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Complete novice says hi!

littlebrownjug

By littlebrownjug
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littlebrownjug

littlebrownjug

Posted
Posted

Just thought i would say hi to all!

HI!  :shock:

Bought a MEADE ETX-70AT about a week ago and have only used it once (last night) as since i bought it we have had no nothing but clouds!! but last night i was out in the cold trying it out and i am very impressed and already hooked!!

I live in Stockport near Manchester (UK) in a built up area with lots of light pollution and to make matters worse i live very close to a football ground who hold night games on a regular basis.

It took me ages to align but i guess it will get easier with practice.

Anyway thanks for reading this entry and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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GazOC

GazOC

Posted
Posted

Hi welcome to the forum mate,

The 'clouds' thing is a well documented phenomena when you buy new gear, its like an Astro version of "Sods Law" :clouds2:.

You'll soon get the ETX setup in less than 2 mins, speed will come with practise.

Gaz

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OXO

OXO

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Hi Littlebrownjug,

I used to live near stockport in marple so i know about the light pollution were your based seen worse though. That ETX-70 is a nice scope should be able to teach you the night sky aswell as offering some splendid views. One point of advise would be to get if you havnt already a bubble level eyepiece for your scope this will help greatly in your setup, these can be purchased for about 15quid from stockport n Binocular.

Any way Welcome to the forum i hope we can all help you out in your new adventure :clouds2:

James

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Ant

Ant

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Welcome to the forum...

James the mount doesn't need to be level to get a good polar alignment - it just makes it less complicated.

I added a bubble level to my HEQ5 - cost a few quid from homebase - just a little round one is all thats needed.

Ant

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OXO

OXO

Posted
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Ant,

With these ETX scope's making sure it's level makes a huge difference in the Presision of the Goto plus they don't need polar alignment as such because they function in Alt Azi mode. When i had the Etx 125 if it wasn't level the goto would be way off rendering it useless, so long as the Scope is level and pointing north they work OK. Don't know how many star's you can align to with the Etx70 but if it's like the 125 then use 3 star Alignment for better Goto.

James

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FLO

FLO

Posted
Posted

The more accurate you are at pointing the tube North and making it level, the more accurate the GOTO.

(Don't forget to make sure the tripod itself is level first - check with a small spirit-level between the forks)

Greg (Phattire) is the man for ETX70 advice - he has one.

Steve :clouds2:

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Greg

Greg

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Posted

Hi and welcome Littlebrownjug,

I have An ETX-70 as one of my scopes a very nice GOTO.

The most important thing with the ETX series is fresh batteries as once they start to run down the GOTO does all sorts of wierd things!!

Secondly levelling and alignment - this will ensure you get the two alignment stars in the 25mm  eyepiece (Using "Easy Align") Thus Avoiding frustration. Once you know your way around your local sky this won't be so important.

Buy youself a cheap small level from B&Q and get the tripod as level as possible adjusting the 3 legs of the tripod as you go. Once you have done that point the scope DUE North or at Polaris, level the tube and switch on. Follow the instructions on the handset and away you go.

When you have the alignment star in the center of the eyepiece using the 25mm eyepiece up the power to the 9mm and center the target alignment star in the eyepice and press "Enter" The scope will then "GOTO" the second alignment star, again use the 25mm eyepiece and center the target and up the eyepiece to the 9mm and center the target - and press enter.

If for some reason the alignment star is not in the eyepiece (Field of view) it will be the brightest star in that area of sky - so you will have to slew towards it. - If you are lazy with the leveling of the tripod, this is what you have to do!!

A word of warning - you should calibrate the drives every other time you use the scope and you should "Train the drives" on a regular basis - failure to do this will result in the scope slewing off the target once centered and you'll end up cussing the thing!!

If you have not already got one a X2 Barlow is a good invesment - I have seen very nice views of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter with mine. Once you have the set up and GOTO alignment sorted you can set it up in a couple if mins.

I use mine as a wide field low power scope to compliment - my Newtonian.

Any probs or you get frustrated (I did!!) PM me and i'll talk you through it one night.

Greg

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GazOC

GazOC

Posted
Posted

Ant,

With these ETX scope's making sure it's level makes a huge difference in the Presision of the Goto plus they don't need polar alignment as such because they function in Alt Azi mode. When i had the Etx 125 if it wasn't level the goto would be way off rendering it useless, so long as the Scope is level and pointing north they work OK. Don't know how many star's you can align to with the Etx70 but if it's like the 125 then use 3 star Alignment for better Goto.

James

My LX90 was the same, if the tripod wasn't at least somwhere near level the the GOTO would be way off!

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littlebrownjug

littlebrownjug

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Cheers everyone you have made me feel very welcome.

Thanks very much Greg for all your tips i will be at B+Q tomorrow buying a spirit level. I will have to learn how to "train" my drives and read my manual from cover to cover.

If i have any problems from now on i know where to come!!

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CELESCOPE

CELESCOPE

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welcome to the forum LBJ hope you enjoy your stay , always help on here when u need it , yes as the lads have said , working in alt az getting the scope level does help in finding the guide stars at least that way you will get used to know which way to slew to find them , does help a lot, good luck with it all ,

Rog

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lunator

lunator

Posted
Posted

Welcome to the Forum LBJ.

The ETX is a great scope. I have one myself.

The only advice I would give on uising an ETX is an extra 5 minutes spent making sure it is accurately set up will save you hours of frustration.

Cheers

Ian

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spudicus

spudicus

Posted
Posted

Hello mate,

Six months ago I didn't have a clue let alone a scope. Since then I have bought a scope, and the lads on this forum have helped me out no-end. So much so in fact I just won a competition on here, with a Lunar image!

Welcome to my second favourite place.

Spud

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