bosun21

I also have the 10" go to version which I recently bought and found that when at really low altitude the problem of the friction clutch slipping is easily solved with the addition of a counterweight. This allows the scope to be balanced and smooth throughout the altitude movement.

Great news Paul 👍. Hopefully the clouds will clear allowing you to put it through its paces.

I feel more confident with this lens arrangement than the previous one. I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for a positive outcome 🤞.

Polar alignment is the physical positioning of the mount RA axis itself to the north celestial pole. Regardless of the software used you still have to make the adjustments physically to the mount.

The AZ-EQ6 is a heavy mount with it's 2" tripod. The mount head alone is over 15kg. I was surprised how heavy it was when setting mine up for the first time. That along with a 9.25". will still require time to set up. The Starsense unit still requires polar alignment, it only does the star alignment for you which is fine for Alt/Az.

Setting up a 9.25" on a suitable mount won't be that quick to set up either especially if using an EQ mount with polar alignment etc which is crucial for imaging. I reckon I could wheel out a 12" dobsonian quicker.

Hi there 👋. Welcome to SGL.

Since the ASIAIR units are made to operate fundamentally with other ZWO electronics and software I highly doubt that they will be compatible. The only non ZWO equipment that is listed as compatible are some mounts and DSLR cameras. You can drop them a message asking about this.

That's along the lines I was thinking of. I was going to use a concenter to position it correctly and held in position with Blu Tack which will allow for small changes in position. Mark and drill accordingly. I wonder which telescopes they actually fit out of the box.

Where are you in Oxford? I also live in Oxford. I'll send you a message regarding help you may require.

Thanks for your replies. The holes don't line up with any on the Steeltrack focuser so I can't use that method. I think I know of a way forward with this so I'll post how I get on. It's good to know that some fine movement can be done by manipulating the fixing rods once in position. Thanks again.

Cone error (CE) value is reset when doing a three star alignment as opposed to two star and brightest star. Is it CE or NPE error that you are getting?

Anyone?

The BCO 10mm is also highly regarded in the US with the large dobsonian crowd. They say that it's one of the best for teasing out the details while viewing difficult faint fuzzies. For planetary i found it a great eyepiece.

The back focus is the distance between the reducer/flattener and the actual camera sensor. It has nothing to do with the focus travel by turning the focuser knob. If you haven't got a reducer in the imaging train then you don't set any back focus. Just attach the camera to the telescope and rack the focus knob in and out until you see the moon in focus or the star becoming as small as possible. To collimate on a star it has to be perfectly centered on the screen/eyepiece and tracked. Polaris is a good choice of star.

Can someone please give me a few pointers on the fitting and centering my Baader Steeltrack focuser? I bought this recently and it's actually used but in excellent condition. I don't have a template for the base which makes it a little more difficult. I want it to replace the single speed focuser on my 250 Flextube go to dobsonian. I have watched a video on YouTube showing the base plate corresponding to the existing holes in the inner portion allowing the outer fixing holes to be marked and drilled. Unfortunately they don't match up in my case. Obviously the positioning is crucial and if anyone can help with some pointers i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Hi there 👋, welcome to SGL.

Great little eyepiece Mike. I owned the SL version and found it to provide quality views.

Hi there 👋. Welcome to SGL.

John did you not recently acquire a used 8" SW dob? Or am mistaken. I think I can recall you commenting on the Azimuth stiction mod you carried out. Lovely collection of refractors you have gathered over the years.

This is crucial when doing a star test for collimation. I also use Polaris and centre the star with an illuminated reticle eyepiece then switching to a standard high magnification eyepiece. After each tweak of the collimation I recentre with the reticle eyepiece again. It can become tedious swapping back and forth but it eliminates any errors in star placement.

That's the salesman in you. Well done, and I'm pretty sure that an 80mn achromat didn't even enter your mind 😂.

Ditto.

Are you sure you have replaced the rear element the correct way round? As you said that the front lens has an arrow on its side so that is probably fitted correctly. If the image appears as if it's smeared with vaseline throughout its range of focus then my money is on the lens orientation being wrong.

Yes, the numerous times where I have seen reflector telescopes pointing at the ground still causes me to draw a sigh 😔. I can sort of understand why this happens though, due to the laymans assumption of what a telescope looks like.