I managed to put the whole assembly together without much viewing, that way I can understand the parts better.
I played around with the tripod to get the ideal height relative to my eyes, how much vertical extension to pull because I think it is better to have the OTA as close to the tripod intersection point. I notice that the mount is fixed to the vertical shaft of the tripod, so if it goes too high, I think it is hard to control the shaking problem. Also saw that OTA did not hit the tripod, it didn't cos it is a short scope. Got to mount and dismount the scope a couple of times. As for the legs, I open the thicker section of the tripod all the way as compared to the thinner section, I hope it will provide me a firmer stand.
As for the mount, scope and finder, I adjusted the tube ring to get a better C gravity when securing the scope to the mount/tripod. The scope is obviously off centre from the centre vertical line of the tripod , but I shifted the finder scope (although not too heavy) nearer to the tripod centre line. I also balance the front, back of the scope so that when I lossen the thighting nut, the heavier side does not swing down. All in all it was quite ok, just need to play around...
My next exercise is to try the viewing part. This may be a headache cos there is the parts (main lense to the ep) plus the weather condition. Anyway I tried using the 32mm and saw something and the side of the lense. Doesn't look like spider wed...more like some dried liquid or some oil?? It did not affect the whole lense but only a section of the lense's edge....
First set up for my OTA
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alvinsclee
- Posts: 299
- Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:21 pm
Hi Ivan,
Congrats on your final purchase of a bargain during the lelong sale. The 127mm Mak-Cass scope will be a wonderful 1st scope... in fact, I was initially planning to buy the same scope (before deciding to splurge more for an APO refractor).
I have started enjoying planetary obs from my west-facing window. You can do that easily for the moon and the planets because they are bright enough to overcome the light pollution in our city.
And if you want to try a star, one of the brightest star is Sirius. However, do remember that stars will always look small... they are so far away that they become point-source lights.
And one more rule of thumb.... generally speaking, the highest useful magnification is about 2-2.5 times the aperture measured in mm (or about 50-60 times the aperture measured in inches) of your scope. In your case, you can go up to about 250 to 300 times. Any more than that may render the view less optimal (due to inherent limits).
Have fun!
Congrats on your final purchase of a bargain during the lelong sale. The 127mm Mak-Cass scope will be a wonderful 1st scope... in fact, I was initially planning to buy the same scope (before deciding to splurge more for an APO refractor).
I have started enjoying planetary obs from my west-facing window. You can do that easily for the moon and the planets because they are bright enough to overcome the light pollution in our city.
And if you want to try a star, one of the brightest star is Sirius. However, do remember that stars will always look small... they are so far away that they become point-source lights.
And one more rule of thumb.... generally speaking, the highest useful magnification is about 2-2.5 times the aperture measured in mm (or about 50-60 times the aperture measured in inches) of your scope. In your case, you can go up to about 250 to 300 times. Any more than that may render the view less optimal (due to inherent limits).
Have fun!