doublevodka

Almost certainly flak binoculars, look a lot like these on the "other" forum minus the extended dew shields - https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/570583-10x80-german-ww2-binoculars/

There are other methods to minimize them if they really bother you, curved vanes is one although after buying a new spider that might not be preferable...

The other one I've seen kicking around is this which is quite interesting - 

Originally from here by the look of things - http://serge.bertorello.free.fr/antiaigr/antiaigr.html?fbclid=IwAR3l0WvslKTU49PKQiNtBLhXC0AVQHef0bGOcA-1tgVNJGkGfBZ9ga8sBIY will need to translate from French in the browser

I'd be fairly confident it is genuine, just an older model, the current Dura-Bright version is model number D-DIG2D-CDB so only variation from yours is the DB for Dura Bright

I do like my skymax 127 paired with an az-gti, it's not without its quirks as a setup, but a one handed carry from the shed to the garden means I use it more.

If you are just buying a mak though, I'd go for the bresser https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-mc-127-1900-maksutov-cassegrain-ota.html it's full aperture and well liked, also seems to have a slightly better build quality from what I've read.

Either is a useful addition for those times when you want the extra magnification.

2 essential additions needed though, dew shield, because they are dew magnets, and a clothes peg for fine focus (honestly, not joking)

On 31/08/2023 at 11:40, John_D said:

doublevodka - I'm sure that you know that these come in two very substantial plywood boxes. These are currently lurking in our utility room and SWMBO has already asked the dreaded question - "... and where exactly are you going to keep that?" 😁

 

Very much aware and that's part of the appeal for me, I like the industrial look

I'm up the road from you in Ammanford so if it becomes too much for SWMBO give me a nudge 😂 mine live in the shed so it's not too much of a problem although I do get the occasional "why do you need 3 telescopes?"

Also since you are in the right area, if you are on Facebook take a look at https://www.facebook.com/groups/597841820359277 it may be of interest 👍

12 hours ago, John_D said:

I've recently bought a TAL 2M telescope off eBay. It's 1200mm / 48" long and looks as if it hasn't been used much recently. My plan over the next few weeks is to assemble what I've got and see if there's anything missing or needs fixing. Some of the controls seem a bit stiff but hopefully that's just a bit of re-greasing that's required. I'm not sure of the date of manufacture as there's precious little paperwork but the labels inside the box have the text "12.93" on them which could be a date I suppose. I imagine there's a serial number somewhere but I haven't really looked.

I've already found lots of good stuff on these forums ( thanks! ) and have downloaded the manuals but I have a few questions and I'd be grateful if anybody could point me in the right direction.

1. Using 12v AC 50Hz for the motor is slightly unusual. I assume that the "electric clock drive" referred to in the manual locks to the 50Hz to give the right rotation speed? The power supply that I have is marked "Douglas Louth Eng".
2. The service manual that I downloaded mentions a "Control Panel" with speed selection buttons. That's not mentioned in the list of items in either box, was it an option or a later addition? The service manual states "If the control panel is provided the car's mains or storage battery 12 V can be used through the car's cable." which implies that it was an option.
3. The standard focuser seems to have been replaced with a "Sky's the Limit" unit. The original focuser came with it, is worth putting the original back on?
4. In most of the pictures of these telescopes that I've seen the OTA and stand are white but mine is a rather fetching blue. It doesn't look to have been painted and I'm not bothered really but it would be interesting to know the history.

Thanks
John

 

Not jealous at all... 😂 I will own one of these one day

12.93 likely refers to the date of manufacture, certainly a lot of them seem to have been made in the 90's so that would make sense.

Point 2 - from what I've seen the control panel was an optional extra with a car power supply

Point 3 - stick with the current focuser if it works ok, was likely replaced for a reason, although there's no harm in switching back to the original if you really want to 

Point 4 - they are most commonly white, but there are some blue ones about, i've only ever seen the 2M's in that colour scheme, the older ones anyway, newer TALs seem to be all blue

14 minutes ago, Shimrod said:

Thanks for posting this - I have ordered the set of two - don't think I need both, but it gives me the chance to compare at a silly price. Each eyepiece is still selling higher individually than this on Amazon from the same seller (Retevis). I was a bit sceptical of the Ebay listing (too good to be true!) but it is possibly shipping direct from Germany rather than from in the UK. Worst case scenario is reclaiming the money via Ebay & Paypal if nothing turns up. 

I already have the 3-8mm zoom so this gives me a handy 2 eyepiece set to for my travel kit.

I've bought from Retevis on Amazon previously on Amazon and not had any issues if that helps put the mind at rest, they often reduce prices on things, I bought 2 helical focusers at £3.99 and £5.99 respectively, they are normally at least £20, both arrived 👍

30 minutes ago, lawsio said:

If ever there was a hobby where there was a reason to always spend a little bit more, this is it!

This pretty much sums up astronomy and we're all happy to help you spend your money 😂

Going back in the thread a bit, you can raise the current dob off the ground with something like this if height is an issue, if you diy it you can make it whatever height you need too https://uk.telescope.com/Dob-Pod-for-Orion-45-10-Dobsonian-Telescopes/p/109964.uts

Mounting an 8 inch newt is not easy on an eq mount, certainly possible but you will probably find an eq5 is not strong enough, plus ant breeze is going to make it move around (sadly know this from experience having previously had an 8 inch on an eq3-2, that was challenging to put it politely)

The AZ-GTi is a cracking little mount, they also come up used quite often with the 127 mak on board around the £300 mark so worth a look for a used one, if you have a few days read the owners thread below to see what people have done with them.

What I will say though, is you are going to get better resolution with your current 8 inch, so just bear that in mind, that said portability is a huge plus of the smaller setup. From deciding to go out with the scope I can be up and running in 5 minutes, the scope and mount are a one-handed carry from the shed to the garden.

Further down the line you can add different ota's, maybe a 80mm ed refractor, or small newt, I have an Orion Starblast 4.5 that I've added rings and a dovetail bar to (and recently a new focuser) that I use quite often, it was very cheap and gives a nice wide view which the 127 can't.

Some things to think about for you anyway, good luck with whatever you choose 👍

Also there is one on sale with FLO currently... - https://www.firstlightoptics.com/offers/offer_sky-watcher-skymax-127-az-gti_380061.html

To throw a complete curveball, if you are looking down the EAA rabbit hole, maybe take a look at this from ZWO https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/zwo-seestar-s50-all-in-one-smart-apo-telescope-tripod.html

Providing you have it setup as the picture and haven't tried to change the firmware to eq mode etc you should be good.

Firstly make sure it's level on the tripod (as level as possible anyway) and level the scope and point roughly in the direction of Polaris, then power on the mount.

Once your phone has connected start the north level alignment routine, pick the two stars that are at the top of the list if possible i.e. they are visible from your observing spot and start the alignment proceedure.

Firstly you need to confirm it's north and level, so go ahead and confirm, then it should move to your first alignment star.

Most importantly, it won't necessarily be on target but that is ok, use the arrows on screen to bring it on target firstly using your finder then the scope itself, start with a log magnification eyepiece and then switch to a higher one, say 25mm to 10mm, this will help make it more accurate, once centered in the eyepiece confirm and it'll move onto the second star. (defocusing the star can also help with centering, easier to center a big circle than a point of light)

Second star, repeat above, again it may not be on target and that's fine.

You next goto should be more accurate, each time you goto be sure to center as above for the first couple, this will help the mount build a decent alignment model, but you should now be getting the object in the field of view of a lower mag eyepiece like a 25mm every time.

Really important note here, if it continues to be off target, don't be afraid to power off and start again, just make sure you select "reset alignment" in the alignment screen to clear the previous alignment model.

Once you get the hang of it, the gti mount is a great little tool 👍

Given a choice between the two only, personally, I would probably  go with the StellaLyra, or to throw in a curveball maybe the Celestron Starsense Explorer https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-starsense-explorer-series/celestron-starsense-explorer-10-dobsonian.html

However, as the others have said it's a fairly sizeable scope so don't underestimate it, can you store it? will you be able to easily move it to your observing spot/put it into the car to travel if wanted? Statistically 10 inchers get used a chunk less that 8 inchers purely because of the size and bulk so it's something to consider (maybe someone will be along with the stats shortly)

Some good info here from Ed Ting about dobsonian sizes which may be worth a watch

Welcome @PaulColbert👍

If you have any specific questions post in the beginners sections here and you will get plenty of advice 👍- https://stargazerslounge.com/forum/183-beginners/

3 hours ago, Chaz2b said:

I'm looking to get a tent to act an observatory when camping.

I've seen tents that are designed for the job but boy are they expensive! Now I'm a cheap skate so I am looking for a particular design that could fit the bill. I have a Coleman dark tent but it's too low, I want hight too.

The various designs I've looked into include fishing bivvies!

Has anyone also taken this route to protect and serve, other than American cops, lol

chaz

Maybe something like this? https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15903164/hi-gear-annex-utility-tent-15903164

Or if you are looking for protection from the breeze while observing maybe one of these - https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/camping/tent-accessories/windbreaks/

On 07/08/2023 at 15:06, Giles_B said:

 

Seeing-wise, there are not many stars in the sky to the naked eye and they generally show atmospheric wobbliness. Bristol isn't very high above sea level so the atmosphere is pretty thick. The planets shimmer about a bit in the eyepiece once I get to around 13mm.

I do realise I should take in the usual caveats - that I am expecting too much from the actual conditions. 

 

Personally, I think these couple of sentences tell the story for me.

Seeing was particularly rubbish for me for planetary season last year, just looking up you could see how unstable the atmosphere was and this massively affects things, especially at higher mags.

To give an example about 3 years ago I had a Nextstar 4SE, I saw more with that including Cassini Division than I did with my current Skymax 127 last year so don't be too hard on your kit.

However, if you want to boost contrast in the newt I'd recommend flocking it, it's not particularly difficult or expensive but is worthwhile doing for all types of observing 👍

Well I finally got to test it last night and it works 👍 focusing is nice and easy and no sloppiness! For anyone who's printing it themselves I'd recommend doing it as high resolution as you can, mine wasn't so it was a little tricky to attached the focuser to the adapter, but I got there eventually 

On 28/07/2023 at 15:32, GTom said:

I have a venerable EQ3-2 goto on a solid steel tripod, thought it might worth upgrading it to a level that it will be AP-capable with my heavy built 90/600 APO+heavy camera gear (total will be around 7kg).

 

Any advice on materials and what needs to be replaced? E.g. can I keep the motors (both working fine) or do I need a full belt-driven assembly with a modern hand controller? Or forget it and bring it in for a stellardrive mod ?

Having previously owned one and stripped it multiple times I would say try it out as it is for now, just to get you started.

A problem with it is it doesn't have real bearings on all axis, it's effectively a shaft in a collar and can't really be changed without some serious machining. So right from the outset you are going to have a fight on your hands.

However, if you use it in the short term you can at least get a flavour for AP and see if it is for you before spending a lot more money, just don't expect multi-minute exposures.

If you really really must mod this mount, then I would suggest looking at OnStep - https://onstep.groups.io/g/main/wiki/4414 as that is about the cheapest way to give you the functions you want that I found before giving up on the idea.

This thing is then bane of many people's lives when it comes to small newtonians, it's the same on many different models of newt around the 4 to 6 inches sizes and in a word, it's sloppy and moves around a lot when focusing.

I tried the usual tweaks of adding tape etc but I still wasn't happy with it so I started digging and found there wasn't really a cheap aftermarket version that could just be bolted on so I dug a little further and came across this helical focuser adapter.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5968601/files?fbclid=IwAR32ukwq8eRQZpgt1Q6lrlz-_6xKy1XnBofN1-r77rtorPpYbghiDPm-iNI

I don't own a 3d printer but know a few guys that do so outsourced the print to one of them, then I needed the focuser itself.

Amazon happened to have them on sale so I picked up one from there, it came with adapters I didn't need, but for a fiver I wasn't complaining! (since gone back up in price) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Svbony-Precision-Telescope-Guidescope-Compression/dp/B07PVJWPPV?ref_=ast_sto_dp

After a long wait for the print to arrive I finally installed it last night

Blackened the important bits with a Sharpie and it works! Now I no longer need to work about the focuser shifting around when collimating 👍 Yet to try it under the stars as the weather is rubbish currently, but I think I'm going to very happy with this and it's a great little ota to start with, have also flocked it and planning to install a primary mirror mask at some point as it appears to have a slightly turned down edge.

Hopefully the info helps someone else with a rubbish focuser in the future 👍

Both are cheap for what they are, you're essentially getting the ota for free on each compared with the average prices I see around.

I've gone for the 130P-DS, yes, bigger is better, but the 200 has a large surface area and will be affected by the breeze quite a bit more, even on the beefier mount. Scotland has some weather, so worth taking that into account.

You seem to want a simple rig, so I've assumed manual focusing, the focuser will be better for your needs.

Either is good value tbh, but that's my take on it with minimal info.

Thank god it was two newts rather than frac vs newt otherwise it'd get heated in here 😂

Could be a number of things, although I'd suspect power, Celestron mounts are very picky about voltage to say the least.

https://nexstarsite.com/ will be a good resource for you.

Try it with a mains 12v adapter if you can, should be 12v and center postive look for a symbol like this on the adapter (plug config varies per country but you get the idea) - these can be commonly found round the house believe it or not, common devices like broadband routers use them, just be sure to check the voltage and polarity first.

If it's still not powering on correctly then you have at least ruled power out.

On 23/07/2023 at 15:27, Johns22 said:

Hopefully I can get the correct holesaw

@Johns22 if you get a set of holesaws there might be an easier way to centralise the hole.

Get one that matches the current hole and put that inside the larger one, this video explains it a bit better than me

Good luck with the rest of the rebuild, I suspect it'll be a very nice scope once completed 👍

17 hours ago, Mike Q said:

She has all the emails.  They always make it ready to go for apple products, android always seems to take a back seat, plus it is only good for certain android systems.  Her phone is brand new and wont run all of it.  My phone wont run any of it.  So to get the most out of it I would have to switch to apple or a very expensive android

I'd hold off a phone change for now @Mike Q, bearing in mind they aren't shipping till later in the year that'll give time for the android app to be developed. If you do end up looking to change, I'd recommend the Google Pixel phones, the below was taken with my pixel 6 on a tripod from my back garden, no tracking mount.

@Jim Smith if it's this type, it's under a cover on the rear, big red arrow pointing to the seam, think you can get a coin/flathead screwdriver in there at the back and prise it open from memory

I had a non WO branded one, my favorite red dot so far, shouldn't have let that one go!

On 17/07/2023 at 19:07, Mike Q said:

The wife is all over this.  It could be the ultimate travel scope. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vaonis/hestia-turn-your-smartphone-into-a-smart-telescope and now she can order 👍Lots more details about it on the page for those interested

Another teaser video released before the launch on Kickstarter tomorrow, so we have an idea of size at least, it definitely looks a bit different! 

@Franklin2324 have a look at some of the Astro Baby guides here - https://www.astro-baby.com/astro_baby_telescope_help_and_advice.htm

There's one for polar alignment and one for collimation, both will be very useful to you.

As above the tracking motor helps to keep things in the eyepiece, so it is a very useful addition once you have your scope on target 👍