amaury

@Tiny Clanger That is a very telling chart indeed. I tend to drive around 25 min to a bortle 4 area and it's disappointing when the forecast was way off.

I find it quite unreliable too. @ScouseSpaceCadet I'll try a couple of well known weather apps and check which is more reliable to plan ahead. @Spile I might get a planisphere. It's exactly when things don't go to plan that I am sort of lost at what to look at. Still learning my way around the sky. Thanks for the comments

Hi all, I've realized that planning is very important in my short experience. As a newbie I found the Moore Winter Marathon very handy, as the planning was sort of already done for me. I managed to enjoy a couple of decent skies during the last two weeks. I was wondering if there was anything of the sort for the Spring months, or what's recommended in "Turn Left at Orion" are the best objects to go and observe. Another question that I have is Clear Outside what everyone uses for sky condition forecasting? or do you guys use something else? Cheers, Amaury

Here is my take. The "free-market" is not as "free" as some people wants to believe. In fact it's a very flawed economic theory. See this way. What would happen if the "free-market" decides who gets the covid vaccine? just think about it for 5 min. So then, what the best approach? That's something they are still figuring out at the economy school. In my own moral point of view, you shouldn't aim at making any profit, otherwise you would be doing some sort of scalping. Now, I have seen senior members referencing current retail prices when selling second hand items here. I think that's totally valid as long as you are honest and you are not intentionally price gouging or scalping to make a quick profit.

Thanks @Ricochet, sounds like the clicklock system is the next best thing after the Parallizer. Hi @Barry-W-Fenner , all is well and I am very happy with the 200p. I am learning a lot. I took it for a short ride to a bortle 4 area in the South Downs park the other night and wow! I hope everything is fine with you too. I think that's the best to achieve that, or the parallizer too (with some caveats).

Thanks @Ricochet, I see what you mean. The HG also deals with that, it's a shame that there is always a balancing act with whatever you decide to do. The parallizer basically locks you out of the wide Explore Scientific eyepieces or the Baader Zoom. I guess your solution for a similar tilt-free wobble/free with the clicklock system will be something like in the post referenced below (you even commented in that post). I have a SW skyliner 200p. So the full clicklock solution would be a 2" 54a + 2" -1.25" reducer. That solution still could be problematic because it changes the optical length of the whole thing so this person had issues with focusing after replacing the 2" clamp with a clicklock. would you say that your clicklock experience is tilt-free? I am pretty sure it'll be wobble-free, not so sure about the tilt consistency of the clicklock. Thanks for the feedback.

Hi guys, I have read in a couple of places that the Howie Glatter Parallizer doesn't work with eyepiece that are wide above the 1.25" barrel. Like a Baader Zoom for example, which is a shame. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/512357-glatter-parallizer-question/ The question is: does the Baader Clicklock also achieve the same level of tilt-free/wobble-free experience as the HG Parallizer? Cheers, Amaury

@AlexK Even if there is an offset, the edge of the focuser tube, the edge of the secondary mirror, and the edge of the reflection of the primary mirror into the secondary mirror are concentric. Just ignore the vanes and the shadow of the secondary holder, and focus on the concentricity of those three elements. I think the concenter is by far, the simplest most accurate way of collimating the secondary. At last in my very very short experience with collimation. Just from a conceptual point of view. @BrendanC I've been trying the phone + laptop/PC method, it's very fiddly indeed but it works.

@Pixies That's a very neat tool. I'll use it too. Visually I could tell the secondary wasn't fully centred. I'll sort that out. The primary is clearly off too, just wanted to fine-tune the secondary (the most difficult part in my experience) before adjusting the primary. thanks a lot the feedback. @AlexK Cheers Alex. I did try that. I wiggled the focuser tube and seemed pretty solid in place. Rotated the collimating cap, the view didn't change in any discernable way to my inexperienced eyes. Maybe the little whole in the cap is pretty well centred.

Thanks @Spile, those are the spider vanes. I am using a simple cap at the moment as that is all I have. To put the "polo" in the middle of the cross-hair I'd need a barrel with cross-hairs. I was thinking about buying a cheshire.

Hi people, just out of curiosity, Is the Orion E series 7-21mm Zoom a rebranded Svbony SV135? At least on paper they seem to be exactly the same Zoom. https://www.svbony.com/SV135-1-25inch-Zoom-Eyepiece-/ https://uk.telescope.com/Telescopes/Orion-E-Series-7-21mm-Zoom-Telescope-Eyepiece/rc/1306/p/132442.uts

Hi guys, I am new in the hobby. I figure it's best if I ask here rather than creating a whole new topic. I got a nice second-hand skywatcher skyliner 8" Dob. I was wondering if my secondary collimation is good enough before I start collimating the primary. 1- To me it looks like the secondary is not fully centered on the focuser, it looks like it is slightly more towards the primary. The holder of the secondary doesn't help to fully assess this. 2- The black offset of the secondary is somewhat off too, so the secondary is not fully facing the focuser in the Y axis, or am I being too perfectionist? 3- The primary seems to be centered in the secondary, I can see the three clips of the primary, or it isn't good enough? I had a cracking look at the moon last night for the first time with the collimation you see in the picture and it was awesome. Cheers, Amaury

Thank you all for your feedback. This quote from @Second Time Around is gold. The whole answer was very comprehensive, thank you very much indeed. I have made my mind now. My 8" Dob came with the stock 10mm EP only (often referred to as "dreadful" just like @Spile said. Practically I have no eyepieces just like when @Louis D bought his Dob back in the days. I'll keep my eyes open for a decent second-hand Baader Zoom.

Thanks for the input Andy. The Hyperion zoom sounds great. Is there a downside compared to a fixed EP? For example, how does the 8mm in the Zoom compares to BST SG 8mm. Amaury

Hi all, I always loved astronomy (I am in fact a geophysicist), and I bought my first telescope recently, a nice second-hand 200P Dobsonian from a member of this community. I am new to telescopes and related equipment. So imagine you get an 8" f/6 dob but you get to choose your own eyepieces instead of getting the "stock" ones (so basically my case). What would you do in that case? 1- I assume the 25mm and 8mm BST StarGuider would be the most sensible approach hence the first option and then add a Barlow down the road. 2- In another post called "First eyepiece upgrade - what you wish you had done", people seem to recommend the Baader Hyperion Zoom. So I guess the question is, what would do and why? Get a set of BST StarGuider EPs? or the Baader Hyperion Zoom? or would you do something else? Thanks in advance for the advice. Amaury