apaulo

i have a pair of nikon prostaff 10x42 binos that i use for both astro and everyday uses. not too expensive, good optics, not heavy and waterproof. you could do worse. hope this helps.

id go for a cheap duvet out of argos and make up a couple of bungee straps for it, job done for a fraction of the cost of a scope bag and probably safer.

i had the vixen slv,s very nice eyepieces smallish fov by todays standard, thats why i changed to baader morphs but i didnt have a motorised set up. the vixens are very nice glass though. hope this is of help. paul.

i got a dual bracket of ebay, actually can carry 3 finders. i like to use an rd with a 9x50 finder together. it slips onto the standard finder scope shoe on the 200p ota. bracket was about £16 delivered. ive had it about a year seems well made and aluminium. hope this helps.

room for 2 more morphs filters are just sitting there for the time being, i like them flat i can see where my money goes better lol

i know who james webb is. he is cliff richards brother. didnt know he worked for nasa though. lol he cant sing either.

Great job, and kept simple, looks good and works. what more can you ask for. well done and thanks for sharing.

hi Malcolm welcome to the forum, the 200p is a very capable scope, enjoy.

ok thanks i have a better understanding . I actually thought that we knew in what direction the universe is moving, but having just googled it. it seems like we dont know for sure. so i think i have asked a silly question with no answer. regarding ahead and behind, thanks for the replies

maybe ive got this now, we can only see forward because theres no light behind us. we cant look back. too dark. but there must be more of the universe out there. possably just as much as out front. sorry if front and back isnt astro terms but it keeps it simple. as far as i know the universe is moving ,is so id say its moving forward or backwards. thanks for the input and patience.

surely it has to 100 years ahead to send the light back. if im wrong i stand corrected. maybe i should have titled the topic whats infront of us. we have to follow something in that case.

if everything we see is light years ahead of us. whats behind us, us being earth, and or the milky way galaxy. we cant be the last galaxy to come about, the last planet or bit of rock. that would mean we are on the very back edge of the whole cosmos. so if we keep looking forward, why cant we see whats behind us. very possably i dont understand something thats obvious. but putting it very simply , why cant we look over our shoulders. something has to follow us probably as much behind us as infront of us. this is a thought ive had for a while, so possably someone can satisfy my curiosity. apaulo.

the webbing is very cheap i got it on ebay and the postage was more than the webbing lol.

I made a simple but strong handle out of a bit of webbing for my Starfield 102 ed

it saddens me how innocent customers get this sort of treatment. i think it would be a lot more helpful to everyone on sgl if this kind of problem is reported on here openly as soon as the bud starts to form, then we are all forewarned, followed by an update on the situation good or bad asap. in this way other fellow astronomers know to tread carefully with the company mentioned.

if we needed a phd etc to enjoy astronomy very few of us would be at it. a pair of eyes, some sort of optical device and a sense of wonder can be plenty to enjoy the sky. scientists agree on very little, we still dont know where we came from, we know just as little about where we are going and the vast majority dont really care. lol. enjoy the wonder. clear skies.

i find these very good when needed which isnt very often.

i bought red glass paint from hobby craft, about a fiver, dries fast, just paint 2 or 3 coats on the lens till you get it as you want it. makes a lot of red lights. ive done 3 and hardly used any.

i found that to get the most accuracy set the dob up as level as possible, it dosnt need to be bang on, i use a very cheap round bubble level of ebay i think theyr used for caravans, this was brought about after setting up 1 night and after eventually finding the first target i realised my set up was 5-7 degrees out. simple remedy though.

personally i wouldnt buy new bins for £50. i bought a pair of used 7x50 zomz on ebay that i use at sea. they are very good a lot better by far than what youll get for 50 new. from past experience i would recommend them. hope this helps. paul.

i bought the ts concenter, up to now i thought it was me and an ageing pair of eyes. i find it very difficult to use and see the circles, alignment etc. it has helped me set up my secondary mirror, but by no means did it make it a lot easier. i ended up using it in conjunction with a cheshire and a laser until they all agreed. its a bit like a lot of astronomy gear, getting upgraded updated simply because it was inferior in the first place, also making it over priced.

please post some pics.

hi to all. has anyone any ideas for making manual controls for a dobsonian 8 in scope setup. simpler the better. i have a diy dob mount, so can chop and change, hack it up, do almost anything to alter it. could even burn it and make a new 1. i have a simple system that works quite well for the az but am a bit stumped for the alt. all help and advice greatly appreciated. maybe need a box of matches lol. alt system is in the pic. very simple theres a spring in the bottom block keeps a bit of tension on it. this can still be improved and tidied up a bit, but works. thanks in advance for any help and input. paul.

hi alan, i use a dob mounted 200p newt , only scope i have. i made 2 filters using thousand oaks solar foil. it shows the sun as a yellow image, some other foils baader i think shows the sun as a white image. this foil is surprisingly strong. you dont need a full aperture size foil but obviously the whole filter unit Must cover the full aperture of the scope. i made a small 1 for the finder. keeps life simple for me. hope the pic helps.

technology is great, when it works. there was many a time i wished for a goto. however i didnt fancy powerpacs etc etc. technology seems to breed more technology. start of setting up everything carried under your arm, next wheel barrow, then car boot, next thing is i need a van. oh yes and live near an astro shop incase you need more gear fast. so for my diy dob mount and 200p scope i decided to get a setting circle made by a local sign makers, just a flat plastic sheet with a protractor printed on it. £20. then onto amazon for a digital incline meter. now its a simple matter of centering polaris in the eyepiece twist the dob until its zeroed job done. i get my alt az numbers of sky safari plus and im close, very close. occassionally bang on centre. i go a small step further now after using this setup a few months. i put a bubble level on the base and level it as i noticed it dosnt have to be very far of plumb to affect the accuracy. so for about £30 i have a system thats improved veiwing sessions immensly. i hope this is of interest and help to someone.