lx200 14"

[mozzie (Peter)]

well my new scope turned up a week ago and wow when i opened the box for the first time (there a big sucker).elise replied how in the hell are we going to lift it into the pod.
the weather had come in so it was'nt till sunday we lifted it onto the pier with a little struggle and a squeeze through the door i was finally mounted,and i was a lot happier theres plenty of room in the pod as it slews around and does its thing.i thought i knew a bit about meade scopes and with this autostar 2 hand controller with different buttons doing different things the first night was ordinary but what i did see with acf optics was very pinpoint and clear jupiter was moon drenched but a pleasure to see shadows transiting across it 47 tuc with 26 nag was crystal clear and very chrisp stars to the centre where resolved like id never seen before, i could'nt sleep one morning and seen m42 a couple of hours before sun rise and there was even more detail from 12 to 14" so im happy with the choice and size of scope id bought.
the weather has been shocking lately and again tonight its garbage so no chance of a look but as i get use to using it and some dark nights ill post my viewing.
i was also suprised that the solamax scope also come with it and i didnt have to wait a month or so for it and ive temporary mounted it on top till guide rails turn up, but the days have been fair and the sun in h/a oh my god heaps better the white light.i was watching flares for hours some seemed to spiral and otheres curved wow what a sight and geez i got burnt my poor bold head but worth it.ive taken some photos of the scope mounted in my pod
woo hoo im stoked !!!!

[h0ughy (David)]

how awesome is that - bewdiful

[Octane (Humayun)]

Wow, Pete!

I've had the pleasure to look at some globular clusters using the 14" LX200 up at the CAS observatory at Mount Stromlo. The amount of detail visible is just insane. I can only imagine how much better it must be through the refined optics of the ACF series of scopes.

I'm not a visual person, but, damn, green with envy! Congratulations. : )

H

[mozzie (Peter)]

thanks houghy and h
id looked out of 8" acf's at astrofest and was amazed!!! i only do visual and cant wait for the weather to clear and a new moon to put it through its paces
but first impressions are very impressive!!

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Man, Pete, awesome looking scope and in that Pod it looks like a super sophisticated kids playground

I am suitably jealous

Mike

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Man, Pete, awesome looking scope and in that Pod it looks like a super sophisticated kids playground

I am suitably jealous

Mike

LOL you are so right about that

[Waxing_Gibbous (Peter)]

its bigger than my car! Beautiful scope. Can I have it?

[RB (Andrew)]

That's awesome Peter, congrats on the new scope.
Looks fantastic in the Pod.

[mozzie (Peter)]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Man, Pete, awesome looking scope and in that Pod it looks like a super sophisticated kids playground

I am suitably jealous

Mike

hahaha!!!!!!
dont know about kids playground more an adults!!!! i struggle keeping the kids out they love astronomy...

[mozzie (Peter)]

thanks peter and r.b

there was a lot of weekend bricklaying to pay for it!!!!!

just hope we get some good weather!!! just finished another job and the rain just hasnt stopped theres a lot of people here sick of it!!!

[xstream (John)]

Congratulations on your new toy Peter, I'm sure you'll have lots of fun playing with it.

You certainly can't beat aperture!

[astroron (Ron)]

WOW Peter what a set up Absalutley Fantastic
I hope you get many hour enjoyment out of it
It looks very professional
Cheers

[mozzie (Peter)]

Originally Posted by astroron

WOW Peter what a set up Absalutley Fantastic
I hope you get many hour enjoyment out of it
It looks very professional
Cheers

thanks ron
ive bought the night sky 3 volumes and im going to try and get some real faint dso's 14"with acf optics should be good fun!!!

[GrahamL]

Looks great mozzie ,,

[DavidTrap (David)]

Sorry if I cost you a lot of money Mozzie - I recall you looking through my 8inch ACF at Astrofest 2009 and being impressed by the view!

Cheers
DT

[mozzie (Peter)]

Originally Posted by DavidTrap

Sorry if I cost you a lot of money Mozzie - I recall you looking through my 8inch ACF at Astrofest 2009 and being impressed by the view!

Cheers
DT

thanks david, i'll let elise know it was your fault
seriously i cant wait for some clear weather and new moon to start running it through its paces
hows your scope going no probs with the optics

[Rev (Greg)]

Hi Pete, Greg from not too far away at North Haven. You may remember we were both waiting for our PODS at the same time. What a coincidence, I have a 14" ACF swinging around in my playground as well! Mine is equatorially mounted on an offset pier with wedge. I found mirror flop and focus a chore until I added a 10 to 1 focuser. Love the extra photons and resolution of the bigger glass. Globular clusters particularly seem to come alive in the 14". I would be interested in knowing how you get on with cool down time and tube thermals. The weather this year reminds me of the six months I lived in Scotland! Here's hoping for some more clear and steady nights.

[Rick Petrie]

Hi Moz
That looks like an awesome bit of gear there mate. Certainly was worth the wait. Looking forward to checking it out when we see you in Feb. It's amazing how much more detail you get with the extra aperture.
Is there any room left in there to set up my 14" dob when I visit?
Cheers

[mozzie (Peter)]

Originally Posted by Rick Petrie

Hi Moz
That looks like an awesome bit of gear there mate. Certainly was worth the wait. Looking forward to checking it out when we see you in Feb. It's amazing how much more detail you get with the extra aperture.
Is there any room left in there to set up my 14" dob when I visit?
Cheers

theres always plenty of room.........are you bringing it up if so we'll have a session one night your brother is only 5 mins from my place..

[mozzie (Peter)]

well its been another couple of weeks since ive had a look through the scope the weather has been shocking i suppose its been the same up and down the coast.
seeing last night was prob.. 6.5/10 kind of cloudless but who cares there was some viewing to be done...
unparked scope and straight onto jupiter watched it wooble around for an hour or so right on dusk pod temp around 30 deg have an internal fan so turned it on to move some air and heat.id say a good hour was all it needed for the mirror to cool down also considering the seeing wasnt the best,went into phoenix and chased some d/stars till it darkened and was able to split 1.4" easliy and so see naglers beeing used coma free to the edge was a fantastic sight, this acf system compared to standard sct's was very noticealble and im very happy with the results.still quiet bright and tryed ngc625 11th mag gal and it was easliy visable in the eyepiece not much detail but wow 14" of aperture has made a difference.i'd locked the mirror and used the electric focuser and during small openings of good seeing the view of this gal was clearer and a little brighter.
could see orion rising over the trees so spent a couple of hours on m42 orion neb,ngc2070 tar neb,ngc104 47 tuc, and wow the detail i was getting and the use of some filters for the nebs was mind blowing.
overall didnt know if there was going to be a difference from 12" to 14" aperture and there was alot more brightness and detail and this acf optics gives me a flat coma free view.the scope tracked perfectly all night and ive ordered an illuminated eyepiece to do a smart mount,this will give me better accuracy in tracking of objects.overall very very happy with the scope and setup and cant wait for the clear nights of seeing to come....

also tried the horsehead damn!!!!! still didnt quiet get it a little bright and a little to low in the sky........ next time