I took delivery of SDM#038 this afternoon, as Peter pulled into the garage it absolutely poured with rain.
Anyway, after a thorough setup turorial, and a chinwag, Peter was on his way and SDM#038 sits in its little carpeted corner of the garage waiting now for a clear night.
GSO 16" Mirror, Galaxy secondary with Astrosystems spider and holder, Moonlite focuser (red...mmm love that red), shroud, storm cover. Chose not to get an AN just yet, will wait for a while.
I am amazed at the quality, the finish and the attention to detail, but that's not new news to SDM owners.
You do understand, it will now rain and sleet for a month.
When my SDM arrived, I kid you not, it was overcast for 12 straight days, I set the alarm all hours of the night to try to fool the sky, to no avail. You will have to bide your time!
Congratulations. Peter fitted my SDM with Argo Navis and I think it is worth every penny. I'm not very experienced with sky hopping, and with an AN I don't have to be. It is very easy to use and very accurate. Wishing you many happy nights gazing with your SDM.
And you're resisting the urge to go out, even though it's clear, because Friday is family night. What a considerate chap you are. Still, that's exactly what earns the necessary brownie points for such a beast in the first place I guess Have fun
I remember looking through Zane's 24" SDM at the Magellan Observatory and it was stunning good. The views from a really quality big scope in dark skies is absolutely something else!
Thanks to all the great compliments. and all the "welcomes" to the exclusice club. I just keep staring at the mirror finish, and I'm talking about the timber, not the mirror!
I am glad I bought the Astrosystems laser collimator. Seriously, it took less the 3 minutes to collimate. This device made the job incredibly simple. I don't know why I didn't buy one in the past for my previous Newts.
Yeah Paul, look forward to a good run at Snake Valley soon. I need to carefully work out a way of transporting the mirror box and rocker assembly in the back of the ute, without causing any damage. I may need to get hold of an old doona to assist with protection.
Quote:
I can see my fingerprints on it........
Hey Eric, While Peter was here, he offered me a free 12" GSO mirror he had lying around in the back of the station wagon
welcome to the 16," club even though mine is not an SDM
..... just got to get you and this baby out to the SVAA Oct Camp so we can have a squizz 
