Jonny_H

Hi all, As per subject title, I would be interested to hear views on these piers and which one comes out on top, through opinion and/or experience. Both are no different in price and the fundamental difference is really that the Altair has an adjustable top plate where as the Pulsar is welded/fixed. Obviously a difference in overall design too. Curious on views is all. Thanks, Jonny H

Understood. I managed to dig out an old photo from earlier this year when I was testing out the camera on my mobile. This is pretty much my Southern/South western view. My absolute western view isn't too bad but a row of houses on the parallel road starts to restrict views albeit i can still see a good chunk of sky above. My North view again isn't too bad but my neighbour has one tall tree. I can easily see Polaris though so no major concern as I can PA My Eastern view is really the issue and is more or less blocked by the back of my house. Moving down to the end of my garden doesn't help much and in doing so also heavily restricts my western view. In an ideal world I would have clear views 360 degrees but we can't win them all. I work with what I've got though

Hi @Trippelforge Thanks for the response. I will take some photos of the patio, probably in the morning now. When you say sightings, I assume you mean of the skies? I can get these over to you too, again probably in the morning to get a better orientation. funnily enough I have just been looking at solid concrete blocks you can buy used for foundation support. Not sure on the strength/consistency etc... but could be an option. Only (I say only loosely) 35kg though so might not give enough stability! Or of course I can make my own as you say.

Hi all, Appreciate it has been a few months since a response in this post but thought I would give an update and ask some more questions in terms of a dome, a good offer recently revealed itself which i couldnt resist, so i took delivery of a gleaming white pulsar 2.2m dome yesterday morning. It is currently being stored in my garage until I have figured out what to do with the base/pier etc.... which brings me nicely onto my question(s)..... i am still trying to figure out what to do whilst still speaking/negotiating with the management. One 'meet in the middle' Idea i had was to install a small raised wooden decking using concrete decking footing blocks secured to some leftover sandstone blocks i have layed on top of the patio. The obsy can then be bolted down to the decking which in turn can be either cemented or botled to the large sandstone slabs. This way the main patio is untouched. thoughts on this? For those with eagle eyes have probably spotted my remaining pain point, which is how to secure a pier??? Any thoughts?

Thanks @AstroMuni Hi @Louis D You are correct re: patio location in relation to the house and this is the same with my arrangement (and most others presumably). In short, I have a 'raised' patio which covers the entire width of the house and extends out by about 3.5m. To the side of the house the patio line continues (3.5m out from the house) but is about 1ft lower than the main patio area. We dont really use the latter space much hence why my wife doesnt mind it going there. In terms of view where the obsy would go (and where i currently set-up my mount) - my garden is west-facing and I have reasonably clear views of the South and West. North is a little restricted and East is completely blocked. Hoping I have explained that well enough. Thanks, Jonny

Thanks for the responses so far. @Mike Q I currently have a SW Esprit 100ED and a StellarLyra 8" CC, both of which I use with a SW AZ EQ6 GT mount. Initially I will be using exactly the same setup whilst the negotiations continue for me to bolt down a pier..... That said i have to prepare for me not winning that arguement so it could be that i end up just using the standard AZ EQ6 setup in the dome! It is worth noting that the majority of my time will be imaging whereby i will sitting inside the house, so I'm not hugely concerned about vibrations etc... I hope this makes sense. Thanks, Jonny

Thanks @Peter Drew In terms of securing a dome to a base, how is this achieved? E.g. are they typically bolted down? Silicon sealed around the bottom etc....? Thanks, Jonny

Hi all, Not sure if this is the right area for this post, so apologies in advance if it isn't. Anyhow, I am in a bit of a dilemma and I'm not sure what to do and need a bit of assistance/advice. In short, I have an opportunity to buy an observatory dome, but the only place I can put one is on my patio. To rephrase that slightly....the only place that my wife will let me put one is on the patio However, what I'm not allowed to do, is dig-up the patio, drill lots of holes into it and so on... so it would literally be a case of putting the obsy straight on top of what is there (smooth Indian Sandstone). So this brings me onto my question(s). Whilst I know it will never be as good as an observatory with a purpose made concrete base etc.... is it still possible to put an obsy onto a patio or will this be a waste of time and just be frustrating in the long run? before anyone suggests it, I have discussed putting a shed structure there instead but the response I got was in favour of an obsy dome! Thoughts and comments please. Regards, Jonny

I think it's Morph!

Thanks all for your help. I will take a look at the other posts and do more research.

Thanks Peter, Forgive me for a potentially daft question, but for H-Alpha viewing, would I be able to use something like a Daystar quark H-Alpha eyepiece with my current scopes? Or would a specialist scope still be required? Thanks, Jon

Hi all, As above, I am tempted to dabble in solar work, starting with observing potentially imaging in the future. I am a fairly versed imager but have only ever worked on the night sky - DSO, planetary, lunar. So I have zero experience in solar. My main imaging scope is my Esprit 100ed and my go to for visual at present is my StellaLyra 8" CC. Would any of these suffice for solar work or would I be better off treating myself to a new toy ? If the former, what accesories do I need to get me started....safely? If the latter, any suggestions on scopes? Thanks, Jon

The strange thing is - I understood all of this perfectly.... 🤔🙃 I will be disappointed now if builders and the like do not use this lingo when measuring etc... "in order to support your new roof sir you are going to need a ridge beam measuring approximately 120 Gophers"

That's the official term! 😉

I dont think the OP has an EQDir cable at present. I think if you're going down the st4 cable route - you need to connect a usb cable from your asiair to your guide camera, and then a st4 cable from your guide camera to the mount. As others have said though- just use a usb cable.

Hi @mareman48 How are you connecting your mount to the ASIAir? i believe that you select EQMod Mount if you are connecting by an EQDIR cable directly from the mount to the ASiAir's USB sockets. E.g. similar to one of these cables: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-mount-accessories/lynx-astro-ftdi-eqdir-usb-adapter-for-sky-watcher-eq5-pro-heq5-syntrek-pro-az-eq5-gt-az-eq6-gt-and-eq8-mounts.html If you are using the ST4 cable going from your mount to the handset and then further to the ASIAir - I may have to hand over to someone else that has done this but I believe you have to change a setting on the handset itself.....ive never done it before so don't want to give you any wrong information

Hi Roy, We both have an interest in Astronomy/Space hence asking on here initially about the Leicester Space Centre. I did look into this but apparently it is closed to visitors at present - they seem to be refurbing and/or building a new attraction..... or something along those lines.

Are there any other recommendations? I am based in Essex and do not mind travelling an hour or two in the car.

Thanks @IB20 I do have two 5 year old boys & my mate has 3 kids - but we haven't seen one another for about a year and to be honest it will be nice to be child-free for the day 😊 Interesting to hear peoples views on it though.

Hi all, A friend and I are thinking of going to the National Space Centre in Leicester in a few weeks, but I am a little sceptical about it having read a few reviews stating that it is really for kids and not adults. I know you should take online reviews with a pinch of salt but I thought I would ask on here to get views as it is isn't a short drive for me. Else - any other recommendations? Thanks, Jon

Thanks @Zermelo I may have to go down a similar route. I think I prefer the idea of a counterweight. I notice ADM do two variants - one where the counterweight is attached to a thread at the side of the dovetail (like in the video) and the other type where the counterweight is attached to a thread underneath the dovetail. I think i will need the former as per the video!

Hi all, I wanted to seek some advice on balancing since changing some of my equipment. My set-up consists of an Esprit 100ED, a Evoguide 50ED (on top) a Mini PC and Pegasus PPBA just behind the 50ED (these are the latest addition). I also have a ZWO EAF. My mount is an AZ EQ6 GT. Balancing in RA isn't an issue - balancing in DEC though is a little more interesting. With the RA at 90 degrees/horizontal and the scope horizontal, with a bit of toing and froing the scope 'balances'. However when slowly pressing the scope down at the back, it starts to swing to near vertical. However if moving the scope back to horizontal so it is 'balanced' again, and pressing the scope down the front, it does the same thing and swings to near vertical. So.....what do I do? I have been reading articles about balancing the third axis but these seem to all be on the Ioptron mounts so assume that it is a common issue with these mounts. Interested to hear what others do in this situation. Thanks, Jon

😂 Now this I can relate to!

Hi all, So as per title - the first clear night in a couple of months where the wind is calm - I have been waiting patiently to set-up and start imaging for the first time this year and with good cause i thought tonight was a good opportunity......... Apparently not. Someone has decided to have what seems like a huge bonfire of some description near me!!! 🤬 Although im not sure where it is coming from. It's bordering being 'foggy' and my clothes stink for literally popping to the garage and back (about 20 seconds outside). If its not the weather, its something else! Not a happy bunny! Anyhow....rant over 🙄

What about Ant & Dec.... Dec is the smallest one out of the two and so is the Dec axis on the mount visually? i havent figured out yet how to bring Ant into it. Maybe 'R'ant about Ant 😉