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Look at the size of that thing......

Astro_Baby

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John

John

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Posted
And the thick tubing gauge doesn't help with the weight. Mine's on a CG5 with 2" tripod too the only thing I find is that at high magnification you can see the vibration of the tick in the stepper motors.

You could do with a handle on top...

Nice handle Haitch - I could do with one of those, you're right :)

Looks like you have upgraded the dew shield like I have as well.

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haitch

haitch

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Nice handle Haitch - I could do with one of those, you're right :)

Looks like you have upgraded the dew shield like I have as well.

The handle was originally John C's I guess the source is a commercial grade door handle (eg as found in hospitals). I've remounted it on a piece of Ali bar to save making extra holes in the cradle.

I must say it does make it easier to handle and lift up onto the top of a fully extended tripod!!!

The dewshield upgrade is a must - half a dewshield is little better than no dewshield! (It's the AE one btw)

Not wanting to go too far off topic but... How do you get on with the focuser? I'm tempted to upgrade. I've already got a Moonlite flange for it but couldn't afford the focuser to go with it so I was thinking of an attempt to adapt it for another brand. I'm just not sure if it's worth it for what is essentially a visual scope.

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John

John

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...Not wanting to go too far off topic but... How do you get on with the focuser? I'm tempted to upgrade. I've already got a Moonlite flange for it but couldn't afford the focuser to go with it so I was thinking of an attempt to adapt it for another brand....

I've been tempted by a Moonlight as well however, with some tweaking, the stock focuser is doing OK for visual. I have a particular interest in focuser collimation because I've got a Chromacor corrector in there and it's positioning on the optical axis needs to be precise for it to have maximum impact.

Depending how things go, I might still go for a Moonlight but the cost is not insubstantial of course !.

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kev

kev

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OK, ad we are showing folk the size of scopes session...

Heres the 14" Newtonian on a Superscopes Titan II mount I used to have... Pete (Drew) ... do you remember making this for me in Letchworth?

This was big and heavy - wind didnt bother it much! 2 to carry the tube, 3 folk to move the mount! (note move not carry). Dont have that scope anymore 8-(

The 4" Vixen (Super polaris mount) and solarscope 50... which is very nicely sized and portable.

Im still rebiulding an Skywatcher 8" f/6 which is also nicely sized but somewhat heavier. Still protable by the two halves, but much less so than the 4", which will probably still be the scope that goes in the car from time to time.

PS All kept securly in the house now a days, although one day I may make a small run off for the 8" - if I can get that past Julia!

post-17703-133877526559_thumb.jpg

post-17703-133877526562_thumb.jpg

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haitch

haitch

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I've been tempted by a Moonlight as well however, with some tweaking, the stock focuser is doing OK for visual. I have a particular interest in focuser collimation because I've got a Chromacor corrector in there and it's positioning on the optical axis needs to be precise for it to have maximum impact.

Depending how things go, I might still go for a Moonlight but the cost is not insubstantial of course !.

Chromacorr...lucky swine! I'd love one but they seem to be as rare as rocking horse poo and I wouldn't have a clue whether I'm under/overcorrected or not.

Are they as good as I've read?

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tuc

tuc

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Depending how things go, I might still go for a Moonlight but the cost is not insubstantial of course !. jahmanson

But it's worth it. I thought it was a ridiculous amount of money for a focuser, so I bought one that was $100 less, thinking it was probalbly just as good. But there was so much slop in the 1.25" adapter that it was really unacceptable.

So I returned it and bought the dual speed Moonlite and I love it. Everything stays nicely centred. The only complaint I have is that the screws holding the entire set-up to the tube are a little short and I have to remember to tighten them from time to time. But a trip to the hardware store would solve that I guess. :)

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haitch

haitch

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Good idea for a thread. This is what a 12" flextube dob looks like. I lost the base so I just hold it like this and look through the EP. It's OK I have steady hands. Rah!

5249508000_c1c7618089_z.jpg

Give it a good shake then to make sure it holds collimation! :)

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MorningMajor

MorningMajor

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Ok, go easy on me - but you love the TAL, and I agree it looks fabulous, but it's a 4", so surely the view through the 8" Skywatcher has got to be better - or is it a "horses for courses" thing - what do you use each one for? - Oh Lordy, there's so much to learn!

Thanks for your patience

:)

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haitch

haitch

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Quality v Quantity... well figured optics will always perform better than poor ones. Accuracy in optics is measured in fractions of the wavelength of light. It's not much use having large aperture optics if they are poorly figured and don't give well resolved images.

Focal length v Focal ratio "Faster" (high ratio of aperture to focal length) will gather more light for each degree of sky so making dimmer objects visible. Long focal length "slow" scopes produce a long pointy cone of light which is easily brought to a precise focus which is better for viewing the detail on bright objects (moon & planets)

There are a myriad of other factors to consider regards different optical designs (coma in mirrors, chromatic problems in lenses,...the list goes on). You will be learning for a long time yet! :)

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WhiteShiva

WhiteShiva

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Great thread! I think it highlights the importance of seeing the scopes in the flesh before buying. There are some great showrooms around the country and star parties can give you a wealth of information and scopes to see before you buy!

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Macavity

Macavity

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Since it shares many characteristics, but with (useful IMO) aperture increase:

The oft' ignored MAK150, next to a MAK127. :)

MakSize.jpg

Not quite as "planetary" as a MAK180? It will still require (say) an EQ5 mount,

but easier to handle one-handed, cool down etc. :)

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haitch

haitch

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luging them to dark sites.

Given a nice wet and slippy grass bank you might well be :)

I must try and get a photo of a friend's 24" dob for this thread - I thought my 14" was a good size until I set it up next to that!

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