Mars - 06-11-22

[Simon128D]

I got a bit nostalgic yesterday for my first true love, so I got her down from the loft and thought I would like to spend some time together again. 

My first ever scope and we'll never part. 

 

EDIT just noticed I typoed the wrong date. Its the 15-11-22

I only have a 2x Barlow so I wasn't able to get the desired FL but for the awful condtions we had I am happy enought with the result. 

 

Edited November 17, 2022 by Simon128D

[neil phillips]

12 minutes ago, Simon128D said:

I got a bit nostalgic yesterday for my first true love, so I got her down from the loft and thought I would like to spend some time together again. 

My first ever scope and we'll never part. 

I only have a 2x Barlow so I wasn't able to get the desired FL but for the awful condtions we had I am happy enought with the result. 

 

Nice capture great old scopes. I have a modified Europa 245mm F 6.3 version. With window latches on the rings ( original parts lol)   If you don't mind me asking  what rings are those ?

[Simon128D]

17 minutes ago, neil phillips said:

Nice capture great old scopes. I have a modified Europa 245mm F 6.3 version. With window latches on the rings ( original parts lol)   If you don't mind me asking  what rings are those ?

Thanks, great old scope indeed, still gives incredible views at the eyepice. Mines the F4.7 version. I had to get rid of the original tube rings as they were straching the heck out of the tube. I got those from FLO a long time ago, I got the EQ6 Pro just as they came out and got the rings as well, some generic brand. They didn't fit, they were too big so I used pipe foam insulation and cut it to shaped and stuck on with hot glue. It did the job and has held up all these years. 
I got the scope in November 2001 

I  had to change the spider as the cast single vane spider that it came with was horrific and impossibel to keep good collimation Also the vane being so thick the defraction spikes were like swords coming out of stars. I love my defraction spikes but that was too much, moving to a four vane was much nicer. 

The original focuser was made of pound store quality plastic and the draw tube just wobbled everwhere. 
I hate the focuser that I have in it now. Its a rubbish Orion - USA - branded crayford style. It works well enoug bu if you have to extend the extention tube then your collimation is totally ruined and you have to do it again. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by Simon128D

[Elp]

That's a great capture

[Simon128D]

4 minutes ago, Elp said:

That's a great capture

Thank you very much, hoping to do better tonight. 

[neil phillips]

6 hours ago, Simon128D said:

Thanks, great old scope indeed, still gives incredible views at the eyepice. Mines the F4.7 version. I had to get rid of the original tube rings as they were straching the heck out of the tube. I got those from FLO a long time ago, I got the EQ6 Pro just as they came out and got the rings as well, some generic brand. They didn't fit, they were too big so I used pipe foam insulation and cut it to shaped and stuck on with hot glue. It did the job and has held up all these years. 
I got the scope in November 2001 

I  had to change the spider as the cast single vane spider that it came with was horrific and impossibel to keep good collimation Also the vane being so thick the defraction spikes were like swords coming out of stars. I love my defraction spikes but that was too much, moving to a four vane was much nicer. 

The original focuser was made of pound store quality plastic and the draw tube just wobbled everwhere. 
I hate the focuser that I have in it now. Its a rubbish Orion - USA - branded crayford style. It works well enoug bu if you have to extend the extention tube then your collimation is totally ruined and you have to do it again. 

I was lucky enough to get a 4 vane spider on mine. Still got the crude 3 point cell though. Holes were drilled in the back plate to aid ventilation. Worth trying if you haven't. I need to get some new rings. sky watcher sell some at 288mm my tube measures 275mm. Any idea what your tube measures. Your rings look like sky watcher or similar.

[geoflewis]

Excellent Mars capture and a nice looking scope

[RobertI]

Super image. 

[Simon128D]

12 hours ago, neil phillips said:

I was lucky enough to get a 4 vane spider on mine. Still got the crude 3 point cell though. Holes were drilled in the back plate to aid ventilation. Worth trying if you haven't. I need to get some new rings. sky watcher sell some at 288mm my tube measures 275mm. Any idea what your tube measures. Your rings look like sky watcher or similar.

Yeah I have the same yucky primary mirror cell but for being so basic it does hold collimation well. I've always meant to get bobs knobs for the primary and seconday but never got around to it. 

Yes you are right, the rings are Skywatcher, 288mm I think, too big but a thin layer of foam around them did the job and gives a nice fit. The extra bonus of using the foam is when you place the scope on the ring while setting up they give great grip with no sliding up or down, so easily hold with one hand while reaching over to pull the rings over. 
I can measure my tube later today but I am sure it's going to be the very same as yours. 

[neil phillips]

21 minutes ago, Simon128D said:

Yeah I have the same yucky primary mirror cell but for being so basic it does hold collimation well. I've always meant to get bobs knobs for the primary and seconday but never got around to it. 

Yes you are right, the rings are Skywatcher, 288mm I think, too big but a thin layer of foam around them did the job and gives a nice fit. The extra bonus of using the foam is when you place the scope on the ring while setting up they give great grip with no sliding up or down, so easily hold with one hand while reaching over to pull the rings over. 
I can measure my tube later today but I am sure it's going to be the very same as yours. 

Thanks for the info Simon. I would imagine the tubes are the same. though my primary measures 245mm not the 250mm advertised?  the tube is hard to measure exactly because of the lip. But i got about 275mm. So if your rings are 288mm and your tube is measuring the same. that's taking up 13mm of extra space which is quite a lot. Is your foam really around 6.5 mm thick to take up this gap? Again, if you don't mind me asking what foam it was? Apologies chatting about this on your thread. Not many people will know the answer to this. Don't really want to order the sky watcher rings if i am going to have trouble bridging what looks like to me my end to be a 13mm gap. If your measurements of the tube and rings is the same. then clearly i can do it. 

[Simon128D]

6 hours ago, neil phillips said:

Thanks for the info Simon. I would imagine the tubes are the same. though my primary measures 245mm not the 250mm advertised?  the tube is hard to measure exactly because of the lip. But i got about 275mm. So if your rings are 288mm and your tube is measuring the same. that's taking up 13mm of extra space which is quite a lot. Is your foam really around 6.5 mm thick to take up this gap? Again, if you don't mind me asking what foam it was? Apologies chatting about this on your thread. Not many people will know the answer to this. Don't really want to order the sky watcher rings if i am going to have trouble bridging what looks like to me my end to be a 13mm gap. If your measurements of the tube and rings is the same. then clearly i can do it. 

I thought I would take some pics so you can see my hack job. 

Our tube size and mirror size would appear to be the same. 

As you can see with the rings I just got foam insulation for water pipes and cut it to shape and size to suit my needs. It's not tidy looking but it was the best I could do 15 odd years ago and has held together.  If I ever need to redo this I will likely try door frame draft exclusion foam tape as the ahdeasive is decent and the foam really soft, and easier to work with. 

[neil phillips]

32 minutes ago, Simon128D said:

I thought I would take some pics so you can see my hack job. 

Our tube size and mirror size would appear to be the same. 

As you can see with the rings I just got foam insulation for water pipes and cut it to shape and size to suit my needs. It's not tidy looking but it was the best I could do 15 odd years ago and has held together.  If I ever need to redo this I will likely try door frame draft exclusion foam tape as the ahdeasive is decent and the foam really soft, and easier to work with. 

Thanks for taking the time to do those measurements Simon. That helps a lot. it appears doable my end then. The skly watcher rings are very sturdy. And a great price. So worth adapting. 

Youve been a great help.