What did the postman bring?

[Stu1smartcookie]

Not strictly the postman but it’s the first time this rig has been put together so I think it’s worth a photo . 
missed a golden opportunity last night though as it was really clear but , hey , there’s always tonight 

[Ags]

1 hour ago, Ratlet said:

Used to be an oilfield tools company that would put sweets in the containers with the tools.  I was told they did this because once the tools were opened the rental rate changed.  Obviously grown men couldn't resist the allure of free haribo and the tools always got opened.

Is there a very tiny "Opening voids warranty" sticker on Haribo? 🤣

[Highburymark]

Is it just me, or are a lot more Maks being bought these days?  Great choice with planet season around the corner.

[markse68]

@Trevor PC Just picked this beauty up  Now to figure out how to mount it to a tripod 🤔

[markse68]

That went a lot quicker than i thought. I managed to talk the seller into letting me have the “cup” piece adapter off the tripod that they wouldn’t let me have as they wanted to turn it into a lamp (🤦‍♂️), tapped a 3/8” whitworth hole in its centre, then attached it to a ball mount adapter and temporarily can use one of the tripods from work. So Jupiter and Saturn, here I come

Mark

[markse68]

Objective had a bit of mildew but cleaned up- nice and purple and lickable 😋

Mark

[globular]

You seem to have a screw loose Mark 

[markse68]

2 minutes ago, globular said:

You seem to have a screw loose Mark 

Several! haha

Mark

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, markse68 said:

@Trevor PC Just picked this beauty up  Now to figure out how to mount it to a tripod 🤔

What is it? Telementor?

[markse68]

2 minutes ago, Captain Scarlet said:

What is it? Telementor?

Tal 100R Magnus- bit more aperture than the Telementor

Mark

[badhex]

10 hours ago, Zermelo said:

Didn't actully arrive today as it was a birthday present, but :

This one isn't nearly as heavy as the 2" 30mm that I bought recently, but it's still a decent paperweight.

It seems you get a free bag of Haribo with each order (which I don't like, but I'm sure will get eaten).

 

I got the APM version of this earlier this year, excellent bit of kit!

[Captain Scarlet]

1 hour ago, markse68 said:

Tal 100R Magnus- bit more aperture than the Telementor

Mark

I see them come up from time to time. Only a matter of time until I succumb.

Edited July 16, 2022 by Captain Scarlet

[markse68]

40 minutes ago, Captain Scarlet said:

I see them come up from time to time. Only a matter of time until I succumb.

They’re remarkable bang for the buck Magnus 👍

[DaveL59]

11 hours ago, markse68 said:

They’re remarkable bang for the buck Magnus 👍

was this the one Trevor mentioned? I managed to resist the temptation but then I already have the 100RS so I'd have only got it to compare the objectives (mine's a light green rather than purple).

[markse68]

25 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

was this the one Trevor mentioned? I managed to resist the temptation but then I already have the 100RS so I'd have only got it to compare the objectives (mine's a light green rather than purple).

One of them apparently Dave- when i met the very nice seller she mentioned she’d been contacted by someone who had asked her about its baffles 🤷‍♂️- ah, Trevor I thought 🤣 

I had a choice of 2- one had the tripod and looked new in box but missing all other accessories being sold by some house clearance chancers who were playing games with the price . Glad I went for this one as it was her fathers, had most of the accessories (but minus tripod as her husband wanted to turn it into a lamp!) and they were nice people 👍. Having seen it I’m not worried about the tripod- looked a bit flimsy anyway. Will get a surveyors tripod off ebay and use that.

I have an RS too dave but Trevor piqued my interest again and you read nice things about the older aluminium tubed R (apart from the focuser  ) and purple is nice

Mark

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by markse68

[DaveL59]

4 hours ago, markse68 said:

 

I have an RS too dave but Trevor piqued my interest again and you read nice things about the older aluminium tubed R (apart from the focuser  ) and purple is nice

Mark

 

Always nice to buy from someone who's cherished it, mine was the same hence driving to Coventry to pick it up a couple years back. Do let us know if you find the optics better in the R tho, then again do I want to know and then get tempted? 😉 

[markse68]

2 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

Always nice to buy from someone who's cherished it, mine was the same hence driving to Coventry to pick it up a couple years back. Do let us know if you find the optics better in the R tho, then again do I want to know and then get tempted? 😉 

Blimey- that’s a long drive Dave! I’m not sure i have the eyes for telling them apart but on the moon last night there was no noticeable fringing 👍 Comparing to the 200k on Saturn though was a bit unfair- the aperture really made a difference of course- way more to see with the 200k

Mark

[DaveL59]

5 minutes ago, markse68 said:

Blimey- that’s a long drive Dave! I’m not sure i have the eyes for telling them apart but on the moon last night there was no noticeable fringing 👍 Comparing to the 200k on Saturn though was a bit unfair- the aperture really made a difference of course- way more to see with the 200k

Mark

ah well he didn't want to ship and I figured I wanted it enough. Very nice chap with an old Moggie Minor van so we chatted about that for a while too. Funny it was like an echo of my regular drives around the country for work in the past but without the pressure to hit an arrival time etc 🙂 

My resistance on getting an R held but I did end up winning this earlier

just have to hope I can fettle it 😄 

[JeremyS]

A few odds and ends

[HollyHound]

49 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

A few odds and ends

Wow, you are going "all in" on the Ethos 👍

Will be interesting to hear how these perform on your TSA... I can see how these could be superb eyepieces for that, not just optically but ergonomically as well (given the front heavy triplet) 🤔

[Ratlet]

Cheap as chips laser collimator of eBay.  A steal at £25.

Did a quick check of the collimation of the laser and the dot doesn't really move at all.  So blapped it into the 130pds.  Collimation was out with the dot about 3/4" away from the circle.  Took about 10 minutes to get everything lined up.  Did a quick check with a Cheshire and everything lined up with the crosshairs so I assume all is good!

 

[cajen2]

New shiny thing: Asterion Ecliptica Light EQ platform. What a beautiful piece of work!  

For any that don't know, this will mount a dob and track a target for 60 minutes before needing to be reset.

[Greymouser]

6 hours ago, JeremyS said:

A few odds and ends

 

Bloody hell those to you may be just odds and ends, but to me if I dared try to get them, it would be a divorce! 😜

[callisto]

4 hours ago, cajen2 said:

New shiny thing: Asterion Ecliptica Light EQ platform. What a beautiful piece of work!  

For any that don't know, this will mount a dob and track a target for 60 minutes before needing to be reset.

Love my EQ platform... enjoy 👍

[fate187]

15 hours ago, Ratlet said:

Cheap as chips laser collimator of eBay.  A steal at £25.

Did a quick check of the collimation of the laser and the dot doesn't really move at all.  So blapped it into the 130pds.  Collimation was out with the dot about 3/4" away from the circle.  Took about 10 minutes to get everything lined up.  Did a quick check with a Cheshire and everything lined up with the crosshairs so I assume all is good!

 

I also got one of those very recently. How do you ensure the laser/collimator is straight? I checked the thing itself with some extensions on a flat mirror and the reflection didn't come out in the center of the bulls eye. In fact the laser light (high intensity setting) it a flat line instead of a dot 🤪