My new scope :)

[Andyfx]

I have finally got my Skymax 127 mounted! Originally I had a Skyhawk 1145p on the Alt Az Synscan Goto mount but sold that OTA, and have been waiting for tube rings since. Anyway they finally arrived and I think it looks pretty good on the colour matched mount, fingers crossed for clear skies tonight

[spaceboy]

[faulksy]

nice to have a new scope. like a child in a toy shop.clouds to the west starting to thin. very clear and stable last night hope its good for you and your new scope tonight

[Andyfx]

Yea I have been working nights and seen the clear skies so been itching to get out there! My aim tonight is to image Jupiter and see what the Mak can do. Dielectric diagonal is on my shopping list and a few more BST exporers.

[RogerTheDodger]

Looks really nice, hope you get clear skies

[Andyfx]

Cheers very much, that Plastikote paint is handy stuff!

[M4lcs67]

Very good!!! I remember when I bought my new scope a few months ago. Was very excited. In hindsight I probably bought it at the wrong time of year (Spring-Summer), so apart from there being little darkness the clouds usually put the skids on things, so I am currently wishing the remainder of the summer away so I can get some serious scope time in.

[Andyfx]

How do you find your Mak?

[M4lcs67]

Hi,

So far it has been great although due to various things outside my control or that of the scopes I haven't had much time with it. That said when I have been outside with it it has performed well. Being a newbie I do need more time with it, but that wil happen in time. I do love the fact that it is fully automatic as it makes things easier. The Barlow was a good purchase as well. What are you doing to power the scope? If you haven't already done so I would suggest a powertank to drive the scope otherwise it will eat AA batteries very quickly. The 3 in 1 powerpack from Maplins is the one that I use and many others from SGL do the same as it is vastly cheaper than the telescope manufacturere own versions.

[bcfcciderhead]

Nice looking set up, should be good on planets.

I'm thinking of replacing my 130 Newt OTA for a Mak to make things more portable,

But like said above you should invest in a power tank, when i first had my GOTO i ran it on batteries in the power pack that came with it and after about 2 3hrs sessions i needed new ones!

[M4lcs67]

Yeah. Another thing that swayed me was the fact that the scope is nice and compact and easily transportable/easy to set up.

[space3]

nice set up, and good luck with the clear skies

although the weather is improving, where i am at least, ive had more clear skies in the last week than ive had in the last month

[JamesM]

Congratulations on a good looking scope and its a great scope to use as well. I trust you have a dew shield to slide onto the front of the scope? If not, you can always make one using a Tesco camping mat cut to size to form a tube and held using sticky tape. You could use cardboard etc but the dew will soon turn this into a soggy mess hence the use of the foam matting. This will certainly help you to prolong your viewing time.

Clear skies James

(...Don't know what the colours are and whether you can find something to match the set up )

[Andyfx]

Hi guys. In answer to how I power the scope, I bought an external power supply meant for cctv cameras. Its weatherproof and has an output of 12v at 2 amps so perfect for my needs, plus it was only around 12 quid.

I am fairly impressed with the scope so far, and got all set up late last night. I could easily see the banding on Jupiter using my 8mm BST Explorer, and was just as I was about to start giving the webcam a go when the cloud rolled in! Typical huh?

[Andyfx]

Oh and yes I plan on sorting a dew shield shortly thx.

[Charon]

Nice set up Andy, I hope it works as good as it looks for you.

[Wardd2]

congrats on your new scope

[Andyfx]

Thanks everyone! Might be popping outside shortly.

[g0ibi]

I had the same problem, but just removed the RDF shoe and moved using D Sided tape to the top! Great scopes and wow views of Jupiter with a 5mm Planetery EP!

Nice set up, hope you enjoyed last nights clear sky!

[twotter]

Looks good in the two-tone colour scheme

I quite fancy a 127 Mak goto, though I'm waiting to hear if Skywatcher are going to produce their goto dob mounts first.

[Andyfx]

5mm eyepiece on a Skymax 127? Isn't that way above the potential magnification for that scope?