madMARTYNmarsh

I went to cex and paid £220ish for a Canon 650d in really good condition. It is well worth your time to look on their site.

I grew up on Stanhope so know Washford farm well. Do you attend the Ashford astronomical society at all? I wanted to go for the first time on Friday but my brother has tonsillitis so I didn't get to go.

What part of Ashford are you in? I live in Kennington, Nine acres but not the rough part, thankfully. How is the light pollution where you are? I live right near the cemetery in Kennington, a short walk for Long Acres garden centre. My garden would be an ideal spot for viewing the night sky if it weren't for the massive flood lights on tha block of flats outside my back garden, they make it difficult to see anything but the brightest stars with the naked eye; I can't see most of the big dipper as an example, makes polar alignment a bit tough.

Hello Simon. My sister in law lived in Folkestone until fairly recently. I still haven't figured out polar alignment but a modification I made to my polar alignment scope gives me confidence that I'll have it mastered soon. Martyn.

It's on an EQ5 mount. I did consider a Dobsonian but decided against it as the ground in my garden is very uneven. I also have problems with my right leg so crouching is very painful. Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I look forward to learning from all of you 😉

Hello there. I am from Ashford in Kent. In August I bought my first telescope, a Skywatcher 200p. It was a birthday present for my 38th. Last week I bought the synscan upgrade.... I have no idea what I am doing and I'm a slow learner these days (I take a high dosage of opioid painkillers as I have a nervous system disorder) but I am slowly working things out although I have encountered a few confusing things so I am attending an astronomical society this Friday for the first time, to get some assistance. I bought a set of Antares eye pieces from ebay, I'm happy with them, they're markedly better than the eye pieces that came with the scope and only cost around £80 for 4 eye pieces and a good barlow lense as well as some attachments for astrophotography. I'm not sure what else to include. Clear skys.