LaurenceT

A breaded 127 Mak, sounds delicious........

For my Startravel 102 I bought this Oklop bag: Oklop Padded Bag for 120/600 Refractors | First Light Optics

I have a Startravel 102 as my "grab and go " scope kept under cover in the kitchen! I can be outside in the garden within a couple of minutes for some quick observing. As @Cosmic Geoff points out there can be significant fringing around the bright moon which may be off putting to some but I can just about bear it, but it still shows the moons surface features beautifully. Personally I wouldn't really bother too much with planets with this scope other than enabling you to say "ooh look, Jupiter", the features may not be as pleasantly observable as other scopes. The ST102 is very nice for general widefield viewing of the night sky. I see people are suggesting Dobsonians, I have one and it's very nice but it's quite heavy and bulky and not always easy to set up. You also have to do something called collimation which as a beginner I regarded as a dark art and if it had been my first scope it would have put me off, but it's a fine instrument nonetheless. As pointed out you will need a tripod and mount. As an avid photographer I already had a selection of tripods available and with the Startravel 102 I use a lightweight carbon fibre tripod. They are not cheap and not entirely free of vibration. I also have one of these which are very popular: Sky-Watcher Stainless Steel 1.75" Tripod with 3/8" thread | First Light Optics The mount I have used and still possess is this one: Sky-Watcher AZ5 Deluxe Alt-Azimuth Astronomy Mount | First Light Optics also popular. You will also need an eyepiece, the Startravel 102 comes with 2 of them in the package.

I bought one of these: MAX505H280 Tough IP67 Rated Case - Trifibre It's big and heavy and not cheap and I probably could have found a lighter cheaper case but it's the one I've got and I'm happy with it.

When I tried to transfer the files from my laptop to a usb stick I couldn't because the HDD was too full, in fact almost bursting, so there was no swap file usage available. It was full because my Sharpcap files were saved to my desktop which automatically was copied to OneDrive. That was the problem, my OneDrtive was full, I should have paid more attention to it earlier. The only remedy, so I thought, was to delete files from OneDrive but by not paying attention not only deleted everything but emptied the OneDrive Recycle Bin which is permanent. I've now unlinked my PC and laptop from OneDrive!

Two nights ago I stepped out into the garden and although there were thick clouds to the west the moon was showing beautifully to the east. I'd already been playing with the Evoguide 50ED earlier so I was set up outside in 10 minutes. Az GTI pointing the little scope to the moon and tracking enabled. Sharpcap on, focused and stabilized. I got 9 lovely videos in an hour, took everything indoors and in a moment of inattentive madness deleted everything...... permanently 🤣. When's the next clear night......?

You've confirmed what I want to know, that I'd need the Pro version to use the planet/disk stabilisation feature, excellent, thanks.

I use a Baader Neodymium Moon and SkyGlow filter with my asi224mc for EAA, seems to work OK.

I currently use Sharpcap Pro only for planetary and lunar photography. My license is about to expire and I'm unsure whether to renew. The feature I like is the image stabilisation and centering but I don't know whether this is available in the basic version.

Perhaps I haven't read this right but my Asiair Pro has video mode.

Made with PETG

I've found what I think is the best solution. It's a 3D printed design and it came all the way from Illinois! Found a young chap on Facebook who makes a number of items related to astro, he possesses a Samyang 135 and the US equivalent of the Askar FMA180 so he is able to get the precise dimensions and has made products for both scopes/lenses. He goes by the name of Chris and his company is called Thinkable Creations, to order you have to go onto Etsy of all places. There appear to be two areas, one devoted to astro and the other to random bits. It looks a bit unusual and it wasn't cheap but it now means I can mount the Askar together with a guidescope and Asiair in a normal fashion without risking everything revolving like a windmill eventually!

Just a different view of children and telescopes. Our granddaughter is 6 and has shown a great interest in the universe, when she was 5 she could recite the planets and their relationship with the sun. A couple of weeks ago I set up my Startravel 102 for her to look at the moon and the Pleiades which were showing nicely. Something about her comments made me doubt what she was actually seeing so I crouched down next to her and realised that her viewing eye was shut firmly tight! I was absolutely unable to get her to open that eye, it either remained firmly shut at the eyepiece or when open she was looking up along the length of the scope tube! I realised that I still had a mobile phone adapter in the cupboard so I quickly set it up with an eyepiece and a phone and she was absolutely amazed to see the targets.

Go on, it's Christmas..,

Getting to grips with guiding was not helped by my RVO guide scope. Admittedly it was getting on in years like its owner but after tightening the locking ring it would magically loosen itself just by lying there. After hours of pleasant research I decided on this William Optics offering. Can't test the optics yet but the engineering quality is superb and it's a colour match for my ZS61II.

@Chris-h I'll certainly check that out. @Elp I'm sure I've got a similar plate from my photography days, I'll have a search. @900SLYou're quite right, the whole thing looks absurd, it would never fly! I'm abandoning the ZWO holder ring and I've found a way to mount the Asiair on top of the dovetail under the front of the scope. I'll have to be content with taking shorter unguided exposures which shouldn't be a problem with this widefield scope. If I was desperate to guide there is a way to mount a guidescope with this. I tried it the other day with this bar, it was OK, but clunky and a bit of a faff balancing it:

I've been breaking my head for months about how to use my FMA180 on a mount using a guidescope/camera and my Asiair. The only method that "looks" remotely feasible is the one in my photos. The problem is of course the added weight to the camera. The total weight with both the guidescope/camera and the Asiair is 915g (32oz). If I decided not to guide and just use short exposures with the Asiair by itself the total weight is 622g (22oz). The Asi122mm mini camera is not in the photos as it's currently on my 50ED. I haven't yet used this in anger so I can't say anything about tilt but I'm concerned about the strain on the whole imaging train. Be grateful for any comments.

Building a pier is not possible, it wouldn't pass the scrutiny of the Domestic Management. Budgetary constraints rule out the 365 covers so I'll probably get the ordinary Telegizmos cover and then cover that with suitable bbq cover. I'll hold this in place with a couple of bungees which works well for the cover I already have on my Skywatcher stainless steel tripod kept in the garden and still allows for circulation of air.

Absolutely superb images Lee.

Having read this thread avidly and seen Cuiv's YT I've decided that I want to keep my EQ5 permanently in the garden, just the mount, no scope. It makes sense to me at my age to have something already set up which means no lugging heavy(ish) gear out of the garage each time I want to image. I'm just undecided which one to get, it's probably going to be one of the smaller ones as there is no scope to cover. Being a novice I'm always grateful for the collective wisdom on here.

Novice question from another (somewhat confused) FMA180 owner..... were you using the Askar 65PHQ as guidescope for that image ?

I've replaced the altitude screws on my WO wedge with these: sourcing map M6 x 44mm Metric Male Thread Knurled Clamping Knobs Grip Thumb Screw on Type Hand Clamping Handle Bolt with Plastic Knobs Black 10 Pcs : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools makes it easier to use the wedge. I initially put some lithium grease on the original WO screws and it didn't help at all. also @AstroNebulee made this post : https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/391791-william-optics-wedge-declination-screws/?do=findComment&comment=4219498

Superb Lee.

Very nice image of my favourite object in the night sky.

Woke up a 5, looked out of the window and just had to go outside! With my completely untutored astro eyes I saw a beautiful Venus showing to the east and round to the south west/west Betelgeuse, Orions belt and the Pleiades were beautiful in the binos but stunning through the ST102.