Wow,
I've just come inside and signed in. Thanks fellow stargazers for your advice.
I've been trying everything bar mucking with collimation. This includes taking the EP seating (the hardware that the eyepiece sits in-for want of a better description) out and refitting just in case I inadvertently loosened a screw and it went off kilter but no joy.
I removed the spotter scope mount and checked it and refitted thinking that maybe it was not tightened in their snugly or a bit of debris might have caused it to be sitting in there abnormally. Everythings OK
I untightened and retightened EP's and Spotter and re-focused-all nice and clear.
If I remove the rubber banding from its alotted slot and roll it up towards the top of the spotter scope and then align I have much more success but that little rubber ring should be in its natural home so I imagine this quick fix to be less than ideal (I'm a bit pedantic about these things
).
If I grab hold of the spotter and hold it so the crosshairs align with the desired image I can almost tighten the adjusting screws to get it where it needs to be but then once I loose my grip I'm back in Hell.
To Blue Skies,
Hi and thanks for your response. It just occured to me that maybe the footplate you are talking about is the mechanism that the EP directly fits into. If so, I have reseated it and it looks pretty snug. If not I may need you to tell a noob such as I what the footplate is
.
To Astroron,
Hello to you. I live in Bracken Ridge (actually on Bracken Ridge) I have a reasonable view of the skies to the north and west and the milky way at or close to the zenith. So Mars Saturn and Orion are pretty visible most of the night. The East and South aren't great. The East suffers terribly from street light pollution and the West is marred by roof tops. Is Bracken Ridge near you
?
To Duncan,
There's a lady in the club who lives at Albany Creek (just down the road from me) and is one of the major club players but I haven't plucked up the courage to ask her, or anyone else for that matter, for a little home tuition. I am however built to travel and am willing to share my problem with anyone who may be able to help
.
To all,
I'm sorry I couldn't respond within family hours but I got caught looking for a solution out the back of my house. It's spoiling my viewing as everytime I spot something I can't really 'spot it' even with a 25mm. As far as starhopping is concerned I am a virgin. The moon is fantastic but I'm going to have to get a filter or a welders mask because that big ball of cheese sure do get bright.
Hope to hear from you all and thanks for making me feel welcome
