Hi to everyone,
I am a retired engineer looking to satisfy my lingering technical urges and boy have I found a way to do it.
After much research, most which advised against, it in early June l purchased a second hand (6m old) HEQ5 Pro mount together with Saxon 200/1000 newt. The scope came with a single 2" x 26mm "no name" ?Saxon eyepiece, xagl USB interface cable, 240v power supply unit and a pro star mono guidecam. All of the electrical gear except the power supply was unopened and in its original wrapping. For what I paid it was well worth ignoring the advice!
I have since purchased a Saxon Cheshire collimator and an extension pier for the HEQ5 - see why below.
I am anxiously awaiting delivery of a 1.25" x 11mm Explore Scientific 82 degree eyepiece, which should mean that the current rain will persist for at least another fortnight.
THE PLAN
Learn how to use the gear and add to it as required - slowly!
Learn the sky
Astro image via CCD - eventually!
THE STORY SO FAR
Lots of time spent learning how to polar align using a compass as the start point as I have no access to Octans due to trees. It also required that I purchase the extension pier for the mount as living at latitude S 16 degrees 45 minutes means the counterweight fouls the front leg of the tripod without it. I wasn't keen to saw off the lug and replace it by drilling and tapping for a screw 180 degrees opposite as an alternative at this stage in my astronomical experience.
I have succeeded with a single star alignment
I've seen Venus and 4 moons as well as Saturn!
It has rained and been cloudy lots in FNQ! Which means:
I have downloaded and set up EQMOD and CDC
I have attempted to check the collimation, which brings me to the first problem I have not managed to research my way out of, being:
The scope has a 2" focusser, which means the combined Cheshire and sight tube is loaded in the scope via a 2" to 1.25" adaptor ring. When I look down the sight tube it's restricted diameter versus its extension means that the outer limit of my view (being the sight tube diameter) is less than the diameter of the primary mirror, meaning that I cannot see its retaining clips or the circumference of the mirror. This means I cannot check for concentrity of all of the circles relating to the primary and secondary mirrors and sight tube alignment etc.
if I remove the collimation tool and look directly into the focusser the primary and it's clips are plainly in view. I have been using John Reed's write up to guide me thus far, the link to Astrobaby is mentioned in many locations but all result in "page not found" so I cannot access that for assistance.
Any help would be much appreciated.