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WiltsStarGazer

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Everything posted by WiltsStarGazer

  1. WiltsStarGazer
    Slightly off topic but due to a bit of Googling the issue of price increases, blamed in part on container shortages, I now get sent shipping information and have been amazed by the amount of containers that fall off ships mid sea. I've linked to a article relating the loss of 240 containers off one ship, another another lost over a thousand. https://theloadstar.com/one-apus-and-maersk-eindhoven-may-be-back-on-course-this-month/ Although 'trade' newsworthy these do not seem to be unusual or infrequent infrequent events. Who knows what is now littering the sea bed, maybe your next telescope.
  2. WiltsStarGazer
    Double post, sorry can't see how to delete.
  3. WiltsStarGazer
    I'm all for raising awareness of the problem of light pollution but the CPRE form doesn't ask for the age of the observer so any information will be skewed by the the deteriorating night vision of the older observers. Surely if they wanted an accurate picture of the problem, satellite data would give a great deal more consistent information.
  4. WiltsStarGazer
    I know it's supposed to be the book to get when starting out in imagining but.......
  5. WiltsStarGazer
    Hi, Actually managed to get some clear skies early last night and had some fantastic views of the Orion nebula with the Christmas present 32mm Omni. It was blooming cold and actually misted up the finder scope and the secondary mirror on the SW 200p. My question is once this happens and I returned the scope to the garage where it is stored should I put the caps back on the finder scope and the scope itself whilst they are still misted up to avoid dust and dirt getting on then or leave them open, probably over night, to dry out? Thanks
  6. WiltsStarGazer
    Thanks for the reply, I know what you mean, I was thinking of that as a work around, I just wondered if anyone made a bespoke item but I guess not that many people have a horizontal mount.
  7. WiltsStarGazer
    Hi, I have Skytee 2 mount, on which I use the side mount for my 200p and use the top mount for my 127 Mak, sometimes at the same time. (Yes, I got carried away with secondhand bargain madness during the first lockdown 😏) What I would like to do is use the top mount to mount my 15x70 binoculars so I can let the family see what I'm looking at without having change the height of eyepieces on the scope or them using steps. For this I would need a sturdy adaptor which has a dovetail (vixen?) base with the normal screw fit for the tripod mounting bracket between the lenses. Does such a thing exist? If it does, I haven't been able to find it. Does anyone know of one? Thanks
  8. WiltsStarGazer
    That's why I put it in the wanted section!😁 I managed a couple of early evening half hours before the clouds rolled in about two weeks ago. Fortunately I have all the kit to hand in the garage and a reasonably dark back garden, especially now the council have kindly changed the sodium street lights to LEDs. 😁 Frustrating, the clearest skies I have seen for weeks have been when I'm going to work in the mornings.
  9. WiltsStarGazer
    Unfortunately I think a lot of people's alternative hobby is surfing the net and buying new kit, which obviously makes the cloud gods angry!☁️🌩️☁️
  10. WiltsStarGazer
    Can people please stop buying new kit so I can play with mine! 😁
  11. WiltsStarGazer
    I have got a pair of the SVBONY style clamps although these ones are marketed as Rother Valley Optics brand. They look great and will give me peace of mind when I have the 200P mounted on it. Is there a torque setting for the two Allen bolts on the puck? I have a bicycle torque wrench that will go down to very low settings and I don't want to chance stripping the threads by gorillaing it. My Skytee was secondhand and didn't come with any instructions. Thanks.
  12. WiltsStarGazer
    Hi, Does anyone know of any apps or software for stacking photos which works in Chrome/Android? I can only find ones that work in Windows or Safari. Thanks.
  13. WiltsStarGazer
    Couldn't resist having a little play as the clouds partrd briefly down here. I don't know what to expect of this mount but there seems to be quite a bit of play in the slow motion controls, is this normal?
  14. WiltsStarGazer
    Unfortunately, they look like the aluminium knobs. They look great, always important in the dark!, That's a lot of counterweight, what scope do you have on the other side?
  15. WiltsStarGazer
    Thanks for the replies and the advise, upgraded clamps will be the next purchase. Back to looking at the 'For Sale' ads then.😀 When you say they aren't good enough, do you mean they will break or they do not grip the dovetail enough to prevent it slipping at extreme angles? If so would a bolts with protruding heads in the back of the dovetail on either side of the clamp work as a temporary measure? Looking back on the forums, these clamps have been declared not good enough since this mount came out. Does anyone know if the standard clamps have been improved over the years? I got the Skytee secondhand but I don't believe it is very old, it's in 'as new' condition. The tripod is an old Manfrotto Art 351 which I don't know anything else about as I was fortunate enough to be given it by a friend. It came with a gimbal head attached but luckily the Skytee fits straight on.
  16. WiltsStarGazer
    Hi, having started with a 130P on an eq mount.I wanted something with more light gathering on a alt-azimuth mount. I didn't want to go down the Dob route although that would have been a lot easier and cheaper.🙄 So I have now got a 200P on a Skytee on a Manfrotto tripod. My question is why do all the pictures I have seen of this set up have the scope side mount rather than the top mount. Is it just a question of weight if you also add counterweights under the top mount? I understand the recommended max weight is 10kg per mount although some places say 15kg. As it is a lot easier to mount the scope on the top mount than the side one (I nearly dropped it on the first attempt) and it seems counterintuitive to have the weight of the scope hanging off the side mount instead of sitting on top of the top one. Thanks.
  17. WiltsStarGazer
    Sorry sent that message by mistake.
  18. WiltsStarGazer
    I've sent to you a pm.
  19. WiltsStarGazer
    Yes, I have a Barlow that allows you to remove the lens and just use it as an extention tube but that didn't work, so I put the 2x back in and bingo.
  20. WiltsStarGazer
    Thanks for everyone's advise, behold the beauty of my neighbours chimneys! Shame it's piddling down again tonight 🙄
  21. WiltsStarGazer
    Thanks for the advise guys, I will try those on the next clear night, can't see a thing down here tonight.
  22. WiltsStarGazer
    Thanks for your reply, am I right in assuming that when you click the lens to Manual Focus and that is displayed in the menu screen on the back of the camera the sensor is set on infinity and you use the telescope to focus the image.
  23. WiltsStarGazer
    Thanks for your reply, my 2x Barlow has a removable lens, I'm guessing I should remove that and just used the Barlow as an extention tube.
  24. WiltsStarGazer
  25. WiltsStarGazer
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