JDF

Two pairs of Helios Stellar II, 10x50 and 15x70's on a tripod or monopod depending on my mood.

The 15x70's have been getting much more use than the mak127 of late.

It's been clear here now from 6pm so I had the Skymax 127 out for a half hour to have a look at the Moon, it also let me try out the Skytee mount for the 1st time since it's purchase. Had a look at M42 with it, with a 32mm plossl with the UHC filter and a 10mm without filter, nebulosity showed best at the higher mag without filter. Seeing maybe not great as Trapezium was just about resolving 4 stars at  x150. Came in for some food and then back out for an hour with the bins again for a look at M31, not great with the Moon washing most of the sky out but still fun scanning around .

14 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

Consider a trigger grip and monopod.

Although solo trigger grips at the moment seem to be out of stock, Amazon do one with a tripod. You're getting the tripod for about a tenner:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01LQX0P8Q/ref=psdcmw_1104574_t2_B000XUXPJ0

 

I'll second that trigger grip suggestion, I have mine mounted to the same one and it's well worth the money, the tripod is perfect for this size of bins too.

It stayed clear last night so I had another pop out just after midnight, 15x70's again, Perseus was really opened up in these bins and spent a bit of time there. On moving back into the Orion area I noticed a very red speck of light against the blackness of the background, I had never noticed this before. Only upon reading the Feb issue of BinocularSky this morning did I learn this is R Leporis (Hind's Crimson Star) so another first for me. I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy owning these bins.

Earlier in the evening I had a nice detailed viewing of the crescent moon through them as well. These might actually encourage me to leave the garden and look for darker skies.

Got a nice 30min spell tonight to try out my new 15x70 bins, such an improvement on the 10x50s, all the usual suspects so much brighter and M45 is even more stunning than I thought 😃

5 minutes ago, Yubnub said:

Would you recommend a Barlow too? Or does this push the limits of the scope too far?

I don't think you will need a barlow, get a decent 10 or 9mm and you should be set. I sometimes use a 7mm to give 214x but seeing needs to be really good. In the 18 months i've been using the scope the 7mm has given good views on maybe 3 occasions. You may get different opinions on this but this is my experience with my skies.

1 minute ago, PeterC65 said:

I can't fit a wider knob with the 2" Clicklock in place, but I think I really benefit from the extra leverage provided by the clothes peg. The focus control is so sensitive that just a tiny nudge on the end of the clothes peg is enough to make a difference at high magnifications. I wonder now how I ever used this scope without it!

Yeah, I use the peg too but it does sometimes ping off into the dark, I have just ordered one of those off ebay so we will see how it goes.

2 minutes ago, Yubnub said:

Do you guys the had/have the SW 127 Mak recommend any mods or definite changes to the standard equipment. 

Change the 10mm eyepiece for sure, I use the Baader Classic Ortho 10mm but there are others, a 32mm plossl is also a good bet.

6 hours ago, Zermelo said:

Well spotted, Peter!
I bought the knob first, but it doesn't fit with the larger visul back in place.
At some point I will think about grinding it down a bit and see if I can still use it.

How did you find it worked before you changed the visual back ? 

Got another half hour with Bins tonight before cloud came back in, new Amazon basics tripod and trigger head arrived today so got 10x50's mounted up for first time. To be able to spend 15mins just staring at M45 in wide view is something to behold. Mak 127 probably won't be out until the moon is back 🙂

Not sure if anyone else seen this tonight but some meteorite activity for naked eye this evening, one streaked from North to South and the other East to West.

3 hours ago, Yubnub said:

Hi everyone. I've seen so many captures of Saturn's rings from amateur astronomers now (weather it's stacked photos or live iPhone footage etc) I've become convinced I need this ability in my life. 

I was totally ignorant to the possibility of seeing REAL details like this. So, I began the research for what would be necessary and the likely cost for my equipment.

I'm Happy to go circa £500 (give or take a little to close the deal). As much as I like the bang-for-buck Dobsonian options, I just cant see myself conveniently storing it and dragging it all outside. A reasonably compact setup is needed.

I've [maybe] narrowed it down to the Sky-Watcher: Startravel 120 Refractor or the Skymax 127 Maksutov. These seem to give the most affordable aperture for the expected magnification to see Saturn/Jupiter and great Lunar detail.

Astrophotography isn't really on my mind but, I bet I'll at least want to try to capture something with my Olympus micro4/3 (I know, not an ideal sensor) or iPhone. Visual and Observing is where I get most facinated, nothing but the scope between me and the light from the object ...awesome!

Then I start thinking about mounts...to track or not to track? ...learn to find the stuff yourself or let the mount find and hold an object and just sit and stare at it hands free? I almost want both 😆

So, have I picked some good kit or am I missing obvious options? also, happy to consider secondhand to maximise budget. 

 

Thanks everyone 

I'll just echo what others have said, I was in the same position Summer 2020 and went for the Skymax on an AZ5 mount, if you can get the goto it will certainly help in locating less obvious targets as it can be tricky at start with the narrow FOV. It's a cracking little scope for Lunar and Planetary viewing.

Hasn't been good here the last few nights but got a half hour tonight with bins during a clear spell. Had a quick look at  M31 before cloud took it out of view, sweeping across towards M45 and Hyades I spotted 3 stars in a dead straight line that I don't think I have ever noticed before, checking just now it seems the may be Persei 56A, 55 and V590 Persei, it's odd i've never noticed these before.

On down into Hyades and I managed to see the yellow and blue of the Theta Tauris  before spending a few minutes in Orion before cloud covered all. Nothing spectacular but nice to get  a look up!

Thanks John, do you know if there is a way to get it aligned the same as the other side as it is off by half an inch at moment.

Hi Folks,

Setting up the new mount this evening and it looks a really good piece of kit, solid and everything seems to work as it should, only needing one slo mo extension for everything to fall naturally to hand, my question is it seems to have come with the blank end drilled and tapped to fit the second clamp, is this ok to fit metal to metal or do I need some kind of spacer or washer. 

2 minutes ago, johninderby said:

What replacement saddles are you going to get? 😁

😁 There was a link posted recently for some very solid looking ones from China, either those or ADM.

Replacement for AZ5, look out for the recommend me a second scope thread 😀

4 minutes ago, Stu said:

Looks great out there, very clear although a bit of twinkle to the stars. No observing for me tonight, have had 15 sessions day and night this year so far which must be some kind of record! Just had a quick look at Orion in my 10x50 widefield binos. The whole belt fits in easily and I had a look at the S asterism between Mintaka and Alnilam, very nice. Similarly wide view of the Sword, and a quick squiz at M45 and that was me done.

I could happily pass an hour  every night between M45, Hyades and Orion with the 10x50s.

Rubbish here tonight, clouds as thick as a bulls lug.

14 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Interesting. I too could only see three stars in the Trap, except briefly at first and after I threw some serious mag (for my scope!😄) at it, when I saw four. Strange, as four is usual for me. On the other hand, Alnitak split readily. I think there was some patchy high haze tonight, at least in my area.

Yeah, it was weird, last week 4 could be clearly seen with a 32mm plossl in the mak, last night couldn't do it with a 10mm at 150x. Doubles are definitely a work in progress for me 🙂

3 hours ago, Per_S said:

 

A year and half ago had to find a beefier mount when I upgraded from a small scope to a Skywatcher 150PL. After replacing the stock 30 mm finderscope with a 50 mm RACI finder, and the 1.25" stock focuser with a 2" focuser + a focus motor, the total weight landed at 8.5 kg (18.7 lbs.)... and it's a long tube, 1150 mm (45"), with a substantial inertia. 

Finding a suitable mount wasn't easy, since there was a void between the smaller alt-az mounts (TS AZT6, Skywatcher AZ5, Vixen Porta, ...) and heavy duty - and heavy - mounts (Skywatcher Skytee, Giro Ercole, Losmandy AZ8, Rowan AZ 100, ...). There weren't many midsized mounts to choose from, but finally I decided to get a Technosky Cubo mount. 

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p13139_Tecnosky-Cubo-kleine-azimutale-Montierung.html

The mount didn't come with a dovetail saddle, so I had to add an ADM saddle separately. 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-replacement-saddles/adm-vixen-style-saddle.html

The Cubo handles the 150PL with ease, even though the 8.5 kg scope and long tube is close to the maximum load stated by the manufacturer. The movements are very smooth, and there is very little stiction when moving the scope. I use two counterweights, 3.8 kg (8.3 lbs.) each. The bearings are metallic: 3 ball bearings and 2 radial roller bearings.

 

 

That is a tidy looking mount, I have ordered a skytee II from FLO today so hopefully have it soon.

Thanks for input folks, much appreciated.

Had a go at splitting some doubles in orion after the obligatory bins tour. Rigel gave me no chance at all but managed to split Mintaka and  Delta Orionis C quite easily, tried Alnitak but no joy there either. Only 3 of the trapezium stars were clear to see so maybe it's seeing conditions tonight rather than my eyesight causing the difficulty I'm having.

Haydes is very quickly becoming my favourite view through the 10x50's, beautiful tonight.

50 minutes ago, johninderby said:

The AZ5 is a good little mount up to 5kg and works well. It is rather strange though that a few claim it will carry much more when my testing showed it was not up to heavier loads.

Does make me wonder if there could be that much variability in quality control or tolerances that would explain it. 🤔

Get the Skytee though and it will definately do the job.

The AZ5 I have is starting to develop dead spots in the slo mo controls which is a bit annoying as the is only a skymax 127 fitted, all roads do seem to lead to the skytee.

Thanks

Hi Folks,

I'm looking for a replacement for my AZ5 and have looked at a number of alternatives including this from RVO, has anyone had any experience with this one linked below, thoughts also welcome.

www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/rvo-heavy-duty-az-mount-head-with-vixen-clamp.html

I really enjoyed reading that, thanks for posting. Gives me something to work on with my own 127.

Way to much cloud here to do anything other than a quick look at the moon, Gassendi and Aristarchus off the list, probably leave the moon now until it's waning.

Hopefully get some clear skies over the weekend to look at some doubles.