catman161 Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Looks good Felix - be nice to see a pic when the pier is all set up. Novel alternative to digging a concrete hole. [emoji4] Thanks Kim. It was the obvious way to go for me really as the previous mounting, a skywatcher pillar was also on the concrete base as Katie was not keen on me digging a huge hole under the decking in case we ever moved house. So I looked into the piertech website and saw that they offer a caddy system for the piertech pier at a cost of $650! So I got on to graham and as ever he came up with a solution for less than 10% of the cost of the offering from piertech Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 You are more than welcome Felix. The rest is up to you now so get busy and start posting images of the planets M. and catman161 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 I did order one of these fancy dust blanks. +Bino-viewer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post catman161 Posted December 10, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted December 10, 2015 You are more than welcome Felix. The rest is up to you now so get busy and start posting images of the planets I cannot wait for the chance Graham As I said in PM next week is the week I have earmarked for installation and the structural alterations to the roll off obsy. Just put it all together in garage (tipping it down here at present!) as I couldn't wait I'll post some pics of the alterations as I go and show the finished article when it's all in and ready to go. In the meantime here it is, all your handiwork made this possible Graham, big thanks once again Daz Type-R, +Graham, +Bino-viewer and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 (edited) Moonlite CR2 Newtonian focuser. 60mm drawtube version in sexy red finish. One calender month from ordering from FLO, to receiving it yesterday. Not a stock item, so it had to be ordered in from the US, and go through customs etc. I must say its a very nicely engineered bit of kit. Beautiful even. Its the sort of thing i could just look at. But then, i'm an astronomy geek (to quote my wife) I think for the money (a little over £200) they are actually very good value. I don't think its engineered to the same level as the focuser on my refractor, but it's still very good. I've tested it on my big 2" eyepiece : the 1kg 31mm Tv Nagler. No concerns at all, it handled the weight easily without flinching. Fitting it on the tube proved difficult however. Not the focuser, but the installation adapter. More than a few swear words along the way. Wretched US Imperial hex bolts I ended up drilling a slightly larger screw hole in the tube on one of the 4 fitting holes, so all 4 bolts lined up. And i slightly damaged the thread in one of the holes in the adapter block, as well as rounding one of the hex holes. BUT......after perseverance, all is now well. The fitting block is now on straight, and the focuser is fitted. It looks good. I'm just using the 1 inch spacer for now. I have the half inch spacer in reserve if required. Lots of 'out focus' with this system. Just a few more jobs on the tube left to do to do, and the scope will be ready. Take a look..... My old desiccant plug matches the new focuser as well ! Edited December 10, 2015 by Bino-viewer catman161, M. and Brantuk 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 4 hours ago, catman161 said: I cannot wait for the chance Graham As I said in PM next week is the week I have earmarked for installation and the structural alterations to the roll off obsy. Just put it all together in garage (tipping it down here at present!) as I couldn't wait I'll post some pics of the alterations as I go and show the finished article when it's all in and ready to go. In the meantime here it is, all your handiwork made this possible Graham, big thanks once again looking good there Felix . catman161 and red dwalf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 (edited) Did Santa forget to drop by this year, people......? I'll start with this....... Cheshire collimating eyepiece. (Premium model, from FLO) Edited December 30, 2015 by Bino-viewer Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 16 minutes ago, Bino-viewer said: Did Santa forget to drop by this year, people......? I'll start with this....... Cheshire collimating eyepiece. (Premium model, from FLO) That newt is going to be collimated till you're resolving exoplanets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 That would be good Pete. I want to learn how to collimate each and every way. At F6.3 it should be straightforward, easy even. If i ever get a faster scope.....say F4, i'll have the necessarys...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 (edited) Astrozap wrap around dew shied. 10 SCT fit, which is a bit on the big side.... From FLO Edited December 30, 2015 by Bino-viewer BAZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Streetbob Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Blazewear Silver socks. Thanks for the recommendation Pete. catman161 and Tweedledee 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Another thumbs up from me for Blazewear products, and thanks again to Pete from me too for recommending them. In my Xmas stocking this were these : Blazewear X5 heated insoles. https://www.blazewear.com/heated-socks-and-insoles/x5-heat-soles.html The first time i've used them was last Friday night, an observing session at Belper dark site. Here's a mini review...... Easy to set-up.. They can be charged simultaneously using the twin lead supplied. Charging takes 3 or 4 hours. I opted for the large size (i'm a UK 11) They were a little big, but can be cut to fit. They can be activated by remote key fob (supplied) This has to be synchronised, but again, easy to do despite the iffy instructions. So.....out in the field. On arrival at Belper i swapped the regular insoles out of my boots, for the Blazewear ones. They are a bit thicker than normal, so i had to loosen my laces a touch. Not uncomfortable though, and after 5 mins i had forgotten i was wearing them. After nearly half an hour in the field, with my feel starting to feel the cold, i picked up the remote and pressed button 1, which is the Highest heat setting. This has a quoted 4 hour battery life time. Sure enough i soon felt the insoles slowly warning up. The heating element is in the central and toe section of the insole. There is nothing as such, in the heel. This is where the batteries are. After 20 mins or so, my feet were no longer cold. They did not feel hot as such, but they reached a temperature where they were no longer an issue, and stayed like it. I forgot about my feet and carried on enjoying my observing. And when one of my observing buddies mentioned that he was that cold, (after about 3 hours) that he could no longer feel his feet, i knew then that i had made a great purchase. With me, its always my feet that get me first, followed by my hands. The batteys are quoted as lasting 4 hours on the 'high' setting, and i felt my feet starting to get cold again after about 3h 30m but this depends on other factors too such as how cold it is on the ground and how well insulated your boots / shoes are. As the Americans would say YMMV. (your mileage may vary) Still, i feel 3 - 4 hours with warm feet gives me a big advantage when out in the field. I'm also thinking about a pair of their 'silver socks' that Doug has purchased above, to go with them. All in all though, i had highly recommend these X5 insoles. Thanks for reading ps not sure why the above is all underscored ? Maybe a bug somewhere ? Edited January 17, 2016 by Doc +Streetbob, Tweedledee and Smithysteve 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Mods i'm unsure why the above post is all underscored ? It gives a link directly to my Flickr page. Can you remove the underscoring, or , if not , remove the entire post. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Removed it Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Nice review Rob 3 hrs 30 mins sounds great since I bet it was about zero or minus degrees up there at Belper. Great idea with the radio controller - no wires. Since the batteries are built into the insoles you could always buy a second pair of insoles or make do with a lower setting to make the heat last longer for an all nighter. I got myself a second, double capacity rechargeable battery for my Blazewear heated jacket. If I were up for it, I could survive for quite a long while in subzero temperatures. Or buy some electric trousers as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 2 hours ago, Doc said: Removed it Rob. Thankyou Mick. Not sure if i'm doing something wrong with Flickr ? Had the same happen once before. I think with me, once the temperature drops down to zero and below, i'm only good for 3 or 4 hours anyway. I've had sessions before up at DDAS Brailsford, where i've got home after an evenings observing, got to bed, and was actually still shivering.... How folks observe in places like Finland where it drops down to -20 C i don't know. I would like some heated gloves too, but really need the finger tips open. I faff about too much with eyepieces etc, and can't do it with covered fingers. I've looked at astro gloves etc but untill someone invents some heated fingerless gloves, i'll stick with what i've got. Problem is i think with the hands, most of the heat is lost through your fingertips, so they'd be a big drain on batteries etc. Tricky one....holding a hot cup of tea helps for a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Regarding heated/fingerless gloves Rob. I suggested the above to Blazewear and had some email correspondence with them about it. They looked into it and said they couldn't envisage that there would be sufficient sales to make it worth their while producing and trying to market them. I have tried various gloves and feel that until someone makes a suitable heated version I have a pretty good solution as follows... My Astrogloves are nice but just not warm enough when it gets really cold, and I don't like the fact that the two smallest fingers remain covered... I use these woollen fingerless mitts. You fold the mitt over the fingertips when you've finished fiddling with eyepieces etc. The mitt Velcro's to the back of the hand. They keep my fingers really warm... If it really gets subzero, I wear these long sleeved fingerless glove liners underneath as well... I don't like being cold Edited January 17, 2016 by Tweedledee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Thankyou Pete. I've tried the Astrogloves too, but returned them. Like you, i felt they were simply not well insulated enough. For the last 2 years i've been using these Lowe Alpine convertable mits. A mitten covers the 4 fingers, with a single thumb cover also which fold back with a velcro attachment. They have been good, but aren't as warm as i'd like, and after 3 hours my hands are suffering. i'm now thinking about putting a hand warmer in each glove and seeing if i can work with them. I already have one of these Celestrons and will give it a try. But its one more thing i have to charge up... http://www.firstlightoptics.com/batteries-powerpacks/celestron-firecel-red.html Edited January 17, 2016 by Bino-viewer Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Good idea Rob I'd not seen the Lowe Alpine ones but they do look good with the removable thumb tip. The other thing is that if you can keep your core body temperature up using heated jackets if necessary, then the warmth should filter down via circulation through the bloodstream and should help keep the fingers and other extremities warmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 TV 31mm Type 5 Nagler +Bino-viewer, Smithysteve and Daz Type-R 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 54 minutes ago, Brantuk said: TV 31mm Type 5 Nagler Nice one Kim. Simply the best eyepiece ever. Brantuk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Waited a long time for a decent s/h one to come up Mick - it'll be nice in the LB Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 That is a lovely eyepiece Kim. I had one of the first in about 2000 and it really opened up the 10" LX200 I had at the time. You'll get nearly 1.5 degrees of sky with the 16", framing big stuff like the Pleiades etc. Bet you can't wait to try that out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Thanks Pete - yeah I'm absolutely itching to get it out with the LB and get looking at some big clusters and nebs - I'm like a kid with a new toy lol (Gotta wait for it to arrive for a few days though ugh!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Nice one Kim I refer to mine simply as the 'grenade' or 'fatman' Its a great eyepiece no doubt. Certainly a life keeper. Had some lovely views with it on Friday night with the 10" Dob (F6.3) I personally much prefer the 24 Panoptics with the Mk V though. Thats my favourite low power option. The N31 asks big questions of your focuser ; the Skywatcher on my scope simply couldn't handle the 1kg weight. The main problem being the amount of out-focus required. With the focuser almost fully racked out (i needed an extension on the barrel) there was noticable sag in the drawtube. A Moonlite has eliminated all my focusing problems now. I'm looking forward to using mine a lot more now i'm in the EMS Dobmob. I didn't use it a lot in the refractor really. I'm sure you'll love the N31 though. Let us know how you get on with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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