AdeKing Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 2 hours ago, CraigT82 said: Stellarvue 60mm finder... a small telescope in it's own right! I can see me taking this on holidays with nice wide angle EPs on a lightweight photo tripod. Along with new goto functionality on my EQ6 this should hopefully help me in locating the ice giants which have eluded me so far. Lack of visible stars in central Bristol makes starhopping with a rigel quickfinder rather difficult. Very nice Craig, I have the 50mm version and it's a cracking little telescope in its own right. Though as Pixies said there is a lot of distortion from about 75% out to the edge. I picked up a small set of guidescope rings on a Vixen dovetail with a 1/4" thread so I can use it on a photo tripod when I need to travel lighter than the ZS66 allows. 1 hour ago, Pixies said: Just bear in mind these finders are fast - f3.8, so there is a lot of distortion around the edge of the FOV 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordie85 Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 I'm a very happy chappy. It's alot bigger in person but I now own a lovely esprit 100ed with flattener. My dual rig is almost complete 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixies Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 A second-hand bargain, I hope. The optics look clear and it appears to be collimated OK. Compared to my cheapo Praktica bins, the view has much better contrast - darker darks and lighter lights, and the old ones now look foggy compared to this. It has a wider AFOV and but lower real FOV (higher mag) too. It needs a new strap and I'd prefer a soft case. But I'm dead chuffed. Not bad for £20 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveL59 Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 6 minutes ago, Pixies said: A second-hand bargain, I hope. The optics look clear and it appears to be collimated OK. Compared to my cheapo Praktica bins, the view has much better contrast - darker darks and lighter lights, and the old ones now look foggy compared to this. It has a wider AFOV and but lower real FOV (higher mag) too. It needs a new strap and I'd prefer a soft case. But I'm dead chuffed. Not bad for £20 those look in very nice condition considering their age, as if they lived life in their case rather than being used. Looks to be a Japan made pair too, be interesting to know the JB/JE marking on the objective end. I've a few old pairs and they do perform nicely tho I more tend to use the Minolta 10x50's at night as they're waterproof and lighter with a 6.6 FoV. As you say tho, a bargain price for the condition, nice find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixies Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 3 minutes ago, DaveL59 said: those look in very nice condition considering their age, as if they lived life in their case rather than being used. Looks to be a Japan made pair too, be interesting to know the JB/JE marking on the objective end. I've a few old pairs and they do perform nicely tho I more tend to use the Minolta 10x50's at night as they're waterproof and lighter with a 6.6 FoV. As you say tho, a bargain price for the condition, nice find! I have a week or so to return them if I find any issues. they do look remarkably clear. Perhaps a coupel of tiny spots on the inside of one of the objectives. Not sure what you mean about JB/JL - is it this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveL59 Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 14 minutes ago, Pixies said: I have a week or so to return them if I find any issues. they do look remarkably clear. Perhaps a coupel of tiny spots on the inside of one of the objectives. Not sure what you mean about JB/JL - is it this: that's the one 🙂 For info that maker for the finished binocular is: JB 24 Ichikawa Kogaku Kogyo Co. Ltd.,Tokyo 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertI Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 After waiting two months for a Skywatcher ED100, still no sign of delivery, so I cancelled order and bought one of these beauties. Arrived next day. A very solid and well made piece of kit. Hope it performs as well as it looks. Can't wait to try it out. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 The thread about stolen equipment specifically the SW mount that had been recovered prompted me to get a UV marker pen and UV flashlight to mark all my gear (not just astro). So almost £11 later and these arrived. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigella Bryant Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 39 minutes ago, TerryMcK said: The thread about stolen equipment specifically the SW mount that had been recovered prompted me to get a UV marker pen and UV flashlight to mark all my gear (not just astro). So almost £11 later and these arrived. Worth it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dantooine Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 1 hour ago, RobertI said: After waiting two months for a Skywatcher ED100, still no sign of delivery, so I cancelled order and bought one of these beauties. Arrived next day. A very solid and well made piece of kit. Hope it performs as well as it looks. Can't wait to try it out. Well Rob, really happy for you. Is it everything I tried to explain it was? I have never looked back since I got mine. A very special moment opening the box. i really don’t think better can be bought for the price these are selling at, enjoy 😊 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertI Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 25 minutes ago, Dantooine said: Well Rob, really happy for you. Is it everything I tried to explain it was? I have never looked back since I got mine. A very special moment opening the box. i really don’t think better can be bought for the price these are selling at, enjoy 😊 It was a special moment, my first brand new scope in twenty years and a quality piece of engineering that feels special. Looking through the almost invisible lens and down into the blackened and baffled tube is a wonderful sight. Really looking forward to first light. Thanks for the encouragement, your positive comments sealed the deal. 🙂 I’ll probably start a separate thread to share my experiences. 👍 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dantooine Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 47 minutes ago, RobertI said: It was a special moment, my first brand new scope in twenty years and a quality piece of engineering that feels special. Looking through the almost invisible lens and down into the blackened and baffled tube is a wonderful sight. Really looking forward to first light. Thanks for the encouragement, your positive comments sealed the deal. 🙂 I’ll probably start a separate thread to share my experiences. 👍 And on a negative point.. that’s one less decent telescope in stock in the U.K. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15Rules Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 On 05/09/2020 at 19:51, Barry-W-Fenner said: I may be swayed to purchase either the 12mm or 17.5mm next but that's for another thread 😁 Hi Baz, I think you have saved the best two til last! I have a pair of 17.5mm for binoviewing and they are just excellent. They barlow really well too. I don't have the 12.5mm ( not 12mm 😊) but have looked through one and I thought it better than the 14mm (which I did own at the time). I suspect that if you get a 12.5mm you will either sell the 14mm and keep the 12.5mm or vice versa..the two seem to me to be too close in power for most scopes to make it worth having both? As the Yanks would say, I think Baader really hit a "home run" with the Morpheus range! Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padraic M Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Nice new power supply to power the whole setup. FLO wouldn't ship to Ireland for some reason, so bought direct from Nevada Radio. Works a treat! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormix Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Time to get serious with dew control - Thanks to @Jonk for the board and @JamesF for his excellent step by step thread. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonk Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 22 minutes ago, wormix said: Time to get serious with dew control You may need to drill out the reversal protection diode holes, if I remember they aren’t big enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormix Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 28 minutes ago, Jonk said: You may need to drill out the reversal protection diode holes, if I remember they aren’t big enough. Cheers - my parts list seems to lack these Diodes - it only has D2. Can you recall what spec they are? ta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 54 minutes ago, wormix said: Time to get serious with dew control - Thanks to @Jonk for the board and @JamesF for his excellent step by step thread. Do make sure you get the MOSFETs the right way around. I didn't use the recommended ones for my build thread and I think the pictures in my thread are a bit misleading as to their orientation. I keep meaning to open up one of the units and replace the photo with something more obvious. I did also find at least one diode had leads of too large a diameter for the holes in the board, but I can't recall which ones off the top of my head. I may mention it in my build thread. I ended up just mounting the diodes on fly leads and wrapping them with heatshrink in the end. My component list says that D1 and D3 through D5 are 1N5822 and D2 is a 10A10. James 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormix Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 39 minutes ago, JamesF said: Do make sure you get the MOSFETs the right way around. I didn't use the recommended ones for my build thread and I think the pictures in my thread are a bit misleading as to their orientation. I keep meaning to open up one of the units and replace the photo with something more obvious. I did also find at least one diode had leads of too large a diameter for the holes in the board, but I can't recall which ones off the top of my head. I may mention it in my build thread. I ended up just mounting the diodes on fly leads and wrapping them with heatshrink in the end. My component list says that D1 and D3 through D5 are 1N5822 and D2 is a 10A10. James perfect, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonk Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 1 hour ago, wormix said: Can you recall what spec they are? 8A I think, but I didn’t fit one... I linked it out... James’ advice on the fets is correct.... make sure they are fitted as per the silk screen... The metal heatsink side goes to the 3 rectangles on the silk screen. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT65CB-SWL Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 A replacement 123x15mm end cap/cover for my ETX105 via Nipon Scope & Optics... https://www.nipon-scope.com/123mm-lens-cap as I have mislaid/lost the original Meade threaded end cap/cover and replaces the vinyl one that I was using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 (edited) Funnily enough I just ordered one for my Bresser 100 mak. I had been watching it on eBay and the seller sent me a 10% off offer so a few pence saved. 👍🏻 Edited September 9, 2020 by johninderby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adyj1 Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 The postman brought something that combines my three hobbies; A Raspberry Pi4 (bought from the forums, thanks @Stuart1971) - that's my computing hobby. An sd-card running astroberry, to see whether I can finally get away from using Windows at the mount... Astronomy, obvs. All safely wrapped in an old filament box - and that's my 3d printing fix sorted too 😂. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johninderby Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 (edited) A couple of boxes for a little project.and a few other bits. 🙂 Edited September 10, 2020 by johninderby 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkAR Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 20 minutes ago, adyj1 said: An sd-card running astroberry, to see whether I can finally get away from using Windows at the mount You'll love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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