Thanks for all the great advice. I'll get to work by disassembling the focusser again and check that I got all these important details right. I'll be back tomorrow. Hopefully with a story of succes - or if not with some more questions.

For now you have all been of great help! 👍

28 minutes ago, Rusted said:

The tiny screws are there to lock the focuser securely in place after it has been screwed into its main tube adapter.
If you didn't have these screws tightened gently, the focuser would unscrew if you rotated it anticlockwise.

FF focusers are designed to rotate smoothly in either direction.
All FF focusers have dedicated main tube adapters to allow this rotation by design.

Starlight Instruments use highly skilled staff to set up the degree of friction on the drawtube.
As Peter says, contact Lunt for further advice. Or, email Starlight Instruments for specific advice.
They are very customer friendly in my own experience.

 

 

Don't remember I screwed the focusser on. It seemed to fit in a "grove" with the tiny screws. Have some homework now!

2 hours ago, Peter Drew said:

It sounds to me that the telescope has been subject to vibration somewhere during its transit which has loosened the focuser attachment and its motion adjustment.  There is a fine line between proper action and slippage on a Crayford type focuser regardless of the make or cost and correct adjustment is essential.  There will be a facility for adjustment somewhere on the body, if in doubt contact Starlight for the information. You shouldn't use the drawtube locking screw to stop the unit slipping, this could cause premature wear.     🙂

Thanks for the warning. I can see the smaller tension screw on the photo in the middle of the focuser beside the long locking screw (I guess that must be it).

1 hour ago, dweller25 said:

1. Reassemble the scope with the FT and the diagonal and point it at the Sun, then rack the FT all the way out, then loosen the eyepiece and slowly move that out of the diagonal whilst looking through it. If the Sun starts to get sharper you definitely need an extension tube.

2. There should be a tension screw that you can adjust - also your locking screw seems to be missing - it may have come loose in the packaging ? 
 

If in doubt contact starlight instruments for guidance

 

1 mio. thanks for the picture. Yes - there is a "locking" screw in the package. Had no idea what it was there for. One step ahead!

11 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

You may then need an extension tube after the focuser to achieve focus.

The FT slipping just needs adjusting.

1) I'll see if I can get an extension tube and test it. Can it be my eyes needs the extension to focus? I am using the LUNT zoom, and it should fit nicely to this pre-configured package by LUNT scope/focusser/diagonal/eyepiece.

2) looked to see how to adjust the focusser play/slip (or anything), but could not see anything available to screw or tighten. Where do I look to do that?

(Sorry for all the questions, but I really hope to find a solution with the help of people here at the lounge)

11 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

I had to adjust the focuser on mine but it is eight years old. The focuser kept slipping which sounds like your problem. I did upload pics of the focuser on SGL. However mine is the ordinary crayford focuser. 

Focus shift on lunt 60mm Crayford.

By Nigella Bryant, June 12 in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups

 

 

Thanks for the pictures. What made your's slip? Is there something I can/should look for? Mine is super loose - like no hold at all. The unit seemed fine (unharmed) as I put it back onto the scope.

1 minute ago, dweller25 said:

I think The three Allen head screws at the rear of the scope secure the feathertouch to the OTA

Just slightly undo the three screws to allow you to put the FT back in place and then tighten them up equally - not too much force though 👍

Thanks. I did that. And it seemed that everything should be fine afterwards (I did use some - but not excessive - force. Just "tight"). Not sure why the focusser is running wild though.

3 minutes ago, Nigella Bryant said:

If it's new I would get in touch with the supplier and ask for a replacement. Shouldn't have arrived like that. 

Will maybe be next step. But it was sent from the US to the Middle East - so I'd rather avoid that unless it's actually broken. Seems a lot of fuss for just re-mounting one little screw. But what do I know?

Got my new LUNT solarscope doublestack today.

However, to my horror it had "snapped" between the lens and the focuser during transport. So it came in three parts: lens, feather focuser and diagonal (see pictures).

There's only three tiny, tiny screws holding the diagonal to the scope itself. One had simple "fallen" out and was lying in the plastic wrapping, so my guess is that is was not properly assembled from LUNT and the two other screws could not hold it together during the transportation stress.

Anyway, I assembled the lens with the focuser using the three screws - all looked and seemed well.

BUT:

1) the focusser is so loose that it slides directly forth and back into and out of the scope. So it does not hold focus when looking "up". Feather focus or not - that has to be a mistake??

2) I can for the life of me not get any proper focus. I am a newbie, so it could be user error. But it could also be I made a mistake putting it together?

Have an automated setup - so the scope slews correctly into position. There's no problem "finding" the sun.

Whats's up? Have I assembled the focusser wrongly? It is just completely broken and needs to go back? There where no other parts lying around and everything seems and looks nice - its just not working.

Should add that the seeing was not the greatest in that it was afternoon and the sun was over an urban district. But I should still see something - right?

Thanks for any advice!

In other news saw someone is working on a 0.4x reducer for the Edge HD to come in 2021. Maybe be a good compromise to have 0.7x and 0.4x reducers and skip the Hyperstar. Time will tell.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I understand about the gradient. But that's mostly a management problem here. Did see a couple of pictures of isolated scopes  - its an option that I'll keep in mind if need be. Happy seeing!

13 hours ago, Alkaid said:

Absolutely, it is a necessity.  I put my SCT into a large plastic storage box and then cover it over with a waterproof bike cover (in case of any unforseen rain showers).  I leave it outside for a few hours before observing. Works well.

Thanks! I thought so.  Just wondered when reading so many "complain" about bad seeing because of scope airflow, preferring using closed scopes etc.

Newbie question here. I understand the need to ensure relative equal temperature within the SCT and the ambient temperature. However, I always leave my photo gear outside in a sealed bag for a few hours before shooting in extreme humid, hot or cold weather, sometimes with some added Scilica gels bags. Any reason not to do the same with the scope and be rid of any problems with unwanted air flow.

On 22/10/2020 at 23:47, pete_l said:

Many people consider this part of Andalucia to be a desert, now. In general we get something over 200 clear days a year, 230-250 being the norm. (Although the last few days have been cloudy, it even rained today!)
Though when you factor in the Moonlit nights, the number of observing opportunities drops considerably. (cue cries of sympathy .... )

When I lived in the S.E. UK I used to average about 17 observing sessions a year. Due to weather, work, family and social events. I expect that skiers in Abu Dhabi have it even worse than astronomers in the UK

 

Nice place for sure. That's were they shot some of the "Spaghetti Westerns" if I remember correctly? My wife and I have planned a Bortle 1 "astro" week next year. That will ensure a few days of great seeings! 👌 Happy seeing!

4 minutes ago, BrendanC said:

So, it's been a long haul. Lots of problems, issues, things to understand, things to work around. I'm finally at the point where I think I know what I'm doing. I've had some real successes and images I'm proud of, and got a real buzz out of acquiring and processing (and sharing).

However, one thing that is beyond my control... the weather.

In my little corner of the UK, it appears that we've had virtually wall-to-wall cloud for the past, what, three months?

When I look back, my last proper, full night session was literally this time last month. September 22nd.

Before that? Again, by amazing coincidence, August 22nd. With a small window on 28th.

Then 19th July.

Do you see a pattern emerging? That's right. On average, I seem to manage one session a month. If I'm lucky. I thought I had a three-hour window in the weather tonight, got everything set up... and the clouds rolled in.

So, is this really a viable hobby, I'm starting to ask myself? The relentlessly terrible weather forecasts are starting to really get me down. I check Clear Outside every day or so, and just see red - literally and metaphorically. I know it's challenging during the summer months (heck, we don't even get astronomical darkness between mid May and end July) but I'm not sure I can continue just hoping I get one chance a month to do this.

I know this is a bit of a whinge, but anyone share my frustration?

Live by the dessert and have 95%+ clear skies. But I cannot seem to get hold of a scope without going through leaps and bounds for months - and I'm still not there. Go figure.

12 hours ago, Stu said:

With a good setup, white light observing can be amazing, often plenty of granulation detail to be seen even with comparatively few spots visible.

Thanks. So a white/yellow cover for my 8" SCT would give "additional" views? Would I need specialized filters to get the best out of such a shield?

Got myself the all-in-one Lunt 50mm double stack (yes, I know many here see it as a compromise, but its enough Ha scope for me). However, if I could get another distinct wavelength solar viewing platform I would consider that. I of course looked at the Ca option, but I think its not adding enough to the Ha viewing - and "white" solar spots have no interest. Am I wrong about Ca viewing - and are there any other realistic options unless I climb Everest or fly into outer space?

8 hours ago, SmokeyJoe said:

I'm afraid live stacking is exactly that, the camera stacks pictures over many minutes, as far as I know you are not going to get instant images no matter where you are or what equipment you have. 

However the better the equipment the fewer images you will need to stack.  I'm currently using a Dslr with my Asiair and no guiding it takes a few 2-3 min exposures to start building a decent image.  I don't have experience using the asiair with a dedicated astro cam so I cannot give an opinion on haw good the 1224mc would be. 

Maybe someone in the EEVA community can suggest a better option. 

Thanks. I understand that the dedicated asi camera can do a lot of pictures fairly fast. But it will apparently have to be a compromise between time and viewing quality.

Thanks! I am looking at this right now. If I do this am I right to expect that I can use a Zwo camera to better see DSO objects etc. realtime on the ipad in a light poluted area. Or will the camera need to stack pictures over many minutes (so not that useful in real life). My ideal situation is to get the Asiair Pro and the Zwo 1224MC color camera and view the skies on a screen when looking from my heavily light polluted big city garden.

10 hours ago, tomato said:

On the Celestron RASA scopes a cylindrical dedicated Astro camera is recommended on the 8” version, a DSLR can be employed on the larger 11 and 14” versions.

Noted. Thanks to everyone. Not ready to get a dedicated Astro Camera yet. So I rest my case for now. Maybe when someone comes with a solution without a wire 👌.

2 minutes ago, Freddie said:

The cam replaces the front (secondary) mirror so a DSLR isn't really suitable.

Thanks - I hear you, but Celestron seems more optimistic (?): https://www.celestron.com/pages/fastar-technology

Getting a Celestron EDGE HD 8" StarSense that is FastStar "compatible".  I can see from pictures that my FF DSLR (Canon) goes onto the back and I have to remove the mirror up front. But what do I need to attach my Canon FF DSLR to the back when using the FastStar option? (newbie, so sorry if its a silly question).

This is what we ended up with: 

Explor.Sc. 68 / 40mm  2"

Explor.Sc. 82 / 24mm  2"

Explor.Sc. 82 / 14mm  1.25"

Explor.Sc. 82 / 8.8mm  1.25"

Televue Powermate 2x  2"

Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Mark IV zoom

Full set of Baader Dielectric Diagonal 2" clicksystem w/parts to manage the lot.

With the Powermate it gives us the following options with the fixed lenses:

40 / 24 / 20 / 14 / 12 / 10 / 8.8 / 4.4

Expect this will serve us well (for starters if I am to believe the eyepiece collectors on SGL 😅).

Thanks a lot for tips and thoughts!

2 minutes ago, Viktorious said:

Okay. Well wherever you buy it from, here are the suggestions that I would look into more (which you already seem to have read up on based on your initial choices - good!). All are highly regarded even for faster scopes and will be even better at f10. 

At 24mm the Panoptic is probably the best choice (it's great). If you're feeling more premium ($$$) you can increase the afov staying with TeleVue. Either 22mm Nagler (T4, 82°) or 21mm Ethos (100°).

9 and 14mm: For these two I would personally go the "cheaper" route since reviews show that they compete with the best at shorter focal lengths. That would be the Baader Morpheus (9 - 14) or ES82 (8.8 - 14). Not at B&H would be the 100° eyepieces I mentioned before in 9 and 13mm. For more money would be the TeleVue Delos, Nagler, or Panoptic. 

At 40mm, looking at the prices at b&h, it's between the Panoptic 35mm or Pentax XW 40mm according to me.

Thanks again. Expect to order next week and will leave a post here with the end result. Accessories run up but my wife is clear - and its her birthday present: "We get what it takes", so also getting a LUNT Solar Scope for daytime viewing. 🤩 (Of course lucky we have the choice)

9 hours ago, Viktorious said:

I think either would be good. On one hand the 9 maybe wouldn't be "Barlowed" as often as the 11, but on the other hand the 11 can be replaced by the 24 with 2x, and the 9 by itself will be used a lot for planetary. 

The 40 will be used every time for initial wide field view, and even more use at darker skies (in light pollution the large exit pupil will suffer, background will be bright). For the larger nebulae. The 14 will be used for some DSOs and some solar system stuff. The 9 mainly solar system. 

For DSO the 24 is probably going to be the most used, it's in the magic region of 2-2.5mm exit pupil (background darkens so contrast increases). DSOs will be beautiful in this! This is probably the eyepiece I would spend most money on. 

Are you only able to shop from b&h (not as in only but with decent shipping and such)? I was curious to see what choices you have and what a good mix of brands could be 🙂. 

Thank you for persevering with all my questions! Learning a lot here and certainly avoid a mistake or two. I can buy from more or less anywhere in the US. My biggest problem is that it seems difficult to find any single supplier that can ship the whole "set" at a competitive price. B&H have some stuff on sale right now, so that's why they are my preferred option. I also used them a lot in the past together with Amazon.