Newbie to IceinSpace

[HeavenlyHiLites (Dave and Chris)]

Hi I am new to this site and new to astronomy!! I have a skywatcher dob goto 10". I am not sure if I am using the barlow right. I have a 10 and 25 mm lens which came with the scope, but when I attach the barlow to the 10 to view Jupiter, I am unable to focus. It is just one big blurry object.
Also I am having trouble slewing accurately with the goto. It seems quite a way of. I have put in the correct coordinates. Does anyone else out there have the same scope as me and having any difficulties with it? Any suggestions would be welcomed, Thank you Christine

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Hi Christine and welcome to IIS

Firstly are you able to focus OK with the 25 and 10mm eps without the barlow. If so it is more likely that conditions are not very good. The 10mm EP will give you 120x in your scope so the barlow is gioving you 240x, which is quite high power for a scope that size. Conditions need to be fairly good to get a clear image of a bright planet at that power.
Cannot offer any advice on the go-to as I am a purely manual operator when it comes to scopes. It may be helpful to those who are experts if you describe your setup procedure in a bit of detail.

Malcolm

[Kevnool (Kev)]

Welcome Christine to IIS .

Try not putting the barlow in all the way ( say leave it out 10 mm from where it is normally butted up to the focuser instead of pushing it in all the way).

You will find you will be able to focus then...Trust me.

My Little newt i had to do this all the time.

Cheers Kev.

[HeavenlyHiLites (Dave and Chris)]

Hi Malcolm, Thanks for your quick response and welcome. We were able to view Jupiter quite well with the 10mm and 25mm but as soon as we put the barlow on we weren't able to make it sharp, it seemed to run out of focus. When you say 'good conditions' what does that entail exactly? We live in an area without light pollution, the night was clear and still. However it was low in the sky.

Christine

[HeavenlyHiLites (Dave and Chris)]

Hi Kev, thanks for the welcome and advice! That sounds really promising! As soon as we get clear skies again, we will definitely try that lil trick of yours. I love this forum, it is so helpful.

[Suzy]

Hi Christine

Try doing what Kev said first.

I had a bit of trouble as well with my barlow a while back.
Worked fine on my 6" dob, but when I put it into my Saxon 10" dob, it rendered my 2 inch Celestron barlow useless. I was incredibly annoyed as it cost me $175. Just would not come into focus. Would not go the full way into the focusser- the stop for it was shorter than my 6" dob.
Kev, good man, came to the rescue and sent me a spare 2" barlow that he had and all is good now.

My now rendered useless barlow came in handy a while back- I lost a screw in the grass on the Barlow Kev sent me- spent half the next day running a magnet across the grass and separating blade by blade by blade of grass - lucky I have a high fence- I must have looked a sad site . But, no luck so I took the screw off the Celestron barlow . Needless to say, I shake like a leaf whenever I change my eyepieces now.
A carpet square under the dob has it's place here and not just to keep your feet comfy and dry. Bunnings are actually selling the perfect sized squares of carpet for under $30 at the moment.

I hope you sort out your issues soon, Christine.

[GrahamL]

welcome

good to see another north coaster dropping in

[erick (Eric)]

Gidday Dave and Chris

[HeavenlyHiLites (Dave and Chris)]

I'm loving this site! You guys are all so kind to take time out to welcome a newbie and to give a complete amateur some help... much appreciated

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Hi and Dave & Chris, plenty of good help round here. Just watch out they don't infect you with the dreaded 'Aperture Fever' It is incurable. The only worse one is the 'Photography Bug' which is even more expensive as I have found out.

> Suzy, any idea what size your missing screw is ? Thread and length etc. I have heaps from my computer\copier\printer dissassemblies which seem to be in the right range.
Post a pic with a ruler next to the one you are currently using and I'll see what I have in my extensive range of bits. If its the one that locks the EP in I'll bet I have something with knurled end and all. Happy to mail one across.

Cheers
Brent

[Octane (Humayun)]

Welcome aboard.

The same problem is also encountered by us astrophotographers who can sometimes run out of focus travel. The solution to the problem is extension tubes, or, as has already been mentioned -- not putting the barlow all the way in.

Good luck!

H

[HeavenlyHiLites (Dave and Chris)]

Thank you for the tips! can't wait to try out all the different tricks The weather here hasn't been much chop lately... heres hoping

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by ZeroID

Hi and Dave & Chris, plenty of good help round here. Just watch out they don't infect you with the dreaded 'Aperture Fever' It is incurable. The only worse one is the 'Photography Bug' which is even more expensive as I have found out.

> Suzy, any idea what size your missing screw is ? Thread and length etc. I have heaps from my computer\copier\printer dissassemblies which seem to be in the right range.
Post a pic with a ruler next to the one you are currently using and I'll see what I have in my extensive range of bits. If its the one that locks the EP in I'll bet I have something with knurled end and all. Happy to mail one across.

Cheers
Brent

Brent,
You're a good man!!!!!
Thank you so much for your very kind offer to help me out. I have sent you a pm.

[RAJAH235]

Suzy...wrote...
"I lost a screw in the grass on the Barlow.........."

Hi Suzy,
To inhibit any future loss of any of those tiny items, may I suggest a very easy solution?

Try unscrewing them a little bit (one at a time), & if you can find some clear
nail varnish....hahaha,
apply a very small amount to the thread & re-tighten.

Guaranteed not to lose another small screw.


It's cheap as well.

Regs, L..

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by RAJAH235

Hi Suzy,
To inhibit any future loss of any of those tiny items, may I suggest a very easy solution?

Try unscrewing them a little bit (one at a time),

I do that now-a-days amongst a stream of sweat, shakes and dizziness.
little undo here, little undo there, little more here, little more there and on..and on..and on..

Thanks for the tips, Regs, appreciate it.

[RAJAH235]

No probs, Suzy.
Regards, Laurie.