PeterStudz

There are also alternatives to Starsense. I’ve never used Starsense so I’m not saying that this is better, but I can locate targets quick and easy using a phone app. For me it “just works” so what more do you want 😀. The app I use is called PS Align Pro. I think I it cost £2.99. Within that there’s a PushTo feature and I’ve been using it for about 2 yrs. The phone is strapped to the OTA with a cheap tripod adapter. I sync to at least one known star/target (there’s no other setting up, no levelling etc) and off I go. It will then locate targets within a low power eyepiece. There’s also another app that does similar called AstroHopper. Although I’ve never used it I think it’s free. For “tracking” I made an EQ platform for about £85. So for less than £100 you have tracking & PushTo. A simple EQ platform is fine up to a 12” Dob. Any bigger than that and it might be more complicated.

I have replaced my secondary screws with “Bobs Knobs” - well some cheaper thumb screws - and also did the milk bottle modification. This does make adjusting the secondary so much easier. But you don’t do it that often so it’s hard to say if it’s worth it for you. I had to take my 8” Dob apart so it was a quick, simple and cheap thing to do at the same time.

What size Newtonian do you have? A laser might be more useful for a large Dob but for my Skywatcher 8” and little 4.5” (travel, grab-and-go) I’ve never thought that I needed a laser. I have a good cheshire collimating eyepiece plus collimation cap (basically a cap with a hole in). Once the secondary has been done it really doesn’t need to be touched unless I’ve cleaned the mirrors. Occasionally I need to give the primary a tweak and here the “cap with the hole in” does the job. Never needed to adjust anything in the dark. When I’ve taken the 8” Dob in the car I’ve been surprised to see that the collimation didn’t shift at all. But if it did it would really have just been the primary. When I took the 4.5” abroad which involved a 1.5 hours car journey, 4hr flight, 2 hours in a taxi, dragging the case/telescope over cobbled streets plus a ferry journey by sea, I was very surprised to find that collimation had not shifted one bit. In fact I was a bit disappointed as I’d taken by collimation tools with me and was ready for collimation action. Instead I settled down for a beer. Personally I wouldn’t rush out and buy anything until you find out what works best for you.

I’d be more than happy with that! I’ve been hoping to just see Mercury, but from my garden it’s obscured by housing and/or trees. I’d thought of driving somewhere but when it’s been clear in the evening I’ve been busy… one day!

Skywatcher 200p Dob on DIY EQ platform. Smartphone app PS-Align-Pro as a PushTo finder. Southampton urban garden, Bortle 7. 30th - 31st March 2024. Since starting out just over 3 years ago I’ve really valued and found the observation reports on this site extremely useful. Other people’s that is, as I’m not great at writing these - eg it takes me forever. And not just those that are full of lists from a totally successful night! This was my first long/proper night session this year (the weather really has been pants) and it showed as I was a bit rusty. Eg caps got mislaid, eyepieces put in odd places. I couldn’t work out why caps were ending up on the ground, potentially cap-fatal as the dog enjoys chewing these. That’s until I discovered a hole in the pocket of my observing hoody! It was a mild night for the time of year and I didn’t need to wrap up. There did not seem to be a dew problem, so I elected not to use my main dew shield, just one on the finder. Or maybe I was just being a bit lazy. It all started late and my daughter (who often takes part) had gone to bed, which was a bit of a shame. M81 & M82. At this time of year in a good patch of sky from my garden. I also enjoy getting both in the same FOV. M82 bright enough to show some detail. As I’m familiar with these two I could tell conditions were decent with good transparency. These two galaxies plus Andromeda are the only galaxies I’ve been able to see from my light polluted back garden. M51 - I didn’t have much of a plan for the night, but as conditions didn’t seem bad I decided to have a go at M51. So far I’ve never been able to see this. I’d already aligned to a couple of stars plus M81 so I was confident of being in the right place. Always a worry if something is hard to see. With a low power eyepiece I thought I could see something but wasn’t sure. However, using a 15mm a could (almost immediately) spot the main core and the core of its companion. Averted vision and I could see some “fuzz” around the main core too which formed a couple of very faint arcs. I know it’s not much but I was please with this. I spent some time on M51, but things deteriorated when some thin localised and patchy high cloud moved in. So I decided to move on. Maybe return later. M3 - I do like globulars and I hadn’t seen this for almost a year. I can easily see this in my finder and upping the power started to resolve some stars. When I see these they start to “twinkle” in and out of view which reminds me of a glitter ball. I assume that this is due to atmospherics. At x240 it fills much of the FOV, the EQ platform keeping it central, which makes things more relaxing. The more relaxed the more I see. Then I came up with a problem. My trusty EQ platform started to slip. I’ve had this for 20 months now and apart from when I initially set it up (had to really tighten the drive shaft connection) it has never slipped. Thinking things could have loosened up after not using it for a while I got some allen keys out and started to fiddle about, get on my hands and knees, in the dark. Now, don’t try something as it’s asking for problems and could possibly just make things worse. I’m not doing it again! Anyway, this did not fixed the issue. However, I’d almost given up when I found the problem. As the targets were relatively high I’d taken the balance weight off the back of the OTA and placed it onto the ground board (the circular part) of my Dob. base. This was at the opposite side of the drive shaft and as its friction driven was enough to put it off-balance, causing the shaft to slip! Just shows that it needs to be relatively well balanced. M13 - By the time I sorted that out M13 (normally a summer target for me) was high enough to be worth a look. Moreover, the patchy thin cloud had dispersed. A bit brighter and seemingly larger than M3 it is a nice sight. Again, I changed eyepieces around and enjoyed the view. M92 - I kept the glob theme going by checking out M92. Again, enjoyable, with stars twinkling at higher powers. Appears more dense at its core than M3 or M13. M53 - After that a wild card of the globular M53. First time that I’ve tried to view this and it was faint. Whatever I tired I could not resolve any stars and it remained a fuzzy patch. Having said that it was relatively low and not in a good section of my night sky. The moon was due up soon and I was feeling tired so I decided to take a couple of smartphone snaps (M3 & M13) using the AstroShader app which I still need practice with. Then call it a night. The results can be seen via the link below. All in all a good session. I prefer to concentrate on just a few targets and this was more than enough for me. I enjoy being outside and nighttime is special. Although occasionally a bit of an effort for me to get going, once I’m out I often don’t want to go back in! The picture was taken as I was packing up. Moon in the background shining through tree branches. Smartphone snaps…

Personally I’m not a fan of sticking/glueing things onto a telescope - never got it to work well enough. I’m more happy with getting a power tool out and drilling some holes.

You could be right. And maybe why distortions at the edge were more noticeable. AstroShader provides a live preview and although in some ways this is nice and useful it does mean that it can be difficult to focus. Depending on settings it can take a number of seconds before you see the result of a focus change on the screen. Even getting focus right on one target and moving to another requires a tweak in focus. However, there’s probably an easier/better way. Might be worth posting around with everything during daylight eg when doing some solar.

Snaps of globular clusters M3 and M13 taken at the end of an observational session. I find globulars especially tricky with a smartphone. I’m pleased with M3. M13 had some distortions near the edges so has been cropped a bit more than I’d like. The app I’ve used - AstroShader - is getting good and is now so simple. Although haven’t quite got the hang of the settings. I’m not an imager. These are straight out of the app, some simple editing & crop in the stock camera app… no processing. I might try and get a bit more out of them at a later date, eg when I’m bored sitting on the train! The “tracking” is just a DIY EQ platform, but it can be used without. Skywatcher 200p Dob on DIY EQ platform. Southampton urban garden, Bortle 7. BST StarGuider 15mm. iPhone 14 Pro on no-brand smartphone adapter. Captured via AstroShader - ISO 1424, 40 exposures of 6 seconds each - for a total of 4mins. Longer is possible but I was getting bored with that! Observation Report…

First long night session of the year for me and fantastic to be outside again… it has been poor! Southampton, Bortle 7, Sky-Watcher 200p Dob. Very mild for the time of year with no need to wrap up. Started off with M81/82 - always geat, transparency OK, but some thin high level cloud about. Then onto M51 where, for the first time, I could actually see something! After that a globular fest:- M3, M13, M92 & M53 (M3 & M13 surprisingly good) before the moon washed things out and I called it a night. For me a lot of targets. I often just stick to 2 or 3. I’ll try and do a report later. Just added some smartphone snaps of M3 & M13 here…

I have a similar focuser on my little Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p (114mm Newtonian) which I do like for grab-and-go plus travel. I did take the focuser apart and add some Teflon tape to the draw tube which certainly improved it. Also added some metal inserts for the focuser thumb screws. Now it’s much better but like you I’ve thought of a focuser upgrade. I’ve seen this which seems to be all metal and MIGHT be better. But can’t be certain and you are taking a risk. You’d also need to drill some holes in the OTA. https://amzn.eu/d/06wkU76 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005178497054.html

You aren’t the only one. It does take time and patience. When I started out (only a few years ago) I was blessed with a fine spell - I assure you that they do exist - and for ~3 months most night were clear. So much so that I was literally getting exhausted from lack of sleep. I also had a number of disappointing sessions but got there in the end. However, the good nights became more frequent and on some I was so chuffed with what I’d seen and how things went that I found it hard to sleep, despite being very tired! If it was that easy I would not find it so much fun! It might also be worth writing this kind of thing in the “observing - reports” section. It doesn’t need to be a blinding success or a massive list of “what I saw” to be useful. When I started out this was my goto section of this site. Well, it still is. And good luck… I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end.

From my experience (OK, limited to many on here) I think that these couple of sentences could apply to all areas of astronomy. And not just DIY. All looks great and well done!

This gets back to the difference between observational astronomy & astrophotography/anything that involves using a camera. To me they are very different things, but as others have said… maybe best not to go there 😀 And I have “seen” a spiral galaxy, nebula & sunspots with my old iPhone 12 slapped to the eyepiece of a telescope that cost £150. Sure, most of the images were a bit pants but they allowed me to “see” them.

Damn… I couldn’t work out why all the sunspots were disappearing and now I know why!!!

Interesting stuff…. Although the video/review could have been better I generally agree with Ed Tring and think he’s made some good points. Towards the end and in summary, he mentions “are you happy with the quality of the images that this produces? If yes then buy it. If not then don’t” - seems like good advice. For me (I’m not an imager anyway but if I was) I would want something more/better. At the same time the SeeStar 50 is a great gadget and I can see the attraction. But I’m holding out for the SeeStar X100 Pro Max. He also says that he thinks the SeeStar is good at lunar and solar. However, looking at the lunar & solar images it produces I think that this is its weak point. A smartphone with cheap telescope has been able to produce better lunar/solar images for years. For me it looks best at faint fuzzies - DSO. Although I prefer visual I do like to take and experiment with the occasional smartphone snap. Usually to document what I’ve seen. To me the SeeStar is the astrophotography equivalent of point-and-shoot… taking a snap. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that and in today’s world there’s a big market for all kinds of snaps. Eg the young, social media etc is full of them with some making a living out of it. Here, the resolution or producing high quality images doesn’t matter. After all, these things are for tiny little smartphone screens. And apart from pushing through some Instagram filters, playing with the stock camera app sliders, there’s no appetite for processing. Having said that - with the SeeStar you’re taking a snap of something you haven’t seen, so maybe it’s not quite the same as a traditional snap. In Ed’s review he also mentioned people in visual outreach type events wanting to take pictures of what they’ve seen at the eyepiece. The assumption is that this must be easy. After all, they take snaps of everything else. But as he says “it’s not there yet”. I’ve had this before too. Eg one of my daughter’s friends (who said she wasn’t interested in astronomy) ended up being amazed when she saw the moon through our Dob. Here I also got the “can I take a picture?” Fortunately I’m geared up for that and was easily able to take something with my phone and pass it onto her. This lunar “snap” was then plastered on her social media accounts and used for sometime as her smartphone wallpaper. The fact the image was of low resolution did not matter to her and I doubt that she even noticed or cared. It was a snap of something she had seen, something she’d experienced and enjoyed which she wanted to share. There are a lot of people like that.

Yes, I could easily see the group naked eye using my eclipse glasses.

In between clouds (these days there’s always clouds!), but I can clearly see it just by eye wearing eclipse glasses. Just setting the telescope out now. Those glasses (I gave two pairs) are one of the best astronomy purchases I’ve made.

You have patterns, shapes and “interesting” clouds!? You lucky, lucky… This is the best it gets for me!

This is a smartphone single snap. There’s a lot of noise (to be expected from a tiny camera) and no stacking. Even in this picture you can just make out the reflection under the Milky Way on the water. Visually it was more obvious. My 12 yr old daughter who was with me at the time pointed it out straight away.

I have been to a Bortle 1-2 site. There is no way that aperture can make up for it as under light pollution an increase in aperture also increases the background skyglow. As @bosun21 mentions - there are so many stars and so many bright stars that it’s hard to get orientation. Eg even Saturn was lost and took me time to locate. The Milky Way so bright that it cast a reflection on the water. I could see the Swan Nebula naked eye (I can’t even see that in my 8” Dob from my Bortle 7 garden). All I had was a small 4.5” newt on a wobbly tripod but the Triffid Nebula really bright and wonderful. The Lagoon Nebula was stunning and hard to take my eye away from the eyepiece - better than any photograph.

Just come in after a clear evening/night - totally unexpected. Nice relaxing time observing the moon. Seeing also decent too. However, work tomorrow so couldn’t spend too long. Mind, Good to brush away those cobwebs at last!

This is excellent! Although I don’t have the experience here I’ve been following this hoping for a positive outcome. Well done and all the best.

For my 8” Dob I use the PushTo feature in an app called PS Align Pro. Finds targets within a low power eyepiece every time. I’ve even used it to find planets, eg Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in daylight. Astro Hopper is similar but this works better than Stellariaum. For tracking that’s good enough for visual I made an EQ platform for about £85 from these instructions. It’s easier than it looks. Then you’ll have PushTo and tracking for a bargain price.

The “metal cam” is used to engage/disengage one of these motor drives. Since you don’t have one you can ignore it. https://www.microglobe.co.uk/skywatcher-ra-motor-drive-with-multi-speed-handset-for-eq2-mount-p-11423.html

I had a feeling that you might be in the US - no worries and thanks for the reply. If you are strapped-for-cash then it can be a difficult hobby to get into. Mind, if you live in a location that’s blessed with dark skies it will help! You can make a Dob base without tube rings. You just need to make something called a “tube cradle” - basically a simple plywood box. This is an old site but it explains everything. Inc making a Dobsonian telescope from scratch. But at the end there are details about making a mount. However, It can be made even simpler than shown. Might be worth having a look at the link near the end “Photos from Builders”. Good luck! https://stellafane.org/tm/dob/