New kit advice

[Louis D]

Rigel Aline for a quick primary collimation check each night and as a focuser plug with ventilation hole during storage.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

16 hours ago, Timebandit said:

 

 

Hello

If you have not already got a copy then " Turn left at Orion" a great book to get you going on observing

But best of all and free, apart from petrol. Get yourself to a nice true dark site location. Those faint fuzzies will pop and open up the Sky's to another level compared to light polluted Sky's

Good luck

 

 

Hi Timebandit,

Thats great advice. I have picked up Turn Left at Orion and it is full of useful information.

I am hoping to find my way out to a dark site in the near future to really appreciate the night sky. The trouble is I wont want to observe from my garden after that 🙂

 

Baz

 

[Barry-W-Fenner]

16 hours ago, John said:

I see where you are coming from but the Astrozap dew shields are flexible (I use them on my refractors). Paint is likely to crack and flake off and could even fall onto the optics. I would stick with it the colour it is in all honesty.

Personally I think Baz's scope is ready to roll. I'd be getting out under the stars as often as possible with it

 

I think I am with John on this one and leave it black, I really like the contrast in colour's between back and white.  I now need to take Johns advice and get under the stars as much as possible 🙂 

[fiestazetecmk2]

On 15/01/2020 at 12:58, Barry-W-Fenner said:

Hi all,

My Astrocap Dew Shield arrived today which I mainly wanted to block out stray light from security lights on and off. I am very pleased with it and it should shield the scope nicely. I ordered the "7" & 8" mak / SCT / CPC"  model and it fits very nicely around the 200p

Current modification's to the scope are as follow:-

Fully flocked

Right angle finderscope

rigel quick finder

secondary mirror collimating knobs.

Ikea white sofa legs which has raised the scope around an additional 2 - 3" in height.

 

Modifications I would like to make in the near future as follow:-

Moonlite focuser  (The most painful cost 🙂 )

primary mirror collimating knobs

Wixey for altitude

18mm BST Eye piece to complete my initial set - Before one day moving up to more refined eye pieces...

Solar film for the lens cover.

 

I would be interested to hear any feedback regarding the items i would like to purchase next from members with experience with them. Also any new suggestions to make the observing experience more enjoyable would be appreciated.

 

Pic of current set up attached.

 

Regards

 

Baz

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to raise it up more.this was taken before I removed auto- focuser.

It's a water butt base.

Edited January 16, 2020 by fiestazetecmk2
More details

[ollypenrice]

Focusers. On a Dob they remain horizontal so they really don't have much work to do. You also adjust them by hand on a fairly regular basis when you swap observers or swap eyepieces, and making a small adjustment isn't an issue. (All of this is very different for imagers, for whom focusers are a big deal.) The Moonlite is a very nice focuser for Dob users, though it has a lot wrong with it for imaging on an equatorial mount where it can be in a vertical position trying to hold up a heavy imaging camera. But is it worth spending Moonlite money on a focuser for a Dob? I spent 15 years with a 20 inch F4 and never felt that it was. I just used a basic chinese affair to move the eyepiece in and out. My advice would be, 'Spend the money on the glass.' The mechanical side has to be tip top for imaging but it's the glass you look through when observing.

Olly

[Barry-W-Fenner]

13 hours ago, fiestazetecmk2 said:

If you want to raise it up more.this was taken before I removed auto- focuser.

It's a water butt base.

I have seen a few Dobs with water butt bases. They look really good and the size looks perfect to fit under the dob base. I am a "huge" 5ft 11 in height 🙂with a base this tall would the focuser be raised to high for my eyeline?

Regards

Baz

[Barry-W-Fenner]

12 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Focusers. On a Dob they remain horizontal so they really don't have much work to do. You also adjust them by hand on a fairly regular basis when you swap observers or swap eyepieces, and making a small adjustment isn't an issue. (All of this is very different for imagers, for whom focusers are a big deal.) The Moonlite is a very nice focuser for Dob users, though it has a lot wrong with it for imaging on an equatorial mount where it can be in a vertical position trying to hold up a heavy imaging camera. But is it worth spending Moonlite money on a focuser for a Dob? I spent 15 years with a 20 inch F4 and never felt that it was. I just used a basic chinese affair to move the eyepiece in and out. My advice would be, 'Spend the money on the glass.' The mechanical side has to be tip top for imaging but it's the glass you look through when observing.

Olly

Hi Olly,

That is sound advice thank you I will take it on board.  I was considering a Moonlite for very fine adjustment and you can lock the focuser in place while changing eye piece. This is very handy as I seem to move my standard one out of line very easily. The slightest pressure on the focus tube and it lowers, Very frustrating. I dont do imaging so would only use it for visual. Maybe I could find another focuser which would address my problems cheaper and use the balance to fund more refined eye pieces 🙂

Regards

Barry

[Barry-W-Fenner]

On 15/01/2020 at 23:58, Alan64 said:

Hmm...

I have a black Farpoint dew-shield for my white Maksutov...

...meh.

What about chartreuse, and fuchsia...

Then, there's burnt-orange and avocado...

Mustn't forget burnt-orange and avocado.

That is a funky colour collection right there Alan 🙂  Personally I like the 1st one, Cant beat the black and white combo in my opinion 🙂

That is also a really smart looking Maksutov

Baz

[DaveL59]

4 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

Hi Olly,

That is sound advice thank you I will take it on board.  I was considering a Moonlite for very fine adjustment and you can lock the focuser in place while changing eye piece. This is very handy as I seem to move my standard one out of line very easily. The slightest pressure on the focus tube and it lowers, Very frustrating. I dont do imaging so would only use it for visual. Maybe I could find another focuser which would address my problems cheaper and use the balance to fund more refined eye pieces 🙂

Regards

Barry

can you not adjust the tension on the R&P gearing so it doesn't move as freely? Usually a couple screws that press a U plate against a spring plate, might just need a slight nipping up to tune the focuser to your requirements.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

43 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

can you not adjust the tension on the R&P gearing so it doesn't move as freely? Usually a couple screws that press a U plate against a spring plate, might just need a slight nipping up to tune the focuser to your requirements.

I will have to check this out, I didn't realize that you can make these adjustments.

Thank you

Baz

[banjaxed]

There is a locking screw on the under side of the focuser, I discovered this when I accidentally tightened it, mistaking it for the eyepiece retaining screw. Took me a while to figure out why the focuser wasn’t working  🙄

Edited January 17, 2020 by banjaxed

[Louis D]

6 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

The slightest pressure on the focus tube and it lowers, Very frustrating. I dont do imaging so would only use it for visual.

 

1 hour ago, banjaxed said:

There is a locking screw on the under side of the focuser, I discovered this when I accidentally tightened it, mistaking it for the eyepiece retaining screw. Took me a while to figure out why the focuser wasn’t working  🙄

Also, in the center position of the R&P cover plate, there appears to be a hole adjacent to the locking thumb screw pointed out by @banjaxed.  This hole most likely has a grub/set screw that adjusts the focuser tension.  Once you find the right hex key, you can loosen and tighten it to your particular preference and save using the locking screw for its intended purpose to lock down the focuser completely.  To be honest, though, I set the tension on my focusers kind of at a middling setting and then slightly tighten the locking screw if I put a really heavy eyepiece in the focuser that exceeds the tension I set.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

On 15/01/2020 at 14:44, Barry-W-Fenner said:

Cool, I will order the 25mm then for £3.75! Shame they are from Hong Kong and i will have to wait 2-3 weeks. I dont like waiting 🙂🙂

They have arrived. Will fit them shortly!

[banjaxed]

37 minutes ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

They have arrived. Will fit them shortly!

Don’t forget that you may have to shorten them by a few mm.

[Barry-W-Fenner]

1 hour ago, banjaxed said:

Don’t forget that you may have to shorten them by a few mm.

I fitted them and done a collimation, they are a tad long but do the job really well. I don't think I will bother to shorten them. Thanks for your advice with these.  They are ace!

Baz

[banjaxed]

Glad I could help.