30mm ES82 arrives - I'm going to need a counter weight...

[russ.will]

i would order from the US but my bank charge me a fortune in currency charges

Paypal charge 1% for the currency conversion, which I've just realised makes my costs above are £3.33 too light. I've been robbed! Oh, hang on, I haven't.

Russell

[Dunkster]

Congrats Russell, hope you get first light soon!

I've only had one brief view through mine since it arrived and it looks promising. Much to my surprise, the SE mount holding my C8 took the weight like a champ. Can't wait for a proper go

[russ.will]

I've checked (in lieu of anything else to do ) and because my 300p is an Auto/GOTO with a lot more stiction than a manual Dob, it seems to simply serve the purpose of keeping the scope engaged against the altitude drive, which should help tracking. Result.

Is it too late to change the title of the thread?

Russell

[crashtestdummy]

Paypal charge 1% for the currency conversion, which I've just realised makes my costs above are £3.33 too light. I've been robbed! Oh, hang on, I haven't.

Russell

thats assuming the supplier accepts paypal and then doesnt charge you fees for using it.will check it out further though

[russ.will]

HoO do accept paypal and the charges ain't going to be £500.

BTW, what made you settle on the Moonlight, as opposed to say a Steeltrack, as presumably you're 100% visual like myself? I'm getting to that point that it's one of the few worthwhile (relatively) affordable upgrades left.

Russell

[crashtestdummy]

yeah 100% visual.did a bit of research and the moonlite always seemed to come out on top.

[crashtestdummy]

have dropped hands on optics an email.im wanting an 18mm and an 11mm ex 82 degree but they are only showing the 18mm in stock

[russ.will]

That's what I bought to start with, although I find that I use the 14mm than the 11mm since it arrived. I'm not sure why, as the the 11mm gives a nice tight crop on globs, etc, but the 14mm seems to place them in space more nicely, if a touch smaller. I find the 11mm more like a low power planetary, than a tight DSO EP, as the 82deg FOV seems to bring things that much closer anyway.

I suppose it's as much about the way you like to view, as what you like to view.

[Carbon]

How's the filter threading on your new 82/30?

[crashtestdummy]

thats interesting as you have the same scope as i do (mine auto rather than goto).i did find that the 12mm worked well for globs but wasnt quite wide enough so maybe i should just get the full set

[crashtestdummy]

How's the filter threading on your new 82/30?

not checked mine yet as i dont have a 2" filter but heard a few stories about the threads so keen to check

[russ.will]

How's the filter threading on your new 82/30?

It looks fine (now you've made me check!), but I don't have any 2" filters for a physical test.

Russell

[russ.will]

thats interesting as you have the same scope as i do (mine auto rather than goto).i did find that the 12mm worked well for globs but wasnt quite wide enough so maybe i should just get the full set

Mine was an Auto, but a Synscan handset came up cheap on UKABS, so it seemed rude not to.

To be honest, I use it as much manually as I do GOTO, having fitted an AZ scale to the base and bought a Wixey. I also find these handy for checking the GOTO, which seems to work some nights and not others.

Russell

[crashtestdummy]

at the moment im trying to see if i can find all the messiers with a manual scope as it seems like a far bigger challenge.i am a little in the "goto is cheating" camp but im sure if i start imaging i will change my mind.

with the ES 82's do you find the 8.8 useful?i have the 6.7 and if i had the 11mm too would the 8.8 be useful?

[russ.will]

Although I have GOTO, I'm quite happy to spend time looking for stuff manually, although when time is tight, it's nice to just be guaranteed a view of something by the GOTO. I'm never quite sure whether it's cheating or not though - I mean, starter motors aren't a 'cheat' way of starting your car and sat nav isn't a 'cheat' way of finding things. So, is something that helps you see stuff and lets face it, actually seeing stuff is the object of this game, cheating? I'll bet the average imager couldn't give two hoots about star hopping, but they're still astronomers. I suppose the only important thing isn't whether it is or not, simply that people get to enjoy their views however they choose to do so.

I find the 8.8 useful for when I fancy a peak at planets, but they're not my prime interest. I had a 5mm BST Explorer, that I thought about keeping to cover those rare 300x evenings, but sold it as it got used so infrequently. However, when (if?) the weather starts to clear, I've been in the process of making a sub aperture mask, to see if it stabilizes high power panetary viewing, as is frequently described. If it does, then I'll likey have a look at the higher power ES82s.

Russell

[John]

It looks fine (now you've made me check!), but I don't have any 2" filters for a physical test.

Russell

Treat yourself to a good 2" UHC or O-III Russell - that 30mm 83 degrees EP plus such a filter will give mind blowing views of the Veil nebula - worth the price of the filter on their own, in my opinion

[Bart]

Treat yourself to a good 2" UHC or O-III Russell - that 30mm 83 degrees EP plus such a filter will give mind blowing views of the Veil nebula - worth the price of the filter on their own, in my opinion

Second this.

[andrew63]

I was under the impression that using filters was cheating, a bit like goto

andrew

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I was under the impression that using filters was cheating, a bit like goto

andrew

It's not cheating if you can see the Veil through a moon filter

[John]

I was under the impression that using filters was cheating, a bit like goto

andrew

Filters don't add anything, they take it away. It's just that they take away the stuff that mask what you actually want to see

Image intesifiers might be "cheating" but who cares ? - it's only a hobby !

[alan potts]

I will have to leave the Ethos collecting and get one of these filters, I will have to try it in my 190mm MN as the Lx is far to smaller FOV, I can only get about .92 of a degree max.

Alan.

[russ.will]

I was under the impression that using filters was cheating, a bit like goto

andrew

I like what you did there.

Filters aren't cheating - That's astro photography, or as I call it the 'The what colour do you wish you could see?' Club.

Russell

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD using chubby fingers. Sorry.

[russ.will]

Treat yourself to a good 2" UHC or O-III Russell - that 30mm 83 degrees EP plus such a filter will give mind blowing views of the Veil nebula - worth the price of the filter on their own, in my opinion

There's already one of each on my FLO wish list, which I send to my nearest and dearest at Xmas. I thought that it was prudent to risk somebody else's money on them, in case I think they're not worth it. :0

Russell

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD using chubby fingers. Sorry.

[Dunkster]

Since my filter arrived, the weather has not played ball sorry guys, it was all my fault

I'd seen the thread on CN about the 30mm threading being touch and go and was pretty much the first thing I tried when my filter (DGM NPB btw) arrived.... it screws in one full turn of the filter. Not sure how this compares with others. There isn't a huge amount of thread on the filter itself tbh and there's a big curvy piece of glass really close to the end of the barrel in the 30 (oops, did I just smudge it again ). I figured the NPB/UHC was probably the best to try given my relatively poor LP (I hope to get out somewhere darker soon ) and the long focal lengths of my scopes.

[Damo636]

Since my filter arrived, the weather has not played ball sorry guys, it was all my fault

I'd seen the thread on CN about the 30mm threading being touch and go and was pretty much the first thing I tried when my filter (DGM NPB btw) arrived.... it screws in one full turn of the filter. Not sure how this compares with others. There isn't a huge amount of thread on the filter itself tbh and there's a big curvy piece of glass really close to the end of the barrel in the 30 (oops, did I just smudge it again ). I figured the NPB/UHC was probably the best to try given my relatively poor LP (I hope to get out somewhere darker soon ) and the long focal lengths of my scopes.

I was only able to manage about 1/2 a turn on the example I had before it started stripping the thread! Its a pity this problem exists with the 30mm, because the rest of the build is top notch.