#1401  
Old 29-07-2012, 01:00 PM
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Asteri (Labros)
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just purcased new newtonian.

Hi I just purchased a GSO 12 inch dob. Would there be anyone in the Frankston area ( vic ) that would know how to ajust 2nd mirror as i think i have managed to put it way out.. tried to colminate this morning and its way out. please someone help....
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  #1402  
Old 29-07-2012, 01:44 PM
Forgey (Paula)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Asteri View Post
Hi I just purchased a GSO 12 inch dob. Would there be anyone in the Frankston area ( vic ) that would know how to ajust 2nd mirror as i think i have managed to put it way out.. tried to colminate this morning and its way out. please someone help....
Hi Labros, have a read through this http://www.astro-baby.com/collimatio...on%20guide.htm A simple guide to collimating a newtonian reflector.

Also check out the video, How to collimate your reflector telescope by hand as well as using an accessory like the Orion LaserMate Deluxe Laser Collimator.
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  #1403  
Old 30-07-2012, 10:41 AM
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Asteri (Labros)
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Thanks, I will check it out. What stupid me did was loosen all 3 screws after noticing it was way out the other morning. I kept going back and forth eventually loosening the middle screw thinking it may be easier.. 10 minutes later i had noticed i put it way out. Tried to go back and set it to the way it was eventually realizing I had gone beyond the point of NO return lol. So now i will check http://www.astro-baby.com/collimatio...on%20guide.htm. Thank you.
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  #1404  
Old 30-07-2012, 01:07 PM
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barx1963 (Malcolm)
Bright the hawk's flight

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Hi Labros
Paula's guides she has mentioned are excellent. You will find the secondary has 4 screws. One in the middle moves the mirror up and down the tube, while the 3 on the outside have dual functions. 1 is to lock the seconday in place and 2 is to adjust the tilt.
Adjusting these will not hurt your scope and you can always adjust again. The one thing to be VERY careful of if you are winding the centre screw so the secondary is moving down the tube (ie towards the main mirror) hold onto it as you do not want it to fall off. Also have the tube horizontal so if anything does get dropped, it doesn't end up falling your primary!


Malcolm
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  #1405  
Old 30-07-2012, 11:18 PM
clueless5 (Emma)
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Help!

Hi everyone,

I stumbled across this site and am hoping someone might be able to help me. I am looking at purchasing a telescope for my friend's birthday who is extremely interested in astronomy. It will be her first telescope and although I have done some research I still know very little on what models/types are best. With a limit on how much to spend I have narrowed it down to 3 telescopes;

Saxon F1149 EQ reflector, Saxon F767AZ Newtonian Reflector or the Celestron PowerSeeker 114EQ Reflector.

Can anyone suggest which would be best for a beginner? Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated!!
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  #1406  
Old 31-07-2012, 12:57 PM
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barx1963 (Malcolm)
Bright the hawk's flight

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Hi Emma and welcome to IIS!
Personally I would advise against buying a scope for someone else, at least withou talking to them first. Two of the scopes you mention (the Saxon F1149 EQ and the Celestron PowerSeeker 114EQ ) are Equatorially mounted reflectors with 4.5" apertures. Equatorial mounts are hard to use for beginners. The other one is Alt Az mounted I think but has an even smaller aperture.
If your friend is keen on observing a small Dobsonion with be easy to use and gives plenty of aperture. Bintel sell the 6" for $329 (see here http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...oductview.aspx ) This may be a little more than you were hoping to spend, but in my view a dob is nearly always the best beginners scope.
Another idea is to pay for her to join a local astro society, many of these have loan scope schemes to get beginners started. The ASV in Victoria has 8" dobs for loan to new members for example.

Malcolm
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  #1407  
Old 31-07-2012, 08:56 PM
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Asteri (Labros)
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Thanks Malcolm I'm trying to figure it out. yeh i messed with the middle screw moving it too far. But I will work it out. Thanks for the advice.
Hopeful I will work it out soon !
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  #1408  
Old 31-07-2012, 11:22 PM
clueless5 (Emma)
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Hi Malcolm,

Yeah that's a good idea, I think I may leave it for a bit and see what she thinks. Thanks heaps for your help! Unfortunately I am in NSW and not VIC but i'm sure there would be similar groups here. I will definitely look into it.
Thanks again!

Emma
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  #1409  
Old 01-08-2012, 10:44 AM
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barx1963 (Malcolm)
Bright the hawk's flight

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Emma
See if you can contact the Astronomy Society of NSW as I believe they have a loan scheme

Malcolm
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  #1410  
Old 02-08-2012, 01:34 PM
RubberBand (Cara)
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Hi all,

I joined up because we've just purchased a telescope for our daughter's birthday, however my husband and I were both keen to get one and wanted something that is a bit more powerful than a total beginner scope, so we went with the Saxon F1149 EQ reflector. Her birthday isn't until the end of the month so I'm hoping to learn more about how to use it etc before then!

I did a course in astronomy a few years ago, but long enough that I've forgotten pretty much everything other than not to shine a bright torch at the star map if you want to see anything for the rest of the night

Look forward to getting to know you all!
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  #1411  
Old 03-08-2012, 11:11 AM
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Ric
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Hi Cara and welcome to IIS

You've certainly come to right place, just fire away with your questions and no doubt there will be plenty of answers and advice to get you back up to speed.

Cheers
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  #1412  
Old 04-08-2012, 07:03 PM
Shamrocker (Aidan)
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Good Evening

Hello everyone

Another noob! Have been following the forums for a number of months and decided to join because I have so many questions! Turns out I can't figure it all out myself

Cheers

Aido
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  #1413  
Old 07-08-2012, 10:05 AM
RubberBand (Cara)
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Originally Posted by Ric View Post
Hi Cara and welcome to IIS

You've certainly come to right place, just fire away with your questions and no doubt there will be plenty of answers and advice to get you back up to speed.

Cheers
Thanks

We've watched a few youtubes on setting up the equatorial mount and think we get the degree of difficulty here, but I'm certain we'll have tons of questions! It should arrive this week so I'm hoping my husband and I can play with it a bit in secret before her birthday. I think in the beginning she'll be happy with looking at the moon and any random star she can focus on so we'll all have time to learn how to use it properly (well that's the plan anyway LOL)
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  #1414  
Old 12-08-2012, 04:16 PM
Adalovelace (Ada)
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Hello


New to the boards, came across your site while trying to get some info on the Perseid shower.


Lucked out big time with last nights weather conditions here on the Central Coast, ruined any of the little chance we had to catch a glimpse.



Regards
Ada
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  #1415  
Old 10-09-2012, 08:44 AM
scottw (Scott)
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Greetings all,

I've come across this site a couple of times while looking for tips and tricks. A friend on my gaming forums said he was a member here and suggested I sign up now that I'm starting to think "more seriously" about what I'm doing.
I would call myself an extremely amateur astronomer with an interest in astrophotography. I've flicked through most of this "beginners" thread and read lots of suggestions and tips, so I guess that makes me nearly an expert now.
So I'll lurk around a bit, read a bit more, and start posting some inane questions in the hope of getting some good guidance and "what to do next".

Scott.
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  #1416  
Old 27-09-2012, 12:31 AM
stevecoles
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Just bought an EQ2 fixed rate motor drive to adapt to fit my old telescope. The very helpful shop owner highly recommended and wrote down this website address, so I've just joined. After attacking a piece of scrap metal with a hammer and drill to make a bracket was pleased to see my old reflector tracking the moon before the clouds covered the night skies.
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  #1417  
Old 27-09-2012, 03:04 AM
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Allan_L (Allan)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevecoles View Post
Just bought an EQ2 fixed rate motor drive to adapt to fit my old telescope. The very helpful shop owner highly recommended and wrote down this website address, so I've just joined. After attacking a piece of scrap metal with a hammer and drill to make a bracket was pleased to see my old reflector tracking the moon before the clouds covered the night skies.
Hi Steve,
Welcome to IIS
YES: A great forum to learn from and share ideas with
Hope you enjoy exploring all it has to offer
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  #1418  
Old 28-09-2012, 12:11 PM
stevecoles
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Thanks for the welcome Allen.
Looking forward to learning and sharing ideas.

Getting gear in Australia doesn't seem easy.
One of the online websites I've tried is trying to look like Aussie based but appears to be overseas. Someone on IIS mentioned they had good dealings with them but they were slow. My small purchase looks like being in the slow category but it's reassuring to hear others recommend them.

Hope to share some pics of my DIY/budget/improvisation attempts at astrophotography later and learn from similar projects by others.
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  #1419  
Old 30-09-2012, 06:32 PM
r1lang (Richard)
In progress a Skywatch 10

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New member

I'm new and have been googling on astronomy, anything I can find to get started on buying my first scope and stumble into here. Great site I thought, lots of infor, sharing with new, old and in-between experienced members. I'm sure I'll learn alot from here on. The site is well structured, modular and I'm getting to know how to navigate around. I'm having fun and I hope to know some of you soon. Thank you all.
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  #1420  
Old 30-09-2012, 10:20 PM
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Allan_L (Allan)
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Hi Richard,
Welcome to IIS

You will find lots of helpful people here.
Your title suggests you are in process of buying a 10 inch Skywatcher.
Good choice.
Dobsonian mount I presume.
This is similar to my current scope and i am very happy with it.

Check out the Star Parties forum for some dark sky observing near you.
This is the best way to learn and to see what scopes and eyepieces are best for you.

If you are ever up near the NSW Central Coast, let me know and I can show you around.
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