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Custom Apollo / Lunar design - SkyWatcher Heritage 130p
c4llum83 replied to c4llum83's topic in DIY Astronomer
Thanks I love it -
Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.
c4llum83 replied to Leegsi's topic in DIY Astronomer
This is mine. Lots of different sizes and quick delivery. https://www.cases-and-enclosures.co.uk/roc-cases-flight-case-with-foam-block-silver-l310xw240xh130mm Some. Have pick n pluck foam but this was a solid block. I posted previously about how I cut the holes using a cut deodorant can! -
Thought people may like to see my recent custom design for my SkyWatcher Heritage 130p... As a big Apollo misson geek, and not being a fan of the stock astronomer names wrap on the 130p, I decided to get creative. I used a great moon wall sticker just £6 from Ikea (https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/kinnared-decoration-stickers-moon-00448463/) as well as some matt vinyl stickers from Redbubble, one for each Apollo mission patch. Below is pics of the mod in progress and the end result - would love to hear what you think!
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Found various threads on here and other forums about flocking dobsonians/newtonians but couldn't find specific images of disassembly of the very popular SkyWatcher Heritage 130p flextube and flocking of the OTA. So having ordered some DC-Fix black velour sticky back material (can be got from various places including FLO) I thought i'd share some photos of the process from start to finish as it may help someone else in the future... Images below with notes... 1. Focuser and shield flocking This was the easy bit. A strip stuck inside the focuser, and just unscrew the shield, draw round it, cut the material and align and smooth down. In the last image above you can already see the significant improvement on reducing reflections comparing the flocked shield to the unflocked tube... Notice my version of Bob's Knobs on the secondary mirror which are just black steel M4 25mm knurled thumbscrews bought off ebay for about £7 - along with the thumbscrews already on the 130P primary mirror this makes any fine collimation easy and completely tool free! For full stealth mode I've also painted the edge and rear of the secondary mirror, and any exposed screw heads with blackboard paint to reduce reflections. 2. OTA disassembly and tube before Note the cutout in the lower primary housing and the top ring. This aligns with the ridge of the tube seam, and means there is only one way to reassemble the telescope tube and mirror and one place for the handful of screws (4 at the bottom, 3 at the top). You'll also need an allen key to remove the 3 bolts for the dovetail mount. Simple! Now you're ready to Flock 'N' Roll! 👍🏻 3. Flocking the tube You'll need approx. 50cmx29cm of the material to do the tube in one go, starting along the seam. As others have described just take your time here, peel off about an inch of the backing and get the edge aligned with the tube seam stick down firmly and smooth out any air bubbles. Then slowly keep peeling more backing (rip and remove if the excess gets in the way) and smooth down as you go, turning the tube and affixing the velour material. 4. Finished flocking and close up during application so you can see contrast/reflection comparison of before and after. All in all only took around an hour so not a hard job as long as you prepare and concentrate! I ordered one sheet of 45cm x 1m material which was plenty, however if your not as confident you'll get it right first time then order 2m so you have more to spare if you need to start again. Looks great, so as always I now just need clear skies to go play and see the difference it makes!
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Was looking for a simple and sturdy 3-legged stand or table to raise the height slightly of the Heritage 130p when viewing on the lawn away from my garden table and so my 7yr old daughter can stand and observe easily. Suddenly came across this thread on Reddit which seemed to have the perfect solution from our Swedish friends at Ikea... https://www.reddit.com/r/telescopes/comments/doi3n5/skywatcher_heritage_130_or_awb_onesky_ikea_kyrre/ (see pictures below) and also discovered some more customisation ideas for the same stool in this thread from across the pond...https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/463109-onesky-newtonian-astronomers-without-borders/?p=9734431 The UK Ikea store sells the stool in plain solid birch (£10) or stained black/blue (£12) and delivery is just £3.95...have a black one on order (wont arrive until 5 June though) and will report back when I, have it... https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/kyrre-stool-black-70434976/ Anyone else used one or made something similar for this fab little scope?
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Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.
c4llum83 replied to Leegsi's topic in DIY Astronomer
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Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.
c4llum83 replied to Leegsi's topic in DIY Astronomer
The BCO arrived today so the collection is now complete (for now!) and although they're not top-end high value eyepieces, I'm really happy with the selection as they all come highly recommended on these forums and didn't cost the earth! With these and my brilliant little SkyWatcher Heritage 130p (AWB OneSky) hopefully I should have plenty to help me start properly exploring the moon and night skies over the coming years! 🚀 -
Having read so many good reviews for sharp lunar views I couldn't resist and just grabbed a bargain - £28 for an 18mm Baader Classic Ortho! (Dropped to £48 on Amazon and I had £20 gift balance) so the "final" set is now... 5mm TS Planetary HR 6mm Skywatcher UltraWide 66° "Gold Line" 8mm BST Starguider 12mm BST Explorer 15mm Vixen NPL 18mm Baader Classic Ortho 20mm Vixen NPL 25mm Orion Sirius Plossl 32mm Meade 4000 Super Plossl Heard the BCO barlows well too so with my 2x Celestron Ultima I also potentially have 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 7.5mm, 9mm, 12.5mm and 16mm. Not a bad range of magnifications and mid-range eyepiece styles /brands to play with for the next few years... ☺️👍🏻
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Thanks for the advice all, I thinned the herd a little and sold some of the cheaper eyepieces, swapping the 12mm Celestron Omni plossl for a bargain 12mm BST Explorer and then couldn't resist and decided to get the 18mm Baader Classic Ortho as I saw a quick deal on amazon and had a gift voucher so only paid £28 delivered which I think is pretty good considering the rave reviews it gets, especially for sharp lunar views so cant wait to try it. Unfortunately as much as I'd love to consider a larger aperture dob or refactor in the future, with limited storage space and a 7yr old running around, the SkyWatcher is the best value and most compact option available to me and I'm unlikely to replace it anytime soon. With that in mind and with limited budget I wanted to have a good range of mid-quality eyepiece power and styles to experiment with over the next few years. So the "final" set (for now) is... 5mm TS Planetary HR 6mm Skywatcher UltraWide 66° "Gold Line" 8mm BST Starguider 12mm BST Explorer 15mm Vixen NPL 18mm Baader Classic Ortho 20mm Vixen NPL 25mm Orion Sirius Plossl 32mm Meade 4000 Super Plossl Also recently completed my custom case to keep them all safe... 😊👍🏻
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Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.
c4llum83 replied to Leegsi's topic in DIY Astronomer
Glad to know all my efforts kicked off a debate about international BO control 🤣. Wasnt quite what I expected! -
Show me your eyepiece/accessories case, please.
c4llum83 replied to Leegsi's topic in DIY Astronomer
So, been browsing the 150+ pages of this thread and getting lots of ideas and tips to help me create my first eyepiece and accessory cases! Cases are from www.cases-and-enclosures.co.uk and only cost around £13 and £15 delivered. Much as I love to see the lenses on their sides in all your cases, I needed to store vertically in order to fit in up to 10 eyepieces plus filters etc. I'm just starting out (have a SkyWatcher Heritage 130p) and with a few lockdown-induced ebay bargain sprees have pulled together what I think (hope) is a good little collection of modest but well-respected glass to get me going and experiment with different brands, styles and powers etc. 5mm TS Planetary HR 6mm Skywatcher Ultra Wide 66° 8mm BST Starguider 12mm BST Explorer (on its way!) 15mm Vixen NPL 20mm Vixen NPL 25mm Orion Sirius Plossl 32mm Meade 4000 Super Plossl Celestron Ultima SV 2x Barlow Celestron Variable Polarising Filter Celestron Moon Filter I even have space for one more at some point depending on what could best complete the mismatched set lol (I'm mostly interested in lunar observation). Pictures of the process below. Following a recommendation on here somewhere I used a sliced deodorant can to neatly (sort of!) cut the holes in the foam. As well as ensuring I had room for my mini hip flask (for a tot of rum to keep me warm), I'm particularly proud of the internal led red light made by repurposing an old folding kindle booklight (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0069W345G/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_k9jOEb0EA1JB4) which now has a nice sweet wrapper filter! Look forward to seeing what people think... -
I also could not resist working out what area I had captured (Gassendi crater) using a moon map app and overlaying the image...
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Thanks Dave, I think the coronavirus lockdown has probably meant I've been a little more trigger-happy on eBay but I'm also aware that I wanted to experiment with different eyepiece powers and makes/styles to see what I prefer and what works best with my scope. I've been careful with my purchases to try and spot good deals for well respected mid-level upgrades (most only cost between £20-£40 each) but I knew from reviews that getting the best eyepieces I could afford would get better views out of the scope. Looking forward to clear skies and a new moon to try them all out properly! Callum
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Yes amazing stuff. The last few years especially have unearthed some amazing new unseen images and new digital scans of original film footage like in the brilliant Apollo 11 documentary. Stunning.
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Thanks! Happy to be here formally after a while of lurking lol