First Post!

[Johnsan]

Hi everyone,

I'm John and I am from Perth. I scored a fully functional Meade Polaris 60EQ-D telescope from a mate, and have already set it up last night. I've got the 25, 12 and 4 mm lenses plus. 3x Barlow lens. The 4mm seems to have black lines running all over it, so i might have to replace that one. I managed to get a great view of the moon last night, and I think I saw Jupiter too! This is one of the coolest things I have seen. Really looking forward to getting into this!

I do have a few questions though. I noticed that there are star charts I can use. How do I use them? Also, my focus knobs seem to be a little jerky especially when using the smaller lenses. Can I smooth them out a little?

Also, how do I use the counterweight properly? I didn't really understand that in the instructions.

I'm going to try the Barlow lens tonight to see if I can get closer. I also managed to take a few photos using my iPhone, so I am stoked!

Thanks,
John

[BlackWidow]

Hi John, Welcome to Ice in Space. Very Cool! I can help you a little.. Most star charts are made so that you hold them up above your head rather than looking down on them. You will notice that they have north, south, east and west on them. You face them in the correct direction and you can then see where the stars are located. You need to have a correct star chart for the time of the year so the best place is to print one from the internet or out of a Current Mag like Sky and Telescope.

You can improve your focus with a very small amount of lubrication. Somthing like some vasaline or lipgloss works very well.


Hope you have lots of fun with you scope.

Mardy

[aidanm]

Hi Mardy, thanks for the tips regarding the star chart.

:welcome: John, I am a beginner too!

Cheers,

Aidan

[louie_the_fly]

Hi John. :welcome:Hang around here - it's a great site with really decent people.

I decect a bit if excitement in your post. I felt the same when I finally got my scope. Have been interested in astronomy since a teenager and got my first real scope recently. At 47! It was brilliant to finally see things thru your own gear.

Now I fear for the contents of your wallet...

Are the lines in your 4mm crosshairs by any chance? And you can work out the magnification of your 4mm EP in that scope using any of the online eyepiece calculators. I think there,s one on IIS in the resources section. Tou might find that with the 60mm scope, 4mm EP, & 3x Barlow it's just too much magnification.

Cheers & Merry Christmas.

[Johnsan]

Hi Everyone, thanks for the welcome!

Mardy, I tried putting some vaseline on the focus shaft and running track but it didn't improve all that much.

Stewart, it's black squiggly lines. I think there might be something on it. I will get my lens blower and get some air onto it - it might get rid of the stuff on the lens, but even so, i can't get it to focus. I was looking at Jupiter with my family last night (none of them have seen through a telescope before) and it was extremely blurry. My Barlow lens is also quite dirty. I think I might have to get it cleaned. I can't seem to get to the inner lens - the neck is too long!

I noticed another brighter star to the right of the moon and Jupiter which my phone said was Canis Major, but I think it was too far away for my gear. It was just a white dot. I'm guessing I can get more clarity with a better EP? Also, there is a fair bit of light pollution where I am (suburbia) so that doesn't help.

Does anyone know how to use the counterweight properly? There is a fair bit of play when I am trying to align the scope.

[barx1963]

A 4mm EP is a fairly high power one. Your scope has a focal length of 900mm so a 4mm gives 900/4=225x. In a 2.5" scope that is a lot of power. Even in absolutely perfect conditions you cannot go much beyond 30-40x per inch which only gives you say 75x - 100x maximum power, so not really surprsing that you find focusing on jupiter difficult. Remember as you increase the power you also magnify any defects, either in the optics or especially in the atmosphere. Also given Jupiter is not very high ATM the atmosphere will be playing havoc with your view.
Your other 2 eyepieces give you 900/25= 36x and 900/12= 75x which should be adequate for most targets. Also I wouldn't bother with the Barlow, even using it on the 25mm ep will give you 108x which is starting to push a small aperture scope.
With the focus jumping is it more noticeable with the higher power EPs. If so it it simply the extra power magnifying the natural jumpiness of the system. Wouldn't worry about it too much.
You will not resolve discs on stars, they are simply too far away. The star you are mentioning is Sirius which is the brightest star in Canis Major and is the brightest star in the night sky.
Don't know if you have instructions but here is a link to the instruction manual on the Meade site http://www.meade.com/manuals/TelescopeManuals/Polaris/Polaris60EQ-D.pdf

Malcolm

[barx1963]

Oh one other thing. The EPs are Huygens with a 0.965" barrell I believe. Don't buys any EPs unless they fit a 0.965" barrel, which can be a little hard to find these days. Most better EPs come with 1.25" or 2" barrels, would hate to see you waste any money!

Malcolm

[astronobob]

Re Quote : Also, my focus knobs seem to be a little jerky especially when using the smaller lenses. Can I smooth them out a little?

Hi John, Im wondering if the focus knobs are a little tight, this can cause a degree of jerkiness with Rack & Pinion focus assembly's.

There should be two small screws holding the support plate under the focus axle assembly, if you think the focus is tight, then you could try backing off the tightness of either screw a smidge if this is the case, but beware you dont back it off too much as then the focus tube might slide down on its own ? Not a drama, Just need to adjust to find a happy medium ! !
Hope this is of help !