Eugene69

Good evening 90's channel 4 viewers.

The last few months I have aquired a few telescopes.

Meade 4504 digital, Celestron astromaster 130eq, Bresser skylux refractor and a 135mm kson. 

In my previous posts I had a seben which as a gift and my first go I had a great time but soon discovered the tripod and mount were sloppy, that's when I was given the skylux on the German eq with the missing slow motion controls. I got a bit excited and brought myself a 135mm kson on ebay for 80 quid without being able to find out much about them and it was just the tube so stuck it on the German eq still with missing slow motion cables, but pair of grips worked fine. A few months later I was given the astromaster and it was complete! I took the weights and the winders off it and put it in the shed. Things were looking up apart from the endless cloudy nights. That's when I met a bloke who wanted to sell me his Meade 4504 for 50 quid. I had to drill a couple of holes out to fit my tube rings for the kson onto the mount and it seems good. 

Now here's the question...

Will fitting a larger tube onto the Meade mount affect the tracking of targets? 

I'm putting the practice in and getting alright at polar alignment and getting it nice and level but still seem to get a bit of drift. Wasn't sure if changing the tube would affect this or if it's operator error. If you made it through this post then fair play.

5 hours ago, Zermelo said:

Yes, it is a GEM, though that is just the type - there are many individual mounts with that same basic design.

They look to be the same attachment mechanism, but much shorter. Actually, the original slow-mos supplied with the Bresser are different lengths for the RA and DEC axes, though neither is as short as those. I don't see why they shouldn't work; in fact, they might be slightly better in one respect: I found that one of the Bresser slow-mos would sometimes get in the way of the tube movement, when viewing targets that were in the "wrong" place. It might not foul itself on a shorter control.

well the link above shows it can be done. Just the RA axis would be enough for tracking, I've no idea how accurate it would be.

 

For the price of replacement slow mo cables I'm starting to think about wanging an ra drive on it will be more fun for the money

Maybe why the knobs are gone too

On 12/05/2021 at 10:11, Zermelo said:

Here's another link to a discussion by someone who has the same scope under a different name:
http://www.jim-easterbrook.me.uk/astro/scope/skylux/

It seems the mount is better described as "EQ-2 like" than "EQ-3 like", though it's more solid than many you'd get with a 70mm.

Oh, and try to be careful when you open out the spreader to fix the tripod legs. The only thing to break on mine was one of the connectors that slides up and down the leg - they seem to be made of a plastic that gets "fatigued" over time. I think it helps if you also push the spreader arms, and don't just rely on opening out the legs. Celestron replacements are almost identical; I managed to pick up some cheap ones at AstroBoot, but I see they have suspended shipping to the UK because of post-Brexit tariffs.

Thanks zermelo, 

Upon further research i have seen it referred to as a german equatorial mount (gem) which makes sense. I found these 

https://www.microglobe.co.uk/celestron-astromaster-slow-motion-controls-set-of-2-p-13173.html I prefer the look of them compared to the flexible type but I have no experience whatsoever with an eq mount but I am already thinking about motor drives haha

Thanks mike

Hello everyone, 

Hope you have all been enjoying the clouds. I recently acquired this tripod and mount with a bresser skylux attached, it's missing a couple of knobs. Can anyone help me identify this mount? Also are the missing bits the slow motion cables??? 

Cheers

1 hour ago, happy-kat said:

Why not sign up to the binocularsky emailed news letter, it's free and the targets mentioned should be possible with your telescope.

Thanks sounds good!

3 hours ago, joe aguiar said:

hi I been away for few days 

OK now that I know it was a gift from GF THEN DONT sell it that's a slap in the face. If you just bought it then maybe that be your best best BUT since its a gift and u already got it use it as it is and see how it goes

The rigel is a really really good idea tho later if you upgrade take off the base with goo gone and use it on your new scope. Same with ep if you do upgrade then to plossls or super pl then keep those and give all original stuff with scope if u sell it later.

Try using the 5x24 finderscope on the moon its ok but once u try other things then u may see y its soo hard to use that kind. ONLY then if u cant find anything then consider getting it.

I ALMOST consider it nessary. If you cant find anthing in the sky then most people just leave this hobby.

I also recommend getting a plainsphere and a good book like night watch. This book also has 20 pages of maps with maybe 150 items in constellation to star looking for.

joejaguar

Welcome back joe.

Im not going to upgrade just yet. Like what your saying, Im going to get to grips with what i have first! 

The rigel is sounding like a better idea each day haha. I see your very valid point about not finding anything! I have still been researching eyepieces and im thinking i shouldn't go lower than 5mm?

I have been using the sky at night 2020 book. But i will check out the one you recommend.

Thanks joe

13 hours ago, Louis D said:

Pretty much for star hopping.  I've always used either a Telrad or QuikFinder on every one of my scopes.

Ok thanks, I will look into this in the future. 

5 hours ago, Raph-in-the-sky said:

I wouldn't say its essential but it's a great help!

Nice one, i will bear that in mind for the future

22 hours ago, Louis D said:

I have and use both the Rigel QF and Telrad.  The Telrad is better in some respects (larger 4 degree outer circle, no parallax, easier to find circles image), but much larger.  That 76mm diameter scope is fairly small in diameter, so I recommended the QF as the better fit for it as I would for most refractors.

@Eugene69 The QF and Telrad are just unit power finders that project circles on the sky via a glass plate.  They're only there to help you figure out where the scope is pointed on the sky.  You still have to do all the translations from star maps to the sky yourself.

Ok thanks for enlightening me! Would you class it as an essential piece of kit?

23 hours ago, rwilkey said:

Hi Eugene, welcome to the forum!  I would suggest you use the current finder & eyepieces to start with and get used to how the telescope works and its ergonomics, telescopes are strange things at first but a little practice will help you a great deal.  Clear skies!

Hello.

Yes this is an option. Everytime i get the telescope out i am learning more. 

Let us pray!

23 hours ago, domstar said:

The good news is that eyepieces with H on them are so bad that any plossl will be a vast improvement. I got some second hand skywatcher plossls from ebay for less than 10 pounds each. The upgrade was huge. When I got a better scope I never used them again but it was still money well spent.

Welcome to the hobby. Hope you have a great time with it.

I have been looking on ebay hoping to find a deal! 

Thanks and i am actually loving it also

22 hours ago, Raph-in-the-sky said:

Hello,

I beleive that you are mistaken on what a Quickfinder does. All it does is project target on a piece of glass through which you can see the stars. You will still have to take out your maps and find what you want to see by yourself ... To me that's the old school way.

I would have suggested Telrad instead of Quickfinder but since it is likely that you upgrade you scope in the short/mid term (if you stick with astronomy) Quickfinder is better since it comes with 2 bases.

 

Hello, 

Yeah i dont really know what im talking about. I have only been using the telescope for about a month now. Im guessing that a quickfinder is an essential piece of kit? 

Thanks for the help!

19 hours ago, John said:

Hello and welcome to the forum.

What aperture is the main mirror on your seben scope ?

 

Greetings and thank you. Err im not sure. Its 700mm 76mm diam 

1 minute ago, banjaxed said:

They must be 1.25” eyepieces or the filters would not fit, so nothing to worry about there 👍

👍

52 minutes ago, Louis D said:

If it is that model, Amazon specifically states the following:

Extendable because of the 31.7mm (1.25“) accessory socket: for astrophotography, usage of filters, etc.

I checked that before making my recommendations since I had the same thought after seeing that focuser.  Of course, Amazon could be completely wrong.  Until we hear back from the OP, it's all speculation on our part.

It could also be that the knurled black ring has to be removed to access the 1.25" fitting.

I wouldn't worry about the upgrade costs of finders and eyepieces since they can be moved on to other scopes.  On the other had, I would not recommend upgrading the focuser on such a scope because it would be difficult to move it to a new scope.

I have been using svbony 1.25" filters on the standard eyepieces. I was thinking any of the eyepieces i get i can use when i upgrade the telescope. Im not going to mess with the focuser! The finder scope is terrible though!

12 hours ago, joe aguiar said:

but if it is that model that has the OLD 0.965 inch ep which will not fit 99% of todays eps

he will have to get a 0.965 adptor to 1.25" adptor first b4 getting any eps

my personal opnion is i wouldnt upgrade the finder or eps on that scope that would be more then the whole scope costs and i would just upgrade the scope to somthing better BUT i know alot people wont like to hear that BUT sometimes the trurth hurts and its better to restart over then fix something that will prove to make most people to get out of the hobby verses stay in it.

joejaguar

Hello joe

I completley understand what your saying, the telescope was a gift from my girlfriend and i know its not great but im working with what i have got at the moment bieng a proper keen beginner! I just want to get myself some half decent kit before i upgrade the telescope itself. As for the concern of the 1.25" eyepiece i have been using svbony 1.25" filters on the standard eyepieces.

Thanks

13 hours ago, Louis D said:

I am going to guess it's the Seben 700-76 Reflector Telescope which comes with SR4mm, H6mm, H12.5mm, and H20mm eyepieces and a 2x Barlow in 1.25" sizing.  Based on that, I recommend getting a 32mm Plossl, and 8mm and 15mm BST Starguider eyepieces.  The existing eyepieces will slot in between these, and you'll be able judge the difference in performance and ergonomics between them and the new eyepieces.  You can even try using the 2x Barlow with each to see if any combinations are usable.

I'd also recommend getting a Rigel QuikFinder to help aim the tube and aid in star-hopping, and downloading and learning Stellarium to find out what's up on any given night.

Yeah thats the one. Thanks for your information! I did look at the bst starguiders, just waiting on payday haha and i will definitely check out stellarium. The rigel quick finder looks nuts but i want to learn to navigate the sky the old school way first!

Thanks again

Hello,

I have a seben 700mm reflector telescope, and have got myself a svbony filters set. I'm looking to upgrade the standard eyepieces next. Mainly been looking at the moon but want to get involved with the m42 nebula. Any help with what sort of focal length eyepieces i should be looking at buying before and whats going to give me the most bang for not a lot of bucks. 

Thanks