doublevodka

There is definitely an element of that with him being a massive Takahashi and Televue fanboy 😂 A wander round his house would be the astronomers equivalent of going to Toys R Us as a kid 😂 But then again, his most recommended scope is an 8 inch dob, I do enjoy his vids even though I'll probably never afford to buy most of the kit he shows His website is pretty handy too - https://www.scopereviews.com/

@wookie1965 have you managed to give it a test after the clip adjustment and collimation, I'm quite curious now to know if it's behaving after the changes?

Astrobiscuit, astro la vista and Cuiv the lazy geek Have to admit though, Ed Ting is probably my favourite and he puts out a lot of videos 👍 (sorry Rory and Chris in case you happen upon this thread 😂)

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-series.html Think these would fit the bill nicely Specifically, if you can stretch to it https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-series/celestron-starsense-explorer-8-dobsonian.html as the 8 inch dob is probably the most recommended size and type of telescope around the world, it's light gathering capability allows you to see a wide range of targets. More blurb about the Starsense Explorer system here https://www.celestron.com/pages/starsense-explorer-technology right up the street of a tech-savvy teenager I'd imagine 👍

How about https://www.firstlightoptics.com/misc/stellalyra-roller-bearing-for-dobsonian-telescopes-8-to-16-aperture.html I've not used one myself, but the Stellalyra dob owners seem pretty happy so I'd imagine it's pretty good 🤷‍♂️

I thought eyepiece collections were ever-evolving... 😂 Now you need to get some shadow foam to make it look pretty in the case https://www.shadowfoam.com/

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-dual-fit-desiccant-cap-red.html to remove the moist air from the tube UV light to kill any growth - https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=uv+torch&crid=CECT06WX5NUI&sprefix=uv+torch%2Caps%2C74&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 Telescope servicing - https://www.google.com/search?q=telescope+servicing+uk&rlz=1C1GCEB_enGB1054GB1054&oq=telescope+servicing+uk&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORiABDIICAEQABgWGB4yCggCEAAYhgMYigXSAQg0MzEyajBqNKgCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Can't recommend one as never used one, but I'm sure someone will be along with recommendations soon 👍

Clearoutside can be very useful in regard to darkness, weather etc. https://clearoutside.com/forecast/7.05/79.90 The coloured bar under the times indicates darkness, black is astronomical darkness, the best time to view dimmer objects such as galaxies. Hopefully that is useful 👍

Certainly looks collimated to me, all appears to be lined up nicely. Next suspect would be the mirror clips/pinched optics although this would usually make them misshapen/comet shaped but it's worth a check. Seems like you are already familiar with removing the cell so pop it back out and back the mirror clips out a little, probably only needs a quarter of a turn, appreciate you haven't touched them but that doesn't mean it was correctly assembled in the factory Ideally should be able to get a piece of paper between the mirror and the clip, some people say a playing card, whichever floats your boat 👍

Just one? My wife does ask why I need more than one scope so don't say this out loud 😂 I've had and got a few, see my sig, but I don't have one that can do all. I like the contrast from the refractors, but then you have CA, the reach of the Mak, but then it's not much good for the dimmer stuff. If I was forced to cut it to just one, right now, I'd probably keep the Starblast 4.5 which maybe surprising, but it is a great little scope, super lightweight and does pretty well on a variety of targets considering it's size. Even better since I upgraded the focuser. But then, I'd also like a Seestar S50, and an 8 inch dob, and....

The flocking for me speaks volumes as well as the well-constructed dobsonian mount. I suspect this scope has been someone's pride and joy in the past and it looks like it's been well looked after. Providing the mirrors are in good condition it should prove to be quite a nice scope I think 👍

Another vote for Svbony from me, they do some decent cheap eyepieces. If possible you also want something fairly wide, say a 25mm plossl, their range can be seen here - https://www.svbony.com/shop/categories/eyepieces/?product_list_order_dir=Price,asc&product_list_mode=grid There is also a facebook group for making your own eyepieces from old binoculars here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1484777181687589 very handy if you are on a tight budget, I've tried this myself from a pair of broken binoculars and the eyepieces extracted were very good 👍

The tube itself won't be very heavy the mount will be a bit heavier but if you are reasonably fit I don't think it will be too much of a problem. If you are worried about it I'm sure they won't mind you going to see it before purchasing. It is definitely the better scope as mentioned above, do bear in mind you will need at least one eyepiece and some sort of collimation device such as a colimation cap, both can be purchased fairly cheaply 👍 Good luck with the hunt, there are some bargains out there even though some will say you can't get a decent scope cheaply, it is definitely possible and one of my favourite pastimes, much to my wife's dismay 😂

This one would be my choice out of the 4, the homemade dobsonian mount looks well constructed and the scope itself looks in good condition externally so has probably been well looked after. It will be quite heavy I suspect as it's made from quite thick plywood, but should be easy enough to move and could even be done in two parts, certainly a decent place to start with your budget. As others have said, try and get them to send you some pictures of the mirrors/internals just to make sure all looks ok, don't worry if it's a little dusty and find out if any eyepieces are included, I suspect they are as the ad says they've tested it, but none are pictured.

There is an interesting comparison here, looks a lot more black

https://culturehustle.com/products/black-4-0?variant=42814831394974 Apparently as black as vantablack, but this one you can actually buy, looks interesting and maybe a good option for reducing internal reflections?

If it's an SCT which I assume it is then people have some success with reducers such as this - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reducersflatteners/celestron-f63-focal-reducer.html Just don't be tempted by these https://www.firstlightoptics.com/astro-essentials-eyepieces/astro-essentials-05x-1-25-focal-reducer.html take it from experience, they are not worth the money, tried in multiple scopes and the distortion is just too much. That said, I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say why not look at a different OTA if you already have a suitable mount, for example, you could pick up a 6-inch Newtonian used for not much more money than the 6.3 reducer. Generally going to be around f5, giving you a wider field of view and a faster system for grabbing the faint fuzzies, just an idea....

Maks generally have a massive range of focus, so I'd be surprised if you need any extensions at all, unless you are using an external crayford or similar? Personally I'd say remove any extensions and as above try focusing on a distant object using the built in focuser first if an external is fitted. I have a helical on the back of my 127 but always use the internal focuser to get in the ball park first

I think @Cosmic Geoff meant like the below (hope you don't mind me doing a quick and dirty edit), rotating the image so it's level and then doing a horizontal flip of the image to correct for the diagonal mirror flipping the image horizontally.

Defo an eq1, and the saddle is made to bolt on tube rings, so could be used again if you so wish, small lightweight scope should be ok. Quite common on older eq mounts, I've had a couple of eq302 mounts with the same setup. If not, the counterweight and shaft is useful for those with AZ-GTi mounts as it's an M12 thread (usually) which screws straight into the AZ-GTi

To echo above, distance can be well compensated for with focusing, if you need glasses for close up too, maybe get a cheap pair of reading glasses (looks like you already have you prescription), they can be hung round your neck/stuck on your head until you need them, will honestly make your life easier. As for binoviewers, I've only tried the cheaper end of the range, they were ok for lunar and planetary. If you are serious about going down that route and looking at premium eyepieces then I'd say look at Baader, Denkmier and Zeiss binoviewers.

See what others recommend too, but you are going to at least want some sort of tracking mount like a star adventurer, for ease of use I'd maybe have a look at something like this https://www.firstlightoptics.com/equatorial-astronomy-mounts/sky-watcher-star-adventurer-gti.html A couple of links below for you to look at, bear in mind this is just one of many, many options, it's really easy to go from several hundred to several thousand pounds in astrophotography (which is why I stick to visual 😂) Review here - and an example setup here

I agree with the above, it really depends on what you want to image as to the advice. But, starting with what you have, astrobin is worth a poke around, here are some example shots with your 14mm lens - https://www.astrobin.com/search/?q=samyang+14mm&d=i&t=all&date_published_min=2011-11-09&date_published_max=2023-10-03 If you click into the pictures it will give you an idea of mounts used etc which may be of interest and some 35mm F1.8 too https://www.astrobin.com/search/?q=35mm+f1.8 One thing to bear in mind though is for these very wide field shots you need to be somewhere with very little light pollution, especially with the 14 mm. There are so many different avenues you can take with astrophotography so it'd be really helpful if you could pin down what targets you are thinking of and a definite budget, it'll then make it much easier to make recommendations. you might not even know that yet, so https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html would be a good idea before you start spending on equipment.

Can't believe I'm going to say this, but start with the manuals, they are surprisingly helpful! https://skywatcher.com/download/manual/synscan-hand-control-and-synscan-app/ North level alignment is the easiest with the app, so level the tube manually and point roughly towards Polaris. If the "Reset Alignment" button is available, tap on it first before starting the alignment to clear out any previous alignments. Then start the process, firstly it'll ask you to pick some stars, then confirm it is level. Once you move to the next step the scope will move to where it thinks the first alignment star is, bear in mind it is unlikely to get this bang on, so tweak with the arrows until it is centered, then click the star to confirm. It'll then move again. Again, star may not be centered, so use the arrows to center (if any are highlighted you need to tap them, the last moves should always be up and right to remove backlash) Then you should be aligned. Another thing to bear in mind is that the scope may not go in the direction you expect, this is ok, it is just trying to stop any cables getting wrapped up round the scope.

Aurora taken on my Pixel 6 mounted on a tripod on night mode in my garden in Ammanford (South Wales) Sunday 24th September, just before midnight, converted video to gif online using ezgif.