btalcox0715

25 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

Those pads are meant to be fixed in place for the focus tube to slide on...so it will need fitting back properly...in correct position...

Yep I was able to get it back into correct position. You can see the backside of the 2 screw holes that hold it into place by removing the focuser assembly. Once you have the pad back in between the focus tube and outer shell, it will move freely if you rotate the telescope. Basically just gotta lightly rotate and shake the telescope to get it lined up over the screw holes, and slowly screw the set screws back into place

Alright we are in business! Was a giant pain in the ass but was able to get the pad slid in after removing the focus assembly, and screw it into place. Everything assembled back together and feeling tight. Coarse knob on fine focus side still has a tiny bit of slip, so I may inquire with Skywatcher about a replacement knob. Thanks everyone for the help!

Looks like I might be able to remove the focuser assembly which might allow access to slide the pad in 

9 minutes ago, Stuart1971 said:

Ok so if it’s metal then a magnet on a stick....should get it out.... 

Was able to get it out! It is indeed metal. However not sure how to get this thing back in

1 minute ago, Stuart1971 said:

As @Knighty2112 as said, hold with the glass upwards and turn or shake gently it should come out the focuser end..also what is the pad made of, I assume not metal.. 😮

As for the focus knob play, that is an odd one, as I would have said it was slipping on the rod, but you say not...so is it slipping on the actual tube, in which case it may need some small adjustment...

I believe it’s metal  (the pad). The coarse knob in the coarse/fine side seems to have some sort of an internal assembly, but doesn’t appear to be a way to open it up

1 minute ago, Knighty2112 said:

Does the pad move if you turn the scope at all? If so can’t you slowly turn it and gently shake it so the pad will then fall out the focuser end of the scope if you leave the end open?

It’s kinda of lodged in there. Like it’ll spin around the tube a little bit, but it doesn’t seem like it will fall out. But I’ll try giving that a shot. Once I get it out, what would the plan be? I guess in the event I send the scope back, it would at least be away from the glass at that point 

Hi,

Awhile back (6 months) I bought an Esprit 80 and just now got around attempting to fit my ZWO EAF onto the scope. Had a bit of slippage and didn’t work great, so I removed it. I’m doing so I ended up doing multiple unfortunate things, first of which is introducing a bit of play or wiggle into the coarse knob on the coarse/fine side of the focuser. Not sure exactly what the issue is, but when moving the coarse knob, it moves a bit before “engaging”. I can verify that it’s not slipping on the actual rod that is screwed onto. 
 

Secondly, one of the pads under the drawtube fell out and it’s all the way down by the glass in the front of the tube. Really not sure what to do at this point. Scared to pull the focuser out of the drawtube because I don’t want to mess up the bearings. Also scared to send it back to Skywatcher in the event I voided the warranty and/or the pad moves around during shipping and scratches the glass. 
 

Any advice would be welcome, thanks!

3 hours ago, uhb1966 said:

Are you using a Newtonian? Some have potential light ingress via their back side...

No I’m using a Sky Watcher Esprit 80 

25 minutes ago, Ken82 said:

Yea I couldn’t really see it on live view either but it was happening on all my images. So I tried with live view and vega just off axis and the problem was clear. when I then rotated the FW it was gone 😀

I would say try and find the source. Get a very bright star like vega just off axis. What filters are you using 1 1/4 ? If so rotate the FW to an empty slot and see if it appears. if so you know it’s the filter cell. 

if it is the filters you could try moving them closer to the sensor or look at a larger set??
 

How often does it happen ? For me it was literally every single target which was so annoying! 
 

 

 

I use the Orion narrowband (HA, OIII, SII) and the ZWO LRGB filters. All are 1.25” mounted. Also, I have the ZWO EFW Mini. Wonder if 31mm unmounted would be any better. 
 

it doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s frequent enough 

1 hour ago, Ken82 said:

It’s a bright star hitting something internally and shinning onto the sensor. 
 

I had this problem using 2”mounted filters. Although I’m using a much larger sensor. You can see the first image is with the 2” filter in place when I rotate the FW the problem is gone - 

Any tips on removing it? I can’t say that I noticed it or saw it in Live View in APT. Really frustrating to have to crop my photos so much to completely rid it

8 hours ago, Wyvernp said:

I think this could be to do with a very bright star just out of frame, based on the location and the angle of the light i'd guess the star Acrab.

See with Acrab, I’d expect the light to be shining directly down, based on the orientation of the FOV. Acrab is directly above TYC-6209 (the brightest star in my image) 

https://imgur.com/a/fDJz5L6

Anyone have any ideas on this? I’ve had my 1600MM-C since September 2016, and occasionally I’m battling issues with what is occurring in upper right. It’s never in same position (I’ve seen it in lower left coming from the vertical portion of frame), and my obvious first guess is a light leak.

My guide camera has a pretty bright red light (Orion SSAG) that I’ve covered up, and the next light I’m planning on covering up is the red ON light from my Orion Sirius mount.

A bit ago, I turned on live view with everything connected and telescope cover on, and was shining lights all over the imaging train, but nothing was indicating a light leak. I even did a single 300 second “dark” while shining light in different places in 30 second increments. I’ve never seen this occur while taking my normal darks, as I’ve had my entire imaging train covered and put in the dark.

Thanks!

On 17/05/2020 at 08:37, Skipper Billy said:

The Esprit on a Sirius (HEQ5 in the UK) should be a match made in heaven and the mount should take that in its stride.

 

Thanks! I guess even more so because my guide error is low, and I’m moving to a lower arc second resolution rather than other way around 

Hello,

Currently have an Orion ED80 on Orion Sirius EQ-G that I’ve been using for about 3.5 years now, and it’s been great! Wanting to step up my game a little bit, and than rather get into an entry level reflector (something light), I’d rather continue on with a refractor and move towards an end game widefield scope. My rig right now is 11lbs (excluding cable weight). 

I have a ZWO 1600MM-Cool, so 3.8 pixel size, which is why I picked the Esprit 80 at a 400mm focal length which will be 1.95 arc seconds resolution. The flattener that comes with this scope is just that, and not a reducer, so the 400mm will be intact. Another option I had looked at was the WO GT81, however it’s only got a reducer/flattener combo which drops the focal length even further than 400mm (and little over 2.0”). 

My current ED80 is 5.7lbs and the Esprit is 8.8lbs, so my load will increase by 3lbs. Including cable weight I’m assuming this will weigh in right at 15lbs. I’m not looking to upgrade my mount just yet, so I’m hoping to take a chance here, but what are the opinions on guiding with this load? Currently have an Orion SSAG and 50mm guide scope and my guiding is great (0.70 > arc second error and I can push 600s exposures fine). Being right at 15lbs this shouldn’t be too heavy, right? Other options on scopes are welcome too.

Thanks!