Varavall

1 hour ago, Naltar said:

And we're looking to buy a product for somebody who's never looked through a proper telescope

Maybe something like this, if you have luck in the bidding

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/hose-rhodes-dickson/catalogue-id-srhos10119/lot-482a563f-fc63-43ce-8471-b16f00ce5b49?queryId=84af771fa950da137f8a6971559a0d0d

If you buy something at a good price of respectable quality, you could probably sell it again for the what you paid.

There are bargains to be had. In the last few years I have ppicked up a couple of Takahashi telescopes for around £300 a piece.

1 hour ago, Naltar said:

The dilemma is another telescope in the price range of around 200 quid,

1 hour ago, Naltar said:

taking good photos is VERY high on the teenage list

Hi

I think these two statements are mutually exclusive! Is the budget really limited to £200? And taking good photos of what?

It's visible here in southern Catalonia

Nikon D610 with 17-35mm @ 17mm, f2.8, ISO 6400, 15s. 3 images stacked

5 hours ago, carbon12 said:

but I'd like to find out more about areas with a decent track record of (v) good seeing and clear(er) night time skies in those months

I live in Catalonia which does have dark sites, BUT in the winter the interior, especially the plain of Lleida, very frequently gets fog which can last for weeks. When the skies are clear the seeing is excellent. I would suggest heading further south and west to Andalucia/Extramadura, but pass through Catalonia in case the weather is good, and as you have a campervan you can always park up on a mountain for the night  😉

4 hours ago, YogSothoth said:

Oddly, I seem to have clearest skies during a full moon. 

Oddly that is how it's been here in Spain over the past months. Maybe there is an explanation?

On 27/03/2024 at 17:12, Anne S said:

This is not the first time I've had to reinstall everything, it's the third

18 hours ago, ONIKKINEN said:

My strategy for dealing with Windows quirks is to just never connect my mini-pc to the internet - and i never have since i bought it in 2021. No auto updates, no cloud anything, no issues. The only 2 crash/other issues i have had happened when my PC got rained on, but that's understandable.

Exactly as I do it. In an earlier life I was an IT consultant and appreciate that when a saystem is working don't touch it! Only apply software updates if there is a need and of course keep a system backup for those hardware failures. My really cheap mini-pc works without problems.

Stick with it; I know IT can be frustrating at times!

Just go to the scrap yard and buy a round or square lump of metal of the weight desired, for me under 1 euro, and put a threaded rod in the base of the smooth cunterweight bar and then drill a hole in the scrap metal equal to the diameter of the threaded rod, then affix with a nut. Use the proprietry weights for fine tuning. 1-2 euros or £0.80-1.75. It may look a tad rough but its dark 😁

Hi

14 hours ago, Astrosurf said:

I use an all-purpose coma corrector

Assuming its the Baader corrector take a look at this

I use a SW200pds and a Skywatcher coma corrector on an HEQ5 with  round stars using a guidescope. The mount is probably overloaded but I get a PHD2 RMS of 0.25-0.6, but I have hypertuned the mount and replaced all the bearings with SKF ones. Maybe you could post a PHD2 log file?

Best of luck!

34 minutes ago, TiffsAndAstro said:

Pretty much of only way seems to attach the guidesscope to the underneath of my vixen dovetail on the front/lens end?

Hi

I wished to do similar using a ZWO camera and Nikon lenses and I have been down that route and found at certain points the guidescope fouled the mount. So I machined some scrap aluminium plates and attached them to the bar, and now I can fix the guidescape and mini PC to one plate and have a removable plate to attach the camera lens and focuser - see photo. It works very well for me.

The Heart and Soul nebulas taken over 11th, 12th and 13th March.

30x 600s Ha, 10x600s Sii, 13x600s Oiii

Kit::  Nikon 135mm AI lens at f4, ZWO Nikon-filter wheel adapter, ASI1600MM-Cool, ZWO EAF, Astrodon 5nm Ha, Sii and Oiii filters, HEQ5 Pro modded mount, NINA, PHD2

Processed in ASTAP, Siril, GIMP and NX Studio

21 hours ago, bosun21 said:

You could get the pier extension for the HEQ5

I guess that's £100 before thinking about what to sit it on. versus £1 for scrap aluminium tube.

3 hours ago, malc-c said:

look like they would be sharp enough to cut

True, but I use a socket wrench so I keep my blood where it belongs. 😉

21 hours ago, cards47 said:

I just got my new heq5 head and now I'm looking for a tripod for it

I built a pillar mount out of scrap aluminium for £30 . If you are handy with tools, maybe an option for you.

Horsehead Nebula

Kit: Nikon 300mm AI lens at f4.5, ZWO Nikon-filter wheel adapter, ASI1600MM-Cool, ZWO EAF, Astrodon 5nm Ha, Sii and Oiii filters, HEQ5 Pro modded mount, NINA, PHD2

Ha 40x300s, Sii 13x60s, Oiii 15x60s

Processed in ASTAP, Siril and GIMP

Taken 19th February

Here is a go at the Heart Nebula.

Kit: Nikon 300mm AI lens at f4.5, ZWO Nikon-filter wheel adapter, ASI1600MM-Cool, ZW EAF, Astrodon 5nm Ha, Sii and Oiii filters, HEQ5 Pro modded mount

Ha 18x600s, Sii 8x600s, Oiii 30x900s

Processed in ASTAP, Siril and GIMP

Taken 3rd and 5th February

Here is another effort of the Rosette Nebula using a shorter focal length setup to reveal more of the surrounding nebulosity.

Kit: Nikon 300mm AI lens at f4.5, ZWO Nikon-filter wheel adapter, ASI1600MM-Cool, ZW EAF, Astrodon 5nm Ha, Sii and Oiii filters, HEQ5 Pro modded mount

Ha 6x900s, Sii 7x600s, Oiii 7x900s

Processed in ASTAP, Siril and GIMP

Taken 5th February

1 minute ago, LaurenceT said:

I'm abandoning this project for the sake of my sanity.

I think I lost mine long ago 🤪

Good luck with the next attempt.

4 hours ago, LaurenceT said:

when I open it in gimp or similar for stretching I get a different image that cannot be stretched.

Hi

GIMP has a native FITS reader and I have no problems opening and stretching such files. Maybe you could post the stacked FITS file in questio

n here so we can see if I have the same problem or not. Then at least will will knw if its the file or your system that has a problem.

Here is my interpretation of the Rosette Nebula in my preferred bold and bright colours.

10 x Ha, 15 x Sii, 15 x Oiii all at 600s on the nights of 13th and 25th January

Kit: SW 120ED with Mira 0.63x flattener/reducer, ZWO ASI1600MM-cool, astrodon 5nm filters, SW HEQ5 belt modded with upgraded bearings, NINA and PHD2

Processed in ASTAP, GIMP and Siril

A final seasonal entry. Funfair ride at Parque Turo, Barcelona. 

Single shot processed in NX Studio. Nikon D610, lens 17-35mm F2.8D at 26mm, f11, 1/20s, ISO1600

A sesonal scene in the French Catalonian town of Céret, the Porte d'Espagne, a relic of the town's medieval ramparts. Moon to top right.

Single shot processed in NX Studio. Nikon D610, lens 17-35mm F2.8D at 28mm, f3.5, 1/50s, ISO640

Tonight we had a double halo caused by high atitude ice crystals, so by squatting on the ground I managed to get a tree in the bottom of the photo which I hope is sufficiently Earthly for the challenge. That's Jupiter to the right of the Moon.

Nikon D610 with VR 70-200mm F2.8G lens at 70mm, f2.8, 1/25s, ISO1600.

Moon rising over a wind turbine, Gandesa, Spain.

Single shot with Nikon D610 with VR 70-200mm F2.8G lens at 116mm, F5, 1/400s, ISO 100

12 hours ago, rockinrome said:

I currently use NINA.

Hi

I have the same mount and use NINA and park to a custom position so I can close the cover. What I have found is that once the custom park is set in NINA at the end of the imaging session the telescope duly parks where I want it. However, on start up when the telescope is unparked NINA assumes the telescope is at the home position so all goto slews go wrong. So what I do when I start up is to unpark and then park to home position, telescope goes pointing north and then everything works as it should. Guess that's a "bug" in NINA, but nothing major once known abut the foible. Hope that's useful.

17 minutes ago, mistuk said:

I presume there’s some kind of tool to help - what would that be?

One of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ocnvlia-10mm-130mm-Replacement-Spanner-Opening/dp/B0C7QG4LDF/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3AAJ9SVX4RZOP&keywords=Lens+Spanner+Wrench+Opening+Tool&qid=1699525031&sprefix=lens+spanner+wrench+opening+tool%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-3