Barry-W-Fenner

Oh, And just for the record my laser is providing a consistently straight dot against the wall. I did check it for alignment and it was mis-collimated. Attached is my make shift laser collimation device, Any excuse to play with the kids lego 🙂 Regards

Hi Alan, Thank you for confirming the what can and cant be collimated. This is a big help. I will now look to enlarge the holes slightly so i can adjust the primary. by hand. Regards

Just to mention. The scope itself is in great condition and looks like it will give some excellent views. I just need to align the mirrors up. Thank you

Hi all. My 6 year old nephew has just picked up the above scope 2nd hand to get him going and is rather frustrated as he cant see anything. He has told me he waited forever for it to arrive and is so disappointed he can't see anything, Bless him 🙂 I located Venus and Vega and unfocused them to the point where you should see them as a wide circle but they only showed half a circle, The collimation is a long way out. I aligned the secondary mirror all ok, Red dot centered on the primary nicely. However I seem to be having issues with the primary. When looking on the laser target the red dot is right on the outermost ring. The primary doesn't seem to adjust as such, It has 3 screws holding the primary in place which seem to be all or nothing. If you loosen them then the mirror becomes very loose and moves about in the tube. If you over tighten there is no adjustment and the red dot is back in the same location as when i started. I understand with my 200p you would loosen one then tighten another to make small adjustments Should the 76p work on the same principle. Any advise from users of this little dob would be appreciated. I currently have a grumpy nephew. Thanks in advance. Baz

Quick update. I managed to fit my rigel last night which was excellent! I can now quickly locate targets with Zero magnification which is a great help. This complements the Right angle finder nicely. The only down side is looking up around the zenith area through it. My back cant take it! 🙂 I started to search for Uranus but between intermittent cloud and the LP in this particular area of sky I came up short. I keep singing U2 to myself, "I still haven't found what im looking for" 🙂 Very encouraging signs using the rigel though, It was a huge help in locating other stars and targets, A valued addition. Baz

Thanks John, I will drop you a message asap 🙂 Regards

Many thanks again Stu.

Welcome aboard.

Welcome to the forums! I am also new here and have received a great welcome.

Hi John Thank you for your for the information, it is great to have an understanding of what one can realistically see. Hopefully one day with the correct equipment and experience I might be about to enjoy done of these sights. For now i will be lucky to find both Uranus and Neptune, with all the above advice I am sure I will see them soon. I have just for my regal finger which should assist in localisation, I will then use my right angle finder to confirm. I assume you can identify these planets in the finder? Does that give enough magnification? What sort of mag will be best to view these planets at the eye piece? A bit off topic, I was looking at your great scope in the "show me your dob" thread. And really like your build/setup. I left a couple of questions, if you get the time would you mind answering and giving your opinion. Your advised would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Baz

Stu - Your a gent, I will read through the above tonight when i have the time and set the app up accordingly 🙂 John - Thank you for the heads up regarding Triton, At least this gives me another great excuse to get to a dark site

I do have Skysafari and have just had a look. I found the Star Limiting magnitude setting and had a quick play. that is a huge help! I have lowered it down to 3.0 which is about what i can see roughly in that direction, Thank you. I cant seem to see the Field of View setting though. I will have another look shortly. Cheers Stu!

Unfortunately not. I have tried on a couple of occasions but I seem to have a fair amount of light pollution in the area of sky where Uranus is located. I can barely see the star constellations Aries and the vertical star line of Pisces. I am hoping the regal finder will help me locate Uranus also. When I look through my right angle finder I am struggling to understand what I am looking at in that area of sky. Both Uranus & Neptune are both providing me with a challenge! Regards Baz

Thank you Stu, I appreciate your assistance. I can locate phi Aquarii but seem to be having difficulty finding Neptune. I have been looking around that area of sky with my 8mm BST eye piece to try and locate it with the aim of increasing the magnification with my 5mm BST eye piece. no joy yet but I will keep hunting. I did put a rigel finder on my xmas list and apparently have one waiting at a family members house! Things should get easier when I start using this. Regards Barry

A very informative Forum with friendly knowledgeable members 🙂

Thanks for the information Stu, Now I know what is possible. I am still on the hunt for Neptune when we get a clear night I will try again. I am having difficultly finding it at the moment with my lack of experience. Baz

Thank you Pete, See you around the Forums!

Stunning Image! And interesting information. I haven't been fortunate enough to view Uranus yet. I am finding it tricky to locate in the sky. Total amateur I am 🙂

Hi all, In regards to viewing Neptune. I understand it is possible to see its largest moon Triton with the correct seeing conditions and setup. But I was wondering if it is possible to see any of Neptune's smaller moons such as Proteus with bigger scopes. I am just curious more than anything to know what can be seen through larger scopes. In truth I am still struggling to find Neptune myself 🙂🙂 Baz

Hi, Welcome to SGL. I am new here to and have been accepted with open arms 🙂

Hi John. Total newbie here so apologies in advance for the daft questions. What is the shield for on your scope? Is this for Dew or to shield unwanted light? I only ask as I have a Skywatcher 200p and am trying to improve its performance. If this helps with blocking out unwanted light I would be interested in installing one on my scope. Did you make it yourself? I would also be interested to know how much of an improvement changing the focuser to a Moonlite model made? I am quite interested in one for a more refined focus as I currently have the standard Skywatcher unit. However the cost of a Moonlite focuser might be a bit over kill in relation to my scope? Stunning dob you have there by the way. It looks like you have really nice setup. I bet you get some ace views with your eye pieces. Thank you Barry

Hi all, Just thought I would share the attached pic I took last November around 7.30pm - As the day turned to dusk I was setting up my scope I looked up to see Saturn starting to appear. I then noticed the reflection in my window of Jupiter at a similar height to Saturn but much further to my right I thought it would make a great pic. Its not going to get published any time soon, However it is one of my favorite pictures so far for its simplicity. Also to the untrained eye this is just a boring pic of the back of my house 🙂 Regards Baz

Hi Mark, I had a similar experience. around the same time and date as this. I was looking at Venus with my naked eye and decided to get the 200p out for a look. While lining up Venus through the finder I located Saturn 1st by complete chance as it was only a tiny adjustment out from Venus. it was by complete chance as I couldn't even see Saturn with the naked eye as still to bright. Very nice little bonus to catch Saturn one more time.

Oh my days, I have just become a Nebula, I quite enjoyed being a vacuum!

Another long distance welcome! Thank you Sunshine, I am sure i will be able to fill you all in on my misadventures at the eye piece soon 🙂 Regards