Pixies

Hi all 

As C mentioned, I'm the other one going. This'll also be my second.

Looking forward to meeting everyone. 

Cloudy here tonight. Brief views of some brighter stars. However, saving myself for the rest of the week which looks like it's going to be clear.

Until 12th! Cloudy at the peak or Perseids meteor shower! 🙄

Just sayin':

3 minutes ago, Franklin said:

One will turn up some day. I'm on the hunt for a LVW 17mm to complete the set.

You and me both!

I'm out with @Franklin's old Vixen A105M on the SP mount! Transparency isn't great and seeing a little ropey too. Couldn't split the doubles of epsilon Lyrae at x100. 

Having trouble with the RA motor driver too tonight. It appears to have settled down now after an hour of intermittent tracking. However, once working, I could see more high clouds rolling in. Managed to observe Albireo and the double-cluster; trying out different eyepieces. But have come in for a beer and wait a while. The forecast says clearing up in an hour. Saturn should be above the rooftops by then,

A frustrating night so far.

12 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Since I buy most astro gear used, I'd go for the 127 Mak because they show up so often in the classifieds, at least here in the US.  I don't think I've ever seen a SW Heritage 150 on the classifieds.  I know used prices have gone up recently, but in the last 4 years I've picked up two Synta 127 Maks for $200 each.  One was for me and one was for my grown daughter.  Keep in mind you'll need to budget for a mount and tripod for the 127 Mak while you can technically use the SWH 150 right out of the box on a table top.

Perhaps the fact that one can't find many Heritage dobs on the used market says something about how well liked they are?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-05/french-scientist-apologises-for-chorizo-star-joke/101305334

2 minutes ago, powerlord said:

ha! that's what I thought when I first got a 200p.. then the 300p arrived!

from left to right - 150p, 200p, 300p.

would save a lot of space if they'd store inside each other like russian dolls! 😀

 

Another for the collection.  From UK ABS this time

I wonder if the same technique will work for Orion filter threads?

18 hours ago, Franklin said:

Google "Buyee". It's a site which allows you to bid on stuff in Japanese domestic auctions. If you win you pay them, they buy it for you in Japan and then they fly it over. There's a small fee for the service, 1000yen (about £6) and then of course the shipping fees. I've never bought anything big like a scope or mount because the shipping would be mental but for small stuff like eyepieces it costs around £20 to get it over here. The service is excellent and I've received goods within 5 days of purchase.

Great for all the Vixen/Tak/Borg nuts like me, I've had some nice finds on there. I think all in the GA-4 cost under £60 and I'd call that a bargain.👍

And import duty/tax/fees! I get stung 50% of the time. You can save shipping by having multiple items packaged up together, but then you are more likely to get charged. A single eyepiece normally gets through, depending on which shipping option / company you take.

It can feed one's collecting OCD! 

I get most of my Vixen purchases from there. Or directly from Vixen's main UK reseller - @Franklin!  

SynScan manual:

https://inter-static.skywatcher.com/downloads/synscan_app_manual_en_20201008.pdf

Hi @CKP

There;'s an active forum topic for the AZ GTi here: 

I'm new to the mount but have ben having some success with it. Do you have  the SynScan manual? Points worth noting:

First, make sure the mount is level by adjusting the tripod legs until the bubble level is centred. Then:

I use Polaris rather than a compass, and level the scope visually comparing the dovetail clamp knob with the bubble level at the top of the mount. You don't have to be too accurate.

Then, I get best results with "North Level Alignment":

I start with Polaris, then another star in the East (at the moment I use Altair atthe bottom of the summer triangle).

After that, it's pretty accurate.

Just a quick tour of the usual suspects in the 10x50 binos, tonight: M31, double-cluster, Dumbbell, M13, Albeireo, Coathanger, Wild Duck cluster, M52.  Ended with the gas giants.

Forecasts all said cloudy, so happy to grab a few things. This week looks to be a bit better than recent ones - fingers crossed.

Does this mean that all the advice about the careful and gentle cleaning of Newtonian mirrors really applies to the old uncoated ones, and more modern mirrors can take a little rougher handling?

(Not that I'm going to risk it, mind!)

He never got enough posts to have access to the For Sale section!

Do you have a link to the item om their website?

yeah - that pic is far too magnified and slightly out-of-focus. You are seeing that pattern from the camera lens.

As others have said, get a sky atlas app on your phone or laptop/PC and see what is visible in that direction and time from your location. There are lots of free options available - particularly Stellarium on a PC. 

A wide-angle photo with some stars to give context would help people here identify it, too. 

5 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Has anyone tried this Barlow with any other eyepieces or zooms?  Is it a one trick pony in that it only works well with the BHZ?

Used it with my Vixen LVWs and it works fine. 

1 hour ago, IB20 said:

Had a rubbish day today but always good to get home and see a postie drop off from FLO. Got a real bargain on this so couldn’t resist, may get a 2nd for binoviewing potential if it’s any good.

 

Yep - a real workhorse!

29 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Nice! Just the 15mm, 10mm, 9mm, 5mm, 4mm and 2.5mm to go!🤣

I have the 15 already

Four new (to me) SLVs. One from @Franklin, and three from Japan.

another 3 weeks or so, for me:

1 hour ago, henry1983 said:

What do you mean? Take a shot down the larger end of the lenses? Sorry for my ignorance 

Yep.  See these two 10x50 binos (sorry about the rubbish pic):

The top  one is my 50 year old Japanese-made pair. £10 from a charity shop. Big-ol open barrel that fully utilizes the whole objective lens. It is a 50mm 

The lower one is a budget Chinese-made pair (no offense to Chinese manufacturing) that has the barrel stopped-down to a much narrower diameter; to avoid the aberrations that arise from the cheaper optics. More like a 40mm objective.

The difference in views are like night and day (figuratively and literally).

3 hours ago, Gabby76 said:

The Dew Control straps do require a controller as well, without one the strap will continue to increase in temperature. 

From your link: Compatible with all popular controllers, but work especially well with our own.

Doh! Sorry - wrong site!

https://dewheater.com/?page_id=2