PeterStudz

There’s some good info about doing just that from John at the end of page 5… I polar aligned mine following the details here (right at the end of the link) It’s a faff but I did it once and marked the position of the platform on my patio. As long as I place it right there it’s all that’s needed to be bang on. http://www.astrosurf.com/aheijkoop/Equipment/EqPlatfor2.htm

Yes, I use that. And it’ll stay set to red for everything without any issues for hours on end.

I’ve been looking at this, although I do just fine with my rather basic adapter it might offer an improvement. And I never got on with the NeXYZ!

I didn’t have any problems with a dovetail. But I did have a counter weight & bar that I put in the hold with the tripod. I did think that the weight plus bar could be seen as a club type of weapon so better to be safe rather than sorry.

I know that this isn’t too serious but I find the exact opposite! I’ve tried sketching many times but I find it just gets in the way of my observations. I completely understand that if you are decent at sketching then it can help you see more but that’s not me! I’ve had many frustrating and sometimes comical sessions trying to sketch at the eyepiece and it’s often ended up with much huffing, puffing & cursing. On the other hand I’ve found using a smartphone has helped me record what I’ve seen, helped me see things that have been difficult to observe and occasionally even shown something that I would have missed altogether. I can give loads of examples but I’m sure you know what I mean.

I believe it’s all UK airports. https://www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/work-tools

When I took a telescope on an aircraft I made what I could out of what I already had. Obviously taking my 200p Dob wasn’t going to happen but the little 4.5 inch reflector was perfectly practical to take on as cabin baggage. Plus the mount and accessories there was still room for some cloths too. But I decided on a basic tripod over a Dob base. Where we went the ground was uneven and rocky so I simple tripod was far more practical. I just used a lightweight tripod from my old EQ1 which went into the hold. You can pick them up for peanuts. Sure, it’s wobbly but it was rarely necessary (if at all) to go over around 40x and the stunning views made up for any shakes! And it was so dark. Eg we could easily make out the swan nebula naked eye. Through the telescope the lagoon and triffid nebula were outstanding. Especially the lagoon - I’ve never even anything like it and this thorough a small reflector. So whatever you take/do have fun and enjoy yourself. Only other advice that I can think of is to be careful with any tools like screwdrivers or allen keys. These items are prohibited in the cabin so need to go into the hold.

It seems like an age since I’ve had a telescope out and I’m clouded out now (might clear later) but had a pleasant early evening session doing solar and looking at Venus during the day - just finding it in daylight is fun! Got a quick smartphone snap which clearly shows the phase. Spoke too soon. Just as I was typing this a shower came through and I’ve had to quickly whisk my kit inside

I agree with this. When I put the primary back in my Dob I initially used a credit card in order to set the distance. However, when I tried to collimate the primary was so slack that I spent at least 45 frustrating minutes chasing the donut (it was impossible to collimate) before I worked what the problem was. I then used some thick/stiff paper which did the trick.

This is just a little fun. I took these videos with my old iPhone 12 back in 18th Sept 2021 while I was observing Jupiter and Saturn. It was my second attempt at taking a video of Jupiter (well, any planets) and no more than an experiment. The first was taken at 21:16 with the GRS just about central. The second taken at 22:33 with the GRS right on the limb just before I packed up. At the time I tried to get something decent from a single frame but wasn’t happy with the result. So gave up and filed the videos away. I don’t own a PC or similar so stacking was opuntia of the question. Then one recent cloudy and rainy day (one of far too many) I had another go. But this time I had the iPhone planet stacking app “VideoStack” and editing app “WaveletCam”. The results (after all it’s just an iPhone 12) aren’t that bad and didn’t take long. Although I didn’t try hard so sure it could be better. And quite a few features are showing. Eg on the second image there are some barges just above the North Equatorial Belt. Here you can just see the GRS as a smudge against the planets limb. Having said that a more modern smartphone would do better. Then I had the idea of making a mini animated GIF. Of course it’s just two images but it does show how fast Jupiter rotates with just 1 hour & 17 minutes between the two. All good practice in what is a learning experience. And it does give me a few other ideas to try in the near future. Skywatcher 200p Dob, BST StarGuider 5mm, iPhone 12 on basic smartphone adapter. Short 7 sec videos (4K at 60 fps) zoomed at 1.8x using stock camera app. All editing on the phone using the stock camera app, VideoStack, WaveletCam and Lightroom.

When I flocked the whole of my 8” Dob I thought about doing the method mentioned here but bit the bullet and decided on the conventional way of just sticking it down. And I was surprised how well it went. Easier and far quicker than I thought. And no swearing fits - honest! The flocking material wasn’t as sticky as I expected and any “errors” I was able pull it away and stick it down again. I did find that a head torch helped (it’s dark in there) and flexible hands and wrists. Any bubbles were easily removed by pricking them with a needle then rubbing down. As I had everything apart I even flocked the inside of the focuser draw-tube. Not sure if it’s necessary but it was literally a 5 minute job.

That’s most generous! I’ll see what I can do.

The obvious thing to do is give it a go with what I have. Even if it doesn’t work it’s all experience! I’ll have a think and a play.

The steel tripod is popular and good. I have one which I purchased from a member on this forum. They do come up secondhand every now and then so it might be worth waiting and looking around.

That’s brilliant! It’s things like this that want to make me buy a camera. And a PC…

What with the weather and being busy it’s been weeks since I’ve had the telescope outside. But there was a brief window yesterday evening before the clouds rolled in. Seeing was surprisingly good and I also got good views of the moon and even the now tiny Mars. This was from a short 9sec video taken at around 8pm - 4K at 60fps with stock camera app, iPhone 14 Pro on a basic smartphone adapter. Skywatcher 200p Dob on a DIY EQ platform. BST StarGuider 3.2mm plus variable polarising filter. Stacked on the phone with the VideoStack app. Cropped, rotated and processed on the phone using WaveletCam and Lightroom.

From my limited experience of going to a Bortle 1-2 site (this was end of Aug 2022) is that you don't need much. I had some 8x42 binoculars and they were enough. Personally I find anything more that 10x difficult to hold steady. And my daughter was there too and I wanted something easy. Although we did push the boat out and also took a small 4.5” reflector. I’d also suggest trying to have a plan on what to look for. There’s so many stars that we had trouble with orientation. The Milky Way casting a slight shadow. As it’s bright we were draw to the Milky Way core. A few examples - I could make out the Swan Nebula naked eye. The Lagoon Nebula looked more obvious than I’d ever seen Orion. In the binoculars we could easily see the Lagoon and Triffid together in the same field of view. Even in the reflector at 20x we could see both together. However, the Lagoon Nebula in the reflector at 40x was stunning. I’ve never seen anything like it. I did have a UHC filter for the reflector. It helped but the view without was so good anyway. There didn’t seem much point in going over 40x and majority of the time 20x which with the reflector was the lowest power. 8x binoculars would keep us happy all night. And another suggestion. If possible take a small tripod for your phone. We had a small telescopic selfie tripod from Amazon for about £15. This is a picture (didn’t take many) using my old iPhone 12 and will give something to remember your trip. Just point and shoot with an exposure of 30 sec. A more modern phone or camera would do much better.

Without seeing the dents it’s hard to give relevant advice. Although @Second Time Around suggestion of asking a body shop if they can help sounds like a good idea. In my youth I use to own a 2CV (well, several). The body of this car is made out of very thin metal and could easily acquire body dents - probably my driving. With a bit of practice I got quite good at removing these using a basic panel beating kit. I still have mine down the shed. Something like this… AllRight 7Pcs Craft Panel Beating Kit Panel Beating Hammer and Dolly Set with Storage Case Hammers Set for Car Auto Body Panel Repair https://amzn.eu/d/0y07I2s

Have you missed out. As others have suggested not at all. I started out just after 2 yrs ago and at that time had “missed out” on the planets. But it comes around quicker than you think. Especially if you are prepared to get up early in the morning. Then my first views of Saturn and Jupiter were at around 2am. Back then that was in the summer. And early in the morning I find that I generally get better views. Probably, as I’m in an urban environment, the air and atmosphere has settled down. Moreover, this year Jupiter and Saturn are giving to be even higher in the sky - potentially giving better views. And as mentioned there are loads of DSO. Here, in the spring and summer, I’ve got great views of the galaxies M81 & M82, various globular clusters, a host of star clusters, the Dumbbell Nebular and a big favourite of mine, the Ring Nebular. And don’t forget the sun in white light. The solar cycle is on the up so now is a good time to invest or even make a white light solar filter. Personally I really enjoy looking at the sun. And of course you can observe in the daytime with the advantages that gives.

Looks Good! Although for me and cider keeping it in anything plastic is out. You can get away with the initial strong fermentation in a plastic vessel (which is what I do/use) but I mature mine for about a year before drinking. After a few months air can get diffuse through plastic and the cider will start turning acetic. Glass and stainless steel are great but a stainless steel vessel is expensive. So I transfer mine into demijohns in order to mature a bit longer and to drop clear. Even then air will slowly diffuse through the rubber bung and airlock and if not careful you’ll get a film yeast. Glass bottles with crown caps are great and will keep the air out, but I’ve got a few weeks before I start the bottling process. It’s personal but I prefer my cider still (no bubbles) and bone dry - as God intended And the advantage of lots of smaller batches in demijohns plus using bottles is that no one bottle tastes the same. I also prefer it cellar temperature. Well, for me it’s shed temperature. And if one demijohn turns bad I haven’t lost the whole lot! Having said all of that I might invest in an all in one stainless steel fermenter. Although I’d still end up bottling.

I’m sure normal ply would be fine. Although I thick it’s a good idea to hand select the best sheets. As for the cider and going off topic. I have a DIY press. The apples are collected from local hedgerows from the beginning of September until late October. I then press in late October, sometimes the start of November. I start fermentation in a large buckets and then transfer to demijohns. I should get away from demijohns but I have a load secondhand and it’s nice to be able to see the cider. Eventually the cider is bottled and drunk from about a year onwards. Mostly the demijohns are stored down my shed, but I’ll bring some up to the house if I need to fiddle with any. Like in the recent picture - thats not all of this years.

It has provided, amongst other things, some stunning views of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. And my daughter is especially fond of the planets. Picture from back in 2021, at around 4am at the end of a 2 hour session on Jupiter and Saturn. The first time Alice had seen these. Base obviously not finished. @Ratlet, the crescent moon has a function. I use it as a handle to carry the base on its own. I also put in a round cabinet light. Useful when setting and packing up. @Bentley, I haven’t heard of that product, although it might come under a different name here in the UK. One of the issues that I’ve had when trying to order this kind of thing is that often the suppliers here assume that you are some kind of builder working on a house/building and consequently have minimum orders of silly amounts. And if you can order a small quantity equally silly minimum shipping charges.

Thanks! The stool was a £10 from Gumtree. It’s an old Ikea screw stool. Sadly no longer made. The telescope has your old primary mirror. Well I’m sure that I bought it from you! The OTA was given to me free (without a base) as the primary was damaged. I never have enough cider As you know I make my own but cider varies and it’s difficult to get anything decent near me.

I made a base for my 8” Dob about 2 years ago. I would have loved to have used birch plywood but even then (wood has really increased in price) I just could not justify it. One of the main points of building a Dob base is that you can make something decent at a reasonable price. If you need to buy everything from screws and bolts up (I didn’t) it’s surprising how the costs can mount up. I ended up making mine from cheap 18mm plywood from my local Wickes. At the time it was £18 per sheet & I needed two. I even had some left over to make most of my EQ platform. It was more than adequate for the job. I made mine “organically” without a plan and it’s a little over “engineered” and maybe a tad heavy but it’s as solid as a rock and extremely steady. One important thing - whatever material you decide to use make sure that you inspect it carefully and make sure it’s dead STRAIGHT. Most of the cheaper wood, even some of the expensive stuff will be warped, even if ever so slightly. I went through all the 18mm sheets at Wickes (yes, I was that guy) and hand picked sheets that were dead straight. Even a slight warp in your ground board will cause it to have annoying “sticky” points. I painted mine but you could easily make one with a decent plain varnished finished with the plywood that I used . You just need to take time and extra care cutting and finishing off. Which you’d need to do with more expensive wood anyway. The edges on cheap plywood will have occasionally gaps which will need filling. I started off filling mine with filler but quickly got bored with the necessary sanding. In the end I used the old model aircraft technique of sealing the edges with tissue paper and dope/sanding sealer. A surprisingly easy, cheap and efficient method. If you want something fancy for a varnished finish you could seal the edges with iron on veneer furniture edging. Although I’d glue it on - far quicker, easier and secure. In fact you could veneer the whole base (not difficult) which would give you something different, interesting and hopefully nice. A bit like my dew shield. '

And have a look at the beginners section at FLO. You don’t have to buy from them but it’ll give you an idea: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/page/2/ A bit over your budget but if you don’t want to spend much more than £100 then this is what I’d suggest: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/beginner-telescopes/ursa-major-102mm-tabletop-dobsonian-telescope.html