DaveL59

not for the rigs as I don't do AP, but indoors I have a few APC SmartUPS units to ride through any blips and outages. Upside they are the sinewave type, downside they aren't double-conversion continuous type tho that hasn't caused any issues during changeover. Being the older (not SMT) type they were cheap to pick up used and usually only need new batteries to get them going again for the next 3-5 years. One of mine is the XL version which can take external batteries, that one has 6x17Ah batteries and can run my comms and desktop for around 2 hours or so.

Runtime however will depend on the load you are driving. You may be better using a larger capacity battery and driving direct at 12v from that rather than wasting Ah on converting from 12v-240v-12v and run a UPS for any mains load you have to run alongside that. Bear in mind too that most UPS aren't exactly weather sealed, so outdoor use would be potentially very dangerous. Being quite heavy (if lead battery type) they aren't exactly a portable solution either.

Also bear in mind that for many UPS's, running on them for extended periods puts a high load on the batteries and that will shorten their lifespan. Some will also not run for extended periods as internal components get hot and the UPS will shut down or fail, most are designed to bridge the gap between mains loss and generator start so only aim for 15-20 mins of supply time. This effect would be increased the higher the load so its best not to run them at capacity, ideally stay below 50% of rated load. The APC units with fan cooling can run longer (as long as the battery is above a capacity threshold), the XL ones being better for this sort of use case.

well, having said just the other day "how many tripods does someone need"...

I took a punt thinking it may suit the vintage frac but that collar is much smaller, for a 60-65mm OTA. The secondary plan was to swap out the metal legs on the LT70AZ with these wood ones that might improve the stability. Tis old and will need a little TLC to sort the metal and refinish the woodwork but they should be a simple swap as the gap between the upper sections is about the same.

edit: so a test fit and...

they went on easily and yep, more stable and any wobbles quickly dampen down, result! 🙂

edit-2: out of curiosity I tried that old collar on the TAL2 finder I have and with a little felt added it would carry that perfectly. So if I wanted a super-light grab n go... 😄 

Now the postie dropped off a package from China that I've been awaiting

Pentacon Six to Minolta-AF adaptor

Now the big Zeiss can go directly onto the camera without needing a M42 to M-AF adaptor added onto the P6-M42 that it came with

This morning I received this leather case, for the big Zeiss lens

Dropped to my door by the bay seller as they live not too far away 🙂

I guess I'm far to random in my efforts, more a case of look outside, if it seems good the out with one of the scopes and play a while. I get where @jonathan is coming from too, brrr no ta! tho if things are placed well in the sky I've just opened the conservatory door and used the scope from inside which helps a lot 😉 

No real resolutions, other than perhaps spend more time using than fettling all the optical gear. That said tho with all the cloudy wet nights at least the fettling passes the time and keeps the idle hands busy 🙂 

also possible if it had had fungus that the paint was stripped away but not renewed?

decided to renew some tools, so new Vessel precision screwdrivers for when I'm working on optical gear, some new synthetic PTFE helicoid grease etc

and some PEC Pads to use with the Zeiss lens cleaning fluid while servicing

Guess there's no excuse to not do that full strip-down on the huge vintage Zeiss Sonnar 180mm lens now... but it can wait a while I think 🙂 

could be there's just some paint flakes on the reticule glass which should hopefully clean off easily.

Hi and welcome aboard, congrats on that find too!

For the TAL finder, are you able to tell if the black specks are on the outer surface of the eyepiece/objective lenses?

If they are then a blower or camel hair brush to tease them away and a clean with a lens cleaning fluid on a microfibre cloth may be all that's needed. Otherwise you'll be looking at dismantling the finder to clean inner surfaces and reticule. For that you'd need good jewellers screwdrivers and ideally a lens spanner. 

2 minutes ago, Nakedgun said:

 

Nice having "vintage" gear so well cared for. My Velbon VEF-3, on the other hand, along with this King tripod from the same era, both Japan made, were found by me where they had been discarded at the local landfill. I added Manfrotto quick-release camera plate adapters for easier use to them both and my wife uses the Velbon for flash support in her office studio while the King rides in my pickup truck for binocular support duties.

 

 

Thanks David, those were very lucky finds I'd say! I've likewise added 323 plates so the 200PL QR can just click into place in use, I've a few of those on the various bits of gear and it makes life much easier. I had thought about getting a carbon fibre one but then for very few pennies I have 3 tripods for way less than a single one would've cost new, what's not to like 😉 

funny how things work out. Having seen and won a couple of vintage velbon camera tripods and then one with a posable column popped up and I bought that too I now have a trio of triffids. The one in the centre just arrived this morning.

With the leg braces that VGB-3C is very stable, perhaps slightly more so than the posable VS-3 at the back. The HE-3 at the front is nice and light so will be the travel-about one, am considering if to swap the Manfrotto video head onto the VGB-3c and switch that head onto the HE-3, hmmm. Other than the head on the HE-3 that I swapped out , all are in very good condition considering they date from the 70/80's they look barely used. Says a lot for the built quality back then.

No more purchases on this front for me tho, I mean, how many tripods does someone really need! 😮  I already had a Pyser one, tho that being ally and plastic is a lot less stable than these which are all metal construction. Was almost considering if I could swap the LT70AZ head onto one of these but perhaps not.

yet to try any imaging but good to know the Synscan on EQ5 might be able to achieve some results, I've been considering getting an RA drive for the other EQ5 just to make things easier when viewing too. I picked mine up used and then swapped the Goto kit to the other EQ5 that came with the TAL100RS as the mount it was on is a bit sticky on the RA axis, fine manually but  didn't run well with the motors, it'll be overhauled one day...

you've not said where you are based, but at the moment Saturn and Jupiter are very low to the south west here in the UK as darkness falls. You'd need a clear horizon and no clouds and a bit of luck  and clarity may not be great with them so low. Mars tho is possible as it is quite high but will be very small so picking out much detail other than it is orange may not be easy now it is moving away from us.

the SW EQ2 doesn't use a dovetail unless yours is a new improved version, the tube rings bolt onto the mount head, but that said an EQ-goto mount will certainly accept those rings onto the short dovetail supplied with them, at least I can do that with my EQ5 mount should I choose to.

A potential alternative tho less accurate would be to use a smartphone with app in a phone holder mounted to the scope. You would then effectively have a push-to where you are guided to target but have to manually manipulate the mount/controls to find it. There's a couple ways to do this:

First using a free app (Skeye)
How to get quick and easy polar alignment and add a Push-To finder screen to an EQ2 mounted scope, all for £20. - Getting Started With Observing - Stargazers Lounge

A second, more expensive option (as you need to buy the scope for the unlock key), using the Celestron Starsense Explorer app
Starsense Explorer Stand Alone Conversion - Discussions - Mounts - Stargazers Lounge

The starsense app has a more limited database than a full goto system but with clear enough skies will actually plate-solve to know where it is aimed so more accurate in guiding you to target. If you go this route then you could buy the cheapest one but the LT models are quite wobbly and the reflector models are not great. The DX models are ok, more expensive but more stable so could replace the SW130 you have, for example. These are not EQ tho so no automated tracking, all manual operation.

Now, the downside of the EQ2 is it is a bit wobbly, hopefully you also have the clockwork RA drive? This makes things a little easier as the scope will track by itself once on target, so long as you have roughly got the RA axis aimed North. A motor focuser can help reduce the shakes too tho adds costs. I bought a couple Tasco 1603's from the US, not cheap when you ass shipping tho still only around £20-£25 each. Easily fits on the SW130.

Tasco 1603EF motor focuser and LT70AZ mods - DIY Astronomer - Stargazers Lounge

Optically I find the SW130 is quite good tho it gets far less use than the other scopes I have.

12 minutes ago, MrFreeze said:

A second-hand Philips SPC900NC webcam for use with the polarscope on my EQ3 pro, to stop all the grovelling in the dirt polar aligning. As converted in the Youtube video. Hopefully removing the focusing ring will go smoothly. From some of the video comments it seems they sometimes break rather than come away cleanly.🙄

David

 

ahh that's a neat idea, hadn't thought of that one. Not really had a proper play with mine yet with the skies the way they have been but now I have the DSLR I might switch this back for the polar scope, thanks for that! Oh and yeah I think one of the tangs did snap on mine, they're pretty old after all.

hopefully someone will be along that can help further as I've never attempted a re-flash on my SW Synscan, don't have the right cable and so far not felt the need 🙂 

can't help regarding the reset/recovery, but the 19k2 likely refers to the serial baud rate. I don't know if its possible to try a lower speed such as 9k6 that might be more reliable tho slower.

Nice one Steve, will remember that for when I get around to doing mine some day too 🙂

day of the triffids here after the post dropped in

A couple vintage Velbon tripods (VS-3 and lightweight HE-3), tho I have swapped the head off the lightweight one for a Manfrotto ball since it was missing the pan handle so not usable as was. Added the 323 plate also so it'll be quick and easy to clip the camera/big telephoto etc onto it.

On 27/12/2020 at 21:24, Moonshed said:

That is precisely the sort of thing that gets the attention of the whole class, plus as a bonus it employs the use of magic!

funnily enough, the physics master at my school was a member of the magic circle and he taught us some magic as off-curricular studies 🙂 

does this help at all?
THE FIRMAMENT - Solar System and Deep Sky webcam images

There's a number of posts on here on the motorised mounts tho how much they'd help I can't say, likewise on cloudynights forum. 

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

How long until Ikea brings out a flat pack version? 🤔.    😁😁😁

I'd wonder what the effect of any adhesives they use burning off in the upper atmosphere, having had recent close up experience of these particulate boards burning and the awful smell. Nothing like injecting chemical agents directly into the ionosphere and affecting the ozone layer etc.

44 minutes ago, Neil H said:

True but would instructions be chinglish 

it's quite a different language, not a great comment really 😞 

An interesting new career possibility could be coming up, building wood satellites 🙂 

Japan developing wooden satellites to cut space junk - BBC News

I wonder if it is indeed a mirror diagonal or perhaps a prism one?

Does the diagonal give good views in daylight and right way up?