DaveL59

For the 70/700 refractors I get this with that site Bear in mind that your eye will have the area in the circle as it's entire view when looking into the eyepiece but the reality is that it won't fill the view being as the planets are a long way away and scopes at the budget end have many limitations. Even with more expensive equipment the planets will still seem small but you can make out more detail as you push the magnification further. At the lower end of the price range you will be able to see it has rings, for example which by eye you cannot, even in 10x binoculars you may see it is oval but not discern the rings. You may even spot the bright pin-pricks near the planet which are its larger moons and even on occasion note the dark dot on the planet surface as its moon casts a shadow when it transits. I think a lot will depend on the expectations you and your daughter have and setting those before you buy something is a good idea to avoid disappointment. There is a thread on here "What can I expect to see" which would be well worth a read before deciding. How much to spend on a starting setup is always difficult to judge. At the end of the day this may be a very brief hobby for her, or the start of a long developing interest at which point investing in better equipment may well be worthwhile, won't know till you've got something and see how things go 🙂

Funnily enough I do have a NatGeo 76/350 dob-a-like but I only paid £10 for it second hand. They do work but need some effort to improve things like the focuser action and get collimation as true as you can. You cannot easily adjust the primary mirror as it is fixed to the plastic end cap, only the secondary adjusts. The supplied eyepieces are not good so you'd also have to get better ones, adding to the cost. That does significantly improve the view and then it isn't as bad as you'd think 🙂 That said, planets will be very small on a 76 as you can't push the mag too far. While I'm sure SW130 tabletop dob will give better views, there are alternatives like the Celestron LT70AZ Starsense explorer, which for £135 adds the ability to use a smartphone to find objects in the sky via an app that analyses what the phone sees and gives directions to targets you'd like to observe. Like all cheaper scopes it has its limitations, wobbly mount and less than ideal erecting diagonal etc, but it is light, easy to set up and can actually give quite nice views with a good star diagonal and eyepieces. If she develops an interest to look further than the planets and moon then this may help her find other objects to wonder at where the manual dob type setups could just be frustration especially in a light polluted sky.

Thought I'd have a closer look at the LT70 focuser. It is a cheap affair, all plastic as you may expect on such a low cost scope. As I noticed above the inner drawtube rocks because there is too much space between the internal ribs and the drawtube. Shame they didn't design it to have the 2 ribs opposite the pinion really as that may have improved the movement quite a bit. So I applied a layer of teflon tape to the 3 bearing ribs, still a lot of play so another layer and then a third The focuser now has only a small amount of rock as you change direction but has also increased the tension in the focuser movement which runs smoothly along its travel. Important to layer the tape so that it goes beyond the previous layer at the other end to make refitting the drawtube easier and it not catch on the edge of the tube as it is inserted. I wonder if perhaps less layers at the back and more at the front may improve the rock and result in less tension, but I can try that if I ever revisit this again, probably when the tape needs renewing which could be a while. Once reassembled and the focus motor refitted there isn't enough oomph for it to drive the modified focuser. So disconnected the resistor and wired direct to the motor as it originally came, reversing the earlier mod I'd performed and now it works fine, slowly cranking the focuser giving a nice steady movement. Faster focus via the manual override can be used to get things close so the slow speed isn't really an issue. So for this one I'll only add a connector so the hand control can be removed for storage as there seems little need to dull the motor to achieve finer control.

oh joy, dad of one of the couple next door has just installed an insecurity light, LED type and high up the wall near the roof 😞 I do hope he sorts the aim and sensor out as right now it'll floodlight all the houses over the back of the garages as well as my garden etc. I do plan to watch how they finish setting up and speak to him, tho while he comes across as friendly he does seem quite opinionated as does his wife. Funny how he said hi and then disappeared off inside just after installing it tho. The guys parents seem much nicer and know I use telescopes but unfortunately they aren't around to chat with about it. Thankfully I more observe to the south east direction, so opposite from the side their garden is but that amount of light certainly won't help. Maybe EEVA will become the path I'll need to take, will have to see how bad it gets.

ahh the old HD2, I still have one of those kicking around too, switched to running Droid which it does pretty well. More reliable than the woeful mobile OS it started life with 😉

Looking good there Mark and way nicer than my hacked plastic board solution. Oh for a 3d printer, not that I've space anyway 😉 As for a droid phone, John bought a relatively inexpensive one that he posted earlier in the thread and seems to work fine. In terms of hacking the camera to flip, that's likely to need root and/or custom kernel components isn't it? So would void the Sammy Knox/warranty trip, not sure that any others have that mechanism in-built as they don't implement Sammy's secure enterprise environment facility. For sure physically having a fast lens and good sensor will be key and the lower end phones are less likely to have those (J3 etc) but the S series or note are much better equipped, same Knox issues tho.

are you asking in regard to entering the time/zone into a goto controller? In which case we are always GMT (+-0 - we always are in fact) and you set DST if we are currently doing that silliness.

ahh my memories of that 99 eclipe was standing at Heathrow not too many steps away from a parked Concorde. No eclipse glasses but the projected mini images cast by holes in the leaves of a plant next to us showed it beautifully on the pavement beneath. Magical 🙂

haha well the cctv covering the garden does see them, just not close up. No deal what they are burning but it's flaring up a lot, in the past has smelt quite toxic too so clearly not just plain wood or card. Hopefully they are nearly done with the refurb and they will stop being a neighbourhood nuisance.

hmmm out for a smoke and noticed the dome looking cloudy 12.1C according to the temp-controller so might have to up the trigger threshold during this time of year then. Doubt it's just smoke from the neighbour who's been burning again. Odd as no sign of windows on the shed misting as yet tho a distinct mistiness above the distant trees. Will see what happens when the dew heater kicks in which shouldn't be long now the light level is falling.

So while poorly kitty is asleep upstairs, I thought I'd have more of a play with this on the LT70AZ pictured in the above post. I found that having slackened the focuser screws to ease the focuser action there was a degree of tilt in the focuser shaft as you change direction using the motor drive. Tightening up a touch resolved this reasonably well and still allowed the motor to drive. Perhaps the 15R resistor is sapping a bit too much from the motor but it does work and fine focus adjust was nice and easy, eliminating a lot of the wobbles which was the reason for doing this mod. I did notice tho that changing focus direction caused the image to move up/down a touch - well using a barlow'd SPC900 in a flip mirror diagonal quite a bit in fact but via a 25mm plossl not that much if you get what I mean here. May have a look at some teflon tape inside the focuser to help keep the drawtube riding straight and level another time. Overall tho this arrangement is working nicely and will likely be improved once the 10-turn 100R pot arrives and can be tested/installed. I will then be able to tension the focuser a touch further and adjust the pot so the motor can still provide enough drive to overcome the extra drag that will create. One thing I did notice was putting the other motor on initially, the gap in the drive bracket is slightly wider so there was a lag in direction change owing to a small amount of play against the plastic block. Might have to label these if I dismount the motor so I put them on the right scope 😉

Bear in mind that the starsense scopes aren't all great. The LX range while cheap are very wobbly because of the poor mount, the DX variants are better mounted. Also the Newts in the range may all be of Bird-Jones variety which while they do work can be harder to collimate and may not be sharp across the field. The starsense app tho does make life much easier especially if you aren't that familiar with the sky (I will say that I'm not lol) so for a beginner they aren't bad at all. Phone specs' well native Android 7.1 or above or the fruity 6 or above should work but check their website for compatibility. You can always download the app to check, tho it won't do the platesolve/directions part without the unlock code which you only get with the scope. I have recently got the LT70AZ and can say that while wobbly it isn't all that bad if you accept the limitations of low-cost build, gives quite good views with decent eyepieces. Upside tho is very light and easy to pick up and carry out to where you want to use it or shift around for better viewing locations as the night goes by. Just been playing with it now I've added a cheap Tasco motor focuser, which makes it far more usable, minimal wobbles when adjusting focus and easier to achieve fine focus adjustment. I would say to budget for better eyepieces in all cases and diagonal if you get their refractors. I've used Svbony zooms that work well with it (7-21mm and 8-24mm) as well as TAL and Vixen eyepieces. Never yet tried the ones supplied, too much effort to open the plastic bags when I already have better ones ready to go 😉

I guess for me, the space race and the first moon landing. Later in life out on Blackheath watching a comet in the night sky, the meteor showers and gazing up at the various constellations. Last 4 years using the stars to check binocular alignment after working on them and gazing at Orion with them, noticing the nebula and wondering how much more a scope would show me, what a slippery slope that's turned out to be! Then of course my first real close looks at Moon, Jupiter, Saturn and now Mars, wow, just WOW 🙂

that does look a lovely scope and mount 🙂 I bought a totally unknown scope earlier this year that is a 3-inch, leather clad tube and drawtube focuser around F11, just the OTA and had a single brass plossl 0.965 eyepiece with it. A total punt in the dark but for £20 I couldn't resist much as I tried to. It gives great views and is likely from the 1950's generation, perhaps. Definitely looks worth seeing in person if you can, I'm just glad it's not local to me 😄

I guess this old 3-inch scope in my collection qualifies here 🙂 Vintage unknown, no markings of any kind to indicate maker but likely 40+ years, brass drawtube with fine focus threads. Bought earlier this year from a chap of similar vintage to me and it was his dad's and had been stored in the loft for many years. Came with a brass 0.965 plossl eyepiece and with now additional 0.965 prism and eyepieces or the 1.25-inch adaptor does give very nice views. Oldest optical stuff I have, maybe the Hensholdt Wetzlar Jagd's of around 1945 vintage or J Barker mini reverse porro from anywhere in the 1920-1960's period, probably french build given the white clay holding the prisms.

I'd agree with Peter, painting it will leave a smooth surface with no insulation of the cold metal against your hands. More chance you could find they slip from your grasp perhaps too. You can buy self adhesive leatherette for camera bodies etc but you'd need to work out the best layup to get a good fit ideally in a single piece for each side tho that doesn't look possible under the prism body. I guess thin neoprene sheet should work too but the same issue in getting it cut to suit the shape. How about something like Rubbercon paint? You'd have to be very careful with masking to protect the optical surfaces but it would give a seamless covering and can be peeled off if you decide to change or renew the covering.

ahh true, could be erecting, doesn't say in the descriptions for sure, could be an prism arrangement of some sort. Oh well, seemed like a nice easy way at first glance. Yep to the inverted image, for the app it'd need to be hence a mirror or a regular porro prism works fine with it, but aiming the phone camera direct to the sky doesn't.

here's a cheap way to add a mirror to the phone, perhaps https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smart-Phone-Universal-90-Degree-Periscope-Type-Camera-Extension-Accessory/333779854882?hash=item4db6d46622:g:9J8AAOSwApxfos6J Then all you need is a holder to carry it on the back of the scope.

that's the holder for the motor controller box. Likely it may be present but not pictured. For reference the kit fitted to my older black EQ5 is marked as EQ3/EQ5 on the box it came in but as mentioned, ask the vendor to confirm it would fit, only way you will know for sure. oops just revisited the pics and yes, small rectangular piece, no idea what that may be, I don't recognise it from the one I have which has been moved from one EQ5 to the other. Sadly I don't have the serial cable as it was bought already fitted but dod come with the original box and destructions etc.

can be a bit of a drag with big flashes affecting night vision if in the FoV. For me tho more of a stress with the kitties who run in scared and wanting attention. Doubt I'll be doing much at the mo tho with one just having had an eye op today so have to keep him inside. Sneaky little chap has decided to camp in the conservatory so if I want to pop out for a smoke or with the scope he'll be on the starting grid ready to try escaping.

While kitty sleeps his vet visit off I thought I'd get this finished up. So drilled a couple holes and used thin self-tappers thru the block and into the OEM focus knob to keep them bound together. As you can see, ended up off-centre with the plastic block but important part is the short edges which are pretty much bang on 😉 Added the drive unit back on and tested the focus movement. Perfect, nice and slow and smooth 🙂 So out with a black paint pen to retouch the metal edges I'd cut and also the white plastic so it blends a bit better Now I just need to figure a solution for the TAL100RS should I want to use it on there too. Likely that'll be to make up a bracket and a block to replace one focuser knob for the unit to engage with.

So, after a spot of lunch, sanded the surface of the block and the control knob, prepped some epoxy and fitted it all up Will allow a decent cure period then likely drill for a couple screws just to keep things secure, then paint etc and that should make the LT70AZ much more usable, at least eliminating the wobbles when trying to tweak focus 🙂 Decided to order a couple 100R wirewound multi-turn pots. Might be a bit on the large side, well defo for the hand controller but should be able to fit above the motor and may allow a bit finer control with one turn being 10R. Can then test series/parallel to see which gives the best result for speed control.

funnily enough mine are similar, Jiji who's at the vet is very vocal, Smokey hardly ever talks even to complain about eyedrops etc and still sounds quite baby kitten-ish when he does. Thankfully the outer flap is in the conservatory so with that door closed I don't hear their attacks on it 😄 Funny how cats don't understand glass even after 5 years, very visual creatures and being transparent it can't be there/exist so why can't they touch the outside. Picking him up at 3PM now, went well and he's being very good tho a few more days of lockdown for him which will be "fun"...

will admit it may well have got lower, was certainly crisp last night. But I woke late (ish) a little after 8AM today. Had to bundle kitty up to go off to the vet and after being locked in all night and no food I figured easier on him to have me wake, scoop him up and off than have the tantalising prospect of food and freedom with me roaming about the house. He and his brother seem to have gotten a bit manic trying to get outside last night from the CCTV playback and a few downed vertical blind segments. Luckily I have a repair kit so can sort those easily 🙂

so keeping busy while I wait for news on kitty's eye op I thought I'd hack the bracket to suit the LT70AZ. Also trimmed a plastic block to give me an interface I can epoxy/screw to one focuser knob. Seems the simplest solution rather than trying to rip one off then fitting something. This wat while it will show it means the scope can be used with the motor removed too with no dangerous/sharp bits for little fingers to catch on. Just need to clean up the rough edges and touch up the paint. With this mod the bracket fits nicely and the axles align so hopefully I'll have this all sorted during the afternoon 🙂 I notice there is a slight lag when changing direction on the SW130 (as also reported on CN) which is down to the gap between spines inside the knob being slightly wider than the tag on the focus motor. I'll maybe epoxy some of the offcut metal from the bracket into the gap to close that for a better fit later on too.