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Old 01-12-2014, 12:00 AM
Missedapproach (Ben)
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My basic setup

Hi everyone.
I thought I would show everyone my basic setup. I set it up like this because I was getting lazy and found that using a eq mount with my reflector wasn't suitable for quick viewing sessions. I recently acquired the saxon refractor for a great price ( even though I was told by a few people they are rubbish) and it came with a az3 mount so I thought why not piggyback them. I have modified a webcam so I will probably fit that to one of the scopes soon and record my sessions.

Not the best of the best equipment but I am loving what I am seeing so far.

The setup is a Starwatcher 114 reflector with a piggybacked saxon 705 refractor.
I would like to hear your thoughts
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  #2  
Old 01-12-2014, 12:12 AM
raymo
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Firstly, if that setup suits you, that's fine. Secondly, Saxon badged
scopes are as good as most other budget level mass produced scopes.
If you are going to do some video, your EQ mount would be much more suitable, as you could do basic tracking whilst videoing.
happy viewing
raymo
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Old 01-12-2014, 12:16 AM
Missedapproach (Ben)
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Thanks Raymo,
The only concern I had would be if my eq2 mount could take the weight of a second scope more so could the motor cope with the extra load.
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Old 01-12-2014, 04:55 AM
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ZeroID (Brent)
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As Raymo says, if that works for you then that is the best setup.

An EQ2 is pretty lightweight but with a bit rebalancing with extra counter weight and some stabilisation of the tripod ( more weight underneath works ) it gives you another option to try for lunar and planetary or even solar with the correct filters.

I had a 114 f8 with a DSLR on top and a small refractor alongside for a while all up on a home motorsied EQ2 and got a my first decent pix.

Have fun.
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Old 01-12-2014, 02:18 PM
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MattT
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Hi Ben,
Who says the 70mm f7 Refractors are rubbish??? Not me, no sir!
Have had one as a finder scope for a few years now, drop in a 24mm 68º eyepiece such as the ES 24 and you get 3.4º TFOV…thats a lot of sky.
I'm presently making a couple of flanges for mine so I can put a 2" Helical focuser on it and use big 2" eyepieces, which I hope will give a reasonable 5º TFOV.
Enjoy your scopes anyway you can!
Matt
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Old 01-12-2014, 07:17 PM
brian nordstrom (As avatar)
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Hear , hear Matt , don't listen to that rubbish Ben , 70mm is plenty .
I have a 60mm scope and it is by far my most used , so small and light it is up and being used in the time it takes to walk out side , and it shows the moon as only a refractor can .

Get out and use what you have , and yes they are a great starter set , and latter on sell them on to another newby and get another scope that suit's what you like viewing , ( me , I am a Luna , planetary kind of guy hence my refractors and C9.25 CAT ) ).

Brian.
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Old 01-12-2014, 10:17 PM
Missedapproach (Ben)
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Well tonight I put the 70mm refractor back on the az mount it came with(I had never used it on its own) and took it out for a look and all I can say is wow. For a small scope I was surprised with how good the image was.

Not bad for a buy of ebay for $61
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Old 02-12-2014, 12:57 PM
Renato1 (Renato)
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I'm surprised the setup works for you. I find my AZ3 fine for small refractors alone, but it couldn't cope with a 5" Mak which kept overcoming the friction and dipping forward. maybe you have stronger fingers than me.

Regardless, a 114mm reflector when collimated properly gives excellent views of the bigger DSOs.

It will be interesting to see which one of the two you ultimately prefer.
Regards,
Renato
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Old 02-12-2014, 10:33 PM
Missedapproach (Ben)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Renato1 View Post
I'm surprised the setup works for you. I find my AZ3 fine for small refractors alone, but it couldn't cope with a 5" Mak which kept overcoming the friction and dipping forward. maybe you have stronger fingers than me.

Regardless, a 114mm reflector when collimated properly gives excellent views of the bigger DSOs.

It will be interesting to see which one of the two you ultimately prefer.
Regards,
Renato
I found that with my mount aswell but a extra qtr turn on the friction nut and it's perfect. I moved the reflector forward a little aswell
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Old 03-12-2014, 10:51 AM
Renato1 (Renato)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Missedapproach View Post
I found that with my mount aswell but a extra qtr turn on the friction nut and it's perfect. I moved the reflector forward a little aswell
I just remembered that with my AZ3 I found I could with do it up tight enough with my 80mm refractor and all was well. But with my bigger 100mm refractor, when I did it up tight enough all was well till I had to reposition it - then I sometimes needed a spanner to undo the nut.

Which is why I suspect you have stronger fingers than me.
Cheers,
Renato
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Old 15-01-2015, 11:32 PM
Missedapproach (Ben)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Renato1 View Post

It will be interesting to see which one of the two you ultimately prefer.
Regards,
Renato
Well it's been a few weeks and wow doesn't this hobby take you in. I have to say so far I'm definitely leaning towards the refractor over my reflector. Two main reasons is ease of set up and second is I was lucky enough to be bought a solar filter for my birthday (orion glass type) so I'm sold. Also for Xmas I was bought a set of Orion eyepieces and filters so I can't seem to put it down.

I think I will use the reflector more during winter when I'm not racing the cloud cover and have more time to set up.
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Old 21-01-2015, 06:21 AM
Julian19_71
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Awesome setup!
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Old 21-01-2015, 09:29 AM
Missedapproach (Ben)
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I'm having a ball. (When the rain goes away)
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Old 22-01-2015, 05:07 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Renato1 View Post
I just remembered that with my AZ3 I found I could with do it up tight enough with my 80mm refractor and all was well. But with my bigger 100mm refractor, when I did it up tight enough all was well till I had to reposition it - then I sometimes needed a spanner to undo the nut.

Which is why I suspect you have stronger fingers than me.
Cheers,
Renato
Rig up a bit of extra weight on the counter balance shaft to reduce the friction load and make it easier to control. I've used a spare 5 kg gym weight on my EQ6 but possibly a 1 or 2 kg on the shaft will be sufficient. I've also cast small concrete weights in plastic containers with hose lengths inside for the shaft

The 114 f8 reflector is actually quite a lightweight scope. Heaviest component is the mirror so balance it lengthwise by shifting it a bit forward in the clamps. The 5" Mak mentioned earlier is actually heavier.

Hang a 4-5 kg weight under the tripod from the centre to give it some mass and stabilty. I used a wire fishing trace with a clip and a small workshop anvil but a 2 litre milk bottle full of water or sand works as well.

The refractor is giving you better views due to not having a central obstruction like the Newts secondary mirror.Also sounds like you got one of the better ones from the factory. They can be a bit inconsistent in quality although generally pretty good these days.

Keep going the addiction gets worse.
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Old 28-01-2015, 09:52 PM
Sylvain (Jon)
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Good on you mate!
The best scope is the one you actually use
I'm a big fan of light setups, grab n go sorta thing.
Feel like looking up? Just grab, your scope, your mount and you're good to go. I've been down the big setup route and everything is just so heavy, so large, need to plug in cables and connect this and that, drag along the car battery for power, initialise the system... just knowing you have that setup ahead of you before observing can sometime be a bit off-putting I have found. With what you have, you are spending time looking at the sky and that's the best policy in my book.
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Old 29-01-2015, 10:42 PM
Missedapproach (Ben)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sylvain View Post
just knowing you have that setup ahead of you before observing can sometime be a bit off-putting
I couldn't agree more
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Old 30-01-2015, 12:22 AM
rrussell1962
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Ben, this may well be a stupid point to make but please tell me the solar filter you got for your birthday is not the type that screws into the eyepiece barrel.
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Old 31-01-2015, 10:37 AM
Sylvain (Jon)
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Yes, very important point: only use quality full frontal filters - that are installed at the front of your scopes, NOT on the eyepieces.
Always check their integrity before observing.
Remember any defect in the filter will result in instant and permanent blindness on the eye you are observing with.
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Old 31-01-2015, 09:56 PM
Missedapproach (Ben)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rrussell1962 View Post
Ben, this may well be a stupid point to make but please tell me the solar filter you got for your birthday is not the type that screws into the eyepiece barrel.
Appreciate the question, it's a full frontal orion glass filter
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Old 01-02-2015, 06:50 AM
rrussell1962
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Thanks for the reply Ben. I didn't mean to insult your intelligence, but would have kicked myself if something awful had happened and I hadn't asked the question.
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