cajen2

As @Pixies said, we had our scopes next to each other at Astrocamp. The Bresser looked to be a quality bit of kit but I'd go for my StellaLyra again in a heartbeat. I've had no trouble at all with the alt bearings: a quick tweak on one of them is all that's needed to adjust tension. The azimuth bearing is a peach - it's smooth and light to rotate (much easier than the one on my Skywatcher Heritage) and is again easy to adjust for stiction: just reach down and turn a knob. A couple of things haven't been mentioned: the SL has adjustment of the alt bearings so that balance can be achieved. Admittedly, it's a bit of a pain as you have to take off the OTA and mess about with an Allen key, but at least it's possible. Also, there are gradations marked on the bearing so you can adjust exactly on both sides. I also have no idea why Pixies and I didn't swap scopes! It didn't occur to me until later.

Another dob fan here. I have two: a SW Heritage Flextube 150 and a StellaLyra 8". The Heritage is incredibly convenient to store and carry but unless I'm travelling, it's the 8" every time. It's a quality scope with great optics and easy enough to get out and set up: base first then OTA. I wouldn't have anything larger and heavier, though, unless like Mike's, it could live in a garage/shed on a trolley

No, she'd make ME label everything. She has a special lost-puppy look when given anything even vaguely technological....."I can't do it...."

Sure. It's one of the options. A Sharpie would do just as well. Or I might well leave it and rely on my (ageing) memory.....😉

I'm not keen on carrying two cases around....😉 I'm thinking of marking the end caps somehow for easy ID, although I've memorised the position of nearly everything. I have another Morpheus (6.5mm) on order, so another space will be filled.

New case, all the EPs, etc stored vertically. All nice and neat. Now room for one or two more! 😉

There you go:

Weird. Mine arrives tomorrow.

ER...I've just ordered another one with no trouble at all.🤔

How about mine: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08KDPQ31S?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title Cheap, strong and light.

Hi from someone just across the bridge and a warm welcome to SGL.

HHGTTG, Douglas Adams.👍

Well, if it's any kind of proof, I bought myself one, which I'm extremely happy with.

That's right, from the Long Perng factory in Taiwan. My SL 20mm 80° is one of my favourite EPs so I"m sure Mike will love it when the skies eventually clear.🙄

My partner loved it when I went out with the scope during the winter....it gave her a chance to watch wall-to-wall soap operas! Now, by the time it's dark enough to go out, she's safely tucked up in bed....😆

I do love my 12.5mil Morph....I'd get the 14 too but I already have a Pentax XW 14 and I can't justify both of them...😟 It's just a shame @FLO haven't got the other focal lengths.

Now that my EP collection is wider, my answer is completely different. Low mag/wide-field: 2" 20mm StellaLyra 80°. Medium: Baader Morpheus 12.5mm. High (if seeing allows): Pentax XW 5mil. However, I love the Morph so much that I often start with that and return to it after trying other mags.

When this sort of thing happens, I always wonder how many companies jump on the bandwagon. "Everyone's increasing their prices....I know our costs haven't risen, but if we do the same nobody will notice or can blame us....." Perhaps I'm just an old cynic.

I had a similar one three nights ago. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a bright "star" to the NNE. I didn't think much of it at first but then I thought "Just a minute, there aren't any bright stars there (well to the north of Arcturus, which I could also see). "So it's a plane's landing lights, then". I lived next to airfields all through my childhood (father in the RAF) plus Bournemouth and Bristol airports and it was definitely too fuzzy for that. Suddenly, it winked out, leaving no trace. I suppose it might have been a Chinese lantern, but I strongly doubt it.

Trying to find faint objects in a light-polluted sky, especially when my neighbours suddenly decide they need their bathroom light on all night.

I think they're all unstable: light and plastic with a narrow base. I just don't treat it like a normal chair and stand up to shift it rather than tilting it. It has many advantages, though. I used mine on the Brecon Beacons Astro Camp and it was one fewer thing to lump around - just wore it rather fetchingly like a handbag! 😄

Good work on the platform and the StarSense mod. I'd love to do the same but I am to DIY what Johnny Vegas is to hang-gliding!

There seems to be hundreds of these on the market of different quality. My second one has been fine: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B09JNWB72X?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title It even has stars on the cover! 😄

It is for the LISA plate solving. There's no reason for the system to go out of alignment..... theoretically, that is! 😉

I just wish Celestron would make a Starsense system for other scopes - I'm sure they'd sell thousands. It's supposed to be far more accurate than relying on star alignment and a phone's gyro.