markse68

They’re great Craig- I’m sure you’ll like it and that’s a good price- they vary a lot. I  can send you a screw on eye cup if you like

Mark

12 minutes ago, LaurenceT said:

I should have read first that telescope lenses are quite different,

Really? what were you using to clean it? Maybe it was dissolving paint from inside the dew shield and making a mess. I think the coatings are basically the same. Should be cleanable- use rolled up cleaning tissue, damped with acetone wipe from centre out and trim the end off each wipe until you clean off the residue. I’m using one as a finder- it’s a lovely finder  

Mark

I bought the Helios constellation bins but sent them back as it felt like looking through toilet roll tubes. Not sure how the Vixen ones compare but the diy ones i put together afterwards using the Nikon teleconverters (ebay) have considerably wider afov and i enjoy using 

Mark

Not jealous. Not jealous. Sounds truly wonderful  Have you got a phone holder Magnus? Would be great to see a perfect startest, and the ones from your top tier newts

Mark

13 hours ago, Captain Scarlet said:

The second of the two deliveries from US just arrived. The Losmandy mounting rail/plate, and a very nicely-engineered eyepiece-counterweight set-up. Plus a device for carrying awkward objects whose technical name temporarily escapes me 😁:

 

Magnus

nice looking counterweight Magnus, and a handy looking towel rail to boot!

Mark

Hi Wookie, the Tal R had vivid purple coatings

Mark

yes that’s a fair point Paul

Mark

keying in the target in the dark when you forgot your reading glasses can be a bit of a pain and would slow you down but I reckon the SS would win most of the time

Mark

I guess you could always retrofit a new controller and motors to an integrated mount but there is something nice about the simplicity of traditional well engineered mounts where the drives are an add-on so easily replaced/upgraded. I upgraded the motors to belt drive on my G11 but still use the Gemini servo drive- it’s fully customisable. Another maker you never hear anything about but who to my eyes make stunning mounts with add-on motors are Bellincioni in Italy: https://www.bellincioni.com/en/goods_caregory/montature-equatoriali/

Mark

The 2023 survey starts next Friday

https://www.cpre.org.uk/what-we-care-about/nature-and-landscapes/dark-skies/star-count-2023/

Mark

51 minutes ago, josefk said:

i know its not a competition but I think this is my favourite set-up on here. it just looks SO ergonomically dialled in and productive😋 

Thanks Josef ☺️ Not sure about productive- I’m very lazy, but it has come together to be pleasing to use. It’s nice to have the ep at the top- keeps it all quite compact. I guess it would add compromise like all things optical but imagine a large aperture refractor with a folded path so the ep came out the side at the c of g- that would be really ergonomic. I did find something in a google search over on cn 🧐

Mark

1 hour ago, Froeng said:

Very nice! What make is it? I am thinking this would be a good match for my Avalon mount!😎

Haha yes- would be a nice match  I was thinking the reverse- I should get a t-pod to match   It’s a drummers stool or as they like to call them- “throne” 🤣 made by Pearl

Mark

Trying out new astro-stool. Very comfortable 👍

Decided to invest in some comfort- got a new astro-stool. It’s got red legs  Very comfortable and quick and easy to adjust height (gas strut), though would have been even better if it went a bit lower

20 hours ago, josefk said:

 Don't worry i won't post them all. 😆

Please do- they are really good- remind me of early moon maps by eg Cassini

Mark

Diagonal mirror not collimated perfectly? If it was slightly off 45deg would it cause the focal plane to tilt causing what you have noticed?

Mark

On 06/01/2023 at 12:47, vlaiv said:

Maybe best way to practice looking thru the eyepiece is actually during daytime with eyepiece only.

I was most disappointed when i first got my Nagler 16mm doing this. Could it be because pupils smaller in daylight? But I really struggled with it to get the whole view whilst holding it up to a bright light- blackouts galore! What a relief when i tried it for proper in my scope- it’s a lovely comfortable ep to use with no issue at all.

Mark

Not quite that old but guilty as charged 😀

Most of the measurement electronics seem to be built into the sensors and the one Unihedron use is now obsolete and seemingly without similar replacement (they must have bought up a lot of stock) but was better suited to very low levels at truly dark sites. Not many dark sites near me though so unlikely a real issue. Similar limitation for the phone app SQM Dark Sky Meter, but it has advantage of RGB capture which is useful for monitoring light pollution and changes with LED street light adoption in urban areas where it is probably as accurate as an SQM?

Mark

oh that’s disappointing- I thought it was getting brighter!

Mark

4 hours ago, icpn said:

I have one and they are really quite nice and do many other things apart from cloud cover and temperature measurments. I need to compare the sky brightness readings with my SQM meter so see how clos ethey are.

would be interested to know. I’ve read that the sensor used by the Unihedron is better suited to low light levels than the one used in the Meteo but not sure if it would really make a difference 

Mark

Thomas Harriot’s diy refractor made from spectacle lenses- the first time any human had seen details on the moon?

John Dobson’s first dobsonian for democratising large aperture scopes

The Tal-1 for similar reasons and it was my first proper scope and the one i first saw M13 through

Mark

I just remembered I want a 1.25” Baader clicklock 🤦‍♂️

26 minutes ago, globular said:

Thanks Mark - something else I now NEED 🤩🤣

that’s the thing Glob- I really don’t need it- I have all the parts to build a diy SQM but haven’t got round to it i need one that much. But I really want one! haha

Pretty much yes Jeremy- it’s like a portable logging weather station with GPS and SQM so you can be super nerdy about your observing sessions and yes- confirm if it’s really cloudy  He said he has done a smaller version for agencies monitoring light pollution etc 

Mark

It’s really a neat gadget with nice looking pc interface- they make some really nice stuff don’t they. He was a really nice bloke too- had a good chat with him about harmonic drives

Mark