PeterStudz

Thanks! I do enjoy trying to push the maximum out of what you can get from just using a mobile. And that includes the processing. Although it’s usually an addition to visual astronomy - I could not look through an eyepiece! It’s not just the camera, but the limited applications on mobile for doing this sort of thing. As you know I don’t want a computer. However, my daughter now has a laptop for “school work”. Well, it seems to be more gaming! I might just download some stacking and processing software and take a look.

I have a 200p Dob and still don’t know how he’s managed to get such good images. Manually or otherwise! As for carrying. I have a weak knee and carry my 200p in two parts anyway. It’s not the weight but the awkwardness, especially having to go over a step into my garden. Although even just carrying the OTA as-is was awkward. Which is why I drilled some holes and installed a sturdy carry handle. Personally I don’t find it any bother doing it that way.

Yes, I now always use the EQ platform for planetary. For me having a planet, especially Mars, stay in the FOV without having to nudge does help me see more. But unless I decide to do planetary imaging then I’m really unlikely to get a GoTo Dob. Although with this hobby it’s hard to predict the direction you’ll take!

I can see how the tracking part of a GoTo Dob can be useful for planetary imagining, but I was referring more to the actual Going-To a target stuff. I’m sure that the base is good enough, but after having built my own I’d find anything else just too annoying 😀

This sums up what I think too. One of the things that I like about Dobs is how easy it is take everything apart with simple tools, modify and DIY, then get something that perfectly fits your personal preferences. But I understand that this sort of DIY isn’t for everyone. When I eventually upgrade from my 8” Dob (probably to a 12”, maybe secondhand) I’ll almost certainly make my own base. Having made one myself I’m now certain that I can make something superior to the ones sold with “standard” mass produced Dobs. I might be missing something but I can’t see the point of GoTo Dobs, when all you need is a mobile phone app. Maybe that’s a bit unfair as I’ve never used one. I do enjoy star hopping, but if I want to find something tricky I’ve been using the PushTo feature in an iPhone app called PS Align Pro. You need to sync to at least one known target, but it’s never failed to find something. After syncing on the sun (white light filter) I’ve even found the likes of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter in daylight. Oh… Mars too. When I did a little solar “outreach” with some kids finding/looking at Venus as an afterthought in daylight made a big impression. And if you get fed up with PushTo just move the Dob around in the traditional way. There’s no clutches etc to engage/disengage. I also have a DIY EQ platform. Made following the instructions (linked to in the post above) on this site. Really simply, cheap and easy to make. Most of mine was literally constructed on the kitchen table with the only power tool being an electric drill. I think that these are great bits of kit and so simple that they do follow the Dob “principle”. In my garden I have the platforms position marked on the ground so all I do is plonk it down, plonk the Dob on top, switch it on and away you go. Sure, after an hour or so you need to “rewind” it but that’s the only extra fiddling. I don’t always use it, however, for outreach (for obvious reasons) it’s been excellent and in this situation I wouldn’t not use it.

Thanks John. The artwork was an afterthought - it just looked a bit empty especially after painting white. I based it off a design I saw online. Drawn on freehand with soft pencil and then painted freehand. Quite a relaxing thing to do on those far too many cloudy nights!

@Kon, that great that you’ve sorted out the issue and also good to know the reason. I did check my Cheshire and it’s fine. In fact I have two and they’d both show the same problem, so two are unlikely to both be out in the same way! And if you look hard the little aline collimation cap that I have would show the offset problem too. As an exercise I once tried collimation from scratch (both mirrors out) with just the cap. It’s more of a faff and takes longer but I was surprised, when I check it with the Cheshire, how good it all was. Out of interest… I think you have a short Cheshire. Is there a reason for that? Maybe a low profile focuser?

It’s been a while since I “finished” my platform (about 18 months plus took a while to paint it) and it’s been superb. But I realised that I haven’t posted any pictures of the completed item, so here it is. I made a few modifications most of which are personal choices. I did move a couple of the adjustable feet closer to the pillow bearings as it seemed to make it a tad more solid. Not that it was wobbly in the first place. I also added a micro switch to automatically shut it down when it reached the stop. And a chunky toggle switch to turn the whole thing on/off. It’s easier than fumbling for the little slider on the drive unit. Plus a decent sized knob on the variable potentiometer. I cut off the pointy ends of the arcs as they didn’t do anything and got in the way. There’s a “stop” at the southern end that makes it easier to slot-in the feet of my Dob when it’s dark. To save batteries I’ve used a 12v rechargeable lead battery, knocked down to 9v with a cheap converter. There’s also a mini volt meter across the motor terminals so that I can easily and more accurately judge motor speed. It all gives a constant 9v to the drive unit which does makes the whole thing run smooth. Eg the little standard 9v starts to struggle when it gets cold - as I found out. The wiring could be tidied up, but it was originally done for my EQ1 on a tripod in those “early days”. I could replace the 12v lead battery with something more advanced, but I’ve had it for years and it just works.

It’s sadly been mostly cloudy here with some showers too. However, I got a glimpse of it during a brief clear spell just with eclipse glasses which in itself was impressive. But I wasn’t dressed as well as you - at the time I just had my dressing gown on. Well, plus silly glasses. I hope that the neighbours didn’t see! Hopefully it’ll clear-up later.

I’ve managed to see it between a brief clear/ish spell with eclipse glasses. But it hasn’t been clear (there are showers around) for long enough to view through the telescope.

Cloudy here in Southampton at the moment but it might clear. Mind, I got a good look at sunspot AR3576 on the 10th Feb which was also visible with just eclipse glasses. The sun is certainly looking active!

No worries. I’ve done that before. And more than once!

The spring on the secondary? That’s the one I cut down. Is the secondary mirror really that much heavier? PS - the 200p doesn’t have primary springs. It uses grommets instead.

I was surprised how changing to a different primary mirror made so little difference to the collimation. Literally a few tweaks and it was spot on again. Those mirrors must be well made. When I cut the spring down on my 8” Dob it was a shade over 1mm. That was enough to make a world of difference. It still holds collimation well. Eg I’ve taken it in the car for 1.45 hours over country lanes and nothing had moved.

The secondary was in good condition. I couldn’t find anything wrong with the actual mirror, so as far as I know it’s the original, along with the holder, screws etc. Although I added Bobs Knobs. The primary was in a bit of a poor way. It had impact damage from what could well have been caused by a dropped tool/hex key. And scratches where it looked like someone had desperately tried to rub the damage away! I could easily tell that the primary mirror had been removed as it wasn’t put back correctly - there’s a notch in the mirror cell that should line up with the tube seam. But it had been forced in at another position. Interestingly, even with a primary mirror like that the views were surprisingly decent!

I guess it could be something to do with your primary. But I had my primary in and out multiple times. Not only that but a secondhand mirror, different mirror cell (I had two) and lots of fiddling with clips and various springs. Nothing with the primary made any difference. Of course it’s not the same telescope and might not actually be the same issue. But I’m certainly interested to see if you can resolve it another way.

That was my issue too. Nothing to do with the clips or primary. But I could not get a=b - ie the secondary could be aligned equally under the focuser.

Yes, I certainly wouldn’t do it unless you can’t find an alternative or other reason! I fiddled and played with everything (even taking the focuser to bits) before I made the decision. Out of interest, my Dob was also way off too with the secondary obviously well played with - eg the secondary hex-screws were visibly worn. I got the impression that whoever had it in the past might have had collimation problems.

The post you saw with similar issues where a solution was to “cut the spring a bit” MIGHT have been from me - with my 8” Dob refurbishment. From what you described it sounds very similar and I certainly ended up doing that, but it was a last resort. Whatever I tried and looked at - I literally spent weeks - I just could not get the secondary quite far enough away from the primary. The spring would be rammed right down tight, no room left for any more movement, but with a few mm gap. In the end I took everything to bits (I had to anyway as I was going to flock) and put it back together a few times before I finally took the plunge and cut the spring down a little. That certainly fixed the problem for me and it’s been fine ever since.

I use to do that kind of thing when I was younger and would be able to recover quite quickly. But now… if I didn't go to bed for a night it would literally take over a week!

People and people with glasses are different. I observe with glasses and so does my daughter. We have 12mm & 5mm BST StarGuiders and find them perfectly comfortable to take in the entire FOV at once.

A dark sky is very important. And a bright moon can spoil things. I’m not sure how dark your local/garden sky is. But as an example, when I’ve been to very dark sky site (Bortle 1-2) I can see a host of DSO objects inc nebulae and a few galaxies naked eye. No need for a telescope! Things that I can’t even see (there’s nothing when I look) through my much larger 8” or 200mm Newtonian when in my light polluted back garden. In other words - you’d certainly be able to see a wonderful array of objects if you are under a dark sky with eyes adapted to the dark.

To be honest whisky/alcohol is really only occasionally drunk after I’ve been out, or packing up, especially in winter. Hot chocolate is something that my daughter likes (well, I do too) , along with toasted marshmallows - it helps the night along.

Hot chocolate, coffee (although I drink far too much) and to push the boat out a whisky or my own home made cider.

I was Lucky and on a day without work, but between clouds I manage to get some good views of the super sunspot group AR3576. I could even make it out with just eclipse glasses. Apparently there were 36 individual spots in this group when I was looking. At times the seeing was reasonable and I managed some decent, if brief, views at good magnification. Although by the time I tried to take an image conditions had deteriorated and my single shots did not turn out well. However, this video (converted to a short animated GIF) gives a good feel of what it was like at low power. Not what I was trying to do/get but thought I’d post it anyway. AR3576 has now gone from view, but it looks like there’s potentially another big spot - AR3590 - on the eastern rim just coming into view. Hopefully we’ll actually get some clear skies! Southampton urban back garden. Skywatcher 200p Dob, DIY white light filter with Baader AstroSolar Safety Film. BST StarGuider 15mm. iPhone 14 Pro on no-brand smartphone adapter. Video 4K at 60fps taken using the stock camera app. Cropped plus basic editing in the stock camera app. Converted to GIF via ezgif.com.