NGC 1502

For myself for visual observing I’d choose a 12” Dob from FLO.  At £849 that leaves £151 for accessories, so premium eyepieces not within the £1000 budget, so I’d make do with whatever I could get.

The above wouldn’t suit yourself for imaging, but for visual…………a 12” Dob + dark skies = Bliss!

You can’t beat a Newtonian on price to get good views.  The post by Cajen2 is very relevant, and I agree that a 6” reflector is the way to go if you need something lighter than a 200p.

Lots of choices with 6” reflectors, choose wisely and enjoy 👍

I’m replying because no one else has😊

Best guess to answer your question.  If it were me I’d squeeze everything you can from your current scope before considering an upgrade.  Put the money you save towards your next energy bill……..😳

Great to hear about your projects 👍

If you do a search for planetary scopes by Gary Seronik he too made a planet-killer. I recall it was a long focus 6” Newt with a tiny secondary. Gary was with Sky & Telescope magazine for many years.  
 

Thread drift warning 😊…….I have an Edmunds Astroscan that Gary worked on by shimming the front optical window. It was owned by Ade Ashford who also worked at S&T. When Ade moved back to the UK he brought that Astroscan, I subsequently bought it. The Astroscan is at the opposite end of the spectrum of scopes….horses for courses…..

Ed.

Hi and good wishes from the UK, I have fine friends in your country near to Hyderabad.

I think the best thing you can do to answer your question is to read as much as you can in the binocular section of this forum.  There’s much to learn from all sorts of people offering advice and help.

Best regards from Ed.

On 18/03/2022 at 22:14, Ags said:

Call me shallow, but I have been unable to board the Morpheus bandwagon due to aesthetic objections.

A roll of black electrician’s tape is very inexpensive to sort the bright colour, or is it the whole design you don’t like?

39 minutes ago, niallk said:

That's poor.

My 15" mirror was shipped from OMI in Iowa, USA to Ireland, and it was pristine.  The packaging was impressive, and I've kept in case I need to ship for re-coat.

As Magnus says, a rinse with is worth a shot, and see if the views are sharp with low scatter.  If so, maybe worth trying to forget this disappointment- but you're right, the company should do better.

On my mirror, within minutes I could see the odd bit of dust / fibre settling on the surface!  They never stay pristine long... especially after one night under the stars.

Agreed the primary mirror should be pristine and the packaging should be sealed so no contamination present. Under the circumstances I’d also be disappointed.

Having said that, I’ve looked through big Dobs (owned by others) with VERY dirty mirrors and the views were great!   If it were me, I’d contact the company with pictures, therefore lodging a complaint. Perhaps after you carefully wash the mirror it will be pristine.

Whatever, my best wishes for a satisfactory outcome.

Hi Oliver and welcome to SGL 👍

Perhaps your focuser has a problem that you’re hoping to sort with a motor?  If so there’s adjustments available on that focuser you could try.

Ed.

36 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Had to look that one up since that show hasn't made it to this side of the pond.  Good one. 👍

Your’re not missing anything😁

Vixen really should recommence production of the LVWs.  Unless I’ve missed something, Vixen have the SLVs, deservedly well thought of. But their premium range SSWs seem to have disappeared, and stopped at 14mm with nothing lower powered.

C’mon Vixen…we need more from you👍

On 09/03/2022 at 16:44, 200pman said:

Why not make some manual controls for it.

Yes that can be done.  If you’re into DIY it’s not too hard to figure out.  If like myself you have stacks of stuff that “could come in handy for something” then a rummage around can be fun.

On 09/03/2022 at 19:07, RobinH said:

The chopping board has a bobbely surface and works well with teflon pads. Its only useful for the azimuth as its just a flat plate. Perhaps it could be bent with heat to suit the edge of semicircular alt runners. I find gluing formica strip difficult and had it come unglued after a few months..

Indeed the bobbly surface is relevant, just like the traditional recommendations.  My OO UK Dob altitude bearings are aluminium coated with a hard paint that dries bobbly on the edges that contact the Teflon.

If trying to glue formica strips, best is a contact cement.  The ends can be positioned on the upper side in the area that never comes in contact with the Teflon pads. Secure with small round headed screws after drilling holes.

6 hours ago, RobinH said:

I used an Ikea chopping board. It was one of their thick white ones, the size is only abot A4 size but thats enough for smaller dobs. Very cheap.

I’ve experimented myself with all sorts of materials for Dob bearings, some have worked well some not. So if the Ikea chopping board works that’s great, whatever the theory may say.

Both my OO UK Dob mounts use aluminium altitude rings running on Teflon, instead of the traditional pebbly laminate on Teflon, that works well too.

Some time ago a local clubmate of mine bought the appropriate laminate from David Lukehurst. David is well known to those into premium Dobs.

It’s probably a good idea to contact David and ask if he can still help.

9 minutes ago, chiltonstar said:

B trails behind A, ie due E. What is the orientation of your images?

Those images do look like they show Sirius B, but the question posed by chiltonstar could confirm.

Good luck with this, as you’ve correctly said doing nothing wasn’t an option.

Tak coatings will surely be the best, in which case they’ll be as good as they could be.

8 hours ago, Mr Spock said:

The widest I’m usung is a 22mm LVW which is 65deg. Coma us there, but nog enough to worry about.  

The Vixen 22mm LVW is a truly legendary eyepiece.  I do accept that even very well corrected eyepieces don’t correct for Newtonian coma, but the 22 LVW comes darned close to doing that.  Whatever you do don’t sell it, unless of course you sell it to me😁

If Vixen resurrected the LVWs made to the same high standards as the originals they would surely be hot sellers.

Hi and a warm welcome 👍

Your 8” Dob is a brilliant choice. It could be a lifetime telescope, such a capable convenient and all round lovable instrument.

Enjoy, Ed.

It takes a great deal of dust & crud (or cobwebs) to make a noticeable difference to the results. Having said that what you describe would probably bug me.

I’ve only ever had one Maksutov, a Meade ETX. On that, the front corrector lens simply unscrewed.  I did that to remove crud from the inside of the secondary mirror baffle, fixed inside the main corrector lens.   If it were me, I’d do an online search to see if it’s the same method to remove the front corrector from a Celestron.  If you do, you may find it’s screwed on tightly.  When you replace it, be very careful not to cross thread.  The secondary is likely an aluminised area directly on the inside of the front corrector, so be very wary of causing damage.  The corrector itself could be cleaned with care, same as a refractor objective.

Please note, on my ETX, the front corrector complete with the cell screwed off as a single unit, the corrector itself stayed integral with the front cell (the front end of the optical tube).

Of course if your scope is brand new it should be pristine. Having said that those spots will not be visible at the eyepiece or affect the view.  If it were mine however it would annoy me.

Best guess is the spots are some sort of debris. Blowing a hair dryer down the tube doesn’t concentrate on a specific area.  If it were me I’d remove the primary and cell and using a contact free method (large rubber bulb blower) see if they come off.  The construction is simple, you only need basic DIY tools and skill level.  You will need to collimate.

Thanks Nik271 that’s really interesting, sounds like my ED80 is working as it should👍

Has anyone successfully split Zeta Cancri (Tegmine) into 3 components with an ED80 or similar?  Easy enough to see 2 components but tonight with Cancer well placed and a reasonably steady sky the tighter pair at times looked elongated but not split. I was using 240x which is very high power indeed with an 80mm but I’ve always found that doubles take much higher powers than most other objects.

My favourite triple Beta Mon was a treat at 240x with my ED80 and LV 2.5mm

with my 6”:and 10” Dobs Tegmine splits into 3 as long as the conditions are reasonable.

Thanks all for your helpful and positive replies👍

Thanks Ed……2 “Eds” are better than 1……..Ed………😁

I’m seeking advice on whether a Celestron C6 SCT is adequately mounted on a Vixen GP EQ mount on a Skywatcher tripod with 1.75” legs.  This is for visual only. Of course there’s advice elsewhere online but if anyone on here can answer this question I’d be pleased.

Thanks in advance, Ed.