Tiny Clanger

I don't think there is any firm information about when or how much stock will arrive, if you know for sure exactly what you want you can pre-order, but check the seller's set up, some take the money at the time you place the order, which is annoying if you have to wait months. When some do arrive there will be a rush to grab one, so pre ordering might be wise. If you want something now, second hand is the way to go. If you can access the buy/swap section on here (and the rules about the number of posts needed to do so have changed recently, so you might need to chat a bit more first !) I can recommend the Bresser 102mm S as a really nice wide field 'scope, and there is one for sale at a good price, and with a suitable mount too https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/381609-bresser-messier-ar-102s600-az4-mount-can-sell-seperate/?tab=comments#comment-4146695 this is it new (but,naturally, out of stock ) https://www.firstlightoptics.com/bresser-telescopes/bresser-messier-ar-102s-600-refractor-ota.html Heather

Stop it ! My home made chair is going to have so many useful additions I'll not be able to lift it ! 🙂 Heather

I came across it purely by accident when scanning that area with a 16mm eyepiece in my heritage 150 ( 47x magnification) , so you should be able to see it in the 130, it might be that the orientation or scale hampered you in recognising it ... I am sure other versions of stellarium can do this, as can other programs and apps, but I am only familiar with the downloaded version of stellarium, so this is how I use that to help find/recognise such things when the dob turns them around and confuses me Stellarium has a 'plug in' called 'ocular view' . To find it, go to the left hand menu, click 'configuration window' (the spanner icon) . A pop up menu offers a tab called 'plug ins' .click it, select 'oculars' from the list, and 'load at startup' . Restart stellarium, and there should be a new bar, top right, for ocular view. On that bar, click the spanner icon, to access a menu where you set up your telescope statistics and the way it flips the image, and the statistics of each of your eyepieces. Once that's done you can leave ocular view, select your target on the main screen, click ocular view, and see a simulation of approximately how it will look through your specific setup, clicking through the eyepieces to see the different views. It sounds complicated, but once you set up ocular view it is saved, there, and ready to use any time you open stellarium. Heather

If minimum set up includes minimum time , be aware that some telescopes, like the 150 maksutov you mention, need to be outside cooling for quite a while before you can use them properly. My considerably smaller 127mak needs a minimum of half an hour. Go-to setup will not be anything like as speedy as taking your travelscope out and setting it down to look through either . There are members on here who observe in the London area, hopefully someone can give you good advice about your best equipment choices given the light pollution , but my guess is you might have to give up on most DSOs and concentrate on brighter things like the Moon and planets.

I can measure my chair if you want any specific details Jerry O doesn't give, just ask ! I tailored the size of my chair to the height range of my heritage dob eyepiece when the 'scope is used on a low table, and the fact that I'm about 1.72m tall. I imagine a wookie might need a different range of seat heights 🙂 Heather

Yep, not because I know anything whatsoever about that particular mount though , beyond it having a decent reputation , and it being available bundled with some 3kg-ish 'scopes , so I suppose it can cope with them: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/sky-watcher-az-gti-wifi.html As I said before, I'm strictly a manual, alt/az, point-it- and-hope sort of observer , so proper experienced users opinions on which go-to would suit you in the price range will be more valuable than mine . I do know about tripods though 🙂 , Manfrotto 55s have been around for decades, and are often sold second hand quite cheaply without a head, if you use ebay I'm sure there will be plenty on offer, but camera dealers often take them in part exchange and sell them on fairly cheaply because they take up space in the stockroom , first example that came up on my search https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-accessories/used-photo-and-video-accessories/used-tripods-and-supports/manfrotto-055xprob-tripod/sku-1304574/ which might be a bit scruffy compared with a shiny new (but out of stock I expect) skywatcher steel job, but costs about £85 including delivery, so that'd be £45 still in your pocket ... Heather

The SW steel tripod is about £130 https://www.firstlightoptics.com/tripods/sky-watcher-38-stainless-steel-tripod.html and would be preferable to the one you can buy bundled ( at a cost of about £90) with the azGTi , so rather than £336 for the bundled head + a lightweight tripod you will soon want to upgrade, you could spend £249 on the AZGTi and £129 on the more robust tripod = £378. That setup would easily take your 130 heritage, and leave you £220 to spend on an OTA . The only reason I can imagine for buying the bundled tripod would be if you specifically wanted a lightweight tripod for easy portability. Personally, if it was me, I'd buy the mount and tripod (except I'd save a bit and buy a secondhand manf. 55 for about £80) , and see how I got on using the heritage on it. If it works well enough for you to stick with it , you have £220 left burning a hole in your pocket. If the heritage doesn't do what you hoped for , you will have some idea if the shortcoming is aperture, or focal length, or what, and can buy one of the OTAs in the £200-£250 price range the mount can handle, maybe even sell the heritage on if you don't want to use it and add whatever cash it brings to your OTA buying piggy bank ...

And another £100 ...

Why not both ? (with due care and attention to avoid any risk of dunking the eyepieces in the coffee ...I can't afford those ES argon purged waterproof jobs unfortunately )

Sorry, I made it up as I went along, not even a 'back of the envelope' diagram, and apart from that one bit of wood from the DIY emporium, my materials list was 'stuff already lying around ' 🙂 . If you check Jerry Oltion's website http://www.jerryoltion.com/observing_chair.htm, which is where I drew my inspiration , he shows some decently detailed photos with dimensions. Heather

Do it, and please post pictures, I'd love to see a really nicely made chair, mine is fairly rough and clumsy and as far as carpentry goes I'm a bodger (but not in the old chair related meaning of that word 🙂 ) Heather

You may wonder ... on a thread about purchasing ready made chairs there was a post yesterday with an interesting link to a German manufacturer whose chair has an optional clip on table .... it has got me thinking .... 🙂

I'll third that ! Tripods may not be glamorous, but they are vital components. I already owned a very sturdy old manfrotto 55 photo tripod, which takes my 127 mak and AZ5 head with no problem central column locked tight, 2 of the thicker leg sections extended (I don't need the third, thinnest section out, it would lift the eyepiece over my head ...) I have a less heavy/tall/sturdy/expensive manfrotto 190 tripod with a lighter alt az head which has my grab & go refractor permanently on it, to use it standing I have to extend all three leg sections, and that introduces vibrations I don't see with just the 2 thickest leg sections and seated use, or with the 55. I've been a fan of photo tripods with clip locks rather than twist collar locks for decades, so would look for a second hand manfrotto 55 or a similar quality photo tripod if I was looking for another tripod. (Unless my premium bond came up, and I could afford one of those lovely wooden jobs ...) Heather

oooh, 'Tisch für ICS Astro-Stuhl' , now that's a way of doing something I'd vaguely considered adding to my home made chair. I was thinking of a smaller hinged shelf with holes for eyepieces, but that appears to be a clipped on larger surface , with supporting metal strut . Hmm.... Heather

A small update to show how the 'scope chair is evolving . I completely forgot to post this photo after I took it a few weeks ago. I added a padded headrest, after finding I could set the chair up with the front & back at an obtuse angle and use it as a sort of semi reclined binocular using seat, but I needed a head rest to make it comfortable. Used this way the seat goes on the lowest setting. Because that extra horizontal near the top made the front section look out of balance, I added a low bar as well, which handily works as a footrest when the seat is set high . For no better reason than I was in carpentry mode , found a bit of shelf offcut the right size, and it looked right, an extra strengthening panel went on the back too. You can't see this in the pictures, but I'd been using a bolt and wingnut to secure the strut which keeps the 'ladder' open and at a fixed angle when used with a telescope, but found it a bit faffy to set/undo in the dark, I kept losing the wingnut . In the box of oddments in the shed I found a small staple from a cheap hasp & staple ( intended for, but never used with, a padlock) and a spring loaded mini keyring type hook which have replaced the bolt and make it much easier to just click the strut in place. I was thinking of how to adapt the strut length for binocular recliner mode, maybe add a cord , but my garden's grass is so bumpy there seems no danger of the chair legs sliding apart ! Heather

The cheaper basic skywatcher 2x barlow I own does the same, it seems to e a standard feature on many barlows.

I've found the variable pol. a faff in my dob, you have to rotate the two filters with respect to each other, which means removing and replacing the eyepiece to twiddle the filters . In a 'scope which has a diagonal you can separate the two polarisers, remove the diagonal and screw one filter to it, put the other on the eyepiece, then just turn the eyepiece to rotate one filter, which is convenient, but you can't do that in a dob . So I'd suggest either a Moon filter(some of which have a greenish tint I don't much like) or an ND which is neutral as far as colour goes. Heather

I can't comment on the mount, my experience is strictly manual alt/az only, but I do own a heritage 150 on the original base, and a mak 127 on an AZ5. They make a good combination, 150 dob for DSOs, mak for planets and the Moon, with the mak a precise double the focal length of the dob ( 1500mm and 750mm respectively) and the difference in aperture does make a difference to the visibility of faint fuzzies from my light polluted suburban garden. I did try the dob on my az5 when I got the mount (the dob was my first 'scope) and it would work fine, but I actually enjoy using the dob base, so stick to leaving the mak permanently on the AZ5. If you had access to the buy/swap area (which is limited for new members) I'd be asking if yo were anywhere near JeremyS who is selling a heritage 150 for £150 , and you might consider a slightly smaller new 102 mak on a gti mount, which is £450 , making a neat £600 combination. Heather Heather

There are 2 sorts of right angled finders , one makes the image upright (erect) but leaves it left/right reversed, just like the view through a refractor with a mirror diagonal. The second (and more expensive) right angled correct image finder (RACI) shows you the view right way up and with no left/right flip, so exactly as the eye sees . That makes it easier to use for most people. Not all advert listings make it clear which is which, if there's a photo there is a way to tell, which you can see here :

Duplicate thread ?

As I said above, the hexafocus upgrade is £75 here, but you will need to check your local supplier's prices. The Bresser finder on the dob you linked to is the same as the one which came with my Bresser refractor, and it is of very little use, I'm sure you would want to replace it, possibly with a right angled finder which means you do not have to do acrobatics to sight through it. These telescope packages are built to sell at a price point, and each has particular advantages over the competition which can be advertised (while they keep quieter about the places where they have saved money ! ) you have to decide what features are important to you , and work out the added cost of any upgrades you think you will need. I've not studied the GSO , it's not something I've seen available new during the past year here in the UK, so I have been comparing the Bresser to the StellaLyra and Skywatcher , and decided the better bearings and lower weight mean that when funds and stocks allow, it will be the Bresser that I buy. I know I can manage without the focus upgrade for a while, and add it later, I have a suitable replacement finder shoe and can swap a finder I already have over to it when I need to. Heather

Yep, close the heritage down a little from the click stop, and tighten the locking screws . Not ideal , but it works.

A couple of practical points you might like to check on . First, because it's something I've researched, being a limiting factor for me, is the weight of the ;scopes . I'd like an 8" dob., and have looked at the weights of various of the cheaper models, and found the Bresser is lighter, therefore the one I could more easily lug outside (no way can I store or handle a 10" dob on my own, and something that's a chore to set up will not get the use it deserves) The Bresser focuser is good, I have a Bresser refractor with the same one, I don't have the upgrade though, which costs £75. As far as I know (and I've not looked at the accessories on the 10") Bresser uses its own non standard narrow finder shoe on these 'scopes, so you may also want to factor in a suitable replacement to take a better finder, which together will add at least another £75 or so. The advantages the Bresser has for me is the weight , and the good reputation it has for the smoothness of the alt bearings . I gave the StellaLyra 8" dobs a look when they came out, and while the accessories are a very good feature, thoughtfully specified so there's little need to upgrade, and they look like a good step up from the skywatcher equivalent, for me they lose out on weight. Worth a look, although as it appears you are in India (from looking at your links , it might help folk give you good buying advice if you put your approximate location with your avatar ) I don't know if a StellaLyra purchase would be more expensive for you when shipping is factored in. Heather

Not sure if this should be a comment here, or in the 'You know you're middle aged when ... ' thread, but those Brooke Bond tea cards were educational ... when I quite recently started noticing new to me butterfly species when out on walks, sometimes the name popped into my brain from some dusty recess in the mental filing system, and research at home proved it to be correct. This was mysterious to me (I'd never read a book on butterflies as far as i could recall ) until I remembered ... tea cards ! I vaguely recall my dad solemnly sticking the things in the albums, certainly British butterflies, I think also tropical birds , and maybe wild animals ? It's a bit hazy, I think I must have been 6 or younger. Compare & contrast (as the 'A' level questions used to say) with the current promotional give away stickers/cards etc, which are usually film promotional tie ins or similar. Heather

Arrived faster than a speeding cloud ... posted to me lunchtime Friday, arrived just before lunchtime Saturday, thanks postie and @Barry-W-Fenner , a bargain priced , decent quality RDF to banish the stock skywatcher plastic thing from my 102 Bresser 🙂 Heather