[Krumlov (Gavin)]

Hi guys,

Just finished a couple of hours with my brand new GS-680. Very happy overall, highlights were Saturn and the jewel box. Could not believe I found Saturn first go and managed to watch it for a while with the 6mm EP.

Now a few questions. I didn't use the fan attached and it was pretty damp out. Is the fan just for cooling the mirror prior to use or should you run it all the time?

What is the point of the adjustable position of the side tension knobs? Is it for balance if you have more stuff at the top? I have just put mine in the middle? (Couldn't believe it came with NO instructions!)

My 30mm 2" EP will not focus if it is slid all the way in, I have to have it out about 5mm. Is this normal?

Whilst the view of Saturn was great, actually a bit bigger than I expected using the 30mm EP, but it was all white (quite bright actually). I thought I would see some colour but from some other posts I read will this only happen if I use better EPs or filters?

I have a 2" 30mm EP and a 1.25" 25mm. Apart from the magnification difference are there any particular pros and cons between 2" and 1.25" EPs?

I also have an astrosystems collimator. The instructions at the start are quite complex and I skipped to the end to just get the primary and secondary mirrors aligned. For anyone that owns one did you go through the whole process as described in the book step by step? Stars seemed sharp to me so is that I should worry about in the end?

Thanks in advance for the advice.