VinceN

Hi, good to hear from you. I'm just down the road from Ripley, only 15-20 mins or so. I know that the are a number of groups that meet up in the Derbyshire/ Nottinghamshire area. Although I've never been to any as yet. It would be great to meet up & visit some of the local clubs once you have moved. Not sure if you have seen the links here on SGL, but there is also an East Midlands branch of the Stargazers Lounge forum and also a number of links to most of the local clubs. Let me know when you're settled in and ready for a visit to a group. Cheers, Vince

Hi, thanks very much for the invite. I am very keen to meet up with some groups. It's great to receive all of the helpful comments and advice on this great forum. But I do understand that meeting up "face to face" and hopefully getting the benefits of your experiences is the way to go. I am about an hour away, between Derby & Nottingham. But I know your area fairly well, as I worked in Swadlincote recently. I will try my webcam again and be in touch, once we get some clear skies again. Reading some of the posts on SGL, it seems that there is "cloud penance" to be paid once you get your first scope. I will ride it out & wait for the clouds to clear 🙂 Cheers, Vince

Hi. Thanks everybody for the warm welcome. I agree about the 200P. As a beginner's "workhorse", I think I did ok 🙂 I'm sure that for producing images such as some the stunning Deep Sky & Nebula that I've seen here & elsewhere I am going to need to spend a little more cash. I have a few "newbie" questions about some of the images I have taken. Is it ok to post the images here and ask the questions. Or is there a forum etiquette about adding images. I don't want to start breaking any local rules, before I've hardly got started 🙂 I also bought a Svbony SV105 webcam, as a reasonably priced intro. to get into image stacking but also as a way of getting live images on to my laptop. To try & pass on my enthusiasm to the rest of the family. Unfortunately they have shown zero interest in getting out in the back garden to look through a 1.1/2" eyepiece at 2am 😁 I bought the Svbony SV105 through eBay from HK or China. Not sure if this was a particular wise move, as I cannot get any kind of image using the webcam in the 200P. To be fair their tech support have been very good considering the distance involved. They reply really quickly to any emails, with very positive assistance. They advised that for the 200P with its spec. That a focal reducer was required. I have bought their reducer but still not had any success with the webcam. I was wondering if anybody would be able to offer any advice about the combination of the Svbony SV105 & a Skywatcher 200p. I could post some photos later of the setup I have tried with various combinations of extension tubes etc. Sorry for rambling on about this here in an intro section. If I need to move this post into the main forum, could someone please let me know and I will sort it. Thanks for any help Cheers, Vince

Hi Demon ( hope that's not too over familiar 🙂) Thanks for the info about the book, I will be adding it to my collection. And also the tip about the "next scope". I am starting to see that owning a telescope is very similar to the gag about being a cyclist. "How many bikes does a cyclist need.......Always one more....." I imagine that I will be needing the link to the "Buy & Sell" section on SGL very soon 😉 Cheers, Vince

Hello all, A very brief intro. I have been browsing here for a while, but now feel brave enough to say hello. From Derbyshire. In my 50's. Complete novice to all things astronomical, although always had an interest since being young. Interested in photography, generally. Now been bitten by the astrophotography bug "big time" Probably made the classic newbie mistake, jumped straight in and bought a 2nd hand telescope & mount. Skywatcher 200P & EQ5 mount. Love it already. Had so much fun already with the scope and playing with Stellarium to see where things are up there, and also some very modest success with images of the moon. Have managed to catch a very small image, but definitely was, of Jupiter and the moons on a very clear night. That really was a buzz. I didn't get to sleep until about 3.00 am and on a work day, wow. I've never noticed how few clear nights we get here in Derbyshire. We have had precious few of those since I bought my scope. Now have so many questions about this fantastic hobby. Thanks for all of your helpful contributions, they really are very informative and helpful.