SuburbanMak

A wee bit underpowered with all the incredible images here but it does say sketches qualify & this was my first successful location of M51 - a visual experience that will stay with me forever.

I’ve mounted a Telrad & a 9x50 finder on my 127 Mak as the field is narrow & I need all the help I can get. The combination was revolutionary, Telrad allows measured star-hops then the finder gives the local field. Personally I like the “spitfire pilot gunsight” vibe of the Telrad & don’t give a monkey’s about aesthetics if I can reliably find the mind blowing stuff I want to see. As for dew, yes they fog up all the time but it’s a bit of glass not a lens, may be heresy but I take a bit of kitchen roll & wipe it when needed. If it’s dark enough to find what I’m looking for, I can’t see my gear at all - but each to their own

That does look very nice, I read that it’s the same optics company that do the Scopetech lenses. I have a nagging feeling there’s an f15 in my future and agree it’s all a slippery slope toward something in duck-egg & cream…

Just spotted this right at the top of the disc just W of centre- first one since buying a solar filter for an old Prinz 330 60mm, now pressed into service as a permanent afternoon Solar monitor!

Thank's Dave - this is great stuff and I am even more excited to receive the Hilkin now, fingers crossed all is well! I am currently using this to plug in 1.25 EPs to the Prinz 60mm, if I bought the Vixen thread adapter you recommend, would that give me the same field stop as a 1.25 as opposed to this, which means I can use 1.25 EPs but with the .965 field stop? On the 3-inch, I have warned the household that there is one more old telescope out there as I do hanker for an f15, 3 inch - I shall bide my time though and wait for the right one. A couple of weeks ago there were several Circle K ones on eBay at the same time so I figured they were quite common but there hasn't been one since, maybe I'll hang on and save up for something more exotic... (although there is that Scopetech...)

Short version: its great. Long version below! I have had the AZ GTi since Christmas and am finding it to be a really great package. I don't have anything to compare it with but am thoroughly happy - its rugged enough to stand up to the knocks of grab & go observing, compact, tracks well and happily carries my 127 Mak, Telrad, 9x50 finder and a chunky Baader Zoom. I've only had some slight complaint from it when I added a Nikon D90 to that load and even then with balance point at the extreme of the Vixen bar and avoiding the highest slew speeds it was carrying OK. With a lighter scope (ST80) its absolutely superb. I've had it on both the supplied aluminium tripod and when I wanted to get right at the Zenith without a neck injury, a Manfrotto 55, both totally fine. I have found myself using the GoTo less than the Point & Track feature which is excellent & easy to access in the app - works pretty well (10 minutes or so on mid power) out of the box and very well if you align the mount first (20 minutes plus without a nudge at higher power). If you GoTo an object it starts tracking automatically once the move is complete. I have tended to align at the start of a session as a routine then you've both maximum tracking accuracy and GoTo capability if you need, takes me 2 minutes now. You can toggle between Sidereal, Lunar or Solar tracking based on what you need to look at. When I first started with it I was having some problems getting accurate alignment, mainly because I was attempting to pick stars in the narrow wedge of sky visible from the garden, which makes sense when you think about the model of the sky its trying to build. After some sagely advice from @ScouseSpaceCadet I headed off to the park where the mount could see the whole sky and align on optimal stars (within between 90 & 130 degrees of Az and 30 and 60 of Az if memory serves). His advice was to use North Level alignment, start point can be approximate and then you pick 2 bright stars from a long list - the last few weeks its always Vega & Arcuturus - so I've stuck with that. SynScan App is no frills, menu based and works well under red filter. I have synched it to Stellarium and Sky Safari so can in theory drive the telescope from there but in reality the text based app is much easier to use in the field on a tiny phone screen. Each time you slew to an object via GoTo you are asked to centre & confirm (for maximum accuracy you make the last moves up & right apparently to reduce backlash in the mount - the app compels you to do this before accepting as centred, but if you can't be bothered and don't need that precise tolerance then you can tap the up & R buttons and accept without moving the mount in those directions). It was also suggested that for maximum accuracy to consider aligning on 2 stars in the same hemisphere and doing all your observing in that half of the sky and then repeating the process for the other. This radically improved accuracy making the GoTo definitely usable with the Mak (1 degree max TFOV) and an absolute dream with the wider field of the ST80. I would say one in five sessions I have one slew where it loses the plot and does something odd - at that point I've tended to just realign and all is well again, takes 2 minutes. Beside that the only vary rare issue I've had has been dropping the wireless network 2 or 3 times in 5 months - as likely to be my phone as the mount and again, hitting reconnect worked straight away. I haven't attempted to use this for photography or in EQ mode which is a firmware & wedge upgrade that' s available & apparently folk can get good results, nice to know I've got something to grow into with this bit of kit one day. I've tended to use mine with the clutches locked and move around using the motors, but in theory if you disengage the clutches and move around manually, there is a dual encoder system that means the alignment still knows where it is. Haven't really tested this in part because the one area of build where I have a concern is the Az clutch which feels a wee bit under engineered compared to the rest of it - like a thread might strip if you loosened and tightened it extensively, haven't heard of this happening, just feels a bit thin to me. Lots of buyers put it on an after market puck like this one to make it a nice smooth manual Alt Az push mount https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284231160663?hash=item422d7f5357:g:YqIAAOSwF5NgW0PZ I am about to take delivery of the aftermarket ADM clamp for this, which apparently improves stability - not because I've had worries about the security of the stock clamp as much as this one will allow me to mount both Vixen & Losmandy type bars, the rings I've found for the 60mm scopes are 30mm fittings. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adm-replacement-saddles/adm-dual-dovetail-adaptor-for-az-gti.html I love using the old wooden tripod but also really looking forward to getting those old 60mm on this mount! Didn't realise I had this much to say about it - topline is I wouldn't hesitate to buy again!

Great report and a great night! I picked tonight to drive out to a darker elevated spot and it’s amazing what a difference getting 15 minutes outside of town makes. I did some preplanned galaxy hunting in Virgo & Comma B - M49, M61, M85, M98, M99 & M100 (tough one). Then went a bit kid in a globular sweet shop on M13, M92, M3, M5, M10 & M12. Like you I had a great view of M57 & a first view of M27 which had a definite double bulge shape. Finished off with a super view of M81, M82 & M51. Cuppa & bed - work in 5 hrs…

Thanks - I am not expecting a tripod with this one and looks like the part of the mount that attaches it may be missing. That may be a longer restoration game, although there may be a way to attach to the wooden Prinz 330 tripod I already have. In the meantime I have some guidescope rings that will fit to sit it on my AZ Gti and Manfrotto 55 to get going. I have a super cheap .965 - 1.25 converter and have found with my print that the Plossls that came with my skywatcher and a Baader 6mm Classic Ortho are miles better than the dusty old .965s that came with - be fun to test though.

Thank you - there’s just something about these old refractors isn’t there? I will post on what kind of state it’s in when it arrives & hopefully update on first light on here.

In the immortal words of Britney Spears... oops I did it again. I think I may have a problem... Couldn't resist this lovely old thing though and did, I think, get a proper bargain if all's well. This one has Eiko (Circle upside down "Y" Hilkin, Carton etc) optics, 60mm, 800 Fl - so f 13.3 so am hoping for something special for retro double-star & lunar work, will update here on condistion when it arrives. As an aside, although my expectations are not high, I can't wait to try the "Super Ramsden" eyepiece - sounds like something out of Wallace & Gromit

On iPhones you can place a universal red filter via the accessibility settings (they are enabled to activate filters to help with dyslexia, RG colour blindness etc). This can then be assigned to the main control button - three clicks and everything is under a red filter. With brightness to minimum and nighttime background enabled I find this suitably dim for most sessions.

Similar thinking - the Baader film as the filling of a gaffer tape covered cardboard disc sandwich, probably leave enough diameter free at the outside so the cap still fully fits. Held in place with sticky Velcro to make it reusable. Likewise a bit of extra gaffer tape to prevent accidents seems a wise move.

I am thinking Velcro may be involved here.

This is an idea so good I’ll have to steal it...

Kind of - my understanding is that this arrangement will safely show Sunspots, Faculae (which are like sun-spot forming regions I believe) and under really good conditions some indication of granularity (although resolving the individual "grains" requires high magnification and more aperture than I've got here) nevertheless you can see some kind of texture. The other feature you can see is "limb darkening" - basically because the Sun is gaseous, when you look at the edge you are kind of looking "through" so there's less light emitting stuff, so it appears darker. I've just been looking at this, makes it look quite 3D which is very cool. No sunspots today though... The H-Alpha expensive dedicated solar gear shows the flares and features in the sun's corona, which this approach will not show. Still, it's not bad for a few quid and I now have a telescope making daily observations that I reckon has spent most of the last 40 years in an attic!

Really hope that's true

Removed, thank you, wise words...

I bought this 12 quid Chinese solar filter off eBay, basically its just a former that stretches some Baader Solar film across the objective lens. Its working a treat and I still seem to be able to see... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384030492033?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=384030492033&targetid=1139674280107&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=1007237&poi=&campaignid=12689627437&mkgroupid=125757552892&rlsatarget=pla-1139674280107&abcId=9300529&merchantid=137623453&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4cOEBhDMARIsAA3XDRho16uAQ1n5NTID9HEOVzQkIGokbVkPVBazfLwv3fmrX-Hig53NeTcaAharEALw_wcB Also this 16 pound pinhole solar finder which means you can position the sun by looking at its little projection screen rather than any kind of sighting in line with the barrel. I melted a hole in the filter casing with a hot screwdriver and bolted the finder on to it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392989020937?hash=item5b7ff89309:g:4rEAAOSwK2ZfOkkB I currently have it sitting on an old Prinz 60mm refractor, nice to have a quick solar glimpse between Zoom calls...

Thank you - really useful links and good advice. I can definitely see me getting hooked, its so dynamic and something I can do on a quick tea break from work. Like the idea of tracking over time.

Thanks @MercianDabbler yes - I found the detailed approach you'd taken incredibly useful. I've got the next couple of galaxy-hunts lined up for M98/9, M104 and M85! I'd have continued on to them the other night but the high cloud was really thickening to the South.

Thank you - yes & looking forward to going back and looking again on one of those nights of special transparency sometime now I’ve more of a mental map to work from.

Classic 60mm resurrected & ready for solar duties!

Yes! It does look like a Star-Trek badge! As it shall now forever be...

I've been puzzling over the bits of Virgo that are filled with galaxies on and off for the last three months & always seem to get lost and confused among barely-visible smudges in the eyepiece of my 127 Mak. Whilst not the ideal galaxy hunting tool, I have really enjoyed views of M81 & M82 and the Leo Trio so figured I ought to at least be able to identify the whereabouts of some of the Virgo cluster even if there's no real features or structure to be even dimly seen with this aperture. To date I'd positively identified M86 & M84 and noted a couple of NGCs in the same field and other smudges within a couple of panning fields distant - but beyond that it was all "might be" in terms of identification. There is I admit a part of me that is motivated to "tick off" Messier objects but I want to be positive on my identification, so with this in mind I hatched a plan to tour the area in a more structured way, inspired by this great thread on the topic from @MercianDabbler https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/375174-easter-2021-attempting-galaxies-with-an-sp102/?tab=comments#comment-4074628. Recon sessions with the ST80 while the moon has been dominant over the last couple of weeks had led me to a chain of mini asterisms that I reckon I could follow from Vindemiatrix as a pathway to identify specific galaxies - even though they would be little more than un-resolvable fuzzy stars in my 'scope. I went as far as running through my star hopping "moves" a couple of times in Stellarium during the afternoon and making step by step instructions in my notebook (I find paper & a red headtorch easier in the field than trying to manipulate an App under a redlight). Saturday's forecast wasn't perfect for this purpose but looking ahead, looked like the only usable night for a while so I spent a happy few-bank holiday hours in the afternoon packing gear, charging batteries and prepping. All observations with a Skywatcher Mak 127, Baader Hyperion 24mm (68 degree AFOV delivering a shade over 1 degree TFOV), Baader Neodymium Filter added for good luck! Saturday May 1st /Sunday May 2nd was clear over Bortle-5 Winchester and seeing was very steady, transparency was fair and at times poor with high cloud building gradually to the SW by midnight when I set out. There were a couple of hours before the moon became a factor so I got to work aligning (Vega, Arcuturus) and slewing to Vindemiatrix. Tracked a couple of fields of view (1 degree field) SSW to a faint "crown" of stars [Stellarium says HD111132 is at the head of the curve] which I've been calling mini-Corona and from there on W to a 4 star asterism with Rho Virginis at its centre which I've been calling the "plane" as it looks like a clear delta-wing shape (like an old dinky toy Dassault Mirage I had as a kid!) M59/M60 - Put the "nose" of the plane in the centre-bottom of the field and pan up half a degree and there was M59 & M60, the first a dim fuzzy point, better in averted vision, the second notably brighter and with haze around a central point, could stand direct vision. Putting the nose of the "plane" this time in the right hand side of the finder (RACI view on the Mak) and tracking a full field West brings the first of two pairs of stars in a just about horizontal line [Stellarium says these are HD109815, HD109684, HD109486, HD109401]. M58 - Putting the first pair of "the line" in the bottom R of the finder and tracking up 1/2 a field brought me a fuzzy patch with a star bottom R [later confirmed star as HD109771] M89 - Putting the second pair of "the line" in the bottom R of the finder and tracking up just over a field, passing a small triangle of stars, brings in M89 - a fuzzy star, not much else to note. M90 - Putting M89 in the bottom centre of the field brings in M90 in the top of the view, dim fuzzy but a bit more of a vertical line than a point this time. Makes a nice field with M89. M87 - Placed M89 top R in field and swing W. M87 - not as bright as expected, nebulous patch, no detail to speak of. M86 - Placed M87 in far R of field and tracked W I full field (1 degree) - quite apparent fuzz with brighter core - easier to see than M87 which is odd. M84 - Placed M87 in far R of field and tracked W I full field (1 degree) - faint, best with averted vision when focussed on M86. I then tracked one field of view NE of the M84/M86 view and this gives a really humbling view full of tiny fuzzy patches. I made a rough sketch of a pronounced Scalene Triangle of resolvable stars [based on Stellarium I think these are three 10th Mag stars just into Coma Berenices, TYC 880-659-1, TYC 880 567-1, TYC 880 505-1, whatever that means...] with an elongated "M" shape of fuzzy blobs interweaving. I am not 100% sure which I was seeing but reckon given the slightly off transparency conditions I wasn't able to see as deep as the scope's limiting magnitude of 13.1 so am fairly sure I was looking at "The Eyes" - NGC 4435 & 4438 and then probably NGC 4459, NGC 4461, NGC 4473 & NGC 4477. M56 - I was getting spots before the eyes by this time and noted that transparency was better behind me to the NE, I took a quick look straight down from Lyra & found M56, a fairly diffuse & dim globular that I am not at all sure I would have spotted had I not just spent a couple of hours tracking down the faintest of fuzz-patches! Finally looking around I noticed Serpens looked clear and did an opportunistic GoTo for a quick look for M5 before calling it a night. M5 - Wow! After all that faint stuff this is an absolute corker, tight globular and bright with faint diamond dust at 63x - although it was late I switched to the Baader Zoom & upped the magnification enjoying some super views at around 150x. Decided to end on this stunner and returned home on a bit of a high for a glass of wine and some poring over the Cambridge Star Atlas and Stellarium on my phone to confirm sightings and then read up on some of the amazing objects I'd glimpsed. Tonight I'd upped my personal "distance record" to around 70 Million light years and was amazed to find that M56 is almost as old as the universe itself at 13.5 Billion years, and even better used to be part of something called the "Gaia Sausage" - who knew? As often is the case I finished up by reading some of the history of the objects first categorisation, marvelling again at what Messier, Mechain and the Herschels achieved. Mind blown again...Clear (dark) skies!

Great chart - & likewise on M33, I’ve managed to track down 20 or so up to now but this isn’t yet one of them.