PeterW

Good idea.... lots of SQM data.... 😉 peter

Won’t need to watch the launch then..... 🙂 peter

A sincere thanks to all those who have worked with all the stakeholders to make this happen! May many more succeed and thus give more people the ability to see what the skies should look like. peter

Two “more bigger” amici prisms for the “homebrew right angle binocular project”... now to start finishing the different parts of it. Peter

The steadier the views the more you’ll see and enjoy using them. Get a cheap monopod and trigger ball head and improve what you have. Any jiggle will stop you detecting the faint stars. Using a reclining seat to enable you to observe closer to the zenith also helps. Tripod mounted angled binoculars are very powerful, pity you can’t get power power angled views... guess we’re not a hit enough market. Peter

random we visit last Black Friday revealed a ra her good deal on a down jacket i’d had my eye on for a while. Only risk was whether it’d be the right size... success, I can go walkies in just a shirt and coat and feel just fine. My cold weather gear setup is now finally complete 🙂 Peter

Here’s to many more years... I’m going after Uranus and Neptune in the 70mm as soon as it’s clear again. Peter

The mount looks like it has an angle bracket (which will have a 1/4-20 thread for hinge connections to smaller binoculars. Are your binoculars larger and so need a flat plate connection... which will still be a 1/4-20 thread. Links to photos of the parts you have or don’t want to buy would help. I had some 25x100 once and remember needing a small pillar to make tripod mounting easier. PEter

Remixing gryzbu updated eyecups from here... https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1560347 with a little lateral offset so my eyes can be centred results in.... works a treat.. Peter

.... I get lots of wifi drops and direction pressing is a pain with a screen. So I popped an old handset in (FLO for the cable). I made a printed handset holder with a hook on the back, which I hook over a long M12 bolt I screw into the back of the altitude axis. So the handset is easy to reach and use. Also power the mount using a cheap USB 5v to 12V adapter and a USB powertank... just enough current supply. Peter

Seeps you let the cat out to e box too?! Nice tripod. Peter

... something else to have a look for, been a while since I spotted Uranus or Neptune. Peter

What magnitude is it? Last week (partially due to this post) I had a go at the brightest stars in the Astro League Carbon star list with my 16x70 binoculars. W orionis, BL orionis, 19Pisces, Uu Auriga, Herschels Garnet star. Quite an enjoyable session, they were all a Mars orange colour, so I may need to do some work to find a really red one (probably need a bigger scope too?). Peter

Nikon Aculon get regular positive comments on forums. At the cheap ems it’s worth personally checking as there is a wide variety of rebadged stuff so it’s hard to know who makes what’s and find enough reviews to know what’s any good Peter

The tea of the CCD finder? One of these... https://www.astroshop.eu/optical-finders/orion-mini-50mm-guide-scope/p,23580 Peter

Nice. I (finally) got a polariser for solar wedge use from FLO... back order, seems have come by Yak over the mountains... nice big sunspot groups to try it on (if the clouds clear)! Peter

Hot water resulted in a damp finder and nice cup of tea. It seems the normal ones unscrew fine, the CCD guider one has a very stubborn block at the back that doesn’t work any to move. I’ll have. Second finder one soon, so I can ignore the guider one. Then I can continue my experiments. It maybe that a hacksaw may have to be involved... though only if there proves to be sufficient space for the diagonals I want to use. Then it’s an ATM project, not a disassembly. Peter

I was looking at this sort of one if I ever went bigger. Be interesting to know offset of the pivot and bracket from the tripod connection. I was going to attach it to the top of my EQ6 tripod (can get a 3/8” adapter), but worried the tripod leg angles would cause the bins to be stopped from getting to the zenith and that I might need a tripod pier extension (I had one but sold it - wouldn’t be the first time I regret selling stuff). Peter

Didn’t have any of those lying about unfortunately. Good to hear there are multiple options. Peter

Link for the mount, sounds interesting! SQM-L, just make lots of measurements, recording the location, the date and time and sky conditions.... that’s what Captain Magenta has been doing, enabling him To do some fitting. I reckon urban locations would not be less variable from the Milky Way etc, but I’ve not tried. More data is more better. Don’t know if any Cairngorms dark sky date collection.... if you want a challenge.... Peter

I tried big 100mm bins on a tripod years ago and ended up selling them. I got some smaller 45degree free angled ones more recently and they work well on a tripod (bought for daytime mainly). Parallelograms are hard to find, costly, takes up lots of space and I wasn’t hugely impressed the only time I’ve tried one. your friend has more than I do... I have only just run out of fingers to count mine 😉 Once you can spot “defects” in the image you are on a slippery slope from which there is no real escape! Binocularsky’s cheap monopod and trigger ball head suggestion works well for any binocukars, standing or reclining in a seat... makes a stable view of easier to obtain. The steadier the image the better the views. Near Guildford... not too far away from me under my SW London urban light pollution haze! PEter

I would probably agree, you find different “tribes” of borders with different branded kit.... I was lucky to look through some Nikon 10x50WX once, it’s fun to see what PERFECTION looks like (you can look up the list price). Wonder what your friend uses.... ?! I have some Nikon 8x30E2 which are pretty darn good and a good deal cheaper than the new fangled roof prisms..... 8x56 will do better under really dark skies, 10x50 are a “default” recommendation. Really wide 7x50 would be better, but they’re like unicorns...! For 10x50 I hope your friend has either the Fuji FMT or APM ED models (the latter being significantly less ££££, but just as good optically). At the end of the day any optics is better than none and if you are happy with the views then who’s to complain? I once had a look through some chaps binoculars that looked like someone had let a smoke grenade off inside them.... he seemed to like the views.... didn’t let him look though mine... might have lead to wallet damage. PEter

Few mm thick neoprene foam held on with carpet tape, stop cold fingers (I have this on my monopod ball head. I you’re going to use tape, use Gorilla brand, my wallet is almost completely made of the stuff, lasts much longer than generic duct tapes. Good luck Peter

I like wide apparent fields (approximately equal to the true field of view times the magnification). The field difference will be definitely noticable, the latter giving a much wide apparent field (64degrees gs 48degrees). Of course unless you spend real money (read >£500) the edges will always get fuzzy, but you’ll spend most time looking in the middle and the peripheral views help provide context and help you spot birds and other stuff. I’d search for agreement of online reviews and go with them. I have been buying old second hand Porro binoculars from auction sites mainly, so am not able to provide model comparison. These tend to have wide fields, but very short eyebrelief and tend to weigh rather a lot.... surprised your “connoisseur”’friend was shocked that you’re thinking of anything other than Zeiss or Swarovski..... The Nikon Aculon get regular mention on some forums for good low cost performance. Peter

Wonder what the 10 will be and what buying and momentum they can result in. Peter