M40

Hello Dave and welcome, ask away there are some very clever people on here 👍

Hello and welcome 👍

Hello Steve and welcome 👍

Nice one Pixies, good find. I must admit though that the folding moon chair works for me 😎

Just wondered how you have got on? We are planning on moving soon and in my mind I have already built my workshop. My plan was to have an insulated area and an area where the telescope is kept. The telescope area would be uninsulated and with poorly sealed doors. So more than interested in how things have turned out? I currently keep the telescope in a shed with poorly sealed doors and have had no condensation and no noticeable cool down time. The only thing I have done to the existing shed is to install a second roof cover outside and above the existing roof leaving it open and well ventilated.

One little trick I carried out when I first got mine was to set the telescope and mount up during the day in the shed. Then using an app found the location of polaris and a few stars that were in the sky at that time and marked their position on the shed ceiling. If you are inside your house, maybe use a piece of tape stuck on the ceiling. You can then carry out practicing polar alignment and goto in the warm and at any time.

Hello Steve and welcome. I am just round the corner from you so if I wish you clear skies maybe some will come my way too 😜

Hello and welcome 👍

Let me post a link here that I have copied from another topic (page 4). I only understand about one word in three that vlaiv says but it struck me as being relevant. Hope it helps and doesn't just add to the puzzle 🤔

Good find. I have ordered two..... but it does say bulk order of 500 so I am expecting it to get spat out. Lets see 😜

Interesting subject, I think something like the 200P explorer has to be better as the primary mirror is basically at the bottom of a tube so any direct light source is diminished but I don't think anything will help with the skyglow itself. As for the difference between f10 and f5 and observing DSO's it will be interesting to see what others think. I suppose a screen or obs is not an option?

If you get the HEQ5 then you need the Rowan upgrade.... trust me it never ends 🤣 I am sure that the EQ5 is a solid mount as is the HEQ5 but both have their limits and capabilities. Looking at the info on FLO, the EQ5 can handle 9Kgs and the HEQ5 15Kgs. I know I can plonk the OTA on the HEQ5, followed by the secondary focuser, plus the eyepiece plus the DSLR and a dew shield and the finders and the adapters ..... and still have room to spare so you know that you are not putting too much of a challenge on the mount, that was my aim. Hope it helps 👍

Many thanks 👍

Hello Tony and welcome 👍

Hello Wout and welcome.

Can I suggest that you use a duct grade cat5e. The outer jacket is far stronger, it has a suitable jacket voltage rating to allow you to run it in a flex or solid conduit alongside a power cable, will not be concerned with bending radius, is good for about 500M so 30M is not a challenge and just to put ice cream on the top, it's far easier to make off than cat6. I would also go for a 4mm SWA from it's own 25A RCBO. I wouldn't install 2.5mm (max distance is about 31M). Enjoy.

I have to be honest and say that this topic has been bugging me. I have no idea about guiding, tracking or tracking software. It's hopefully in the future for me sometime, just not now. But what I have been thinking about is dual tracking. A quick look and something like PHD can control a main and aux mount so could you for example, get a goto upgrade kit containing all the bits and bobs you need but rather than drive stepper motors drive relays to energise a motor control circuit?

Just wondered where you guys are buying the TSL237 from? They seem to be rarer than telescopes and there doesn't seem to be a direct equivalent for this code. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Hello Mike, get something like this..... https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/timer-relays/8285158/ It's basically a timer that has a number of options in how it works i.e. pulse on/off for a time etc. Anyway, hope it helps.

Hello Neil, try this site for an excellent polar alignment method.... https://darkskies.space/easy-polar-alignment/ It does rely on the tripod being level, the polar scope being aligned and the mount in the home position. This is my little routine for setting the home position, you only need to do it the once then mark the mount so you can very quickly set it to the home position. I hope it makes some sort of sense.... Setting Home Position: 1. Position North tripod leg to face North Celestial Pole (Polaris) 2. Set and level tripod 3. Position motor so that the weight bar is at lowest point and pointing to the North 4. Set the telescope mount so that the telescope locking knobs are to the right 5. Extend weight bar 6. Stand facing ON/OFF switch 7. Release RA clutch lock, rotate body anticlockwise and set body and weight bar to the horizontal position 8. Level with bubble and lock RA clutch 9. RA graticule scale is located adjacent to the polar scope cover 10. Release RA graticule locking screw. 11. Adjust graticule scale to show 12.00 against marker 12. Release RA lock 13. Rotate body clockwise until RA graticule scale shows 6.00 against marker 14. Lock RA clutch lock 15. Release DA clutch lock 16. Rotate telescope mount clockwise so that the telescope locking knobs point down 17. Level with bubble 18. Lock DA clutch lock 19. Declination graticule scale is adjacent to the weight bar 20. Release the two Declination graticule scale screws and rotate the scale to show zero against marker 21. Retighten the two DA scale screws 22. Release DA clutch lock 23. Rotate telescope mount anticlockwise until the DA scale is at the 90’ position 24. Lock DA clutch lock This is the home position. Telescope should now be in the following position: North leg pointing towards North Celestial Pole Weight bar at lowest position and pointing to the North Celestial Pole When standing facing ON/OFF switch, Telescope mount knobs to the right RA scale shows 6.00 DA scale shows 90’

Hello and welcome, Have a look around, this is a massive site and ask away any questions you have, I am sure someone will point you in the right direction.

If you can see it, align it with Polaris.

Hello and welcome, one of my favourite places here is the field of view tool in the resources/astronomy tools menu at the top of the page. By sticking in different telescopes with different eyepieces/cameras then selecting a target you get an idea of what you will be able to see or image. From that, you will realise that no single telescope covers all, so it's really down to where you would like to start your journey and what suits your budget. Definitely have a good look around to see what people are using and what has been achieved. Out of interest, I also enjoy taking crappy pictures and showing them to people 😜 I have upgraded in that I have gone from sticking the mobile on the eyepiece to bolting the DSLR directly onto the eyepiece (I still take crappy pictures though) 🤦‍♂️

Learning all the time, didn't know that was something that could be done. As for the moon filter, the moon is very bright and the filter cuts down the brightness to an acceptable level for observing. There are filters and there are "Filters", I started with the cheapest moon filter I could get and have only recently upgraded.

That finder should fit the red dot finder shoe, but just in case it might be worth buying the skywatcher finder shoe 👍