Ludd

I've not got a great deal of experience of newer mounts but my GP-DX (the second one I've owned) is something I'm not going to part with. It's so solid and nicely built, and there are all sorts of options for drives (AWR, Vixen basic drives or go-to, DK-3) that will fit. I did run mine with the Synscan EQ5 kit but found it really noisy - a consideration if you've got neighbours nearby (not that I really care any more, now the neighbours have fitted "security" lights that have killed off any back garden observing). But is was fairly easy to fit; a bit of whittling on the plastic casing, but an easy job even for a ham-fisted person like me, and it was very accurate and easy to use (easier than the Skysensor). It comes ready for guiding. I now use an old Skysensor 2000 kit on the GP-DX, and also have a GP with MT1 motors and DD3 controller which is a lovely simple set-up if you don't need go-to. In terms of maintenance, my GP-DX had spent ages in a garage before I bought it, and it runs sweetly. The grease seems to have survived OK somehow - maybe the garage it lived in had a good steady temperature.

I find it can be very difficult to judge the position of a tiny pin-point flash of light, and quite often I start off thinking I've seen something odd, only to find that, with careful attention, the flashes (even if they are irregular in frequency) appear to be in a straight line, so I'm happy to conclude they are very high altitude planes or tumbling satellites. The wider flashes could perhaps be sparking electric trains? We have rail services round our way that are powered by a third rail, and at the joins there are often very bright flashes. Close up, they can be spectacular and loud, but from a distance we just see a part of the sky light up. I've see a few other oddities - and I think I've posted about at least one of them here, a bright "extra star" that appeared for a while, making what would normally be a familiar constellation suddenly look unfamiliar.