Andy ES

Morpheus 👍 very impressed with these.

On 08/04/2024 at 17:24, powerlord said:

Any other suggestions ? Sonething to really energise me into the hobby again ?

What about getting an “Apprentice”?

I found that training people and passing on knowledge was very rewarding when I was working, maybe there is someone you could teach your skills to.

This might be like when you don’t really want to go to the gym but you know someone is coming round you then usually go and enjoy it.

Personally I’ve had more enjoyable nights observing when I have shown someone something through the eyepiece.

Got in my Tardis and went to Dallas tomorrow and saw this, very nice.😊 

good luck with the weather  my American friends.

On 11/02/2024 at 07:59, PeterCPC said:

Our neighbour is moving and I am dreading to see how the new ones behave.

Never know could be a family of astronomers…

and you could also win the lottery. 😂

(my neighbours are very nice, but they do like the fairy lights a bit, but not really a problem if move like a stealthy cat and don’t trip their garden light)

On 03/02/2024 at 22:54, lrh said:

2.5m aperture Isaac Newton Telescope at the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory, La Palma, Spain.

Welcome, I bet however my CPC925 weighs more than your 100 inch beast 😂

On 01/02/2024 at 18:52, Kon said:

This week I acquired a new 12" Goto telescope (Skywatcher 300P Goto).

Lol, so a goto scope, you’re spoiling yourself !

I hope you are still going to track and photograph manuals.

GOTO is for wimps like me 😂

Simply stunning (as usual😁) Nigella

I’ve found my new dark sky site.

It's my mum’s back garden! 😁

I’ve been staying round with her for a couple of weeks while she recovers from an operation.

Thing is the garden is out of the way and about 150ft long. With scrubby land at the back.

Much darker than my garden.

Had a few great nights with the Binoculars.

Think I’ll have to lug the scope round. Happy Days.

Welcome, you will find very knowledgeable people here with many years of experience. There is also a very big searchable library of posts that will probably give you any answers you require.

This is a very safe and supportive forum.

just don’t ask when will the sky clear😂

Got this quaint old school equipment.

Somehow it’s got more  appeal than Ski Safari Pro ! 😂

It's also massive, good for my ever aging eyes.

Tonight I showed my brother in law the Moon and Jupiter.

This is for someone who NEVER EVER looks up at the sky.

He couldn’t believe he could see a planet with his own eyes.

Wonderful to show this to a new astronomer.

Upshot was he said I know you have got a telescope.

When can I come and look through it?

Fantastic. (He will also make a great body guard when I’m out in the field) 😂

3 hours ago, Kon said:

8" Dob, manual tracking

Wow manual! 👍

13 hours ago, JackW07 said:

have recently gotten into astrology,

Auto correct strikes again! 😂

Best of luck with your project, it should be fascinating. if I ever finish decorating I would like to try something like this. 😂I I love my orrery app.

There was a very talented person, called Gina, on this forum, who is sadly no longer with us.

You could look at some of her posts maybe, as she made all sorts of clocks and 3D printed things.

22 hours ago, bosun21 said:

What a totally depressing outlook for the next generations of astronomers. Is this the beginning of the end for ground based astronomy?

I hear the far side of the Moon is good for visual and radio astronomy 😂

30 minutes ago, John said:

t was being considered over a decade ago:

That’s good, pity they didn’t (or ever will) use it.

Yeah, I know they’re only little bits...

Presumably the increasing amount of operational and dead satellites, combined with all the other debris to be put in orbit in the future will prevent humanity venturing out into space long before we work out how to do it. Being in orbit will just be too dangerous.

I should think getting into the space cleaning business will be very lucrative In the future.😁

A while ago after waiting 2 years for my Explore Scientific 24mm 82 degree  eyepiece to turn up I swore my EP collection was now complete.

Well  today this turned up, I think I need to sign up for EA, (that’s Eyepiece Anonymous !) I need help.

I suspect there are many other potential members out there😂

StellaLyra 30mm Ultra Flat Field 2" Eyepiece😁

I thought it was fun 😂 well it was when it worked!

Today I’ve had a very successful afternoon updating the firmware on my Celestron Starsense Autoalign Hand Controller (HC) and Camera. This will be used on my CPC925. I thought I would write up some helpful notes in case you are going to attempt a similar  operation...

I purchased the Starsense Autoalign from a SGL member (thanks John). The unit is c2015 vintage and had not previously been updated. Looking on the Celestron web site it appears that a number of updates have been issued for the HC over the years, but possibly not for the Camera.

I got a lot of info from the Nexstar Resource web site which is extremely useful.

I downloaded the Celestron firmware manager (CFM) from the Celestron site. You have to extract the Zip file and must have java installed to then run it.

When  you run the CFM with nothing connected it brings up some on screen instructions, these get you to:-

Connect the hand controller and camera to the scope and PC with the scope turned off. I connected the kit together as per the diagram attached from Nexstar site. I had to buy a serial cable to USB for the hand controller as my unit has the original RS232 connector and the laptop doesn’t have a serial port. The cable was about £12 from Ebay.

Press and hold the menu and Celestron logo buttons while you turn on the scope, you then see Bootloader on the display.

The CFM should then find all the devices attached.

You can then press update and the devices are updated one by one, with a complete confirmation at the end.

I then switched off the scope and disconnected the PC.

When I switched the scope back on it all started normally and found the GPS time and location, so all looks good. You can then check the firmware versions on the handset against the Celestron web site. It appears that I have a later version than is listed on the web site

site: 01.22.21333 12/2021

scope: 01.22.22308 8/2023

Overall this was a lot simpler and easier than I would have hoped.

Now need some decent clear sky to test it out.😁

On 08/10/2023 at 09:24, AstroKeith said:

Messing with modern electronics requires some basic tools and knowledge. 

Mutlimeter - essential
Temperature controlled iron with narrow tip - essential
Sharp side cutters - essential
Calibrated wire strippers - almost essential
Solder sucker or soldering wicking material
Heat shrink sleeving - essential

Going to add:

Anti Static Mat with wrist band connector and Earthing Lead - essential

I’ve found that showing someone, who has never really experienced astronomy, some “wow” views from the scope is very invigorating and refreshes my enthusiasm.

10 minutes ago, IDM said:

just checked the C11 is 12.5kg, which is getting pretty heavy to lift.

I think the CPC925 is 26kg and CPC11 is 29kg😳

makes a C11 OTA seem ok to me and my back 😂

Just buy more kit and then you can look forward to using it in the future, eventually...😂

Ian,

I’m using a CPC925 XLT, which even in  my inexperienced hands has produced some half decent planetary images.

Visually I find it stunning and very easy to use.

The only downside is the weight. I’m  pretty strong and a reasonably  fit 57 year old and I personally wouldn’t want to go to 11” on a CPC mount. (At least not without someone to help put it on the tripod)

Probably ok on a different mount when it is just an OTA

Can’t really comment on the extra benefits of HD but reading posts not sure there is that much in it, but I have not had the chance to compare.

Good luck with your choice.

Andy

PS I think there is a CPC925 for sale on this site at the moment