DaveL59

probably best at least on the DSO side. As said, you can still hook the camera up and do the moon and planets and then see if its really something you want to develop further. I have an old Philips SPC900 webcam that has a 1.25-inch adaptor on it and have briefly played with that but results so far have been poor. Not helped of course by testing on the wobbly LT70AZ but limited time and it being the lighter and easier unit to pop outside... One day I'll get the EQ5-syscan set up and give it a proper try when skies are clearer and I've the patience to do all the setup and then getting the target onto the sensor etc. I did order a T2 adaptor for the new DSLR so may try that one day, but I'm more visual so it'd be more experimental than anything for me. Not sure I want to be shelling out a small fortune for UHC/Oiii and other filters, guidescope etc nor spending hours capturing data to process.

Really depends what you are hoping to do. Equatorial mounts are I believe the better option for long exposure DSO as with alt-AZ your target will slowly rotate as it strolls across the sky. You can overcome that with a camera rotator (not cheap) perhaps where an EQ mount doesn't need it. The scope you list in costco is also al alt-AZ albeit computerised goto. It'll track but in up-right steps rather than a smooth arc. Others who image would be able to give better advise tho.

Does the pegasus get warm/hot? That could well result it it becoming unstuck from the velcro and falling off.

Hope the DX102 works well for you, with good eyepieces it should show well and the starsense should make it easy to use as a push-to scope. I can't say much on the imaging front as I don't, but for a manual mount esp alt-AZ which the DX will be, planets would be possible by capturing video and stacking the output. You could do that with the smartphone on the NeXYZ holder. Long exposure would need a tracking mount and ideally EQ rather than Alt-AZ so you get tracking while maintaining orientation. Thing with serious imaging, you'd need to spend quite a bit for a decent mount and tripod, something like an EQ5 tho some have used the EQ3-2 to get started if budget is limited. An RA motor will then track but you'd need guiding for optimal results, a slippery slope for the wallet awaits...

well in the long run, cheaper than replacing regular batteries frequently as the mount drains them 😉 I guess a bungee cord to use it as a weight under the tripod to add stability, oh and it had a torch 😄

Looks like you can also get these via the bay and in reasonable timeframe SVBONY 1.25inch Zoom Eyepieces 7-21mm/8-24mm/10-30mm FMC Metal for Telescopes | eBay

As Banjaxed says, the Svbony range are good and were on a discount if you go direct to their store via Ali at around USD49. I have the SV135 (7-21) and SV171 (8-24) and both give nice views. Since you already have the 25mm Plossl then perhaps the 7-21mm would be a good choice as you'll have the 25mm for wider view when initially getting onto the target. Best to check what mag that'll give based on the focal length of your scope, if I'm right that'd get you up to x214. Another option are the Baader zoom and also the Hyperflex 7-21 which are well regarded here.

Hi and welcome, sounds like a very nice scope 🙂 Zoom eyepieces are a compromise tho quite convenient as you can just adjust the magnification rather than swapping eyepieces back and forth. A single fixed eyepiece will generally perform better and at the lower power end give a wider field of view (zooms narrow at lower power). Not knowing what eyepieces you already have it's hard to recommend but in many cases the lower power one supplied will be usable and the higher power less good. So aiming to replace that one or get a different mag either in the middle of the 2 existing may be worthwhile, or an eve lower power one for wider views.

No worries Ash, hopefully the tape will give a nice finish and tide you over till you revisit the recover job 🙂 My TAL-1 is non-motorised, its an older 1995 model that had the Russian 32mm fit eyepiece set but I've since fitted a TAL 1.25-inch focuser to it. Meant shifting the mirror up the tube to get focus but that wasn't hard to do, longer bolts and springs, job done. I really bought it for just the 25mm plossl for the TAL-M but figured I can easily mod the scope to make it more flexible and it is very nice to use, returns nice images with regular eyepieces and as good as the SW130 I have, if not better being much more stable.

Probably shoulda started a thread on the LT70AZ really but since the focuser was to improve it I'll add here anyway. Today I took the U-yolk off the tripod to see if I could improve it's AZ motion since it wasn't that free when trying to make small positional adjustments. It is secured with an allen bolt from underneath and once removed it just pulls away. Celestron grease the bearing surfaces and use a large plastic washer to bear the load between the yolk and the boss. Now I found this would need a bit of a push so smooth fine motion wasn't great especially with the design of the parts giving a narrow bearing surface primarily on the inner 1.5mm or so of the washer. So I wiped off the grease from the parts and applied a layer of teflon tape around the central part of the yolk that engages into the boss. Also laid teflon tape on the bearing side of the plastic washer before refitting it. Reassembled and now the motion is smooth and needs little input to move. Sorry I forgot to take pics, greasy hands and touchscreens aren't an ideal mix so it didn't seem smart to do that at the time. Perhaps part of the problem may have been overtightening of the retaining bolt but of course I didn't check that before the mod. With the bolt snug enough to allow easy movement, the teflon tape takes up any rock so the yolk now seems a lot more stable as well as easier to move when needed. There is still a little rocking in the Alt retainer on the yolk but I wasn't able to remove that this time around, will need to find my smaller spanners as access to the nut is a bit restricted, but I found rotating that 180 degrees reduced the rocking significantly. Checking out against a distant tree, the combo of the electric focuser and the previous mods made to the Alt adjuster and now the yolk for AZ motion, I think it has greatly improved the cheap LT70AZ. Sure it's still wobbly when handling but I can now move the scope around the target smoothly and the focuser is a nice vibration free experience when making fine adjustments. I did do the speed mod on this focuser too, not that it was essential but I figured some finer control was worth a few mins of fettling time 🙂 Time will tell how well this mod lasts tho as the AZ lock screw will bite into the teflon tape and will need to be undone enough so it isn't dragging across the surface. Thinking about it, might have been better to apply it in cup on the boss side so it stays put with a gap for the lock bolt. Will see how it goes and if needs be it's an easy few mins to redo later on.

Hi Ash yeah if the glue is wet and just applied then things will slip, helps so that you can position things but you'd then need to be able to hold things in place with tape or some form of wrap so that is stays in the contours until set. Not so easy with an awkward shape of course. Can it not be used as a contact adhesive so you wait a little until it gets a little tacky before applying? Might make it easier to apply and then bind it, a couple of alignment marks would help with placement perhaps. Re the Saratoga, I've not tried those but they should be reasonably good, most swift's are, the Audubon and Kestrel being the cream of the crop. Russian glass I only have the Foton 7x35 roof at the mo and they are very nice. Similar to the Zeiss Noratem and very solid, good glass and sharp contrasty image. The russian TAL scopes are very nice, I have 3 of them in the 100RS, TAL-1 and the smaller TAL-M which I overhauled earlier this year. Built to last a lifetime being solid ally tubes. They do come up on the bay but of late at silly prices tho a couple fracs have sold recently for <£200 which I think is a good price for them.

worth posting the details of what scope and mount you are using. If it's an equatorial then I assume you've got the RA axis aimed north and then set the scope to the home position before starting the alignment routine?

Have you checked the data you are entering as that can really mess with its head. The app Synscaninit 2 will display the exact data in the format the handset is expecting which makes it so much easier. Another common error is the date as its yankee format mm/dd/yy rather than the more usual dd/mm/yy.

Hi Ash so the evo-stick wouldn't hold the covering to the body at all? I've used Bostick leather adhesive on some of mine to re-fix lifted sections and that's worked just fine. You do need to secure things in place while the glue sets tho with enough pressure so there's good surface to surface contact. What's the back edge of the leatherette like, smooth and shiny or fabric. If very smooth you may need to roughen it so the glue can key to it, some sandpaper would do that just fine. Sorry to hear re the job, know that feeling myself, unfortunately 😞

Most find that 7x or 8x are easier to hand hold, 10x is workable but above that you really need to stabilise with a mono/tripod else the view can be hard to enjoy. The Opticron roof should be good and if you intend multi-use for hikes etc they are more compact in shape so easier to carry. Ideally aim to get a waterproof bino, either roof or porro as nights can result in dew forming on them. Not sure how good the Bresser Jagd are, best to confirm in store that they are properly aligned (well in all cases do this) as if they are the ones that sometimes appear here in stores like Aldi/Lidl then a fair few are apparently not. Double vision you might be able to accommodate in daytime use but at night it really won't work. No experience of Gosky, similar to Gskyer I expect which I've seen that brand a lot on ebay for scopes and binos, I'd expect they are not the best but I could be wrong. An alternative for you might be Olympus, the DPS range is pretty good.

Bresser are good and I believe that's a nice scope model, will be long and heavy tho. Best check if you'll need diagonal and eyepieces or what will come with it.

you could consider something like this, not far from you I think Bresser Messier Telescope R-127 L - Achromatic Reflector 127/1200 with Mount | eBay even this is likely a nice vintage scope but perhaps not what you'd want Vintage Pentax Astronomical Telescope, Boxed with Tripod & Mount, Refractor | eBay

I expect the thinner will be easier to work into the awkward shapes but you can probably persuade it with some pressure using the back edge of a warmed table knife. Warming the sheet before applying may help too depends how flexible it is. Keeping the pressure applied until the glue sets, perhaps more awkward but should be possible. The thicker one you have may well be more durable and also a better match for the rubber that was removed so give a better finish. For what I want this for tho, on a camera that hasn't seen use in some time, the one I ordered will do and I may well run a trace of glue around the edges just so it stays put 😉 I've a few binos where the corner/edges had lifted slightly and did the same, tease a little contact glue in with a toothpik and pressure till it sets off, they've stood up to handling and now don't look tatty.

hmm I thought contact adhesive you normally spread on both and let it go tacky then apply. Tho that doesn't really allow any positioning, once you apply you're kinda stuck and yeah pun intended 🙂 I've sometimes applied to one part (the bino, say) and then applied the covering and taped it down tight to keep pressure until the glue sets. You need to use a tape that isn't going to strip the finish of course, masking tape perhaps. Also be careful of glue seep at the joins of the tape will get glued too. I've just ordered some PU leatherette to redo the grip on my Minolta M9000 camera handgrip as picking it up today the OEM rubber has split and broken away in parts. I don't use it any more but the OCD part of me can't leave it like that. This one tho is self-adhesive Camera Replacement Self-adhesive PU Leather 0.5mm Thin [BLACK] Restoration DIY | eBay

investing in a goto version will mean the scope itself has had less of the cost used to make it, as in for the same money you can get a better scope on a manual mount. Having said that, how bad are your skies, can you see many stars or really only the bright ones? A manual scope will mean learning to star hop and if you can't see many stars then that may give you a problem where a goto once star aligned will get you where you want to be looking with a few button presses. An alternative perhaps are the new Celestron starsense explorer models, the LT models should be avoided as the mount is wobbly and the reflectors are the bird-jones type so won't be very sharp. DX130 - reflector StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ | Celestron DX102 - refractor StarSense Explorer DX 102AZ | Celestron These use your smartphone to map the location by plate-solving what the camera can see and then direct where to move the scope to find your target. So in effect an assisted push-to setup. They don't have the full database that the goto systems have but seems to work quite well. Having said to avoid the LT I do have the LT70AZ which was bought for the starsense part but in fact it isn't too bad with a few mods and a motor focuser. Worth budgeting for better eyepieces and a good star diagonal if you go for the DX102 tho.

in case someone comes across this one Dielectric Star Diagonal 1.25" Telescope | eBay don't, or at least check what the new price from SVbony is as that is what the advertised diagonal could be.

I can vouch for the diagonal, ended up buying two of them 🙂 No idea how you verify if it is dielectric but it works well and is a very solid build. Also have their zooms SV135 (7-21) and SV171 (8-24) which are both quite good and if still on discounted pricing are a bargain. Note that the SV171 is huge and heavy tho optically is a little better than the SV135. Eye relief is reasonably good too. A good convenience option as it saves swapping eyepieces but there are others like the hyperflex (?) that are also well regarded. Add a decent x2 barlow and you get down to 3.5/4mm. You do get better views with single FL eyepieces but that's true of most zooms.

The spherical body diagonal is in fact prisms as it is an erecting type, at least assuming it is the same as the one that came with the LT70AZ. There's a big difference moving to a proper star diagonal I found when I swapped the TAL one in to compare. I ended up buying the SVbony 1.25 metal body diagonal which they state is dielectric, was a great price off Ali and arrived quite quickly. Also it's threaded to take a filter which was partly why I bought it, since my TAL one doesn't. Plan is to use the variable polariser with one half on the diagonal and the other on the eyepiece. When I tried that with the celestron erecting one you got an off effect of only half of the image polarising - hence saying it's using prisms.

A good guide oft quoted here is astro baby's one Astro Babys Guide to Collimation - Newtonian Telescope - Reflector (astro-baby.com) What tools do you have, collimation cap/cheshire etc?

Seems that the single stalk holding it is loose at one end, hence it flops when you let go. Does it clamp on a screw holding the focuser on the carrier? There may be a lock nut on the end of the shaft too that needs tightening up so it hold firm.