Barry-W-Fenner

I now have the joy of owning 3 reflectors and am a big fan of them. I haven't had the opportunity to try a refractor and k ow very little about them so can't comment. However I would certainly love to look at some doubles through a refractor and experiance the views they have to offer. IMO any opportunity you get to take in the wonderful views of our universe should be jumped on! Be it via reflector or refractor 😀

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233484293126 Great starter choices of the BST range. The 8mm is my most used and I really like the 15mm it gives a great image in my 200p at x80 mag. Cheers 👍

Morning all. glad you are all happy with the cases, they all look very smart and look to be housing some nice glass. Apologies I should have mentioned that it's not the most rugged of cases and the price reflects that. Mine is still going strong, admittedly it doesnt have the hardest life, just out of the cupboard and into the garden but it functions very well. All of my eye pieces sit snug and are easily accessible. Hope the case serves well. I have noticed an increase in the price now, most likely due to the spike in sales... Cheers Baz

Do you know if Sky Watcher use a similar method to how Meade built there scopes? I ask as my 12" flex is very heavy at the base / Mirror. I have had the scope almost horizontal looking at the moon in its early phase this month and even then it still feels heavy at the rear. I assumed this was all from the weight of the primary mirror, After you mentioned the above it wouldnt surprise me if there is a metal plate in there. If so I will have to factor into my cool down times! Baz

Not really a shot of the dob itself. More if a tease 🙂 Just thought I would post a pic of the Baader 1.25 to 2" click lock showing the build up. I know it was of interest to some other members, I'm looking at you @merlin100 🙂 The standard 2" adapter now sits in the focuser with the baader inserted, The click lock sits nice and flush and only increases the length by around 10mm. Unfortunately I haven't had chance to use it yet due to the poor weather so I cant comment on focus. However changing eye pieces is an absolute breeze with this click lock. Straight in and about 1cm turn on the stalk your eye piece is locked in place centrally. So far I am really pleased with the quality of this purchase, I just need to test it out! My short cheshire eye piece also arrived. I locked it into place with the click lock, Knowing it was central was very reassuring. When I looked through I could see that only two of the primary clips were present. A slight tweak to the secondary mirror followed by a larger tweak to the primary and the 300p is all collimated. Combining the cheshire with the click lock made this job so easy and I really look forward to seeing what the scope can do next time out! Baz

Thank you, I have been spending a bit of time in the Lyra recently so this will be idea! When the weather clears of course. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, I look forward to hunting these stars down when they all come around again! I am also interested to find out a bit more about these carbon stars now! Baz

Thanks for the heads up regarding the separation Waddensky. I need to have a read about carbon stars now then

Antares is a good shout John. I don't think it is in a very good position until about 2am here 😂

Hi all, Hope you are keeping well. I am quite keen to try and view some Red Giants. I have been reading about the variable star Mira (Omicron O Ceti) Which from the pictures is a stunning looking Ruby Red in colour, It also has a white Dwarf companion which if possible to see, Should give a nice contrast in colour from Mira. I dont think I am going to get to see these stars until later in the year due to there current position, Can anyone advise if the companion star is visible? Also are there any other Bright Red old stars that are worth a look now? With our lack of darkness this would be an ideal target. I have seen some great White/Blue/Yellow and Orange stars but dont recall viewing anything Red in Colour. Thank you Barry

I also spotted this at the end of May. It made some nice low power viewing.

Be good to hear how you compare the 18mm to the 15mm in the 200p 👍

Hi wormix. 400x240x125 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233484293126 Ebay item no attached. Cheers 👍

Very nice compact, tidy bit of kit there SSC!

That corner of the house Looks like it was built for the sole purpose of storing your scopes John. The perfect match!

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-clicklock-2-125-adapter-2956214.html Link attached. I can already see the benefits of this click lock. Having it in the 2" adapter is very convenient for my one 2" eye piece. It holds my 1.25 bst's very tight which is reassuring. a good purchase me thinks. not sure if converting 1.25 to 2" will have any performance benefits?

Hi Merlin. the click lock sits in the 2" adapter that comes with the scope. It only add 9.5mm extra to the tube and eye piece build up. It should only require a slight tweak to to gain focus. I haven't tried it yet though. I'm pretty sure it will be ok in the 200p I will put this 2" adapter and clicklock on my 300p. For quick eye piece changes. It also has the advantage that I can undo the clicklock and put my 2" eye piece directly in the adapter.

Now this is service with a smile. Good old FLO. Ordered at 3.30pm yesterday, arrived at 11am today. Thank you chaps for the quick turn around, greatly appreciated. As for the click lock. Amazing quality and my 1.25" eye pieces go straight in and lock centrally in an instant. No more fiddling with the two thumb screws. an excellent but of kit, very happy with the purchase and service! 😁😁

Great purchase the 8mm bst. Its my favourite in the range. (don't tell the other bsts I said that) it gives a very nice magnification in my 200p x150. It has also been very good in the 300p giving x187. Both of these powers seem to hit a nice sweet spot and produce a great image on all objects. I don't think you will be disappointed with the purchase! Look forward to hear your thoughts on the 8mm over the stock 10mm Baz

Right now I get it. Thanks Ricochet. I do have a 2" adapter the same length that I can use. I thought that with the baader clicklock I would be doing away with adapters and attaching directly to the focus tube. However that is not the case. So with the adapter & clicklock attached the eye piece is going to sit approximately 10mm further out, requiring more inward focus? Regards Baz

I am using the standard adapter that came with the scope. It is just under 50mm in length. When I focus currently I would say i am using roughly 35mm of the travel and there is around 15mm of tube still inside the aperture. If I was to change to the Badder does that mean I would most likeley need to use more inward focus. If so I have plenty to use. If I would need more outward then i dont have a huge amount to play with. If i understand correctly, The baader is only 9.5mm so quite a bit shorter than the standard adapter. so I think I would need to use the inward focus i have available. Thanks John Regards

No worries John, appreciate you took the time to post that info. I assume that the optical length of 9.5mm will still require more travel to gain focus. I don't have a huge amount of outwards focus left now so am mindful that I might need a longer Baader click lock. However all the others seem to be 2"

Thanks Don, appreciate the help. just so I understand correctly. This click lock would replace the standard 1.25 to 2" adapter that came with the scope? Would it effect gaining focus at all with a 300p? I assume that it would trump the standard adapter on all fronts with my bst eye pieces. Regards Barry

Short cheshire eye piece has rocked up! Now to collimate my scopes! 😊

Hi all. I was considering purchasing a badder clicklock adapter for my 300P and have been looking at the attached. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-clicklock-2-125-adapter-2956214.html I am considering this one as I have 8no 1.25" eye pieces & 1no 2" so this particular model seem to make the most sense to me. The obvious advantages would be the faster less fiddly changing of eye pieces, Along with the main clamp hold the eye pieces centrally & securely. I wanted some opinions on this adapter before I purchase please. I would also like to check that my current BST's will gain focus OK while using this. Thanks all Baz

OK after last night's mishap, I'm ready to rock and roll again!