nightfisher

8 hours ago, iPeace said:

Still looking forward to trying a 150 f/6?

If you mean me trying one, sadly my astro spending is on hold thanks to the demise of my car, still need to get it fixed and then sell the thing, then see if i can PX the temp purchase Honda for something a little newer, so hobby spending is out  for the forseable

@Moonshane now you have the large garden i hope the 16 starts to get used a lot more

2 minutes ago, Stu said:

Are you not looking at a 150mm f6?

That is about the only scope i would consider othewise i am happy with the 127 Mak and 90mm opticstar widefield

My old Vixen 80 was the F11.1 from memory and it really delivered with Solar system objects

12 minutes ago, Stu said:

Could give that f15 a try Jules?

Not really in the market for scopes 

14 minutes ago, Dave1 said:

Nightfisher I just did a search on here, didn't you once own a Vixen 80mm F15?

I had the standard Vixen 80M custom Achro and to be brutally honest .................i wish i still had it, it gave cracking views, but aperture fever got in the way!

I also had an Antares 105 F15 that was said to have Vixen sourced optics but it was way way to long to be sensible

59 minutes ago, Stu said:

I see these every now and then, they look lovely  

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F253398267048

That looks a super scope, if the optics are good at 1200mm f/l i bet the views on Luna, planets and doubles are superb plus it takes modern ep`s

I think i would be looking at a modern Achro like the Bresser 127L if you have a decent mount, or a 100ED

@philj is your man for this one

Going to have to revisit this AZ5 in a little while.............just blown my money on an SAS wildthing 46 slope soarer.....oops

I will give it some more thought and get it if i decide it will get used

1 hour ago, Stu said:

For your kind of observing, which I think is still mainly lunar with a bit of planetary and other higher power viewing, I think the EQ5 is probably the best bet Jules. If you were star hopping or doing lower power viewing then an AltAz may be better, but for simple tracking at high power a driven EQ5 is very stable and convenient.

Stu you are right, i guess i was thinking more for the Opticstar as this was bought to cover low power work on some of the brighter messier objects, though i have actually to use it, other than a quick Luna with it, but again it might be better to use the AR90 on the EQ, and track such jems as M31, M45 and so on

Starting to have second thoughts on this mount now, im sure it would work perfectly with both of my OTA`s, but just a case of do i really need it, i am thinking my EQ5 might be a better tool for what i am doing as it has the drives for tracking, letting me spend more time viewing objects 

Just now, John said:

What happened to the Giro mount Jules ?

 

I moved it on to a good friend when i let the 120 ED go John, i felt it was overkill for a 127 skymax, and wanted to get the AZ goto, but this mount has also gone to a new home TBH i rather like the idea of getting the AZ5 but not sure if i actually need it, as i have my trusty EQ5 with dual drives

I have place the az5 in cart while i ponder some more, but i can see me hitting the check out with it, only delaying so it will arrive when some one is home

Pretty sure i will order one, i dont seem to be doing observing these days and having this mount will encourage me back to the eyepiece !

I have the nice Opticstar AR90s and really have not used it yet,so maybe this will change

Need to find out if the mounting bolt is 3/8 UNF or UNC?

Chris, very useful link, it would work well on the pier base

Yes thats the mount i mean, is the slo mo tracking good and smooth

I see th e AZ5 is available with no tripod.....and i still have a wooden pier mount in garden, i could mount the AZ5 onto this using the 3 bolt leveling platform i made, would this mount be good for both the 127 Skymax and the opticstar ar90s, this would make a super quick set up for observing (and the odd single frame Luna)..........have to say very very tempted

Just my childish humour

Think i will struggle on this one, my Chinese phone has a err, rather poor camera and dont see me holding a big tablet to the eyepiece 

but never say never, and i could try to prise Claire`s Samsung of her one night 

@25585 if you mean the 150 mak on the az goto then no, its to big and to heavy

2 minutes ago, Stu said:

Given our climate, it is often the case that aperture is not everything, but convenience and speed of setup/breakdown are. The 150 needs a heavier mount and longer cool down than the 127 so I'm sure these are all factors that are important.

I 'only' have a 4" scope currently. That's not to say I would not have larger again in future but I'm quite happy observing with it, the views are lovely, far from disappointing and it is very quick to setup and pack away to make use of quick gaps in the cloud or short opportunities.

well said that man....and late happy xmas

1 hour ago, 25585 said:

Glad your 120 ED was OK, sad you didn't like it.

What do you prefer about the 127 Mak, given the small increase in aperture with CO now. I would have thought the 150 would be a more signifigant upsize. 

I like the size of the 127, it sits on the EQ5 with no bother, i really prefer a scope to be overmounted, this was one of the problems with the ED120 i felt the mount was not quite as sturdy as i like, at this time due mainly to light pollution i decided to concentrate more on what i can do, rather than what i would like to do so now i am visual on planets and visual and imaging on Luna.

ref the 150 pro, i have owned 2 of these and they are "stunning scopes" but for my type of imaging the focal length it way to long