DaveL59

the circuit and motors will draw what they require, so long as the power source and cables are able to deliver it.  The voltage applied tho, if it exceeds the max could cause issues hence I suggest to test the voltage before hooking up and why I've put a buck converter in to limit it to 12v after finding the pack I have can deliver a bit over 15v.

Best not to try stepping up from 5v to 12v tho as that may not keep up with load demand during a slew and you'd get errors. You'd need some significant capacitors on the 12v side of that sort of setup to soak up peak demands especially on a long skew which would be drawing peak current.

ahh my bad, didn't check the list price for that one. Seems many are being up-priced in these times, quite a few TAL newts at high pricing too. Sign of the times and reflecting shortages maybe?

I noticed this one on the bay today
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bresser-messier-telescope-AR127L-1200mm/333714596134?hash=item4db2f0a126:g:bW8AAOSwMYRfV3O3

Not sure how it'd balance compared to the F15 John pictured but in case it's of interest...

15 hours ago, Gina said:

I'm considering using manual focus but using a shaft brought out through a gland so that I can refocus without taking the dome off and also providing very fine control.

Hope a wee birdie doesn't think "oh a nice perch to rest on" and shift the focus 😉 

14 minutes ago, Pixies said:

I have a week or so to return them if I find any issues. they do look remarkably clear. Perhaps a coupel of tiny spots on the inside of one of the objectives.

Not sure what you mean about JB/JL - is it this:

that's the one 🙂

For info that maker for the finished binocular is:

JB 24     Ichikawa Kogaku Kogyo Co. Ltd.,Tokyo

if the only output on your powerbank is USB then it'll only deliver 5v. Some also have a second output for laptops which may be 19v or if lucky 12v but do check the actual voltage with a meter before hooking to your SynScan.

I use a Car jump-starter LiPo 20Ah pack and that gives 15+v on the car outlet, so I use a buck converter to provide a 12v regulated output into the SynScan and it works nicely. Does mean a bit of DIY sorting suitable connectors and cables but its compact and lightweight where lead batteries are heavy and need to be maintenance charged to prevent early demise of the battery.

6 minutes ago, Pixies said:

A second-hand bargain, I hope.

The optics look clear and it appears to be collimated OK. Compared to my cheapo Praktica bins, the view has much better contrast - darker darks and lighter lights, and the old ones now look foggy compared to this. It has a wider AFOV and but lower real FOV (higher mag) too.

It needs a new strap and I'd prefer a soft case. But I'm dead chuffed. Not bad for £20

 

 

 

those look in very nice condition considering their age, as if they lived life in their case rather than being used. Looks to be a Japan made pair too, be interesting to know the JB/JE marking on the objective end. I've a few old pairs and they do perform nicely tho I more tend to use the Minolta 10x50's at night as they're waterproof and lighter with a 6.6 FoV. As you say tho, a bargain price for the condition, nice find!

Exposing to UV won't remove anything but will kill the fungus so it won't spread. Sunlight will do the trick if you don't have a UV light but usual precautions re direct sunlight and potential for heat damage/fire apply.

If you want to treat it then Hydrogen Peroxide and Ammonia 50/50 mix should work if its accessible of course. Between the elements will mean risking that you can split and reassemble accurately and as Adam mentions it may not be trivial to achieve a good result.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3864060/

Storage use a desiccant to keep the humidity under control and if possible a suitable fungicidal pellet/sachet if you can source them. A focuser cap that can hold a desiccant might be a good idea so the OTA internals are kept well controlled.

Looking at the pic, has he already removed the lens rings as there looks to be a couple on the desk in the reflection off the lens? Hopefully that hasn't disturbed the alignment of the elements.

edit: Note that once cleaned you may find that the coatings have been eroded by the fungus where it is present, shouldn't affect the image but could bother you in terms of it being visible under inspection and also affect resale later on. Might be better to return it to the seller and look for a better one that doesn't have this issue.

another option perhaps would be to raise the mirror using longer screws & springs if there's not enough travel left on the OEM ones. That'd move the focal point further up the focuser tube to allow you to reach focus. You would need to redo collimation but it's a relatively simple mod to do. Your eyepieces sans barlow would find focus a little further out from where they currently do, as in the amount you shifted the mirror. Trick would be to determine how much to adjust for to reach the barlow focal point. How much extra length does the helical add to the focuser compared to the SW OEM holder ring?

doh, should've twigged from your previous post, my bad. Love how it sits so far up in the mount too, must make using it much easier

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

 

yep, a "proper" scope 😉 Looks lovely John, which one is that?

yeah am thinking I may get an extension tube for my EQ5, well one of them at least to make the frac's more stable

be warned tho, F15 will be a very long scope 😉 

2 minutes ago, Neil H said:

Just had a look they dont have any good ones cheap tho £29 

don't think they're listed, hence have a chat. They mentioned to me if I was interested a week or so back when I had some bits on order. So tempting but I've too many that aren't looking at anything most nights to add another lol

oh, there's aslo a 120XLT down my way on the bay tho the finder bracket is broken.

if you have a chat with Astroboot, they had some F15 frac's recently around £300 as I recall

there's been a couple nice TAL100's on the bay recently and in your range when they sold. Solid and to me nice to use, but... they are quite long at 1M for the OTA

12 minutes ago, AstroTim said:

How does UV marking work when you come to sell the item? Can it be removed without causing damage to any paint finishes?

Tim

I guess the simple way perhaps is to draw a line through the old info and get the buyer to mark their info in a different area. Same if you move house and need to re-mark. You'd need a UV light tho to be accurate. Acetone may erode the permanent marker but I've never tested that idea.

I've not selected as they've been cleaned within the past year having either been recently acquired or overhauled. I'd say that I would do them as needed with no fixed schedule but no option for that 🙂 

So far I've not had dew issues but stored in the conservatory they see very little temp change when moved outside or back inside. I usually leave the conservatory door open when out back with the scope which stabilises the temps tho I do that more for convenience really.

So tonight had a nice view of Jupiter+4 moons and Saturn as it popped out from behind branches, using the old 3-inch vintage scope and trying out a few eyepiece. H20, H12, HM6 and OR4, all gave nice views, think I could just about make out the division in the rings as well as some belt detail on Jupiter. Decided to then switch to 1.25-inch since I now have a 1.25 to 0.965 adaptor, Fullerscope 12mm and a circle-T OR9 on the same scope. Again nice views, a bit clearer than the 0.965 EPs but all worked well. Popped the TAL 2x Lanthanum barlow into the mix and still good views with the 12 and 9mm's.

Must say focus with a drawtube is real fiddly and the rig certainly had the wobbles while doing adjustments, tho probably not much worse than a modern manual focuser in terms of inducing wobble. EQ5 on the ally tripod with legs extended so I could see over the fence likely didn't help. Might have to consider getting a pier extension for the mount if that'd make things more stable. I did note that freeing the drawtube lock screw and moving the tube can cause a shift of view until tightened back up so I guess there's some play but then this is quite an old scope now 😉 

All in all pretty pleased, the old scope can still show very nicely and with the range of 0.965 inch eyepieces works really well. Not sure how much difference it'll have made but while I had the diagonal and eyepieces stripped down for cleaning I also blacked the ground edges on the glass, prism included. Simple black sharpie marker was used for that which usefully adds no thickness compared to painting as some of those tiny eyepiece lenses are a very snug fit not to mention real fiddly to refit.

gotta love that title, made me wonder what the content was gonna be 😉 

My tripod seems to be an older model with the spreader using plastic clamps on the legs, not managed to get a replacement for the one that cracked but cable ties have so far worked tho I might look at getting a set of these to replace them. The Meade tray with in-built handset holder fits it nicely tho so a good purchase from Astroboot.

best to blow away any dust and then use a clean microfibre cloth or lens tissue moistened with lens cleaner to gently wipe it away. Don't overdo the lens cleaner or apply direct to the lens else it may find its way behind the front element and then things get a lot more involved to sort it.

you don't say which bridge camera and with most the options will be to take pictures at the eyepiece with the challenge of holding/mounting the camera to get an image, or to mount the camera on the scope piggy-backed and use it to take images via its own lens. That'll mean rebalancing the scope and finding a way to get focus set to infinity and it being able to run long exposure on a remote trigger. 

If your bridge has a lens that extends automatically on power-up you need to be careful it doesn't hit anything if trying at the eyepiece on a mounting rig.

My Fuji S100FS is too bulky to try at the eyepiece, but I have mounted it on a scope ring and used it that way. Downside is max 30s exposure and I've only played with it a little in that mode. Using a remote timer it is able to take several exposures of 30s without needing to touch the camera but so far not been easy to get any great results. Mobile phone at the eyepiece was a lot easier.

so far, having bought used I've cleaned all of mine soon after purchase or when I've overhauled/refurbished the scope. You could argue that all were performing fine before so could have been left, but if I'm taking it apart it makes sense to do the cleaning at assembly time. Other than that I'd go with as and when needed.

On 03/09/2020 at 11:42, AstroMuni said:

 

One thing that stood out for me from your image was that your scope seems to be mounted back to front. Normally the cable you see sticking out to the left is in same direction as the back of the scope. Once you watch the videos that have been posted, I am sure you will enjoy the scope.

 

Funny because I have mine set up exactly the same, so the SloMo cable is near the focuser. Far more convenient in use so you can make fine adjustments and see the effect in the eyepiece. For a Frac I do the same so the SloMo is near the focuser, doesn't affect the mount operation at all so is a personal preference.

this, perhaps? tho it's already been disclosed in news of course

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53993937