Carbon Brush

Perhaps an element of fixing the lock on the stable door after the horse has gone. But perhaps something of use to others contemplating modifications to equipment. First of all I agree with the idea that the DC plugs used on the popular mounts are awful and unreliable. However, a cable tie fastened to the body to take the strain relief is very easy to arrange and fixes 99% of issues. In addition it still allows checks on different power supplies, etc. when fault finding. Second. As a general rule, printed circuit boards are expensive and easy to wreck. Components are often cheap. If you do insist on removing a component like a connector, or a chip with lots of pins, think about preserving the board before you start. For example take a modelling grinder (Dremel) to the connector so only the pins remain. Or you can nibble it using fine side cutters. Then remove the pins from the board one by one. Heat with the soldering iron and GENTLY pull using fine pliers/tweezers when the solder melts. For a chip, you can cut the legs using your fine side cutters and body falls off. Then you remove the legs one by one with minimal PCB heating. Third. Think about your choice of solder. Nowadays boards are built using lead free solder. In an earlier century, it was a tin/lead alloy. Try to get hold of the traditional electrical solder for your repairs. The old solder melts at a lower temperature and often tins wires and flows more readily than the new stuff. Especially in the hands of a less than frequent board repair person, it is more likely to give a good outcome. Finally, after soldering, clean off the flux residue. There may not be much - it all depends on the solder you use. However, the more active/aggresive fluxes can mean corrosion a few years (or sooner) after exposure to the air. Hoping this is useful. David.

Depending on where in the garden, you might consider a scope cover disguised as a garden feature. I have seen photos of a fibreglass pretend dovecote. In reality a weatherproof cover for a mount. The scope went indoors. I have seen a tardis. Open the doors and slide back on rails to reveal a complete imaging setup. When considering my observatory, I was told that a bottle recycling bank in a prominent location would not go down well. Hence the decision to go for a shed with roof rolling over a pergola.

Thanks @Louis D for bringing up astigmatism. In simple terms, if you don't need astig correction, forget the specs and rack the focus in/out to compensate.

In the ratio of launch cost/revenue/fine. It is a bit like us getting a 2p fine for littering. Perhaps it sets a precedent? Next year the fines will be larger.

The obvious questions that have not been asked.... Does the mount/handset work? By that I mean you press buttons to accept time/date/location and it should then be able to be slewed. If so, it is a display problem. Does the display pattern change if you push the buttons you normally push after a power up? A changing pattern suggests a ribbon cable connection issue as described above. However. Some old Meade handsets could get their memory corrupted following a dodgy power connection - like a loose power plug. This requires specialist programming kit for recovery and unless you know someone who has the kit, the handset is best considered scrap. Good luck and keep the information coming in.

If you look at someone like Interparcel you will be able to get quotes from multiple carriers. Often at lower cost than contacting the carriers directly. You can download labels as PDF to send to your seller so there are no addressing errors. As for insurance. You are best regarding it as non existent. There are various SGL threads covering carrier avoid payment techniques. Just select a carrier who you think is going to be trustworthy. As a general rule, I use UPS for work. Though other big names offer good service. A lot of carriers (DPD, Hermes/Evri for example) use a lot of agency drivers at the delivery end. They may not take the same care as a full time employee.

Good advice from the above. This thread also contains some useful comments.

Certain scopes (and related items) are not handled by the retailer. Items are often drop shipped from a central warehouse. I believe a significant number of Skywatcher products come direct from the OVL warehouse. Then of course if you buy from the 'long river company'.....Well there are threads on SGL about that.

The same pier construction & vibration isolation that I did in 2007😁. Thats 2 of us at least in the UK😆. It looks like well a planned and constructed observatory. Following with interest.

I would add a low cost collimation tool. Maybe you won't make much use of it. Alternatively is there a nearby person who could show you collimation? Once learned it is quite easy and not often required. Then use the scope and see how you get on. Stick with low magnification (longer FL eyepiece) until you gain confidence. Sometimes the supplied short FL eyepeices are not that good. Finder scopes are a personal choice. Straight, 90deg, RACI, red dot. See how you get on. Dew shields can be cut up gym mats. A hair dryer will get rid of dew until you get a feel for the issues. A cheap garden furniture cover will keep the dust off when stored in the house/shed/garage. You may get the impression I am a bit of a miser😁 After a bit of use you will have a much better idea of a wish list. HTH, David.

As someone who has owned 8", 10" and 12" reflectors, may I suggest an 8" for a first scope? It is much easier to handle and will provide mind blowing views. In the UK, you are going to be more limited by sky clarity and light pollution than light gathering ability. Keep asking the questions😃

@LDW1 Can I ask what sort of winter night time tempratures you usually see? Not the exceptional events. By looking at the general conditions, you can decide if battery life really is an issue. For example in my part of the UK we often go a little below freezing. -10C would be an exception. We had one winter a little over 10 years back when we went down to -18C. A once in many years event. Further north, it is a little cooler. On battery performance. I have been looking at a particular Samsung lithium 21700 size for a work project. This can be discharged from -20C up to 60C without harm. Capacity is defined at 23C. When hot, 60C, you still get 95% capacity. At 0C discharge, capacity is 80%, falling to 60% at -20C. These are very respectable figures and any equipment designer takes them into account. I'm not saying this is the cell that ZWO have used. However, performance from their selected cell is likely similar. HTH, David.

Thanks for your comment. ZWO are not alone in providing little by way of specification and explanation. A look at the vague statements made by many astro kit manufacturers shows ZWO are following a trend🤨 In terms of well understood and affordable rechargeable batteries, lithium is (in my view) the best choice for this application. Lead acid offers far reduced performance sub zero. Historically we have got around this by putting astro leisure batteries in insulated boxes. Also by rating the leisure battery to be sometimes 10x the energy required in a night. If you look at car batteries, there is a 'CCA' quoted. That is 'cold cranking amps' to help answer whether your car will start in winter. The manufacturers well understand how lead acid performance falls of when cold. Nickel cadmium (NiCd) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) provide better performance than lead acid at low temperature. But they still provide significantly reduced performance when cold. Lithium rechargeable (in various varieties) do offer good performance with little performance degradation until they are so cold, they should not be used. Actual temperatures and performance reduction vary between chemistry & manufacturer. But they are always better than the mature technologies. A further big driver for choosing lithium is power per kilo of battery mass, and power per litre. Figures vary, but if you think in terms of 3x lead acid performance, you aren't far out. Would we be happy if the Seestar had an external power pack? I have not had a close look inside a Seestar. I hope ZWO have included a thermistor in the battery pack to allow temperature measurement. The signal from this device can prevent charging when too hot or too cold. Further during discharge it can signal switch off outside of allowed operation temperature. Typically lithium cells can be stored safely to 65C and hotter. But using them at elevated temperature does restrict life and can cause damage. Off topic possibly but the battery discussion may have prompted thoughts. Many of the lithium equipment fires we hear about result from incorrect charging regimes. Part of the safety testing for lithium cell type approval involves putting an almost short circuit on a cell, and there not being a fire or leakage. The ZWO manual indicates testing has been done, though I have not pursued the details. If you buy lithium cells and batteries from fleabay or the long river company, this expensive and arduous work may not have done 😮

The cost conscious markets (including amateur astronomy) use commercial grade electronics, which is sometime only specced to 0C. However, in practice it does continue to work at lower temperatures. Looking at the many discussions discussions on various mount operation in the cold, grease thickening is mentioned more than freezing electronics. The most temperature sensitive part of most amateur astro kit is the battery. ZWO say the device can be used to -10C, which is a reasonable limit for lithium discharge. Without knowing the exact spec of the cells, I cannot comment further. Note charging temperature for lithium is more restrictive. However, the charger control should look after this for you by disabling charge if too hot or too cold. ZWO say charging is allowed from 0C to 40C. HTH, David.

Sorry to say those platic leg brackets are well known for fracture. You say you got the scope in July. Was it new? If so try a warranty claim. It does look as if the screw has been tightened hard down. Alternatively look around for a used tripod and swap over the legs. But the quick fix is a Jubilee clip until you get a longer term solution. HTH, David.

I was in Florence for a short day some years ago. Galileo's tomb was on my limited 'must visit' list. The builders were in.🤬 The tomb was covered in polythene and protected by scaffolding. Yes Florence is a wonderful city. Your post has reminded me that I must return.

Sobering to think that only 30 years ago exoplanets were thought to exist, but nobody had actual evidence of their existnce. Now we know of thousands (anyone know the latest count?) and even obtain atmospheric information.

I have seen newt tubes suffer cosmetic damage from enthusiastically over tightened finder foot retaining screws. A great pity that oversize washers, star washers, nyloc nuts and the like have yet to become readily available components🤔 Then of course there are the filed out holes from 'not drilled in quite the right place' attempts. The damage doesn't affect views though. In scope balancing, heavy finders located a long way off axis need thinking about.

My goto for glass is Baader fluid. I have seen Specsavers lens coatings degrade and flake after repeated use of isopropanol.

You have to think about the effect of off axis light pollution reducing scope contrast. Take an average low cost newt reflector, look at the sky. Maybe a dark grey sky background? Now shine your dimmest red torch across the top of the scope, just catching a bit of the black tube inside. The sky will appear red. Now repeat the test with an up-market flocked newt. Or Mak Newt with baffles or a quality baffled refractor. The sky won't be as grey or red as in the low cost newt. At the Bortle 1-2 dark site is a 4" properly blackened reflector better than a cheap (dark grey painted) 8" reflector? I would say no. Because there is negligible off axis light. Here you are looking for the best optics, coupled with scope portability. Another factor is your eye dark adaptation. At your light polluted home, you do not fully dark adapt. You therefore need a big scope to produce a bright image at the eyepeice. Go to the dark site and adapt fully. Then a small scope will produce an image that is bright enough for you to use. No easy answers!

Before recommending, you need to tell us more..... You viewing environment. 3 flights of stairs to get outside? Overlooked by lots of lighting? Maybe drive out to a dark place to view? Kids ages & attention span. Will they use the cope unsupervised? Do they need an instant view to avoid boredom? As for 2nd hand purchases. From where? On general sale there is a lot of stuff that has been neglected, or has bits missing. Having someone experienced go with you to look would be a good idea. And last but not least. Welcome to SGL. We are all happy to help. Keep asking the questions.

Yes definitely. Some of the kit supplied 10mm EPs would be better repurposed as salt pots. I can't speak for the RVO offering. I have though used some of the BST Starguider EPs. For the ££ spent they are good. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bst-starguider-eyepieces/bst-starguider-60-8mm-ed-eyepiece.html Is there someone local to you who might lend you an eyepiece? Don't forget you can get a good idea of views by using the scope on distant objects in the day.

Throwing something else into the pot. If you are building your own kit and basing it around 4 cells, you need to think about the voltage the equipment may be subjected to when in use. A LiPO charges at 4.2V/cell = 16.8V for a 4 cell stack. You also MUST MUST use a BMS with charge balance if you buy your own cells. Unless you really know what you are doing with lithium cells, buy a pre-assembled lithium pack with the protection already built in. IMPORTANT. Read the safety approvals and check the documents exist. There (almost weekly) reports in the UK news about lithium battery fires in houses, caused by cheapie dodgy imported product. In some cases there are deaths. In the wrong hands, or incorrectly used, lithium batteries are best thought of as potential fireworks and bombs. Sorry if this seems heavy handed. But lithium cells are often kept in our homes without thinking about safety. These people are not cheap. But their products meets safety standards and the documents to prove it are readily available. https://tracerpower.com/ Can you get similar traceable safety documents and test reports from an Amazon seller? HTH, David.

LED street lighting does have better radiated angle. When my village moved to LED, my back garden (50M+ from the road) became darker. On the main road though, you can read a book at night! Strange really. The principal justification for lighting in my village is the traffic on the main road. As vehicle lighting improves, we rely less on roadside lighting. Remember the little pool of yellow light cast (never far enough) forward from your Ford Prefect?😁 During the summer, the lamp posts have been renewed. The existing were rusting. Some posts have been resited. It did worry me. However, it is not a problem. The Hyper -Intelligent-Mega-Beings at Nottinghamshire County Council have thoughtfully placed quite a few of the fittings in tree canopies🤣 You couldn't make it up.

If you use NiCd/NiMH, then 5 cells are a must. A 5 cell stack will start at about 1.35V/cell and give 1.2V for most of the discharge, ensuring you get good results. That is 6.75V dropping to 6V. If you use lead acid, it will provide about 6.6V at the start, eventually dropping to about 5.7V. If you use a lithium based powerbank, as @Nik271 it will provide a constant 5V. If you use D size alkaline cells, as the original design, they sould last ages - unless slewing is your favourite activity😁 With ANY cells in holders, do not skimp on the holder quality. There are many holders that have significant contact resistance (about 0.1 Ohm at each end). This results in voltage drop when slewing and mount can forget what it is supposed to be doing. Either buy good quality holders. Or for NiCd/NiMH buy tagged cells and solder them. HTH, David.