Cloud Dodgers New Equipment thread

[Blazar]

How long have you had the DX though Daniel? will it have worn in anyway yet? have you seen the benefits of a hyper tuned mount? Sounds quite cool though!

[dan_uk]

Not had it  too long but it's not really a case of wear and tear just how the mount was initially put together in the factory.

I personally know of two others who took apart their own DX, one with a hypertune kit and the other did his own thing, both found copious amounts of this greasy stuff that caused issues, bits of shrapnel and movement restricted by rough edges and badly fitted parts. I think most people also replace the bearings as well.

Good blog on the process here:  http://daemongpf.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/hypertune-and-rebuild-of-my-cgem-dx.html

I've notice some play in both RA and DEC and I figured this would be a good step to take before I really get into AP, despite all this the mount has been great for visual so far and with the video camera although even guided I still seem to get star trails occasionally although I wouldn't be surprised if this was down to poor experience on my part, it's just nice to be able to rule out the mount later on

Going for the ADM saddle upgrade as well while it's there as its much cheaper in dollars.

[dan_uk]

Got my mount back on Friday and i'm quite surprised at the difference.

The check sheet shipped with the mount noted that both the RA and DEC axis were very stiff, I assumed this was normal but now they move so freely and smoothly, the difference is huge, in turn this has changed the way the motors sound, the notes mentioned they sounded laboured, now it seems like they are not even the same motors as before as they sound so different. Hoping to get out and test the improvements as soon as the weather clears up.

The ADM saddle feels a lot more solid and stable compared to the stock.

[Blazar]

Nice Daniel...just got back from Barcelona (work), so will be up for an evening out next week! lets hope the weather clears up a  bit.

[Blazar]

Sunday or Tuesday next week looks ok on Clear Outside....

[dan_uk]

Yeah the weather has been terrible since I got it back, i'm up for any clear night that comes

[knobby]

So excited ... just ordered the Edge 0.7 reducer with my Christmas money !

From FLO of course 

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/edge-hd-series/celestron-reducer-lens-7x-edgehd-800.html

Edited January 3, 2015 by knobby

[Blazar]

Nice...now we need some clear skies to use it ;-)

[knobby]

Nice...now we need some clear skies to use it ;-)

Some chance of that ... Need to work out spacing now .

[Blazar]

Going to stick the Nikon on the end of it? or a new CCD ;-)

[knobby]

Going to stick the Nikon on the end of it? or a new CCD ;-)

Just how much money do you think I've got ?

[Blazar]

You  are such a good boy that I thought Santa would be extra good to you...

Cant wait to see how this turns out. I did consider the reducer...so will see how this goes...I love these try before you buy scheme's ;-) 

Hope you had a good xmas and New year Gary.

[MattJenko]

Nice. Will also be interested to see how well it works.

New eyepiece and new little ASI camera for me and after a mildly drunken clear Christmas evening, either commitments or clouds since. Silly hobby.

[Blazar]

Nice....I also see ZWO are working on the ZWO174MM even faster than my 's' version. I did get the filter wheel for xmas...but no filters as yet. I have been focusing on Lunar for a while, so must get back to planetary stuff at some point!

[knobby]

Its here ...

Thankyou FLO, ordered on Sunday, arrives Tuesday and well packed !

Edit ------ not FLOs fault at all but for something this expensive I didn't expect to see dust inside the optics , I'm sure it won't affect its performance but it's a bit sad

Edited January 6, 2015 by knobby

[Blazar]

Wow. looks nice....but as you say....should have had some other end caps on. Wonder how long its been sitting there? Did you get out last night?

Was out from 9 till midnight....awesome. paying for it now though.

[knobby]

The dust is inside the optics ... Just being picky I guess .

Too busy to play, new job starting on Monday

[Blazar]

Well I also have now spent my Xmas money. A set of Baader LRGB CCD filters arrived today, and already fitted in my ZWO filter wheel. Just got to remember the positions now! Also picked up a new 33cm dovetail bar, and fitted a set of TAL scope rings...so the TAL can now go on the AVX! might try that out one evening for a bit of fun....if we loose the clouds.

Hope the job is going well Gary!

[knobby]

Cheers Steve, so far so good on the job front ... not so good on the cloud front though !

[knobby]

Managed to get the whole Moon in frame with the D7100 / C8/ 0.7 reducer combo

[bamus]

My new purchase - Skywatchwr Star Adventurer. Waiting now for clear skies to see what this little mount can do.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[knobby]

Looks nice Adam ! We Essex boys really must do more spending , last purchase was January

[MattJenko]

Excellent purchase. I think the StarAdventurer is a complete winner. I picked up mine in July (so I should have posted it here!) and have used it loads.

I have been using a 50mm lens with my DSLR (Canon 450d) and the results have easily surpassed what I hoped. It has already been to Cornwall and Crete with me with excellent results. I hope yours treats you as well as it has treated me.

Here are my best shots from each location to show what can be done by a rank amateur like me. 20 x 2 mins each.

Wing of Cygnus from Cornwall.

Milky Way Centre from Crete.

I have also had a few solar sessions with it. It does struggle with this, although your tripod looks much more the real deal than my rather lightweight one:

[Blazar]

currently saving up for more gear....though looks like the ZWO ASI174 cooled will be out before xmas....and that will dent my saving hopes. I would like a bit more aperture (so was looking at an Edge 11, on a CGEM DX....though might be another year or so before I can afford it. 

[knobby]

£2.50 in Aldi ...