Pain in the Neck

Hmmm. Living on a boat might make life interesting for both observing and imaging!

I am no expert, but I went for the 150P-DS with the HEQ5 mount. My thinking was that the OTA is already 6kg, so by the time you add a finder, a decent eyepiece, a DSLR (if you’re into photography), and a few adaptors, filters etc, you are way over the capacity of the EQ3. Luckily I had enough to fund it due to saving some cash during lockdown!

If you can put up with a complete beginner tagging along, then please count me in. Happy to receive a PM, or attend a planning meet (rules permitting). Charles.

I am also a newbie, so am not qualified to advise on equipment. However, I would tend to shop around a bit - I know it’s very easy to buy stuff on Amazon, but you may find better prices (and a lot more advice) buying from a specialist. FLO and RVO spring immediately to mind. I went for a Skywatcher 6” newtonian on a half-decent EQ goto mount. However, I have yet to use the goto facility to any great extent, preferring to star-hop and manually track. When (and if!) I get into imaging I’m sure the mount will come into its own. Welcome to the lounge! p.s. Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s bands are easily visible in my ‘scope, although still a little on the small side.

Not a bad idea robbymain - I have heard of it working on occasions. What happens when I ask them to unshield it when BBQ season starts up again? It's actually quite useful then! 🙂

Count me in too! Getting a bit fed up with the streetlight outside my back garden outshining just about everything. Jupiter and Saturn are still drawing me in every time I set up, as they are bright enough to be worth watching despite Bortle 8 or so. The sky isn’t stupidly bright, I just can’t get any night vision.

It doesn’t seem to matter what you do in this hobby, it always seems to cost money! 😀

You probably called me Charlie because of a small typo in my post. I only got my Canon 100D on eBay a few days ago, and have now ordered the necessary attachments from RVO and FLO (one supplier never seems to have everything in stock - double postage!) I haven’t even started on the software yet (although already have PhotoShop from my ‘ordinary’ photography hobby). I’m in Longwell Green, but my profile image shows you the level of street lighting outside my back garden! I was looking to join Bristol Astro or Mendip Astro (or possibly both) in due course. Early days! Charles.

Hi @wookie1965 Is one of those 2” to 1.25” adaptors up for grabs / sale? I have been looking at a way of protecting my Baader Hyperion EP’s from the dreaded grub-screw marks, and it looks like one of those adaptors might do the job. Charles.

Greg. Don’t let my Mother hear you calling me Charlie! 😀 - always was a no-no right from school days. Personally I’ll answer to just about anything... You definitely flatter me when you say that I’m at a similar stage to you. I have only managed to give my 150 a couple of ‘proper’ outings since I took delivery of it last month. Too much cloud and not enough time I’m afraid. I also suffer from very bad light pollution in my back garden, and haven’t managed to find a suitable (relatively) local location with darker skies yet. I am hoping that in the next few months one or two of the local Astro Clubs will be running properly again, so I can pick people’s brains on good safe places to take my kit. Charles.

Thanks for this tip @Greg Shaw I intend to order a few different attachments anyway (as I said in my original post, I’m quite happy to have a play), but your tip might save a few of my hard-earned pennies. Charles.

Thanks fozzybear and wimvb. I had some time to spare between DIY jobs today, so had a chance to do my own research on this (it was probably laziness that prompted the original query!). Baader bits to order as follows: - For ‘Afocal’ 2958058 = DT ring to attach DSLR lens to Hyperion EPs For ‘Eyepiece Projection’ 2958550 = T ring 1508155 = 7.5mm ext tube 2958080 = M43 to T-2 ring For ‘Prime Focus’ 2408318 = T-mount (possibly duplicate functionality with the 2958550) 2408150 = 2” T-2 nosepiece So now I think I’m sorted - time will tell if I’ve got it wrong! Now, where did I leave the credit card....

Hi Anthony, and welcome to SGL from another newby. Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it here. A great bunch of friendly and knowledgeable people. Charles.

Thanks for the very prompt reply fozzybear - I’ll check these out. The Baader mpcc is on my wish list, but I was looking to get basic connections sorted out before looking at refining the images. Coma correctors and all the stacking and processing can come afterwards!

Hi Greg, welcome to SGL from another Bristolian, also with a 150P-DS. I eventually managed to get my HEQ5 Pro during the recent shortage of equipment coming from China. A question for you. Just a few minutes ago I posted a new topic on the ‘Getting started in astroimaging’ section. As our setups are very similar, I was wondering if you could take a look, and perhaps point me in the right direction. If I can get anything like the results you have posted I will be well pleased! Charles.

I’m hoping someone can help this beginner with what ‘bits and bobs’ I should buy to start my astrophotography journey. Many apologies if this has been covered (many times) before! I have a Skywatcher Explorer 150P-DS on an HEQ5-Pro mount, and various Baader Hyperion eyepieces. I want to somehow attach my Canon EOS 100D (18-55 zoom) to this setup to capture some DSOs, and perhaps some nice planetary images. First things on my shopping list are the Baader SP54 DT rings and adaptors (2958058) and the Baader SP54 11mm extension ring (2958090). I figure that should connect my camera (with lens) to the EPs (is this afocal or eyepiece projection?). However, I think I also want (or need) to attach the camera (without lens) to the telescope (I think this is called prime focus). Can anyone please tell me what I need for this? A T-mount would seem to be a requirement, but is there anything else??? As usual, I’m more than happy to play around with the kit to see what suits my needs, but don’t particularly want to waste money on something I don’t need / can’t use. Any help or advice gratefully received! Charles.

I was also looking at the pair of big bright planets for a few minutes tonight with my 150 newt. Jupiter’s moons looking good, and nicely defined banding on the planet. Saturn’s rings always look good, even though I’m really only playing with my eyepieces. Well pleased to be able to see anything tonight with the weather closing in.

I don’t own an EQ6-R, so won’t be joining the club. However, I pricked up my ears at the comment by @SimM about the RA setting circles on his HEQ5 ‘not behaving as expected’. I am completely new to this hobby, and have only very recently taken delivery of my new HEQ5 (and 150P-DS), so am a little unsure of the expected behaviour. The issue I have is that if I lock the RA setting circle, then unlock the clutch, the setting circle spins with the shaft some of the way, then the circle sticks, while the shaft continues to rotate. I’m not overly worried by this, as I don’t think I’ll be using the circles that much, but having paid what I consider to be a reasonable sum of money for the mount, I would at least expect it to work properly. The slightly more worrying issue (and quite probably the cause) is that the RA shaft appears to bind in one point when rotated. I can’t help thinking that I might be attempting a strip-down and rebuild in the near future!

I am nowhere near as experienced as Stu, so I bow to his superior knowledge on the accuracy of your content. I also echo the comment about the reverse writing on the atlas and planisphere - phone cameras in selfie mode do this! However, I have seen plenty of YT videos which were a lot less well presented. I sat through one earlier today showing a guy umm-ing and ahh-ing for 25 minutes in the hope that I would learn something from it eventually. Unfortunately I didn’t. On the other hand your videos have persuaded me to go and buy a star atlas, because I thought you put the star-hopping across very well. stick at it, listen to the comments from the great people on this forum, and learn from their feedback. Thanks, and well done!

Thanks John. It is still my intention to look at joining Bristol Astro when everything returns to (something like) normal, so hope to meet you in person one day. Charles.

I was just telling all the experts on ‘the Anybody Playing Tonight’ thread about first light with my brand new toy. For the first time in my life I have seen Jupiter (with moons if I’m not mistaken) and Saturn with its rings with my own eyes. I am well pleased with my new hobby already. Looking forward to many happy hours.

Hi Siouxsie. I hope you sorted your problems - I’m afraid I can’t help you at all, as I am a complete beginner with totally different kit. However, I am always very keen to pick up any helpful tips from others, even though they might not seem to be relevant at the time. So thanks very much for your advice - I will think very seriously about how I dress when aligning on Vega in future 😀. Regards, Charles.

Hello from light polluted Bristol. Welcome to the forum - enjoy!

Hi deanen The first thing to say is that I am a complete beginner, but I am thinking the same way as you, in that the excellent Astrobaby guide is only relevant with the older HEQ5 reticle, where there was a little circle in which to place Polaris. My very recently delivered HEQ5 has the same newer reticle as yours, and I use the Polar Scope Align Pro app on my iphone to place Polaris at the clock position it states for the current time. I am no expert, but Polaris then seems to track around the circle quite happily, and I am basically ignoring the date setting circle completely. I’m more than happy to be corrected by one of the many experts out there! Charles

Hello and welcome. The SW 150PDS is the OTA that I chose, but it doesn’t arrive until Monday, so I can’t yet comment on its performance. I will be using it on a SW HEQ5, which I’m having great (but limited) fun with already! Charles