Here is the place to talk about all those equipment(Telescope, Mounts, Eyepieces, etc...) you have. Not sure which scope/eyepiece is best for you? Trash it out here!
orly_andico wrote:hi Bharat,
where did you purchase the vixen half-pillar? or did it come with the Omni XLT? thanks...
Vixen half pillar is not a part of Celestron's standard package but Astro Scientific include this as a part of their package. They say they are giving it "free" but from my perspective, they have already built in its price in their offer. Remember the good old saying - there is no such thing as free lunch in this world!.
Bharat, that's why I had stated in another post that the price I paid to Astro Scientific was very reasonable if I included the price of the half pier. I would have saved only about $100+ if I purchased it online and had it shipped. I also get the local agent's warranty.
Learn to use the equatorial mount and observation at high powers would be a breeze.
Hi,
I'm not sure why some say that EQ mount is difficult to use. Yes, it take longer to setup, but not difficult to use... also, it can make star hopping a lot easier for beginner by making use of the RA and DEC axis when finding object using star chart.
By the way, don't need to drift alignment for visual use... just compass alignment will be good enough most of the time.
Happy obbing and have a nice day.
Yang Weixing "The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance."
weixing wrote:Hi,
I'm not sure why some say that EQ mount is difficult to use. Yes, it take longer to setup, but not difficult to use... also, it can make star hopping a lot easier for beginner by making use of the RA and DEC axis when finding object using star chart.
By the way, don't need to drift alignment for visual use... just compass alignment will be good enough most of the time.
Happy obbing and have a nice day.
Would like to have an idea as to how sensitive is polar alignment to the error in orientation of the polar axis when using rough alignment. For eg. if my polar axis heading is say 4 or 5 degs off from north and the latitude is say 2 deg instead of 1 deg, will the alignment still be manageable for tracking for visual observation or will it go completely haywire? Thanks.
I just recently motorized my Polaris (with the hacked EQ-1M) and it can keep a lunar crater in the FOV at 215X for >15 min, with a very rough polar alignment (set mount to 1* latitude, then simply guessed where North is, since my balcony faces east and I can't see north!)
and yup, EQ mount is natural for me. I don't understand why people think it's hard. I don't even do compass alignment, just guess-timate and it's good!
Well, for visual, the star would stay within the eyepiece view but travel of to one side. Even with motors, the travel plane of the star will veer off course.
Hard to do any precise polar alignment as we can't see Polaris, but even with Polar alignment through a Polar scope, many still confirm with a drift alignment, and thats more for Astrophotography, where the star is needed to remain in the center of the eyepiece (or ccd/DSLR, etc) to enable long exposure images.
Visual wise, if it's off it's a case of using the slow-mo cables, or manual movement (very slight) to re-center your visual). I used to put the object I'm looking at somewhere in the bottom section of my eye piece view so I can get some extra seeing time, for visual...hehe! Even with a Alt Az mount, one has to re-adjust.
For normal star gazing, no need for cross hair reticle eye piece. Find the star, center in EP, see, adjust, see, adjust, see....move to next object...haha!
As weixing mentioned, compass is good enough for visual alignment.
I have tracking motors on my mount, and majority of the time I'm doing visual. I don't bother about drift alignment, and let the motor track. The star still veers off a little, but thats alright. Also remember, the more magnification you have (smaller EP) the faster the star will run away! Getting orientated with your EP (if the view is left/right or right/left) will help you know which way moving RA/Dec will bring the visual back into view. This is where looking at a house, window, etc etc will help the visual orientation.
I normally use a 32mm to scan the skies, then center it, switch to 9mm/7mm. Most of the time it's a little out of view...haha! Hence why wide FOV EP's help!
Lastly,to help with whats out there, surf the net for sketches done by astronomers. These are drawings/shadings of nebula's, constellations, clusters as it seen through a scope and in black and white. It helps alot when trying to find that elusive nebula. It helps me,...so I keep a small archive of what I find on the internet!
Well, just my 2c worth...and from what I have fun doing visually. Still trying to grasp drift aligning...slowly getting there somehow..**
As for the pillar and whatever is purchased...you get what you pay for. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It would be great to get things cheap, but as long as it's not Astronomical (pardon the pun) and the deal is reasonable...heck! Have fun with the quality and service assurance you get! I would like to order stuff from overseas, even get my couzins from AU to send me stuff....but I loose the most important 'warranty'!! And with something like astronomy, where money spent is a gamble,...I'd rather pay more for convenience and assurance.
Cheers bharat,...
My wife never complained about how much time, effort & money I spent on my Astronomy hobby!................suddenly I met her!!!
"The universe is composed mainly of hydrogen and ignorance." 
