worth a go. Bear in mind tho that it'll increase mag to more than the rated barlow because of the extra distance from the barlow lens. How much I don't know but your x3 may become more like x5 which could be too much for the optics. For the baffles I did find a thread on here for converting to solar (PST) and that showed the removed baffles, which were likely a push-in fit. So pulling the baffles and then using flocking to improve them and the inner OTA tube might be feasible.

Here's what I mean re the 2-1.25 inch adaptor on the 100RS 2-inch R&P focuser. It is also made with that chamfer but the drawtube doesn't have any step like the early 100R R&P does. My thinking as said earlier - it helps nip the unit in square to the drawtube and also means just slacking the thumbscrews a touch allows you to turn the diagonal without risk it'd plummet to the ground, neat engineering IMHO. The white plastic thing is a 35mm film cannister drilled out at the end and has a silica gel sachet inside - a DIY desiccant cap 🙂