bosun21

I like viewing the planets especially the gas giants and was wondering whether the addition of a ZWO ADC would be worth buying. This came to mind with the planets being so low in the sky. Does anyone have any experience with these?, as i would like to know before i buy. Thanks

Hi 👋, and welcome to the lounge

I can sympathize with you as I was in the exact same position as you some months back. So many choices, so many scopes and mounts. I eventually decided on a 127 Maksutov Go to and I wasn’t disappointed with it’s performance, especially on the planets, moon and small bright deep sky targets like planetary nebulae. But due to having the Astro bug I added a 8” Dobsonian which certainly lives up to its reputation. These two keep me satisfied while I am saving up for my astrophotography rig. If this is your first go at astronomy then I advise you to get a visual set up and see if astronomy is your cup of tea before committing to a more expensive photography set up

From what you said it appears to be a standard 8” reflector with a single size focuser of 1.25”. Any of the 1.25” eyepieces will fit the scope and Banjaxed’s kind offer of a 20mm will get you up and running. Although they are not great i have the 10mm partner to the 20mm which I have blackened the lens edges that you can have also for the price of postage. Just drop me a PM if interested.

I was really into microscopy some years back and was quite serious about it. I had several laboratory grade microscopes all fitted with cameras for imaging. I used to concentrate mainly on the biological side of things. I cultivated all sorts of bacteria to study, both live viewing and stained and mounted. Also did dark field microscopy and phase contrast etc. I guess I just love looking and observing, hence I’ve jumped back into astronomy with both feet. Again welcome to SGL

Hi and welcome to SGL

I’ve found that Harrisons Telescopes have the full range of the Ultimate Duo’s for sale at the moment.

Silly question but are you loosening the other bolt when you want to change direction?

I did look at them but with an up to 90 working days waiting time I was somewhat put off. I have the Hyperion Zoom and find it decent although the 50 degree at 24x is limiting. I have been swayed away from the Hyperion range so the Morpheus it is.(Unless the ES becomes available)

Thanks and I think i will just stick to my original plan of getting the Baader Morpheus range as they seem to be decent across the range. Thanks for your reply

No it’s someone selling it and as I’d never heard of it before I was curious to see if it was worth buying. Thanks

Sorry I keep forgetting to include the scopes. 8” Dobsonian and a 127 Skymax Maksutov.

Are these eyepieces any good and worth looking at?, or are they best avoided?. Thanks in advance

He means the (bird Jones) Barlow in the focuser

A very important aspect of your first few star alignment procedures is to ensure that your finder is precisely aligned with your main scope. It will make your first star alignment much easier

Hi You would be better just buying a couple of plossil eyepieces. The particular eyepieces you state actually have a plastic lens inside hence the cheap price. The actual plossil range by SVbony are better and getting say a 25mm, and a 10mm with a Barlow thrown in would be enough to get her up and running. Good luck and clear skies

The Cheshire is better for accurate placement and positioning your secondary mirror and the lasered Barlow for your primary mirror

Have you tried cleaning out both ports with isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds and the connectors on each end of the cable?. The ports have had a long time to accumulate debris etc. Good luck 👍

Nice piece of work and that will certainly get you through a nights imaging. What did you do or use to boost the mount output up to the 13.8v?. Thanks

Oh NOO!!😱

I would go for the Stella Lyra Dobsonian 8” as for a few pounds extra over the Skywatcher you get a decent dual speed 10:1 Crayford focuser, a 9x50 upright image finder with a 90 degree diagonal and adjustable pivot points for balance placement and a fitted primary mirror cooling fan with battery case. It’s a well thought out telescope and has sold well at FLO. Clear skies and good luck

Yes I did consider the HG route but was put off by the price of something that up to then. I didn’t know if it worked well. The collimation of the lasers are a constant worry of are they or aren’t they?. This is why I only trust them when employed with a Barlow. Thanks

Thanks for your reply and I’ve been using my Cheshire before I went out and the Barlowed laser in situ. I have only got my red headlamp atm, so I’ll pick myself up a red torch and retire the laser method. Thanks

Hello and welcome to SGL👋🔭

Welcome to SGL and I’m sure that you will find the answers to your questions from this amazing bunch of people