bosun21

I use these two magnets which can balance my dobsonian regardless of eyepiece selection. I have also fitted a Starsense unit and a Rigel Quickfinder so balance is imperative for smooth operation. I also ran a few short lengths of adhesive draught excluder on the tube for the magnets to sit upon. Works great 👍

Another +1 for the Baader Morpheus range. They are fantastic eyepieces, followed by the Nirvana 82 degrees. You can’t go wrong with either of these choices.

You will see a big difference when you get better eyepieces for it. The ones supplied with the Firstscope are Huygens and SR(Ramsden). The BST’s will be a large step forward.

Another +1 for the Starfield. It’s finish is fantastic all round, and it’s performance is amazing for the price. I never really appreciated the benefits of a decent refractor until I bought a Starfield. I use a 9x50 RACI and a Baader Skysurfer V. I use the Baader 80% of the time but the RACI comes into its own in homing in on doubles. I also use it with a Baader Maxbright II binoviewer for the planets and the moon.

Is it a straight replacement?, or is some sort of modification required? Thanks again.

Thank you for the link, it’s very much appreciated 👍

Where did you buy the upgraded bearing for the azimuth movement? It looks much more substantial on yours. Thanks

You are almost spot on. I bought a pack of four rubber feet an inch taller than the ones already fitted to the dobsonian. This was to raise the base in order to be able to slide my sack barrow under it for wheeling it in and out. This was the extra one.

I used to travel all over northern Scotland fishing for Salmon and sea trout and on one occasion we cycled on dirt tracks for miles into the middle of Rannoch moor. The skies were heavenly and it was so dark that you couldn’t see each other despite being only feet away.

I just fitted one myself. It’s a piece of cake.

I am thinking about getting myself a larger Dobsonian. I have the 8” Stella Lyra at the moment, but was considering buying either a 10” or a 12”. With the Stella Lyra 12” being a solid tube design, I was a little concerned about the size and weight of it. Is the 12”assembly manageable for me on my own in its two parts? I would like to go for the 12”, but would it be too large? Thanks Ian

They don’t come with that tripod though. They have a light aluminum tripod which is pretty shaky

I have the same one from him as well. Well worth the price.

Same as you with Orion !

DPD dropped off another delivery from FLO. This time it was a new Berlebach Charon observing chair. I got tired of the gymnastics and back pain that I associated with a lot of my observing sessions. This should remedy the situation.

Very sound advice.

As far as I know they are optically identical and only differ in their housing. With the Skywatcher the hard stop only becomes relevant when using very low power wide field eyepieces. For everything 1.25” it isn’t relevant. I have a 2” Skywatcher deluxe dielectric and recently upgraded to the 2” Baader clicklock diagonal and the Takahashi 1.25” prism diagonal for everything 1.25”

I had five but I donated the Celestron LT70 to the local scouts after I removed the Starsense unit, which was the sole reason for buying it. I rekindled my teenage love of astronomy with a 127 Maksutov go to alt/az, followed by an 8” Stella Lyra Dobsonian. I then contracted a dose of refractoritis, which caused me to add a 120 Evostar on an AZ4/stainless. This only semi cured my affliction and necessitated the purchase of a 102ED Starfield on an EQ5 pro synscan. I thought that i was finally cured, but I am developing symptoms of apertureitis. I have my eyes on the 12” Dobsonian which I will probably have to make room for in the next few weeks.

At least you got to the bottom of the problem. Goodnight 👍

I may have read your post wrong, but after you connect to the WiFi on your phone you need to press connect (grey box) on the Synscan app

Was it still powered? as it has to be powered for the hour.

You could try and factory reset it by powering the dongle and not connecting or accessing it for 1 hour. Give this a try. If this doesn’t work, I’m stumped.

I just set mine up just now as I don’t use it. The dongle WiFi is definitely “Synscan WiFi _**** with the asterisks being the number for that particular dongle. Where did you get it from? Could someone have possibly rewritten over it? Just a thought as it’s a strange one alright. Ian

Hi Douglas👋, Welcome to SGL

Yes a photo or two would certainly help