bosun21

You need a 1.25" diagonal and an eyepiece like the one you highlighted, 25-32mm will do. Someone has unscrewed the diagonal without loosening the two silver securing screws causing the diagonal nosepiece to be retained in the visual back of the telescope. Loosen these and remove the old nosepiece. Regarding power you will have to decide whether you want to run on AA batteries or an external source of 12v

I also fit a washer and Bob's Knobs to every Newtonian I've owned. I also spray the washer matt black to prevent any possible reflections.

Watch the video and disassemble it in stages like he did and check the various sets of securing screws. Good luck.

Looking forward to the actual review of the 12".

Kostas have you checked all the relevant grub screws and Allen screws which position and hold the various plates of the clutch assembly? The video posted earlier in the thread shows these various screws and where they are located. I ask this due to your description that the brass worm gear is turning and it is tensioned against the teeth on the drive plate yet it's not moving the axis. To me it appears that the clutch is slipping and this could be due to the screws mentioned. Tightening the main tensioning nut on top of the assembly will have no effect due to this. I would watch the video and check the screws on yours at each disassembly stage. Good luck 🤞.

The ADC is recommended to be the last piece of equipment before the camera or eyepiece. I've never tried it in any other arrangement though to compare.

You don't need a flattener for planetary imaging as you are capturing on axis images. You would fit the barlow into the focuser and then the camera. What is the pixel size of your DSLR to determine what strength of barlow would be best? The resolution of the planet won't be great though due to the small aperture of 72mm.

The 2" and the 1.25" are the same laser, the 2" just has an additional collar that fits over the 1.25". Here is mine in 2" mode.

Just a little bit of advice. When you are finished observing on a night with dew about and back home it's good to let your gear dry out properly. Leave the caps off your eyepieces and telescope to allow the air to circulate and dry the surfaces. I point my telescope downwards and leave it for several hours, often overnight. This will prevent any damage to the coatings on your optics. Fungus loves dark damp conditions. You seem to be getting a routine working for you.

There is. Here you go https://appsonwindows.com/apk/4409/

I keep my eyepieces outside in a case with the lid closed, taking them out one at a time as I use them. On nights of really heavy dew and for extended periods at the eyepiece I have sometimes been forced to use a dew strap on low power fitted around the eyepiece. I also refrain from using dew heaters on the scope as much as I can. Even on Maks and SCT's I prefer to extend the dew shield before employing a heater. Regarding a heater on the secondary of a reflector, never! We all learn about observing directly over house rooftops due to warm air currents rising which will degrade the view. Yet using a secondary dew heater is like placing a small roof inside the telescope tube. That's my reasoning anyway.

What motor in an ASIAIR?

Nice capture Reggie. I have never thought about taking a prime image like this (up until now).

I was, but on looking deeper I have decided on the StellaMira 125. It seems that this is the best option for visual!

Have you tried moving it with the HC at the various speeds? Perhaps slippage could occur at slow rates 1-3.

The SM125 is becoming more appealing to me each passing day.

With the 150 Maksutov you shouldn't need any extension pieces to achieve focus due to the large focus travel of the telescope. When setting up for the moon I set the exposure to 15-20ms which is still too much for the capture process itself but is fine for locating and centering the moon on the laptop screen. Once centered I reduce the exposure to 4-8ms depending on how bright and large the moon is. You can also change the gain setting along with the exposure so that you get a good histogram reading and a clear image on screen. This is a good time to focus on the surface details of the moon as good focus is crucial for a sharp image.Once this is achieved you can then start the capture process.

I totally agree with you regarding this. More often it's matching the element types together that proves to be more crucial. There's apparently little difference between the refractive index of FPL53 and FCD100 anyway.

No longer the case it would appear John.

Didn't they used to be FPL53 ? They are now stated as being an equivalent glass type. I mention this as I was considering a SW150ED and noticed this. Needless to say the 150 is just too big and heavy for me 🙄.

The OP jonbossley is a visual observer as per his first light report. He returned the scope due to image shift at high magnification. This apparently can be rectified by adjustment screws on the focuser, although this shouldn't need to be done with a new scope.

This is one of the threads on CN which has several contributors some of whom appear to be very well experienced visual observers. They have used several higher end refractors visually as well. It was from this thread and others that I gleaned the visual performance of the 120/140 Askars was good. Have I been reading this thread through a pair of rose tinted glasses? Thanks. https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/900932-askar-140-apo/

Nothing.

Where did you read this? I have read numerous reviews stating that there's no aberration at > 300x with the triplet Askars. I would like to read this report. I'm about 90% in the SM 125ED camp at the moment in any case.

Thank you for your opinions. I am leaning firmly in the direction of the SM 125ED for several of the reasons already mentioned. I just need to add a pier extension to the shopping list now.