skies nice and clear, no wind at all (at the moment atleast)
thought id post while im waiting for it to get darker,
i collamated my dob for the first time today
waiting to test on a star, hopefully its all good, if not i'll make sure it is before i do anything else.
im hoping to do some galaxy/planetary neb/glob hunting before the moon shows itself, any observing plan suggestions for a 6" dob?
i've been locating objects by using my 'push-to' setup and software on the pc.
ive gone a different route than the more conventional drilling a hole through the top part of the base and having the marks on the base as that way is a real pain to align, instead i inverted an image of a 360 degree protractor, cut a hole out in the centre and placed it over the bolt in the middle of the base. i then fixed the bolt to the bottom of the mount so that when i slew the dob the bolt remains stationary, i then used a large cable tie which i tightened around the nut. why you ask? simple.
so i can point the scope at whatever i like, get the azimuth in degrees and turn the cable tie to that mark on the protractor, as the bolt is fixed to the base part it stays exactly where you turn it to, when you slew the protractor reading turns and you know where you are.
anyway i'll update this as the night progresses hopefully
Tj
