Carbon Brush

As always, the SGL membership is constructively and actively contributing to the thread. Thank you to you all. As happens (too often) the OP has asked a question and gone away. Not been here for more than 2 weeks.

Have you had a chance to use the scope yet? Collimation is sometimes over - thought. It may be good enough out the box.

Another vote for a zoom EP. Not necessarily Baader then it can be your daughters affordable zoom😁 BST starguiders are affordable and give a lot of view for the ££. I don't have enough experience of these to comment on parfocal. But a couple of parfocal rings won't cost much.

My SQ mount runs from AA usually, so I have not seen a problem. I also remove cells after use to avoid risk of self discharge and leakage, so am doubly protected🙂 Thank you for posting. When I get a bit of time to spare, I will experiment with different external supply voltages. It may be a 'funny' that only happens at >12V?

I think there are going to be few failures for this part, which means buying a spare will be difficult. Though I may be wrong😁. In this situation I would find a bit of steel bar of similar dimensions and drill/tap to suit. It doesn't have to be steel. It would look really nice in brass😃 It doesn't have to meet the same profile, just have the holes in the right places. If your friend doesn't have the skills/tools, he should not have to travel far to find someone.. Anyone with a decent bench drill press and metric taps can make this. A benefit of making your own is that it can use decent material. Not the fragile stuff the chinese mount makers often use. HTH, David.

I am not an expert in this field. However, there may be something useful in this contribution. Lightning will strike at generally the highest point in the immediate area. For example if you are walking through an open field in flat country, you are the highest point. There is a very good argument for laying flat on the ground, or retreating to a ditch if available. You don't shelter under a tree because it is the highest point and may be struck. The tree may be damaged (burnt) in a hit, or current travelling in the ground near the trunk may may be enough to kill you. If you look at churches, and other 'pre electrical understanding' buildings in the UK, you will see a flat metal bar running from the spire to the ground. The idea is that if you get a hit on the roof, you have a low resistance path to earth. The term 'low resistance' requires explanation. If you have a damp wood roof, it conduts some electricity, but not very well. When there is a lightning hit, you get lots of local heating. The roof ignites. Or the tree in the paragraph above. If you have a metal bar (low resistance) to earth, the current flows through the bar. The roof carries little current. The metal bar has low resistance, so there is little heating from the strike. What I'm getting at is you need to be reasonably confident you have surrounding objects that are far more likely to be struck, or make sure your observatory has a lightning conductor. Something best assed by an informed person looking at the surroundings. It is tempting to suggest earth rods or a mesh in the ground near the observatory and high current bonds to the obsy mains earth. But in the absence of an eye over the situation..... I don't even know if your obsy structure is fibreglass, metal or wood. If you get a hit on other structures, or the electrical distribution network, you can get big voltage spikes on the mains supply. Or huge currents flowing in distributed earth systems. In the UK, our overhead distribution pylons have an earth wire at the top. Lightning hits here and is conducted to earth down the pylon structure. Our lower voltage parts of the network are generally below ground. However, small poles carrying a few thousand volts often don't have the overhead earth shield. In other places (USA for example) there is a lot more overhead local mains distribution - and a lot more equipment damage. I have no idea what your local are mains distribution looks like. However, it ounds like damage from your previous strike may have been from currents flowing in the wiring. A direct strike tends to blow things apart. HTH, David.

Another satisfied user of a 60mm Lunt, pressure tuned. The scope developed the foggy blue filter a few years back and a replacement (FOC) was in the post in a few days. However..... With any Ha scope that you buy, there is a big variation in etalon performance from one scope to the next. You may get a good, or less than good, example. It depends on what the manufacturer deems satisfactory for an amateur, or holds back for a reasearch scope costing £££££ I remember in early PST years reading about someone setting up outside an astro shop and choosing from 3 that were in stock. More recently there have been reports of wide performance variation in Daystar quarks & scopes. I remember asking (2019?) at an exhibition about a quark Ha eyepiece costing much more than a solarscout complete scope and the retailer had no answer. If you buy a new Lunt and it isn't 'right' and you get enough good weather try it in a reasonable time, it can go back. The nice thing is that you have another scope for a side by side. David.

I knew it was somewhere......

I had one of these Starsense equipped scopes for a short time and returned it. I didn't get on well with the app. But maybe it is just me. Others think it is good. I would have preferred a screen off the scope - not sitting on top of the tube. The tripod and accessories aren't that good. The Starsense ties up a phone - which may or may not be an issue. You have to link the Starsense app to a phone so you can't keep easily swapping and changing devices. You don't want to be taking the phone off the scope to take calls while viewing. Use it hands free? The phone needs to be a reasonably good smartphone. Not a basic 'does it make calls' type. The app allows 5 installs before negotiation with Celestron for more codes. The scope itself is OK. Maybe not the most positive response. But one. based on my experience. David.

A small reflectors, like the Heritage 100P from FLO are a good choice. I gave one to my granddaughter a couple of years ago. A quick place on ground- look at moon - 2 minutes later do something else. Worked well!

What an awful thing to find. I feel gutted for you. Looking at what you can do. A reflector scope is a simple instrument. If the glass is intact you can recover it. They work fine with paint chips and dents that you don't see in the dark. Look in the classified ads on SGL for a focusser. Many people sell on the old focusser after upgrades. The finder is not that difficult to replace. Looking on the bright side this is a time to ask if you wanted to change the focus/finder arrangement? Mount indoors asap and by the fire to drive off moisture. Use a hair dryer. It is also more pleasant than cold metal on your hands when dismantling. If the electronics or motors are wet, remove the boards and motors. Rinse using IPA (isopropanol). This mixes with water and ensures you have dry circuits aftwerwards. IPA is regulalry used for washing electronics nd won't harm anything. Unlike powerful solvents. Do not be in a rush to 'just try' and power the mount. Give it a couple of days to thoroughly dry. You can leave circuit boards and motors on top of a radiator without them coming to harm. Bearings with water ingress have to be assessed as well. Keep us posted and I'm sure you will receive lots of useful advice. Maybe even offers on replacements for the broken bits.

Hello and welcome to SGL. There are lots of threads on here about beginner scopes. The single most important consideration is you. Your viewing location, storage, etc. No point recommending a big reflector that you store in a tiny flat and have to carry down 3 flights of stairs to us. I think you get the idea. Tell us a little about yourself. If we know where you are, we may recommend dropping in to a scope retailer, or a local club. A very good source of information is shown in the link below. FLO sponsor this site but that is not the reason for the link. They are a very good astro retailer and get first chance on all my new astro kit orders. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes.html

Another Baader zoom user. Very happy with my Mk3, bought new. Yes I have had it for a few years. I also have the little used barlow and often used Hyperions. I own a couple of lower cost zooms. One is optically near (but not) Baader quality. I regard them more as loan out than for personal use. But if I didn't have the Baader, who knows? The lower cost zooms I have can't take a DSLR and the mechanism feels cheap.

Lithium packs tend to have a life measured in charge/discharge cycles, rather than the calendar. If you over discharge, or over charge, that is a different situation. A properly designed pack will include circuits to prevent over charge or over discharge. If a cell has been fully discharged then left for many many months powering the internal control circuit, it will over discharge. When you connect a charger it may fail to charge, or it may charge very very slowly, but eventually recover. How do you know whether it is the battery failing, or over discharged, or the internal control circuit? Unless you have the skill and test equipment, it has to be regarded as not being user repairable. Lithium cells in the wrong hands are excellent fire starters. Unless you know what to look for, walk away. Dispose of the pack via an approved method. HTH, David.

Hi Rob. To go back to your opening post, a thought from a long certified scrooge. What is the problem with the existing binos? Is some glass broken? Body bent? Or just out of collimation? Who told you they were not repairable? A general retailer will have no idea. An astro shop will give an informed response. Assuming you are prepared to have a go, there is nothing to lose by taking them apart yourself. I have seen binos where the prisms are held by a spring clamp, then hard glue to retain in place. After a drop, the glue fails and the prisms move. Slide them back to the correct place - the glue line - and apply a bit of new glue. If the bino body is distorted, that is a different story. Like I say, nothing to lose by trying - you have already declared the binos scrap. HTH, David.

The glass surfaces do not change size/shape with temperature - at least not enough to worry. A tube does change size (length) with temperature so you move the focus a little to compensate. The temperature drop causes convection currents in the tube, which will cause an unstable image until everything has reached equilibrium. That is the reason for the cool down time. HTH, David.

You might like to talk to AWR Technology. They are in Kent. I know of them as they put the goto in my Alter D6. I know they offer all sorts of other mount work, right up to bi observatory work. Suggesting good mechanical skills. Costs you only an email or phone call to talk and see? HTH, David.

Are you sure being unable to focus isn't down to eyepeice distance from the tube. Focussers have a lot of travel. A photo showing your focusser, and eyepiece assembly may prompt someone with your scope to say AHA. Astigmatism results in rugby ball shape stars - though recognisable as stars. Quick note as this is covered in lots of other posts. A 'long eye relief' eyepiece allows you to use glasses. A 'dioptrx' adapter on top an eyepiece corrects astigmatism. But only fits certain (expensive) eyepieces. Contact lenses are another option. My favourite for serious viewing. HTH, David.

Very sorry to hear you are having this problem. Sadly I think you are going have to argue strongly. Despite one filter reflecting green and the other purple! I have been bitten once by ebay buyer lies. At lot of argument over only £30 - less fees. But I had record of multiple delivery attempts by UPS in my favour and eventually the correct outcome was reached. I once sold a car and the buyer vanished into thin air after the auction ended - I couldn't even get my fees back or leave negative feedback. Once bitten and all that. I won't sell on ebay after the experiences. If anything won't sell elsewhere I would rather give it away or take it to the dump. Good luck with making them see sense.

Heard a report from a radio amatuer. Lots os auroral propagation. This is when VHF/UHF/microwave signals get reflected by the ionisation in the upper atmosphere. He told me of UK operators getting in touch with Sierra Leone on 430MHz. To get this into context, it is a bit like you getting a TV picture from Africa, instead of your local transmitter. There is a lot of ionisation up there tonight. Absolutely nothing doing visually. Well actually there might be a fantastic fireworks display and I would have no idea. Just driven home from work quite slowly due to dense fog.

A 6" or 8" dob reflector sounds like a good choice. If you want aperture, but are competing for space (length or height) on the back seat, consider the Skywatcher Flextube scopes. You have just as bulky base as other dobs, but the tube collapses a little. I used to own a flextube 250 and was very happy with it holding collimation between outings. My own take on lifting and carrying a dob is that for 8" you carry the base and tube separately for security. For 10" the weight starts to show, supporting the decision to carry separately. Consider fitting a handle on the tube if it doesn't have one. Keeping an object in the eyepiece is easier if the dob base is well set up. Nice smooth action. Spend a bit of time adjusting stiffness (springs/locknuts) and maybe lubrication - depending on the base materials. Alternatively if you spend on expensive eyepieces with a wide field of view, time before nudge is increased. Many low cost (a relative term) scopes benefit from better tube blackening. Simple flocking works wonders. The great thing about a simple reflector is that you can improve it for little spend and no great skills needed. My first 'proper' scope 20 years ago was an 8" reflector on a manual EQ mount. A great scope. Since then I have always owned reflectors of this sort, sometimes on EQ, sometimes on Alt-az, and dobs. HTH, David.

Hi and welcome to SGL. You mentioned buying from ebay. Don't unless you know what you are looking at. There is a lot of mis-sold rubbish on their astronomy section. On this site you will hear it referred to as fleabay. You may also find some fun links to items posted for sale. It is possible to get a good buy from there, but you have to be savvy. Astrobuysell.com/uk is a much better place to locate used astro kit. You can view the seller details and some history. Sometimes sellers link to their username on this site. Finally. Once you have accrued enough time and posts on SGL, you will have access to the classified adverts on here. In my opinion this is the best place in the UK to buy used equipment. Don't forget you don't have to buy a scope & mount as a kit. Often mounts in packages are somewhat under sized. See @malc c comments. What sort of scopes are you using now, and intending to use? That will dermine your mount choice. I'm also thinking you may get more enjoyment from viewing objects now, photographing later. Keep asking the questions. David.

The nice thing about these reflectors (on whatever mount) is they can be easily improved. Provided it arrived with a reasonable mirror, everything else can be improved with little effort. No special tools and no great skills needed. flocking, edge black, adjust dob base, sort focusser, etc. I have owned quite a few reflectors in the 200 to 300mm range and enjoyed both viewing and improving.

Does the Onsemi NCP102 look a likely fit? You will need to refer to the data and see if the PCB connections look reasonable. Onsemi don't use this device notation. But a 6 pin TSOP package is not that popular. HTH, David. NCP102-D.PDF

It seems the BBC have obtained photos from un-named individuals and using these in support of the ice crystal theory. Nicce photos.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-67535849