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Celestron C11 StarBright XLT

DRT

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Peter Drew

Peter Drew

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Thought I'd better chime in being as my name's been mentioned :icon_biggrin:. You certainly can use SCT's larger than the average spotting scope for terrestrial viewing. Being as this will naturally be during daylight the steadiness of the atmosphere comes into play moreso than at night. With my Tenerife based C8 I can watch for whales and dolphins as well as passing shipping. I can see cars driving up and down the hillsides on the opposite island of La Gomera, on a really good day I can see houses on La Palma and one of the mountain top observatory domes, most of the time though I use my 4" binoscope made from two F5 Skywatcher refractors. 

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DRT

DRT

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1 hour ago, Peter Drew said:

 most of the time though I use my 4" binoscope made from two F5 Skywatcher refractors. 

Are you trying to tempt me into a second C11 and a mega binoviewer, Peter? :lol:

I will be sure to report back on how this performs after my trip to Skye :wink:

 

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DRT

DRT

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The forecast is good and I'm ready for first light...

image.jpeg

The ED120 is doubling up as a finder and counterweight, which I admit is a rather extravagant solution! :grin:

But I have had a minor disaster. Whilst rearranging my Astro cupboard to accommodate the C11 I managed to put a small dent in it :cry: 

image.jpeg

I just hope the optics work otherwise I'll have some explaining to do at RVO :rolleyes2:

Hey ho, let's hope the clouds stay away :smile:

 

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Chris

Chris

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I remember at school, any time anyone got some new trainers the fellow kids would tread all over them to make them look worn in! This was referred to as 'Christening' for some reason. Seems that your new C11 has been slightly 'Christened' Derek. I bet they heard you swear a mile away!

A touch up pen should help that I reckon, and it looks like the kind of dent that would knock out with care further down the line :)

Fingers crossed for tonight, I'm looking forward to hearing how it performs.

It really is a fab setup you have there, Derek, you you even have the posh desiccant caps! ;)

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DRT

DRT

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Your comforting words have cheered me up, Chris. Thank you. 

I do like those caps, but @Stu told me off for having a red one in my green TV Pronto (along with an orange Geoptik dovetail) as it was a fashion disaster so I had to buy a black one :smile:

Anyway, this looks promising...

image.jpeg

:grin:

 

 

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Chris

Chris

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10 minutes ago, DRT said:

 

I do like those caps, but @Stu told me off for having a red one in my green TV Pronto (along with an orange Geoptik dovetail) as it was a fashion disaster so I had to buy a black one

 

Well we do need to appoint someone the Gok Wan of telescopes, @Stu sounds like an excellent candidate, I agree with toning down the Pronto :D 

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DRT

DRT

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32 minutes ago, Chris Lock said:

Well we do need to appoint someone the Gok Wan of telescopes, @Stu sounds like an excellent candidate

I think that is a wonderful idea. Stu has had so many user names here that changing him to @GokWanStu shouldn't be too difficult and I do think he is the best candidate for the job :hippy2:

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Stu

Stu

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38 minutes ago, DRT said:

I think that is a wonderful idea. Stu has had so many user names here that changing him to @GokWanStu shouldn't be too difficult and I do think he is the best candidate for the job :hippy2:

Two problems. Firstly I think my left leg weighs more than Gok Wan so I suspect the similarities are 'slim'. Secondly, perhaps speak to Mrs Stu about my sense of style before taking any notice of my fashion tips ;) 

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DRT

DRT

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On 28/07/2016 at 18:04, DRT said:

Screen Shot 2016-07-28 at 18.03.39.png

 

On 28/07/2016 at 18:05, DRT said:

Plus this...

Screen Shot 2016-07-28 at 18.05.11.png

 

On 28/07/2016 at 18:05, Chris Lock said:

:eek::eek: what the Dickens!

@Chris Lock, I have a confession to make :rolleyes2:

In a moment of weakness I ordered these yesterday. To a large extent it was driven by my opinion that they look pretty cool, but the nail in the coffin was when I read a review saying that they help balance the OTA by adding weight to the front end to counterbalance the heavy accessories hanging off the back end. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it :evil:

Will post pictures soon :wink:

 

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DRT

DRT

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A bit of a disaster. Firstly, I fell asleep waiting for darkness. I woke up at 2am with the sound track to Game of Thrones DVD on a loop ringing in my ears and thought "I must go to bed". I then remembered I had the kit out and hauled myself of the sofa to get out and align the scope.  I then discovered that my power splitter from the battery had decided to develop a fault and kept turning off every time I got half way through alignment. I loosened the clutches, pointed the C11 at M13, said "wow", and then packed it all away. I then spent 30 minutes on a sun lounger looking at the Milky Way with my Canon IS bins, and then went to bed contented. 

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Chris

Chris

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10 hours ago, DRT said:

 

@Chris Lock, I have a confession to make :rolleyes2:

In a moment of weakness I ordered these yesterday. To a large extent it was driven by my opinion that they look pretty cool, but the nail in the coffin was when I read a review saying that they help balance the OTA by adding weight to the front end to counterbalance the heavy accessories hanging off the back end. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it :evil:

Will post pictures soon :wink:

 

I'm Sooo looking on ebay for a sheet metal rolling machine lol, I'm sure I could undercut them! It is a lot of dosh, but I guess at least it has two purposes with being a counterbalance and dew shield, plus the telescope fashion aspect ;)

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DRT

DRT

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Just now, Chris Lock said:

Ok, that looks even better than I thought it would :) How'sthe balance?

I haven't tried it fully loaded but it has definitely shifted the balance forward by a few inches, which is all I needed. Will load it up at the weekend and let you know.

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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I like the dew shield Derek - you get double the scope, so a bargain! Do you think it will be enough without any heated band? 

I notice that you are using the extension on the AZ-EQ6. Do you get any problems with it rotating? I find it difficult to fit it tightly enough. I was thinking of somehow duplicating the 'peg' that you get on the basic tripod and mount which would then prevent it from rotating.

Kerry 

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DRT

DRT

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13 minutes ago, kerrylewis said:

I like the dew shield Derek - you get double the scope, so a bargain! Do you think it will be enough without any heated band? 

I notice that you are using the extension on the AZ-EQ6. Do you get any problems with it rotating? I find it difficult to fit it tightly enough. I was thinking of somehow duplicating the 'peg' that you get on the basic tripod and mount which would then prevent it from rotating.

Kerry 

Thanks, Kerry.

I had rotation problems at first but managed to solve it by putting double sided sticky pads between the base of the extension and the tripod and then giving the centre bolt of the tripod a bit of extra tightening with a oil filter wrench. It hasn't slipped since :grin:

 

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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11 minutes ago, DRT said:

Thanks, Kerry.

I had rotation problems at first but managed to solve it by putting double sided sticky pads between the base of the extension and the tripod and then giving the centre bolt of the tripod a bit of extra tightening with a oil filter wrench. It hasn't slipped since :grin:

 

OK Derek. I'll give that a try 

Thanks 

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DRT

DRT

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Just be careful when tightening that centre bolt, Kerry. After all, despite the generally excellent build of the AZ-EQ6 we are still dealing with Synta's legendary cheap alloys here and you don't want to go stripping any threads! I just gave mine an extra tweak, perhaps an eighth of a turn more than I could achieve with my hand.

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