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What did the postman bring?


nightfisher

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10 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

After my first session with the Mewlon 180 last week (first and second light report will follow sometime soon), I decided that I’d prefer a Losmandy dovetail rather than the standard Vixen supplied... just feels more solid and quicker (safer) to adjust in the dark with this scope 😬

Both my AZ100 and AZ Mount Pro have dual saddles, so seemed sensible to change.

So a StellaMira Losmandy dovetail delivered today and now fitted. Also more stable when resting on the table too 👍

 

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Looks like the one that I bought from you a while back !

Mine is bolted onto my 130mm F/9.2 triplet refractor and is used with my T-Rex mount. They do seem more stable than the Vixen size bars.

 

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13 minutes ago, John said:

Looks like the one that I bought from you a while back !

Mine is bolted onto my 130mm F/9.2 triplet refractor and is used with my T-Rex mount. They do seem more stable than the Vixen size bars.

 


Glad you’re getting good use out of that one, at 13” it was too big for my StellaMira at the time.

This one is the 7” version, which is more than enough for this scope... as it has no corrector plate, it’s almost perfectly balanced around the mirror end and needs only minimal movement for balance.

I have no problem with Vixen normally, but because this one it comes with is quite “hidden” under that big blue plate, I wasn’t confident adjusting it on the AZ100 dual saddle... and the last thing I want is not to know (and feel) that a scope is secure 😬 With this, I can see it’s in and secure.

It’s one of the reasons I love the Takahashi clamshell tube holders... they are just so easy and (relatively) safe to adjust for balance in the dark 👍

Edited by HollyHound
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36 minutes ago, HollyHound said:


...... and the last thing I want is not to know (and feel) that a scope is secure 😬

 

I agree 100% with you, having had a scope (my lovely Vixen ED102SS) fall off a mount and onto the patio a couple of years ago :shocked:

Very fortunately the damage to the scope was quite minimal (tougher than they look !) but it was a horrible episode.

Since then I have taken great care when mounting and dismounting scopes as you might well imagine :rolleyes2:

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On 04/06/2021 at 21:10, Greymouser said:

After seeing the smaller brother, here on this terrible thread, I looked into them, was impressed and got this:
( Not sure my marriage will cope with the temptation from this thread... )

 

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OOOPS, second pic is a little stretched, will try to fix that maybe.

Anyway, whilst it is a little heavy, it seems to be very strong, with wheels and three handles; four catches.  I hope to get quite a lot in it!

Here is the link if you fancy a look: ( Not the cheapest, but much cheaper than what I intend to put in it! :smiley: )
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Max-MAX620H250S-Waterproof-Watertight-Photography/dp/B00PUL4PYQ/ref=sr_1_30?dchild=1&keywords=max505H280s.079&qid=1621885246&sr=8-30

Haha I did almost exactly the same … directly as a result of the same post I bought the same case. Very pleased with it too, for all my eyepieces, paracorr, diagonals, filters and most-used adapters.

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New dust proofing storage for my TAK FS128🙂..

Oklop holdall for 150mm/1200mm refractors. The Tak is a big tube for it's 5" aperture (the dewshield is 185mm diameter) and this holdall fits perfectly - including with my 2" diagonal in place!

I've just had the lens expertly cleaned and checked by Es Reid (what a lovely guy and optics expert to boot!👍) so I wanted a secure storage carryall to keep it in.. (he described the objective as "delightful").

Am well chuffed, thanks FLO for stocking this nice piece of kit at a good price 😊.

Dave

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8 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

New dust proofing storage for my TAK FS128🙂..

Oklop holdall for 150mm/1200mm refractors. The Tak is a big tube for it's 5" aperture (the dewshield is 185mm diameter) and this holdall fits perfectly - including with my 2" diagonal in place!

I've just had the lens expertly cleaned and checked by Es Reid (what a lovely guy and optics expert to boot!👍) so I wanted a secure storage carryall to keep it in.. (he described the objective as "delightful").

Am well chuffed, thanks FLO for stocking this nice piece of kit at a good price 😊.

Dave

IMG_20210609_101748013_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210609_101722411_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210609_101624195_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210609_101533405_HDR_copy_750x1000.jpg

IMG_20210609_101542045_HDR_copy_1000x750.jpg

Very smart outfit, Dave. I often wear moccasins for observing.

Oklop bag looks great, too. Nice appendages for lifting, too.

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Edited by JeremyS
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43 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Very smart outfit, Dave. I often wear moccasins for observing.

Oklop bag looks great, too. Nice appendages for lifting, too.

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Yes, Jeremy..and you've even got Es at it too.. he said the OTA handled beautifully...

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I ordered this 1915 book as I like old books and I like variable stars.
But there is a bonus.

The book was owned by Dr Harold Whichello in 1918. He was a keen amateur astronomer and a GP in the neighbouring village of Tattenhall here in Cheshire. I researched him a few years ago and wrote an article about him.

And that’s not all. The inscription notes that Whichello was given the book by Charles F Butterworth, the first British observer to make more than 100,000 variable star observations. This was over 100 years ago. He also lived in Cheshire (now Gtr Manchester) and Isle of Man.

and there is an additional curiosity. The own of the book in 1945 was Desmond Egan-Andrew. When he joined the RAS in 1945 he gave his address as 29 Liverpool Rd, Chester. The same address as Whichello’s - actually W’s daughter who was looking after him in old age.

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1 hour ago, JeremyS said:

I ordered this 1915 book as I like old books and I like variable stars.
But there is a bonus.

The book was owned by Dr Harold Whichello in 1918. He was a keen amateur astronomer and a GP in the neighbouring village of Tattenhall here in Cheshire. I researched him a few years ago and wrote an article about him.

And that’s not all. The inscription notes that Whichello was given the book by Charles F Butterworth, the first British observer to make more than 100,000 variable star observations. This was over 100 years ago. He also lived in Cheshire (now Gtr Manchester) and Isle of Man.

and there is an additional curiosity. The own of the book in 1945 was Desmond Egan-Andrew. When he joined the RAS in 1945 he gave his address as 29 Liverpool Rd, Chester. The same address as Whichello’s - actually W’s daughter who was looking after him in old age.

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These good old times where you had to dial just 3 numbers to call someone 

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1 minute ago, Robindonne said:

These good old times where you had to dial just 3 numbers to call someone 

Or even better: just pick up the horn and ask the operator to connect you that 3 digit number 👍🏻

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Probably a little hasty and maybe not my wisest decision but i like to tinker. Sold the ASIAIR Pro here on SGL a couple of days ago owing to the video mode not working on Android 11 and fed up of waiting for ZWO to provide a fix - 6 weeks and counting (otherwise an excellent piece of kit). So onto, Astroberry or Stellamate on the Raspberry Pi 4. Worst case i can always change it to a retro gaming machine and fire up Jet Set Willy.

And a StellaLyra simple 5mm eyepiece. 

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The reason why I've got fog and mizzle for the solar eclipse but in my defence I did order it in early May and only came into stock yesterday afternoon and arrived this morning excellent service @FLO. My right angled polar scope adapter for my star adventurer and az gti polar scopes, will save my knees and back to help PA, Saturday night is looking clear so will try it all out then and my star adventurer. 

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Sometimes I wonder about the past history os some items, such as the recently received ASI183 described as “mint”, thanks @Tim C.

I felt I needed to do a finger print check.

It just didn’t look right.

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”mint”, no way. This is straight out of the factory with absolutely no signs of use at all.

 ASIAir is also VGC.

Very pleased.

@Tim C did you every actually use the 183mc?

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This is embarrassing I saw a post a couple of days ago about 3d printed polar caps I said I needed one of those. As I am on some pretty strong pain killers (Oxycodone) and I have a chest infection, I'm not compus mentis.

I had a pm from a fellow sgler who said they would make and send me one all good. Thought it was strange I had been messaging two different names but didn't think much of it. 

That was until today when the post turned up with two parcels no big deal as I was expecting a parcel from ebay and the polar cap. 

Well to say shocked is a understatement I now have 2 red ones and a black one from two different people, got my son check my inbox and he said I'd been messaging two fellow sgler's not one.

PeterW and adyj1     Thank you so much really appreciate it. I will at least have a spare now in case I loose another one. 

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Edited by wookie1965
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2 hours ago, iapa said:

Sometimes I wonder about the past history os some items, such as the recently received ASI183 described as “mint”, thanks @Tim C.

I felt I needed to do a finger print check.

It just didn’t look right.

C5508E41-7859-4E9B-9C25-46AC28FCD36D.thumb.jpeg.681fc2fc13f46de522d5396db912ede4.jpeg

”mint”, no way. This is straight out of the factory with absolutely no signs of use at all.

 ASIAir is also VGC.

Very pleased.

@Tim C did you every actually use the 183mc?

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I did! I had it out on two occasion for a few hours, but always take very diligent care of my kit 😊 Other than career shenanigans making it a necessity, without a garden I always felt a bit worried taking it out into the 'burbs at funny hours so neither got as much used as I'd imagined when buying. Glad you're happy with your purchase Iain, and may they serve you frequently & well ✌️

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2 minutes ago, Tim C said:

I did! I had it out on two occasion for a few hours, but always take very diligent care of my kit 😊 Other than career shenanigans making it a necessity, without a garden I always felt a bit worried taking it out into the 'burbs at funny hours so neither got as much used as I'd imagined when buying. Glad you're happy with your purchase Iain, and may they serve you frequently & well ✌️

They are possibily going to hang on the RedCat 51 - BlackCat adapter arrived today.

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2 minutes ago, iapa said:

They are possibily going to hang on the RedCat 51 - BlackCat adapter arrived today.

The two run-outs they did get, they were hanging off an EVOGuide 50 - a poor man's RC51 - it's good to know they're getting an upgrade! 'For Sale to a Good Home' is a genuine philosophy of mine 😂

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