WinchesterAstro

I've always been a bit dissatisfied with my scope's performance at higher magnifications (it's a 100mm SkyWatcher Heritage mini-dob). Yesterday, when in daylight I was incidentally checking the alignment of the finderscope, I noticed that adding in the Barlow made views much, much worse. Darker, mushier, softer... just yuk, and tweaking the focus only helped a little. The barlow itself has a fair few small spots of muck on it, but otherwise looked fine. To me this explains why the higher-magnification views have always been unsatisfying with this scope. The Barlow is the stock barlow that came with it. Would I see a significant improvement in quality if by buying a new Barlow? Thanks in advance.

I am trying to attach a finderscope to my Opticron Oregon 20 x 80 binoculars. Following the instructions here... https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/318029-how-would-you-attach-a-red-dot-finder-scope-to-binoculars/ ... I have now attached a short rail, so that it looks like this: But when I tried with a cheap finder from an old telescope but the rail was too wide. The Baader website says that the Sky Surfer III fits onto this type of rail (a 'Picatinny/Weaver' rail) here https://www.baader-planetarium.com/en/baader-sky-surfer-iii-red-dot-finder.html Can anyone confirm this? Alternatively, there are adapters that will turn my picatinny/weaver rail into a dovetail of 11mm: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ToopMount-Tactical-Alloy-Weaver-Picatinny-Accessories/dp/B087Z7TVMW/ref=sr_1_38?crid=K0H6YZ2X4A4F&dchild=1&keywords=dovetail+to+picatinny+rail+adapter&qid=1634902378&qsid=262-0831571-8964842&sprefix=dovetail+%2Caps%2C381&sr=8-38&sres=B08CBSSBRS%2CB07QSFPPLF%2CB06X18BT41%2CB08GKK41QJ%2CB08GKM6WQJ%2CB08FFS7B57%2CB07M9GGNL2%2CB08CZ3VFTY%2CB0778VTKLS%2CB07MLR92XM%2CB08QF219NH%2CB08GL69H6J%2CB01D2HT8B4%2CB08GKKH4D7%2CB0922XQNFN%2CB08GKN8JS7%2CB08FR36H33%2CB085RBPSMY%2CB08GKP9J9W%2CB071ZG8SP5 ToopMount Tactical Scope Riser Base Mount 20mm to 11 mm Scope Rail Mount Base Aluminum Alloy Weaver Picatinny to Dovetail Adapter Hunting Accessories : Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors Shop ToopMount Tactical Scope Riser Base Mount 20mm to 11 mm Scope Rail Mount Base Aluminum Alloy Weaver Picatinny to Dovetail Adapter Hunting Accessories. Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders. www.amazon.co.uk But here too I don't know whether this would be the right size for a finder. In short, does anyone have measurements for precisely what width different finders need? I assume there's some leeway...

Hello friends. Only one screw could be adjusted on the secondary, namely the one in the centre of the spider. It let me rotate the mirror. Is the collimation pictured below any better? I *think* the dot is more central now.

Thanks all for your help and suggestions. Opticron have got back to me: in fact, I had an initial response within hours on a Sunday! They can do me a spare for £5 + £4 pp. Given that spares are always a bit pricey for what they are, that seems like a pretty good result. Very impressed by Opticron--a further reason to buy!

Thank you for taking a look. Good news in that the secondary is adjustable on this scope, whereas the primary is fixed.

I simply don't know whether I lost the relevant part or whether it was never there, but Opticron's website does look very promising. The advantages of buying (moderately) expensive gear, I suppose!

FLO don't list anything but they are so helpful that they might have an idea. Are there any specialist binocular shops that I should know about? I've mostly just used FLO in the past, but then again I am largely a beginner.

This is very kind of you. They are celestron 20 x 80s, with a 1/4 thread. In happier times I would go to a DIY store. I think the ideal would be a metal washer touching the tripod adpter and then a rubber washer making contact with the QR plate, as wide as possible.

I have managed to get a picture with the collimating cap. First time I've collimated anything, but it doesn't look quite right to me. Particularly worrying is that the central dot *moves* slightly from side to side when I slide the focuser up and down:

Thanks! That would explain everything! Is it possible to get spares..?

I have a problem with attaching my binoculars to my trigger grip tripod head. Basically there is not enough friction between the binoculars and the quick release plate (photo 1), which means that the binoculars move left to right when pushed, and eventually start to come unscrewed. I have the same problem with my old tripod too (photo 2). The only time they don't slip is when attached to my monopod (photo 3)--interestingly, the surface here is metal, not soft plastic. Any ideas on how to fix this? A washer on top of the quick-release plate? Or should I just pull the plastic off the quick-release plate to leave the metal underneath? Thanks all

Many thanks Heather.

Yes, this crossed my mind. I've used this scope since 2018, I think, and Jupiter has been sitting pretty low in the sky.

One day I'm going to make a list of all the ways people have found to get around this problem, from binobracs to laser sights.

So the Rigel finder comes with a very adhesive sticker on the base, then? Looks promising, not least because presumably with two bases the finder could also be used on a telesope? Thanks.

Thank you all for your thoughtful suggestions. I have checked collimation very roughly with a collimation cap, but it may be worth buying a better collimation tool, since I intend to be doing astronomy for some while yet. Ditto eyepieces, which are a good long-term investment, right? The Sky at Night review mentions seeing cloud bands on Jupiter, which I've never managed. http://www.opticalvision.co.uk/user/reviews/BBCS@N_Aug2014_heritage%20review.pdf

Does anyone have an up-to-date recommendation for easily attaching a finderscope (red dot, presumably) to big binoculars? I have Opticron Oregon 20 x 80 with a central bar. I have done some googling but all the proposed solutions I could find didn't seem to be available anymore. Finding things hand-held is no trouble but with a tripod it an be quite a pain. Thanks

I began with a 100mm SkyWatcher, but have recently picked up some 20 x 80 Opticron bins. The new bins are SO MUCH BETTER than the scope, even though the scope is bigger. Why is this? With the bins, Albireo splits beautifully at 20x; with the scope I need to use at least 40x. With the 20x bins I can just about see Saturn's rings; with the scope I need to go to at least 40x to have any hope. The binoculars also give nicer views of the moon too--clearer, crisper, brighter, somehow (though obviously not as far zoomed in). Why is this? I appreciate that two eyes are better than one, but there's just a fuzziness about the scope; stars seem to have a sort of fringe. The Skywatcher heritage scope is fixed collimation so I assume it's not that. The binos just seem altogether higher quality optically. Is this an eyepiece issue, and if so will upgrading help me out?

Thanks Ruud. Unfortunately sitting or using a stand are out in my situation. One of the longest monopods I can find is actually a 67 inch (170cm) Amazon Basics Monopod! Is there really nothing longer. It seems much easier to find a tripod up at 180cm or so.

Looking for a monopod to mount Opticron Oregon 20 x 80s. How much should I worry about the length of the thing? Over at BincoularSky he seems to advocate monopods that are not that long. I am 6 foot. Presumably you need somthing fairly long to deal with objects at higher altitudes without contorting yourself? What would be realistic? Also if anyone has any recommendations for cheap-ish monopods that could take that weight (+ pistol grip) I'd be very grateful!

Hi all A year ago I got a SkyWatcher Heritage 100P and I'm enjoying exploring the skies with it. Before I splash out on something enormous, I'm keen to get the most out of this scope and learn my trade. What are cheap/sensibile ways that I might boost the scope's performance? - Eyepieces: those supplied go up to 80x magnification. Would it make sense to go higher for moon/double stars etc.? My understanding is that a scope this size should be able to go somewhat higher. - Eyepieces: will I get more out of higher quality eyepieces? People say supplied eyepieces are often not very good quality. - Would any sort of nebula filter benefit me at this level? I'm in Bortle 5 skies. Thanks

Would like to buy astro pictures for my walls. Does anyone have any recommendations? There are lots of things available online but not sure how much I trust random retailers without knowledge of astro to get it right. Framed or unframed. Thanks