What did the postman bring?

[Timebandit]

7 minutes ago, iPeace said:

 

I probably don't really need the 3.5 XW for the newt - 342x is a lot for my skies. But it completes the XW Short Set and I thought: what the Herschel...

 

Your turning into a XW short set collectionist?

Welcome to the club , really good eyepieces ?

 

 

[John]

19 minutes ago, Timebandit said:

 

Yep . And John is not joking about that 3.5 XW.

A high stack up it certainty is. Don't even think of putting a Barlow on it ?

 

Barlowing a tall eyepiece can give you secondary benefits

 

 

[AdeKing]

Not delivered, rather collected a new to me Altair Starwave Classic 102 f11 thanks to @Jonk.

I even managed a quick glimpse at Jupiter through thin(ish) cloud and was impressed with the detail so can't wait to try it out on a clear night.

Here it is on my AZ4 which coped with it nicely.

 

[iPeace]

As always, @James at @FLO is keeping me well informed - the 5mm will soon join the gang to complete the Short Set.

[laudropb]

Just received a baby Mak to use when travelling. Thanks to Niall.

[GordonD]

7 hours ago, iPeace said:

 

As always, @James at @FLO is keeping me well informed - the 5mm will soon join the gang to complete the Short Set.

Very nice indeed.

Ah, that would be me that took the remaining 5mm at FLO then and made you have to wait. Sorry! (But not very .. ?) 

Gordon

[iPeace]

8 minutes ago, GordonD said:

Very nice indeed.

Ah, that would be me that took the remaining 5mm at FLO then and made you have to wait. Sorry! (But not very .. ?) 

Gordon

Never mind. Who knows how long yours was just lying around there? Mine will be freshly baked.

Seriously though, it will only be a couple of days, no inconvenience at all.

[25585]

22 hours ago, iPeace said:

 

I probably don't really need the 3.5 XW for the newt - 342x is a lot for my skies. But it completes the XW Short Set and I thought: what the Herschel...

Its gotta be done! For your TV 80 though, just right!

[25585]

Today my Sky Atlas 2000 2nd Edition De-Luxe laminated came, a pair of TS binoviewers & ... my Senior Railcard!

[Piero]

See here:  

 

 

[1CM69]

DHL & Postie just been. 

from @FLO

ZWO ASI120MM-S

ZWO EFW MINI

ZWO LRGB 1.25”

SGL Travel Mug

from Sky’s The Limit via eBay

W47 Filter 1.25”

All filters mounted in EFW, hence missing from box in image. 

Now installing software etc.... to try out camera & wheel. ?

 

 

UPDATE:- I took a risk with the W47 filter because the EFW specifies max of 3mm thread & max height of filter 7mm.

I couldn't find this info anywhere, not even for ZWO's own filters but the W47 was worth a shot.

As it turned out the filter was ever so slightly too high, (carousel would not advance under power), not by much though because the FW cover screwed back on without an issue.

So I decided to take the bull by the horns & *ADJUST* the W47 filter ?

Carefully mounting it it a spare nose-piece extension and masking up I took upon filing it down.

I then cut some slots in the top as through filing the serrated edge had gone & the last thing I wanted was to have it jammed it the carousel.

Then a quick spray coating of black smoothrite to finish off.

Now back in the FW & works a dream.

A job not for the faint hearted.

Some pics:

Cheers..,

Edited June 7, 2018 by 1CM69
W47 filter mod update

[John]

Just a Universal Astronomics Dwarfstar mount head today. Lighter than the pan/tilt head I'm currently using with my TV Ranger so thats 250 grams less to take to Australia later this year

 

[Stu]

On 22/05/2018 at 10:42, JeremyS said:

I am not completely dismissing the Telegizmos hood - it has the advantage of being waterproof and longer. It's just that it's aesthetically challenged. Also the draw string doesn't really hold it tight, so there is a chance it could come off. I bought it from FLO.

I bought the LensCoat Hoodie from Wex.

You mentioned extra protection when carrying. I think the LensCoat would afford more protection from a bump and the material is thicker and there is a nice semi-rigid insert made from some high density foam plastic (which is removable) at the base, which would give bump protection to the end of the Tak's dew cap. However, knowing your keenness not to take chances when protecting your telescopes, you could always use both 

I have just received a Large Lenscoat for a slightly different Tak related requirement.

When I disassemble mine for transport, I normally have to bodge some kind of protection for the objective and rear opening when it sits in its Pelicase. Thanks to @johninderby I think for originally pointing this out on another thread. This one works fine for the front, a medium is on order for the back  

[Stargazer McCabe]

21 minutes ago, Stu said:

I have just received a Large Lenscoat for a slightly different Tak related requirement.

When I disassemble mine for transport, I normally have to bodge some kind of protection for the objective and rear opening when it sits in its Pelicase. Thanks to @johninderby I think for originally pointing this out on another thread. This one works fine for the front, a medium is on order for the back  

Looks a cracking solution 

Edited June 7, 2018 by Stargazer McCabe

[DRT]

1 hour ago, Stu said:

I have just received a Large Lenscoat for a slightly different Tak related requirement.

When I disassemble mine for transport, I normally have to bodge some kind of protection for the objective and rear opening when it sits in its Pelicase. Thanks to @johninderby I think for originally pointing this out on another thread. This one works fine for the front, a medium is on order for the back  

 

I could do with one of those for my Evo150, Stu. Are the diameters mentioned on the site directly related to the outer diameter of the OTA around the lens cell?

[Stu]

8 minutes ago, DRT said:

I could do with one of those for my Evo150, Stu. Are the diameters mentioned on the site directly related to the outer diameter of the OTA around the lens cell?

Sorry, not quite sure what you are asking Derek, probably just being a bit slow!

I just measured the outer diameter of the objective cell on the Tak and picked the Lenscoat which covered that range. In this case it was 114mm or 4.48” and the Large Lenscoat covers 4.25 to 4.75”. They are elasticated and very easy to fit and use. Wish I had discovered them years ago!

Let me know if that is not what you meant!  

[DRT]

33 minutes ago, Stu said:

Sorry, not quite sure what you are asking Derek, probably just being a bit slow!

I just measured the outer diameter of the objective cell on the Tak and picked the Lenscoat which covered that range. In this case it was 114mm or 4.48” and the Large Lenscoat covers 4.25 to 4.75”. They are elasticated and very easy to fit and use. Wish I had discovered them years ago!

Let me know if that is not what you meant!  

That’s exactly what I was asking, Stu, thanks. I just phrased it very badly ?

[DRT]

This evening I came home from a very long day at work and found a large box from APM and a bubble-wrapped bag from 365Astronomy containing this lovely lot...

 

The Pentax speaks for itself and I must say I am very impressed with the build quality of the APM/Lunt XWAs - beautiful design and engineering and I can only hope they have the optical quality to match  

[DRT]

With thanks to @Alan White, these lovely little things also arrived yesterday, destined to be used with my SW EvoGuide ED50...

Edited June 7, 2018 by DRT

[Littleguy80]

31 minutes ago, DRT said:

This evening I came home from a very long day at work and found a large box from APM and a bubble-wrapped bag from 365Astronomy containing this lovely lot...

 

The Pentax speaks for itself and I must say I am very impressed with the build quality of the APM/Lunt XWAs - beautiful design and engineering and I can only hope they have the optical quality to match  

Wow! What  a great line up! I recently got the 9mm and 20mm and am very pleased with them. The 13mm is on my wish list. Just need to save some pennies up!

[DRT]

4 minutes ago, Littleguy80 said:

Wow! What  a great line up! I recently got the 9mm and 20mm and am very pleased with them. The 13mm is on my wish list. Just need to save some pennies up!

Thanks, Neil. I'm in two minds where to go on the high mag end of this lot as both Lunt and Pentax have 5mm and 3.5mm in those ranges. I think I need to use all of my legendary willpower to avoid jumping in before testing the ones I've just bought  

 

[Littleguy80]

3 minutes ago, DRT said:

Thanks, Neil. I'm in two minds where to go on the high mag end of this lot as both Lunt and Pentax have 5mm and 3.5mm in those ranges. I think I need to use all of my legendary willpower to avoid jumping in before testing the ones I've just bought  

 

That’s a tough call. My instinct is that the Pentax will be slightly sharper, based on reputation. The Lunt gives you another 30 degrees AFOV though. I’m similarly debating the 5mm. I have a 5mm BGO which is great but a nice widefield at that focal length would be very useful too! Decisions decisions!

[John]

15 minutes ago, DRT said:

Thanks, Neil. I'm in two minds where to go on the high mag end of this lot as both Lunt and Pentax have 5mm and 3.5mm in those ranges. I think I need to use all of my legendary willpower to avoid jumping in before testing the ones I've just bought  

 

If it is of any interest Derek, I had the Ethos SX 3.7mm and 4.7mm for nearly a year and frequently compared them with the views that my 5mm and 3.5mm Pentax XW's gave. Despite my love of the Ethos range, I eventually concluded that the XW's were just a touch sharper and showed less light scatter. As 110 degrees was not essential for me at such high powers, I let the Ethos SX's go to new homes. It was a tough decision because the Ethos SX 4.7 is a hard one to get on the used market (it almost never comes up) but in the end I found I was reaching for the XW's before the Ethos SX's each time for challenging targets so that swung the decision for me.

 

 

[DRT]

21 minutes ago, John said:

If it is of any interest Derek, I had the Ethos SX 3.7mm and 4.7mm for nearly a year and frequently compared them with the views that my 5mm and 3.5mm Pentax XW's gave. Despite my love of the Ethos range, I eventually concluded that the XW's were just a touch sharper and showed less light scatter. As 110 degrees was not essential for me at such high powers, I let the Ethos SX's go to new homes. It was a tough decision because the Ethos SX 4.7 is a hard one to get on the used market (it almost never comes up) but in the end I found I was reaching for the XW's before the Ethos SX's each time for challenging targets so that swung the decision for me.

I had both of those Ethos EP's too, John, and found they were seldom used. That's why I haven't plunged in at this point as I want to see what the 7mm XW gives me in the scopes I currently have. My skies don't often allow high mag so if I buy anything below the 7mm it will be for something with a relatively short FL that just needs a bit more oomph. The Pentax are winning in my head at the moment as the reviews are so consistent.

[Stu]

On 05/06/2018 at 21:34, John said:

Barlowing a tall eyepiece can give you secondary benefits

 

 

Be careful John, the views could knock your socks off....