DaveL59

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

sounds good Gina and the O-ring will mean future maintenance will be easier too 🙂 

On 01/09/2020 at 20:15, smr said:

It's £500 cheaper than over here, priced at £1,500. There's the issue of potential warranty repair and shipping back etc. as well as import fees I guess.

Worth checking to see if they have alternate shipping locations that are EU, which would be less likely to incur additional costs. I've not ordered astro but have bought CCTV cameras and had no import issues but I did pick shipping from EU rather than China. That said, warranty could be another issue if you need to ship it back to base and how long would they be able to support it?

Hi Mike and welcome. I have that exact same telescope and as others have mentioned, you need to set the RA axis at a tilt to match your latitude. Set as shown in your photo you'll find the counterweight & bar will hit the tripod and limit range of movement.

If instead you'd rather use it as alt-az rather than EQ then you'd need to set it to 90 degrees such that the counterweight bar is horizontal. You may still find that the scope itself then starts to become limited by the tripod legs.

Does yours come with the RA clockwork drive too? I've found that this works ok but it can occasionally get in the way of the tube at certain angles when aiming very high, the cable connector sticks out and the tube catches. Not a major problem and using it makes for more relaxed viewing having the mount track objects, especially if sharing the view with others.

Good luck and enjoy! 🙂 

ah the "fun" never stops hey Gina 😉

I'm surprised focus has shifted that much though, but then you heavily cool yours where mine just have to cope with the norms of exterior temps plus however hot it gets inside the casing. So far neither have shown much focus drift but then again if I needed to tweak them the domes can be removed fairly easily. Perhaps they're holding a little better being bare board with the lens in a holder directly mounted to the board compared to your ASC unit?

I've yet to have issues with droppings on the dome but then I'm not located next to a pond, there's really only a large oak nearby where the birdies gather 🙂 

10 hours ago, Rich1980 said:

I'll try and take a look, my plan is to seal it with the flattener to prevent any dust entering the scope going forward. 

I'll try and get it outside to test, although it has been optically tested by the retailer prior to dispatch. 

I'm also not sure if I'll have time to get outside with it before my 14 days are up to return it to the shop if that's what I do.

Anyone else notice the "they optically tested it before shipping"? - so the retailer could well have introduced the dust and doesn't want to take responsibility and is fobbing it off as they all come like that. I'd be even more inclined to return it to them given this, they tested so should have noticed the dust but shipped it like that anyway, not very honourable.

Even my 2003 TAL100RS has no dust on the lens internals after buying it used and driving 120 miles home with it so I'd be very disappointed if a brand new scope arrived in that condition.

Personally I'd expect on a brand new scope that the manufacturing process should result in almost no dust between the elements, and once assembled the cell wouldn't allow much ingress of dust in a relatively clean room assembly line. If this is common then that's disappointing to say the least. Hopefully the manufacturer would be prepared to resolve for you.

hi Gina, you may find that if the sealant shrank a little capillary action would draw water in even through any hairline cracks without the wind driving it. I think that's partly what happened with the smaller of my two when it got water, tho the dome/metal ring arrangement won't have helped on that one either. The other with a neoprene washer under it so far seems untroubled.

I guess thermal creep may be what's affected the focus? I've had to tweak a couple of the regular CCTV cameras over the 4 years here, very slight but a nuisance as you only see they've drifted at night when they switch to IR night vision so then end up fiddling in the about with them dark. Day/colour seems fine with focus a touch out as there seems to be just a slight difference between Day/IR-night, perhaps the effect of switching from IRCut to clear filters, tho a couple of them are colour only (no cut filter) and see the same effect under IR lighting..

I'd agree with John, I recently did the same on an 80mm TAL-M, even less working room than a 130 and the acetate sheet method worked very nicely.

With both parts removed and the DEC clutch locked are you able to move the scope on the DEC axis by hand? It should move around 10 degrees or thereabouts I think and with everything removed should do that quite freely. You should see that lever also moving in sync with the scope. Be careful not to get your fingers in the DEC control tho while doing this so you don't get injured. If that doesn't work then it is somehow jammed and may need more dismantling. On assembly you'd need to have the bolt end slackened off so that you can refit the cable control side fully, then gradually tighten the bolt end to get things snug, just enough for the control to still turn smoothly. 

I wonder if somewhere in its previous life it's taken a big knock that caused the pin to bend and then the bolt was tightened further inward to make up the slack. Or perhaps the bolt end was tightened hard while the DEC axle was at the extreme end as in your pic.

As for the eyepieces, yes 17mm is maybe a bit much, a 25mm would be better or perhaps a 32mm for a wider FoV. Can't answer on your RDF, the ones I have are SW or non-celestron and work fine, but there are better, Telrad for example, or perhaps fit an optical finderscope of decent quality which you can always move to another scope when you upgrade.

19 minutes ago, gary756 said:

Harrison optics have them listed new for £135. Says stk due now (ish).  Like the idea of a huge finder scope though. 

 

if the bracket can be made easily remountable (captive bolts or similar) then it'd maybe make a handy grab n go and could be popped onto whichever scope you fancied using that night, maybe. I was almost thinking something like a manfroto PL200 type QR system to allow it to be quickly swapped over if a regular finder shoe arrangement can't be used. 

had the same thought, tho that 114 is a bird jones so maybe best avoided unless you just want the bracket and code and bin the rest. the 70/80 frac might be worth it tho

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

After checking it looks like the app is just a planetarium app without the unlock code. Very nice planetarium app though. 

Oh well didn’t cost anything. 🙁

seems without the unlock code you can't use the camera from that thread, makes sense from the manufacturer's PoV in that you can take a look at the app and may lead to a sale. Who knows they may even end up marketing a generic cradle only with a code for those of us that might be interested in adding it to our existing scopes. At the right price point it could be a good seller.

makes me wonder if a prism out of an old spare parts bino might work also, suitably light shielded. May have a play with that at some stage.

2 hours ago, markse68 said:

wish me luck...

take your time separating the lenses and try not to burn your fingers doing it! 😮 

Something work related, starts with a "P" but not saying what on a public readable section of the forum 😉 

ah yes, the blanket that the stars and planets love to hide behind, always a joy.

As for a dob, it may be a simple dump the base in the garden then drop the bucket into it, but all depends on your viewing situation and preferences. Here a dob would be pretty useless with the planets low down, it'd not be able to see over the fence. Even on a tripod I need to extend the legs a little for the fracs at the moment or tolerate the planets being visible just above the fence line. Sure you can sit the dob on something to lift it but then that's another thing to be carried out. I prefer to have SloMo controls too so for me an EQ mount is the way to go. It's not hard to take the OTA off, fold the tripod and pop it out then refit the OTA. I leave the mount and weights in place, saves time and faffing about and the OTA is balanced when refitted, no adjustments needed. Once brought indoors the scopes sit assembled and stood up in the conservatory, simples 😉 

ok I expect the remaining parts look tilted because they are leaning against the lever indicated with the red line

That lever is acted on by the SloMo screw and allows the mount to be turned as required. The spring in the bolt part will impart movement in one direction as you unscrew the control and by screwing the control inward it moves in the other direction giving the DEC adjustment, if that makes sense. Hopefully all you do need to do is to get that first part straightened up tho that may not be easy to achieve and not damage the thread. Depends on how willing you are to try. Perhaps if you remove the screw and silver tube that remain you'll be able to see how they work with the bent part and if lucky will give you a means to protect the thread while you try to ease the part straight. Worth doing anyway just to establish that no other parts are damaged.

Not sure you can buy just that part but you might find an EQ2 used on astroboot and be able to do a straight swap, but check that it's the same and would fit your tripod before buying.

my EQ2 DEC looks like this, tho I've not had it apart to see what the components are

8 minutes ago, Robindonne said:

Did it come unharmed?    Did my best to protect it.   The dutch transporters are always in a hurry and the majority thinks throwing with packages saves time😑

haha same happens here depending on the carrier used 😉 I've seen them thrown onto a huge pile on the ground rather than sorted and placed onto the racking and then staff walking over the pile to find stuff when you arrive to collect a missed delivery. I'd like to believe that practise has ceased but can't say since that particular carrier eventually closed off the 8ft high parcel pyramid area behind a partition wall, tho one package I collected a few years back had obviously been rough handled to the extent that the inner box gave up and the contents were scratched to h3ll. Thankfully that was a tap and not optics tho.