ToHellAndBack123

Oooo no I haven't - I'm absolutely going to give them a try now though! Thank you!

Thank you so much! The app really helped me check everything over, and I'm looking at this link right now

Not really, thing is worth selling on at least 🤣 But I am losing my patience with it rapidly. I've got a 102 refractor on it currently, for visual only. I can get it level and balance the scope well, and the setup is well within the weight limit for observing. But I cannot get it aligned very well at all, and I believe the main reason to be because I cannot see Polaris from my house so I cannot align it using the polar scope, I cannot figure out how to connect it to my laptop, drift aligning is a complete mystery, and I'm basically useless. Because I'm using it for observing only atm and have no cameras etc, I cannot follow any aligning via autoguiding advice either. I'm stuck. I can set it all up and begin aligning, but even doing a 3 star align I am always well off target (for example, tried Sirius today, was pretty much in the right direction but the scope was pointing too low). Whenever I use the handset to find the target and then try the next star, its always off again. Basically...help? Anyone else in a similar situation? I'm at the point where I'd genuinely pay for someone to come and show me what to do. If we weren't in lockdown, I'd beg!

Ah, mine is the Starwave 102 ED-R, with the FPL53 glass - it's £899 from Altair currently. That's why I tried to be a bit cautious with describing views, because idk if the less expensive scope will be different 😅 I say I'd probably go with an 80 partly because of cutting down weight where possible, but also because I am highly protective of my scopes and as a clumsy short gal the 102 is harder for me to handle, so to speak. I'm terrible with my mounts, I don't mind kicking them or knocking them off doorframes etc - but the 102 is nearly half as tall as me and I'd be worried about it being easier for me to knock around 🤣 I may just be imagining issues even for myself here, but I underestimated the weight of everything I've purchased so far on my stargazing journey so I tend to err on the side of caution.

Hey! I have zero experience with anything smaller than a 102ED, but I can say this - my Altair 102ED-R could easily be carried 10 mins in a larger backpack/gym bag. Its approx. 4kgs and is approx. 70cm in length with the dew shield retracted. But. Add in the mount, and you're looking at carrying a decent amount of weight even if you go with an alt az mount. The lightest thing I've dared stick my 102 on is a Skywatcher AZ4 with an aluminium frame, and even then I'm gritting my teeth with every gust of wind. Then there's the guide/finderscope, eyepieces, filters, if you have dew shields and if you need a power supply...It's doable. But worth thinking about seriously in order to get an idea of weight. I cannot speak about viewing potential really as I haven't looked through an 80. My 102 gives what I believe to be cracking views, but its above your budget so not sure re CA and other flaws a 102 in your price range could have. But if I had to lug the scope around with my bare hands just to view, I'd be highly tempted to go for an 80. I'm a newbie too! Good luck

Hi all! So, after putting off getting an EQ mount forever and a day, I've recently purchased an EQM-35. I'm having some difficulty wrapping my tiny brain around using it! My main issue currently is that polaris isn't visible from my house (its behind another house and a very bright street light). So I cannot see polaris through the polar scope. I have gotten fairly close to where I think Polaris should be using stellarium, but I still cannot see it. I have been told I can compensate for that roughly by doing a 3 star alignment and correcting the mount as I go, but I cannot do this. Whenever I try a 3 star alignment the mount will slew to whatever the first target is, say Sirius - and when it is off, I cannot correct the mount at all. The slewing buttons just don't work. At all. But when I go to the next star, it slews perfectly again. And then won't let me slew to correct. Is this right? I know I'm not using the damn thing properly, but all I want to do is things at the moment, I'm not trying to image anything. Basically, I'm an idiot, and I'm out of my depth, and help...please?