DaveL59

Welcome aboard, hope you have fun with the new toy, once the clouds have gone away of course... I'd hang fire on buying bits until you have it and can assess what you've got but these may help. Check if it has a collimation cap or cheshire eyepiece with it, if not then a good idea to get one as you may well need to check/adjust the collimation once you've brought it home or at least periodically over the years. Eyepieces well worth thinking about better ones if it only has the stock ones. A range of BST ones or perhaps a zoom might be a good starting point. A Right-angle (RACI) finder would make things easier on your neck so might be worth considering if you find a straight thru one a chore to use. The book Turn Left at Orion, perhaps to help find your way around 🙂

I recently got one of these and same result as Mick_J, it appears not as a camera but under the Sound Video and game controllers section. Mine never came up as Unknown tho, just detected once plugged in and worked. SharpCap sees the camera and works fine with it but MS camera doesn't and skype doesn't get video, not that that matters for what I got it for. That's on W10 2004 and subsequent updates with my desktop and laptop. Just not had much chance to actually play much with it so far. Did grab some video of the Moon and Mars when experimenting but nothing that was very clear so far, but then those were first attempts in poor skies.

oh I found a simple-ish solution to the MS camera app's lack of ability to set the exposure settings for this one too. Fire up skype (for desktop not the W10 app) and under settings, webcam settings you can then tweak gain/brightness etc to get a usable image that isn't just a totally white sky in daytime 🙂

I'm wondering why you have a toaster on the shelf next to the little 127, to keep it warm on the cold nights?

Since the resistors were short-shipped and so am parked on progressing this, I've been giving a bit more thought to the dew control for the bigger skycam dome. Going for an LDR control means that it would only be running in the night time window, well darkness as winter draws in. But I realised that as temps drop it could well mist over during the day too, being a cold and static bit of acrylic. So I've ordered up a temp controlled unit similar to the LDR one and plan to use them in parallel. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-Thermostat-Temperature-Control-Switch/224097171021?hash=item342d3b764d:g:MRkAAOSw7HFfICIG Am thinking to trigger at temp below 7c tho will experiment once its all put together. Being a relay switched output there would be no problem with either/both switching the power on to the resistor chain if I went that route. I'll fit these into a single project box that can sit in the shed so I can have easy access to the controls to tweak as necessary. I've also thought a bit more about the resistance values, do I really need it to be running at around 2+W or can I get away with something more like 1W instead? So I've ordered a batch of 15ohm ceramic resistors from someone else as an alternate, may well end up going with these since the first seller so far hasn't responded about the short-shipping. If I don't hear back I'll likely just arrange via the bay to return and cancel.

haha they're 3W wirewound ones, plus the board is really quite small so makes them look even bigger 🙂

these arrived this morning to make up a dew heater for the skycam and I thought yay looks dry so I can quickly solder up and fit into the dome. Quick play with the control module to set the light level trigger and then... oh no, only 6 resistors in the package, shoulda been 8 😞 If I wing it with these 6 I'd be running them at 3.5W where they are rated at 3W, not good. Am wondering if I switch these across the USB 5v instead but I doubt the mini network-USB hub would be happy as well as being a very low W output. Will see how quick they can ship me the missing 2 resistors and decide what I do next as I don't think I've anything that'd suit in the spares I have.

like the old saying goes Mark, don't ask don't get... You never know they might well already have something in the pipeline on a standalone so worth asking

sadly they were behind the oak tree out back by the time all 3 were visible for me. Moon was nice to view before the sky darkened tho 🙂

or flip the light pollution complaints to council the other way and ask them to site a very bright one right outside his house? Tho given what they did at the back, likely he'd be happy for that to happen. Probably has blackout blinds/curtains so all that light doesn't affect their sleep.

hmmmm, thinks about the army of slugs that like to stroll around over the astroturf out back... light does come through the conservatory and the IR security lights cover it too, wonder if they respond to the IR as well?. I guess I could herd a quantity up into a box and send to the OP to "donate" over the fence 😉 Tho I'm sure that'd breach any number of regs on shipping etc.

downside of that idea is you would get arrested/fined. If the neighbour has kids you'd potentially be in a world of pain doing that sort of thing too. I seem to recall a person got their car ticketed or fined because someone left a note on their windscreen of that ilk and regardless that the owner hadn't done it, the fact that it was on public display on their vehicle they were deemed responsible.

I've not tried the other zooms so can't compare against other brands but I recently got the svbony sv171 huge 8-24mm zoom and find it very good and was at a bargain price via their official store on Ali. Only issues may be getting it clamped as it overhangs the locking screw in some focusers and of course the weight may be a problem in some setups.

I see there's a nighttime visitor on the dome tonight

ahh the old FBH trick, shifts most things 😄

be careful to unplug before starting or stopping the engine. Some cars can give a spike which might cause the mount problems. Worth making sure the alternator is working properly too in case its pushing out higher voltage which would indicate the regulator is failing/ed. Depending on how long you plan on having the mount etc running a couple amps over an hour or so shouldn't cause much in the way of issues with the engine turned off if the battery is in good health, tho in colder temps the battery won't be as efficient so worth bearing that in mind. Also worth checking if the lighter socket is live with the ignition off, on mine you'd have to have the ignition on so engine running would be the only way I could do this if I needed to.

A couple of these clonked thru the flap this morning 2-inch volume control knobs in solid aluminium. Figured they might make a nice upgrade to the focus controls on the TAL100RS and TAL-1. The shaft hole is a tad wider than needed but it does fit, just. Might file a flat in the shaft to help the grub screw achieve a more positive lock but seems secure for the moment. Hopefully will improve fine focus adjustments 🙂 edit: Also on the TAL-1 now, used a sliver of acrylic sheet to pack the hole for a better fit Worst case I can always drill thru with the correct size for the shaft but will see how this works out before jumping down that rabbit hole 🙂

If I were the OP I'd be seriously tempted at experimenting with "renewable" energy and construct a windmill suitably positioned in the garden. I believe the vertical blade type are rather good and make a nice whine just so you know it's busy generating free leccy 😉

hehe your post makes me almost tempted to bid v low just to take them apart and see what's inside Bill. I won't tho as being plastic body if it is indeed mirrors then getting them realigned will be doomed to fail I expect. Likely they will be glued in situ so even getting them back out would risk breakage so not worth the effort, esp as I can't really throw cash at something I can't see being worth salvage while I'm not earning.

haha yes I've seen those come up the the bay a few times, gallean in a pseudo-porro body, they never seem to sell those ones.

as Mr Freeze suggests, if budget is limited then a zoom may fit the bill for the moment and give a range of magnifications in a single eyepiece. You could then add single FL ones for wider views once you've determined which are best for your use from the zoom setting.

can't disagree there Mark, I really didn't need the LT70 given I've quite a few already but curiosity got the better of me lol. I was considering a starsense for the EQ5 but it isn't available for my old SynScan. More a convenience thing more than anything but not cheap. It certainly seems to pick up the location pretty well tho my skies are reasonably dark, not had a chance to try at my daughter's in SW London where you don't see much at all so if it works there that'd be a real bonus.

there'll be a load of no longer required LT70's thrown on the market I bet 😉 Tho I'll likely pass this one on to my daughter for her little one to play with if she develops a real interest.

funny the spec lists BAK4 prisms then lol Now had it been a pair of these I might have been interested 🙂

not exactly