What did the postman bring?

[cajen2]

If the 'shaking' refers to the pic quality, that's a good photo for my cheap Nokia! 😛

[Dave scutt]

Nice postman brought me 2 items today.

A red dot finder courtesy of Magnus. 

ES82 18mm

[bosun21]

4 hours ago, cajen2 said:

Next one for my mini-Morpheus collection. I'm just waiting for the 6.5mil now.

The 9mm is one of my favorites in the Morpheus range. Another great one is the 17.5mm which came out well after all the others and apparently took several years to perfect.(which they did) 

[cajen2]

48 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

The 9mm is one of my favorites in the Morpheus range. Another great one is the 17.5mm which came out well after all the others and apparently took several years to perfect.(which they did) 

Yes, I really fancied one of those but since I already have 18 and 20mil EPs (the latter a 2" StellaLyra 80°, which is superb), it would just be chucking money away.

[chrispj]

Inspired by @Ags diagonal comparison (& my 1st piece of Takahashi kit!), a new prism diagonal....

 

[bosun21]

Another postal delivery from FLO. A Skywatcher electric focus kit and a 4Tronix focus controller.

 

[Knighty2112]

5 hours ago, chrispj said:

Inspired by @Ags diagonal comparison (& my 1st piece of Takahashi kit!), a new prism diagonal....

 

Let us know how it fares. Could be tempted to try one myself at somepoint perhaps! 🤔

[Franklin]

On 07/07/2022 at 22:28, ONIKKINEN said:

Sadly, what was not included was the Baader solar continuum filter

Make sure it has the ND3 fitted internally. It's possible to buy the Lunt without it and if you weren't aware you could damage your eyes. I bought my 1.25" Lunt wedge from TS and it had no ND3 fitted (thought it was cheap). I fitted a Baader ND3 into the base myself and it all works fine with and without the SC filter. Polarising and Longpass 495 all work well and the Wratten #56 & #58.

Edited July 12, 2022 by Franklin

[ONIKKINEN]

4 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Make sure it has the ND3 fitted internally. It's possible to buy the Lunt without it and if you weren't aware you could damage your eyes. I bought my 1.25" Lunt wedge from TS and it had no ND3 fitted (thought it was cheap). I fitted a Baader ND3 into the base myself and it all works fine with and without the SC filter. Polarising and Longpass 495 all work well and the Wratten #56 & #58.

There is some kind of filter between the prism itself and the eyepiece holder, i assume this is the ND3 filter?

I can sort of see something through either the prism or the filter, but with both its very dark and only a peep of my 1200 lumen headlamp gets through.

[Franklin]

On 08/07/2022 at 17:29, ONIKKINEN said:

Mine is from astroart-store.fi and has a preinstalled ND3 filter in it.

Just seen this. You're good to go, any neutral density/polariser, green/yellow will be fine but the SC does highlight more detail IMO.

[Franklin]

3 minutes ago, ONIKKINEN said:

There is some kind of filter between the prism itself and the eyepiece holder, i assume this is the ND3 filter?

Yes that is the ND3, I think the prism itself filters out 95% and the ND3 cuts the remaining 5% down to levels which are considered unharmful but still way too bright, that's why you need some kind of secondary filter before the eyepiece. SC is the best but many others work. I read that some people put a UV/IR cut filter before the wedge itself but am not sure if it's really needed. I think for imaging the UV/IR cut filter improves contrast.

[Franklin]

On 10/07/2022 at 14:43, Victor Boesen said:

Can anyone guess what it may be

You'll have to get a pair of 18mm BCO's, they work VERY well in binos.

[Victor Boesen]

9 minutes ago, Franklin said:

You'll have to get a pair of 18mm BCO's, they work VERY well in binos.

Already planned However, I have some other expenses I need to prioritize so I will most likely place it at the top of my wish list for my birthday in september! But let's see... maybe I can't wait

[Ags]

7 hours ago, chrispj said:

Inspired by @Ags diagonal comparison (& my 1st piece of Takahashi kit!), a new prism diagonal....

 

I do want one of those! It's about the only Tak I'm likely to own 😮

The other Tak diagonal I want is the four-part turret, but that's a lot of money and would i really like it?

[LukeSkywatcher]

On 08/07/2022 at 17:37, Zermelo said:

I am so glad that I wasn't the only one to think that.

SECURITY!!!.

[maw lod qan]

Wait, this isn't astro related!?

HOW DARE YOU!!

This is the end of my possible hope and dream of a dedicated solar telescope this year! So, it's definitely astro related.

So, I'm calling this piece of engineering,  The Lunt!

Honey get me a beer from The Lunt! Is there any ice-cream in The Lunt!

Maybe SWMBO will have sympathy for the devil.

[ONIKKINEN]

New scope finally arrived. Also, the heatwave ended which i am happy about but the clouds that came with that i am not 👎.

Long Perng 90ED F5.5

First impressions, above all, its much bigger in person than i expected (dont know why i am surprised) but the Skywatcher AZ5 + steel tripod feels like a pretty good match to this thing and it still fits in a backpack along with some eyepieces and other kit that i want to have with me so all good and fits the purpose i had in mind. Overall feels nicely built with all metal parts, pretty good feeling 2 inch crayford with a reducer knob, rotateable focuser to cover the fact that it did not come with rings and the sturdy padded case which is a nice bonus.

Feels nice for "only" 500€, but i suspect the price is due to low spec glass in the ED element, but that i will find out once the clouds clear and darken.

[Dave scutt]

Some anti  vibration pads, many thanks jock1958 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Dave scutt
Added anti

[Alan White]

12 minutes ago, Dave scutt said:

Some vibration pads, many thanks jock1958 

Oh no, not the Vibration Pads, you needed the Anti version 😉 🤣
Sorry I could not resist.
Good purchase, be interested in how they work.

[Victor Boesen]

At last!!

Fitted in a custom flight case with two plössl's and a 2X GPC.

And even a brief first light!!

First impressions are that I think I will love them for H-alpha! Observing was a lot more relaxing, and the 3D effect in the filaments was beautiful!! I really look forward to observing the moon and planets next!

Victor

[DaveL59]

17 hours ago, maw lod qan said:

Wait, this isn't astro related!?

HOW DARE YOU!!

This is the end of my possible hope and dream of a dedicated solar telescope this year! So, it's definitely astro related.

So, I'm calling this piece of engineering,  The Lunt!

Honey get me a beer from The Lunt! Is there any ice-cream in The Lunt!

Maybe SWMBO will have sympathy for the devil.

oh fun, a friend of mine over here had one similar to that, kept tripping out the house mains!

Enjoy the new 'Lunt' , so long as SWMBO is happy and all that... 😉 

[Stu1smartcookie]

I certainly get around ! Another little journey to the south coast to meet @mareman48… and to collect the little beauty in the photos . A bit of widefield photography beckons 

[Franklin]

5 hours ago, Victor Boesen said:

First impressions are that I think I will love them for H-alpha! Observing was a lot more relaxing, and the 3D effect in the filaments was beautiful!! I really look forward to observing the moon and planets next!

Good to see the little AZT6 holding it's own, great mount.

[Victor Boesen]

31 minutes ago, Franklin said:

Good to see the little AZT6 holding it's own, great mount.

Still getting its use after almost three years! It's definitely a great (one of the best maybe??) budget Alt/Az mount for light scopes and travel setups

[Guest]

How about a 2 inch variable polarized filter.  These things are the bomb.