[julianh72 (Julian)]

(Well, two new users, really!)

My father recently satisfied a life-long ambition to purchase a decent scope, and got himself a Meade 8" LX90 ACF - it's a lovely instrument. While he can just about use a computer, he isn't really all that internet-forum-savvy - and that's where I come in. I get the best of both worlds - access to a really nice telescope, without the not-inconsiderable expense of ownership!

I've been helping him get it set up (with assistance from a couple of IIS forum members - thanks guys!), and we got "First Light" for an hour or so last night - fabulous!

By way of paying for my access, I'm doing a few hardware hacks and upgrades to hopefully make his usage more convenient and enjoyable. He's getting quite frail, and it's a big piece of hardware for him to manhandle on his own, so I've set it up on a tripod dolly with rubber castors. (Don't laugh, it works remarkably well!) The attached photo show the scope on the dolly during our "First Light" experience from last night.

I've also got him a second hand Celestron NexImage planetary camera which we will play with in the next few weeks, as well as an eyepiece-mount for his camera, and some solar film which I will use to make a solar filter.

I'm not sure who's going to have the most fun - him or me!