What did the postman bring?

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Highburymark said:

Look forward to hearing about the new wedge Stu, particularly if any visible benefit to the narrower Continuum, though I can imagine it won’t be easy to compare with the old one.
Are you still using the MkIV for white light - or moved to the MBII? 

I’m afraid that will have to wait Mark. I had to return it due to problems with the threads on the filter holder; basically I couldn’t fit the filters correctly without it jamming the light control mechanism. I should write up elsewhere the full story but for the moment I have a refund and will rebuy once they come back into stock.

Link here to a slightly fuller update:

 

[Ratlet]

Not the post man but the optician.  Got my contact lenses!  Got very mild astigmatism in one eye and profoundly shortsighted in both, but I don't like observing with glasses.

About the only frustration I have when observing is constantly taking my glasses off and on when check charts, coordinates or sketching so I'm hoping this will be a big force multiplier (for the approximately 3 hours and decreasing of darkness I get )

[cajen2]

54 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Not the post man but the optician.  Got my contact lenses!  Got very mild astigmatism in one eye and profoundly shortsighted in both, but I don't like observing with glasses.

About the only frustration I have when observing is constantly taking my glasses off and on when check charts, coordinates or sketching so I'm hoping this will be a big force multiplier (for the approximately 3 hours and decreasing of darkness I get )

Odd that

 I normally wear varifocals which I obviously have to take off when observing but I think my dominant eye astigmatism has got worse, so I've just been to the optician's to order some simple glasses just to correct the problem (I can't wear contacts).

So clearly every post I've ever made on the quality of optics has now to be taken with a pinch of salt! 😛

[Alan White]

No Postman, just me and Mrs W out for a drive and a walk around Ely for good measure this morning.
Say hello to 'Big Red' it can have no other name...

Thanks to a Classified this week by @Stu1smartcookie and good timing on my part, a long term itch has been scratched.
A scope I have always twiddled with at each Astro Show but not quite made No1 on my list, well no longer.

It was a pleasure to meet Stu in person and chat astro, the new lightweight set up looks superb.

Baked Bean can for size as is the 150 f6 Newtonian...

From the serial number, clearly not many get sold.
Shame as its looking super in daylight, nice view of TV aerials, branches, birds etc. 
Mind you a tad large as a spotting scope!

Oh and the AZ75 handles it like its not mounted as well.
 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Alan White
typos of course

[Stu1smartcookie]

1 hour ago, Alan White said:

No Postman, just me and Mrs W out for a drive and a walk around Ely for good measure this morning.
Say hello to 'Big Red' it can have no other name...

Thanks to a Classified this week by @Stu1smartcookie and good timing on my part, a long term itch has been scratched.
A scope I have always twiddled with at each Astro Show but not quite made No1 on my list, well no longer.

It was a pleasure to meet Stu in person and chat astro, the new lightweight set up looks superb.

Baked Bean can for size as is the 150 f6 Newtonian...

From the serial number, clearly not many get sold.
Shame as its looking super in daylight, nice view of TV aerials, branches, birds etc. 
Mind you a tad large as a spotting scope!

Oh and the AZ75 handles it like its not mounted as well.
 

Pleasure to meet you too , Alan … scope looks great .. happy it’s gone to a really good home mate .  

[Alan White]

And not really this thread, but following the arrival of Big Red above, just got first light in White Light.

To say I am pleased is a very big understatement.
My Lunt wedge is 1.25 so too small for Big Red, but good for a very short testing and no overheating,
but it was clear it would be if left on target for a longer period.

My socks have just been blown off and I am impressed 😁
Curiosity just got more expensive as need a 2" Herschel Wedge as well now.
The detail, which is stunning in my 103 Vixens is just wow in the 152, I knew taking a dip of my toe was a dangerous thing.

So First Light within hours of purchase, that's quite an achievement in itself.



 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Alan White
typos of course

[JeremyS]

2 hours ago, Alan White said:

 

Oh and the AZ75 handles it like its not mounted as well.
 

The AZ75 has handles? I thought it didn’t have slo-mos 🤔

seriously, though, the scope looks great 👍🏻

[garryblueboy]

3 hours ago, Alan White said:

No Postman, just me and Mrs W out for a drive and a walk around Ely for good measure this morning.
Say hello to 'Big Red' it can have no other name...

Thanks to a Classified this week by @Stu1smartcookie and good timing on my part, a long term itch has been scratched.
A scope I have always twiddled with at each Astro Show but not quite made No1 on my list, well no longer.

It was a pleasure to meet Stu in person and chat astro, the new lightweight set up looks superb.

Baked Bean can for size as is the 150 f6 Newtonian...

From the serial number, clearly not many get sold.
Shame as its looking super in daylight, nice view of TV aerials, branches, birds etc. 
Mind you a tad large as a spotting scope!

Oh and the AZ75 handles it like its not mounted as well.
 

Really nice Alan I had one great views 

[garryblueboy]

Same for me No postman I collected this early this morning really excited to use it may need to wait a few days for the time though due to other commitments what a beautiful scope it is .

Edited April 22, 2023 by garryblueboy

[Greymouser]

4 hours ago, Alan White said:

And not really this thread, but following the arrival of Big Red above, just got first light in White Light.

To say I am pleased is a very big understatement.
My Lunt wedge is 1.25 so too small for Big Red, but good for a very short testing and no overheating,
but it was clear it would be if left on target for a longer period.

My socks have just been blown off and I am impressed 😁
Curiosity just got more expensive as need a 2" Herschel Wedge as well now.
The detail, which is stunning in my 103 Vixens is just wow in the 152, I knew taking a dip of my toe was a dangerous thing.

So First Light within hours of purchase, that's quite an achievement in itself.



 

Yes, it is a great scope and you are a braver man than me, I just could not bring myself to try my 1.25 Lunt wedge on it. In fact I am yet to use mine in anger for one reason or another, but I have got a bag for it. I just like looking at mine though!

[Alan White]

36 minutes ago, Greymouser said:

Yes, it is a great scope and you are a braver man than me, I just could not bring myself to try my 1.25 Lunt wedge on it. In fact I am yet to use mine in anger for one reason or another, but I have got a bag for it. I just like looking at mine though!

It needs a 2” wedge to dissipate the heat, so something on the to buy list.

[Stu]

5 hours ago, Alan White said:

And not really this thread, but following the arrival of Big Red above, just got first light in White Light.

To say I am pleased is a very big understatement.
My Lunt wedge is 1.25 so too small for Big Red, but good for a very short testing and no overheating,
but it was clear it would be if left on target for a longer period.

My socks have just been blown off and I am impressed 😁
Curiosity just got more expensive as need a 2" Herschel Wedge as well now.
The detail, which is stunning in my 103 Vixens is just wow in the 152, I knew taking a dip of my toe was a dangerous thing.

So First Light within hours of purchase, that's quite an achievement in itself.



 

Excellent! That’s why it says ‘Caution, this bit gets hot’ or similar, it’s supposed to! 🤣.

This is one I’ve always wanted too, having looked through a couple they are very nice. Sure you will enjoy it a lot 👍

[Ags]

48 minutes ago, Alan White said:

It needs a 2” wedge to dissipate the heat, so something on the to buy list.

I am not one to advocate experimentation with visual solar observing, but is it feasible to add an IR-block filter before the herschel wedge to keep temperatures down?

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Ags said:

I am not one to advocate experimentation with visual solar observing, but is it feasible to add an IR-block filter before the herschel wedge to keep temperatures down?

As long as it's an interference type that reflects rather than absorbs IR energy, they work fine and don't heat up in my experience.  I keep one on the front of my 1.25" Hercules wedge to block IR that is passed by the ND filter.

Here's a thread on SGL discussing this very topic:

Check the transmission graphs in this post of mine:

Basically, the more IR filtering, the better.  You don't need to unknowingly cook your eyeball during solar observing.

[Mandy D]

After waiting over six months for stock to arrive, I finally got my new Skytee 2 mount yesterday. I swapped the saddles out for some better ones with two clamping screws, as I intend to mount my 200P on this, or perhaps even my 250P at some point in the future alongside my RC6. I've noticed that there is a lot more play in the azimuth gears than I would like, so will bring this up with the supplier on Monday. The altitude is fine and everything else is as expected, including an abundance of clouds in my region, so for now, here is a photo of it on my bathroom floor.

[Lunarchick]

Just need some clear sky now

 

[Ratlet]

On 17/03/2023 at 12:05, Stu said:

Well done chaps on picking up the MBIIs, they really are excellent. So good that I’m thinking of picking up a second pair for Solar Ha observing alongside the white light. That’s if I can ever be quickest on the draw with stock 🤪. Didn’t expect them to be at the show, but glad they were for you guys 👍.

For me, it was the arrival of a long awaited smartphone mount. It is called an Accuview by MoveShootMove and looks excellent. All metal construction, great range of movement in three axes, it’s like a non floppy NeXYZ! It just about fits on my 17mm Nag so has its limits but still pretty good.

I’ll post up more about it separately but seems like it was well worth the wait.

My accuview turned up.  This thing is solid!  I'd post pictures but I'm working nights and the posty woke me up when he rang the bell.  In a fit of supreme lazyness I'm going to link Stu's pictures since I'm burst.

Came with a rather nice (cotton?) bag.  

[Mr Spock]

Collection completed 

[jock1958]

22 hours ago, Mandy D said:

After waiting over six months for stock to arrive, I finally got my new Skytee 2 mount yesterday. I swapped the saddles out for some better ones with two clamping screws, as I intend to mount my 200P on this, or perhaps even my 250P at some point in the future alongside my RC6. I've noticed that there is a lot more play in the azimuth gears than I would like, so will bring this up with the supplier on Monday. The altitude is fine and everything else is as expected, including an abundance of clouds in my region, so for now, here is a photo of it on my bathroom floor.

Had mine for over 6 years now and it does the job really well although a bit agricultural. Replaced the sticky grease and adjusted the worm gears and everything runs nice and smoothly. Wasn’t able to get rid of the backlash completely but good enough for my needs. 

[Mandy D]

1 hour ago, jock1958 said:

Had mine for over 6 years now and it does the job really well although a bit agricultural. Replaced the sticky grease and adjusted the worm gears and everything runs nice and smoothly. Wasn’t able to get rid of the backlash completely but good enough for my needs. 

I've spoken with the supplier who has told me the backlash can be adjusted out and is going to get me a manual for it from Synta. I guess backlash is inherent in any system with moving parts and the general idea would be to minimise it to the point where it no longer matters. Mine seems to have an awful lot in the azimuth gears. Are you using it purely for visual or are you doing imaging with it?

[Stu]

6 hours ago, Ratlet said:

My accuview turned up.  This thing is solid!  I'd post pictures but I'm working nights and the posty woke me up when he rang the bell.  In a fit of supreme lazyness I'm going to link Stu's pictures since I'm burst.

Came with a rather nice (cotton?) bag.  

They are great! The more I use mine, the more I like it. Sorry Celestron, but it is way better than the NeXYZ, you need to up your game now!

[PeterStudz]

2 minutes ago, Stu said:

They are great! The more I use mine, the more I like it. Sorry Celestron, but it is way better than the NeXYZ, you need to up your game now!

I’ve been looking at this, although I do just fine with my rather basic adapter it might offer an improvement. And I never got on with the NeXYZ!

[John]

35 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

I've spoken with the supplier who has told me the backlash can be adjusted out and is going to get me a manual for it from Synta. I guess backlash is inherent in any system with moving parts and the general idea would be to minimise it to the point where it no longer matters. Mine seems to have an awful lot in the azimuth gears. Are you using it purely for visual or are you doing imaging with it?

I have had a Skytee II for quite a few years now. I have managed to adjust most of the backlash out of the axis but there is still a little and it tends to gradually grow again and therefore needs a tweak periodically to keep on top of it. 

Despite this and the slightly rough finish to the mount in places, it does a good job and handles my 100 and 120mm refractors well.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by John

[Ratlet]

24 minutes ago, Stu said:

They are great! The more I use mine, the more I like it. Sorry Celestron, but it is way better than the NeXYZ, you need to up your game now!

Seems very well made and I suspect you can get a decent amount of torque on it.

Awake now here's a picture of the bag.

[jock1958]

4 hours ago, Mandy D said:

I've spoken with the supplier who has told me the backlash can be adjusted out and is going to get me a manual for it from Synta. I guess backlash is inherent in any system with moving parts and the general idea would be to minimise it to the point where it no longer matters. Mine seems to have an awful lot in the azimuth gears. Are you using it purely for visual or are you doing imaging with it?

I’m visual only, adjusting the worm gear housing is straightforward  requiring basic tools ie Allen keys and a bit of trial and error, I’m sure there’s a few threads on here which will point you in the right direction.