Neil H

I wish the council would do something about the flats behind me I can't see the planets , knocking them down would be great I am glad you got your problem sorted just shows you they sometimes do listen

Hi thanks for the info I am look at balance weights as well as extension to see what may work best

Hi I have the HEQ5 I fitted the belt kit now on YouTube there are demos of before and after the belt conversion but they show you it with the cover off , the cover is not totally sound proof but it's is quiet compared with the before the motorway 1 mile away from me drowns out the mount so your neighbours may never hear you so I would not worry your be good

Hi Karen once your bitten by the bug there is no cure , The doctor right a telescope will be the only thing that will help ,but when your ready this is a hobby of a life time so there is no rush

Hi guys I have the Orion Optics 200/1200 on the HEQ5 mount , everything is fine till i want to look overhead the telescope hits the tripod leg and then puts the go-to out of alignment , I can find a column extension but it's 16 inches way to tall I just need to get telescope about 2 inches higher in the dove tail mount or raise the HEQ5 off the tripod top I know the easy answer is don't look overhead but sometimes when going to a target it does the EQ flip and only just misses the leg of the mount I cant move the telescope up in the mount using the dove tail as this puts telescope out of balance I have looked for a second-hand column extension so I can get it cut down but no luck so far

Hi you can also fill the lower legs of tripod with sand to add weight

we must share same postie he walked past mine too , so no Telrad today , Monday fingers crossed

Hi mate I had the powerseeker 114eq it was ok , I did take Johns advice with better eyepieces that I could use later on with better telescope, second hand is a really good way to go on a tight budget, I did get my hands on a skywatcher 150/750 fast telescope on a EQ3-2 mount is solid as a rock that set up was £120 the motor off the powerseeker fits the EQ3-2( older EQ3-2) So upgrade your eyepieces to the ones John linked you to then learn with that telescope while saving and looking through the adds on here and astro buy and sell , e bay is good too but if you see something you like ask on here before you buy so not to get stung

Hi Shaun welcome to the best forum by light years

Hi Wayne welcome to a really big family

I hate scammers they should have the nuts chewed off by a dog 🐕

Hi and welcome you just joined a very big family

Hi James the kit is a lot bigger for your mount look like the motor mounts are changed as well , good luck I am sure it will go well and no more jingle bells as it slews

Hi all my delivery was boring compared to you guys , I got the belt drive kit for my HEQ5 and it only took about 20 mins to fit

Hi Nick welcome to the best forum by light years , welcome back to the hobby that's out of this world 🌎 There is no such thing as a stupid question, I know as I have asked loads

Orion Optics do telescope servicing but may just be reflectors but may be worth asking

I just wanted to say thanks to you all for help and advice and super fast post i ordered the rowan belt kit for the HEQ5 on Monday and it was in my hand to day Now that fast postage guys

Hi why don't you look on astro buy and sell there was a NEQ6 on there that's a great mount https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/agentlogin.php

Is your polar scope lite if it is try it on the lowest setting , mine was very high which made it so bright it was hard to see Polaris if you have it on dim Polaris comes up as a white dot which makes it easier to line up But the really important part is to make sure the polar scope is in line with the mount astrobaby shows you how on her site

Hi this is how I do it may not be right but it works I know Polaris lines up on a point of next doors house , so first I line the North leg of the tripod to that point I then level the mount on 2 axis , now I fit the mount in its home position weights line up with North leg of tripod (home position of the telescope) now I fit the telescope once on the mount put in your heaviest eyepiece now balance the telescope in both axis Once Polaris is in the sky rotate the telescope to open the polar scope then I match Polaris to the polar alignment app adjust latitude and zenth screws to line up Polaris in the Polaris position in the polar scope that's it's your done If you have not yet check and align the polar scope to the mount look on astro baby web site it will show you how

Hi I am newish at this but I think you really need the HEQ5 or higher for astrophotography even more so if your putting a 200PDS on it with a camera

Just in case you need this https://www.cambridge.org/turnleft

Hi I answered on the other thread as well look at Orion you have a blue super giant a red super giant a nebula also look at Venus it's up before it's dark

I am sure mine had nuts on the one side for the screws to go into the nuts have not fallen on the floor and you didn't see them come off

Hi Jev I second that book it's really good try and get the latest one if you can't don't worry as Cambridge press has the update pages on line , Orion is a great place to start there is rigel a blue super giant then Betegeuse red super giant , the Orion nebula just below his belt