badhex

I reckon we Europe mainlanders would have problems getting those shipped from the UK unfortunately. I looked at buying a powerpack from FLO a while back but they're unable to ship them here.

Power dips would likely explain the eccentric behaviour. I'm actually thinking about the smaller version of that same tank for my AZ-GTi.

Thanks John, good to know. If I do go for the 4.5mm I'll be interested to see how the C5 performs with it. I suppose that there's a much better chance of a decent outcome with something like a Morpheus, although I am guessing I'll still need very good conditions.

No not at all. It could be something really simple though like a loose connection? Dry solder on a power line? Might be worth (in the daytime of course) trying to reproduce the issue - jiggle the power connectors, shake the mount a little to see if you can get it to do it consistently, which might lead you closer to the answer (although you may have already done all this so ignore me if so!)

Fingers crossed Ags, I know it's been bugging you for a while.

Yes definitely. No huge immediate benefits for the various established interfaces, except as you said WiFi. Maybe at some point they will switch to using newer standards (e.g. USB for handsets etc) and they're gearing up for that? I'd imagine though that it's just easier/cheaper to manufacture boards containing SoC at scale if you want to support some modern stuff like WiFi or Bluetooth, but for most interfaces it's not really needed. They're probably going to use the same base boards for multiple models, and simply remove components for the more budget models.

I knew someone would say get both! And I suspected it would be you Louis 😂 after all it's your fault I'm even looking! I really do only have space for one (can you tell I'm trying to convince myself?!) I am swayed by the 4.5mm though, as it seems fitting to buy high quality glass for use with the ZS73. I also do have a BCO in 6mm which is great for planetary in my C5.

This makes sense. I suspect the answer due to a few reasons; ARM has a much bigger community support base, where PIC support may potentially start to dwindle over time. ARM has multiple manufacturers vs PIC's single manufacturer, which gives you choice and makes it cheaper, and ARM is technologically more advanced with 64-bit options, better protocol support, support for newer hardware and system on a chip capabilities meaning smaller motherboards, fewer components etc.

Very nice! Here's a thought. Maybe if you have the skills or you could find someone who does, you could build you a new AZ-GTi box out of brass or something brass-like (a bit steampunk style but without all the unnecessary cosmetic gears etc)? Berlebach matched wood to replace the skywatcher pillar shouldn't be too hard to construct, and you're most of the way there to a period piece with modern useful upgrades!

Is this Lowell at the eponymous Observatory?

The same is true in reverse as well. The finder on my Charles Frank is a WW2 Aldis illuminated gunsight, and from what I can tell this is how the scope was supplied, so they clearly had a lot of ex-military stock to play with.

From what I remember of its very limited use, it's not bad, and tbh I feel that one must judge these venerable items by different rules anyway. When you do get it, please do let me know if you can confirm the focal length - it certainly isn't written on it anywhere. From my research at the time I think this may have been ex-military as was much of the Charles Frank stuff, IIRC something to do with tank viewports possibly?

This one, per chance? (here threaded onto a helical focuser). I have the same eyepiece but never worked out the focal length, and in fact had not realised my old Charles Frank focuser was RAS threaded (it had 0.965" push fit sleeve screwed into it) until just before I moved countries and everything went into storage. Ultra-wide is certainly a stretch though!

Genuine smile across my face after reading this. I can't say I've ever been tempted to start collecting the reeealllly old stuff (my oldest scope is a Charles Frank) but I will follow this thread (and the progress of your giant handlebar moustache) closely!

Lovely report! Thanks for sharing.

If, hypothetically speaking of course, I were to consider buying another Morpheus, my choices would be between the 6.5mm and 4.5mm. Primary usage for now would be with a C5 at F10 and ZS73 at F5.9. Now the problem is as follows: 6.5mm would probably be useful in a wider range of potential future scopes, and definitely a better choice for a high power EP in the C5 at 192x / 39x per inch 6.5mm only gives me 66x / 23x per inch in the ZS73 4.5mm is better suited as my higher/highest power EP for the ZS73 at 96x / 33x per inch 4.5mm would be really pushing the C5 at 278x / 56x per inch Thoughts? Anyone got specific experience and feedback using the 4.5mm / 6.5mm in similar scopes?

Oh no, thanks to @Louis D I'm now thinking that I could take the BSTs out and keep them in the travel case (for which they were intended), move the 25mm Celestron (which is only in their because I kinda like it as a cheap and cheerful), and buy a short FL Morpheus to fit in the space... 😱🤪

😂 Maybe I'll have a rejig...

I just checked the report I wrote, I was using a 5mm BST which gave me 86x so very similar view I'd imagine

I struggled to split the both doubles as well on my first few nights out with the ZS73. just about managed a distinct figure of 8 but not clear separation. In the same couple of nights I had a 'surprise' chance at both Saturn and Jupiter when they appeared in a gap between the trees, and was really surprised at how much planetary detail (and how many moons) I could pick out for such a small scope!

I thought it could be 'slewing'! So many options 😂

Must admit that I really miss my Skymax 102 (in storage in another country). Extremely portable and easy to set up, cools down super quickly (for a Mak), and on a good night you can crank the mags more than you'd expect. Bit fiddly to focus sometimes, but the jar-lid trick helps a lot there. I have nearly bought another on more than one occasion but decided to plump for a C5 at the tail end of last year to catch Mars whilst it was still around, and of course the Great Conjunction. I must admit, somehow I'm not sure I like it as much as the skymax.

The 17.5mm is my favourite eyepiece ever, I think. That said I only own one TeleVue, a 41mm Panoptic which is obviously quite a specific use case. I keep thinking about perhaps picking up another Morpheus in a shorter focal length like the 9mm or 6.5mm but currently have a full EP case...

Nice. A good first purchase by all accounts!

Fantastic. I've heard of oil spacing but never seen it in real life so to speak. What are the main benefits? Do glass to oil surfaces perform better than glass to air?