The Liverpool Astronomical Society

brilliant dave cheers, i think ill go ahead and buy the 200p, i was considering the 200pds but i cant really afford that extra £100, plus it only comes with one eyepiece as apposed to the two - three the 200p comes with.

i also try and get up to pex hill within the next few weeks. I assume you work there ?

Hi Phil,
Once you find your target you lock the motor by tighteneing a clutch which is fitted over the slow motion spindle (this comes with the motor). You will normally get a couple of slow motion knobs with the mount. These can be about 1 foot long and slide over the spindle with a locking screw. When I got my motor I took mine off and got smaller ones which I put back on when the motor was fitted. This allows you to move the scope in slow motion without the motor. The clutch is on a screw thread and sits between the slow motion knob and the brass gear. Tightening the clutch locks the motor but dont use the slow motion when this is locked or you may damage the motor. On the mount itself there are two locking clamps one for RA one for Dec. For quickly moving the mount you can leave the clutch tightened and undo one of these clamps and manually move the scope. This is a simple system and is not computer controlled. Hope i've not made it seem complicated as it is not. If you can get up to Pex Hill on a Wednesday (if the sky ever clears) you can view different scopes or come to one of the Sidewalk events.
Dave B

cheers dave,

to be honest i have been studying the skies for some time and am becoming very familiar. i have a book called the practical astronomer which has been a god send.

I will eventually be looking at getting coma correctors and all the extras but for now the scope, stand and ra motor are my main concerns.

I assume once you are tracking an object you lock the ra motor to follow ? or do you need to connect it to a laptop with software in order to get this result.

just out of interest, do you know of any other scopes that will do the same job, that may be a bit more portable, or will i be looking at the same problem.

I don't want to go out of my price range but would have loved to have bought the maksutov newtonian 190mn

Hi Dave,
Best wishes to you & the rest of the gang. Hope Santa brought you what you wanted, mine was The Secret Deep by S.J O'Meara, no eyepieces this year!
Dave B

Hi Phil,
The RA motor is very easy and simple to fit. You will have no problems with that.
All it will do is track so you do have to find the objects yourself which is part of the fun (I have always found this more satisfying and you learn the sky better).
When I bought my motor I think it was about £80. I got it from Stockport binnocular & telescope.
You will certainly see a vast amount of objects in a 200mm scope. It was not long ago that the average amateur could only hope for an 80mm refractor or 150mm reflector! If you do not have one get youself a good star atlas something like Nortons which also contains lots of info.
Have fun.
Dave B

Cheers guys, as im into photography i think the eq5 is the best option as i can use it as a tripod aswell.

with regards to the RA motor. I do not require a goto as the whole excitement of viewing the sky is finding the objects yourself.

If i buy the eq5 mount and the RA drive seperate, is it easy to fit ?

im struggling to find a deal with the EQ5, explorer 200/p and RA drive in one.

Also I assume the RA drive does the same job as the goto, i.e. tracking, except you have to find the objects yourself ?

The budget on this is gona be about £500 which after pricing all this up is what i can get it all for.

regards

And the same to you, David and to all other members.

John Crockatt

Just a quick thank you to all that have supported the website and forum during 2011 and that we look forward to chatting during 2012. Clear skies, love and peace to everybody.

Well I have got it. Just back from purchasing my new scope, a Skywatcher Skymax 127 on a go to mount. Also got some planetary filters. As is the way with things it is chucking it down at the moment so will have to wait a bit for the fun to begin. Will keep you all updated on how I get on.

Andy

Hi Chris, yes we will be there tonight.
cheers
Brendan