bosun21

It’s not a mirror it’s a piece of polished metal and is securely fixed in place and can’t move

No, it’s a metal tube with a cross on the bottom. There’s nothing to collimate in a Cheshire

What power source are you using? If you are using a mains supply or a power pack then it looks like an internal fault in the mount. If using the AA batteries pack then this is the first motor to stop rotating the mount as it demands more from the batteries than the vertical slewing. If it is the mount at fault then I’d return it to the supplier

Merry Christmas and a beautiful new year to everyone at FLO and SGL. My first Xmas here and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who answered my sometimes trivial questions and queries.Cheers to all 🥂

Hi Malcolm👋 Welcome to the lounge

Will do 👍

You want to buy one with a smooth sight tube. This SVbony one is good quality and reasonably priced. Amazon has already sold out but eBay has a few left

As an owner of an 8” Dobsonian I would without a doubt go for the Cheshire. No nonsense, easy to use and most importantly extremely accurate. Once collimation becomes second nature to you, then you can add a laser for a quick check of your primary before viewing.

I just pulled the trigger on a pair of Pentax 20x60’s and a pistol grip tripod from Amazon. I already have a pair of Opticron Oregon 15x70 on a tripod. I wanted a bit more magnification so wasn’t perturbed about losing a bit of FOV. Due to the higher magnification I also improved my tripod to the pistol grip. I have no clue as to how some folks can use binoculars of these sizes without some type of support. I guess I’ll put the 15x70’s up for sale before long. Looking forward to first light with the Pentax

I’m betting on the dew problem as when I take my 127 out into the cold from the warm house i let it cool down. However the body of my scope is wet with dew making a dew shield paramount. I find reaching focus is relatively easy, especially on the moon. Due to this i would look elsewhere.

Same with me. I had to initially adjust my secondary mirror before first light and haven’t had to since. That’s where the Barlowed laser comes into play as all that’s ever required is a tweak to the primary.

Placing a sheet of white paper behind the focuser can show you the position of the secondary relevant to the focuser tube.

That’s what I use as well, although I use the laser on site after arriving and setting up. It’s much easier and quicker in the dark

My laser is a hotech and I checked the collimation with an engineers v block and it’s good at 5m. I think it’s that with the compression clamp in my focuser i never re site the laser the exact same way twice. I’m in the process of fitting a click lock, so that should be better. I agree with you that the Cheshire is my main tool, although I like a final check on site and in the dark the Barlowed laser is great. I must be doing it right as my star tests are good and at the end of the day that’s the important part

I have just started using the Barlowed laser method for collimation on my 8” Dobsonian. This is the first times that my Cheshire and laser agree every time. Before when using just the laser there was always a discrepancy when checking with the Cheshire. Are most folks using the Barlowed laser method?

What sizes are you looking for? I’ve just bought a couple that are in stock at the moment.

I have just pulled the trigger on the 14mm and 11mm Explore Scientific. They can introduce me to the wider FOV experience. I just hope it’s not as addictive as this buying astro gear is proving to be 🤣

I just wanted a few options on which one of these two would be deemed the better choice for me to buy in the 14 mm and 11mm(12.5mm) focal lengths? I am attracted by the wider 82 degree FOV with the ES but think that the image quality would be better with the Morpheus. Thoughts anyone 🤔

Which Baader visual back was it please?. All the multitude of Baader fittings and adapters can be confusing (to me anyway). Thanks

Thanks, that’s the information I went with and bought this one from eBay. I just measured it again and it’s 45mm. I will order another one but this time from FLO. I will see if I can grab a Baader SCT visual back at the same time. Thanks again

My 127 back

It’s definitely not got any adapter on the back and when I measure it it’s 45mm. The one I bought from eBay said that it was M44.5 and it was too small (just). The one that FLO sells is M45.4 ?. I think I’ll just buy the one from FLO and cross my fingers

It’s only 3 months old but the back is either 44 or 45mm

I am going to change the back of my 127 to the SCT size. I bought an adapter from eBay and it didn’t fit. The adapter is M44.5 as is all the ones I’ve seen apart from the FLO adapter which states it’s a M45.4. Where can I buy one that fits?

Ha ha I knew it would be that pesky auto correct. It’s done me over numerous times.