Superb video Glenn, as always!! - loved the disclaimer to the astro-wives too, LOL! I really know what you mean about the satisfaction that comes with modification, it really makes the scope feel your own - I had tons of fun modifying my old 150pds with my 3d printer, such a lovely scope as I know the 130 is too! You've taken this particular 130 to the next level, the results speak for themselves buddy! :-) Clear skies!
Hi Luke and thank you so much for your kind comments mate. They are a lot of fun to work on and I just keep finding new things to do constantly. It keeps surprising me what this little scope is capable of and I will test its limits now on the flying bat and squid nebula that I am about to start. Thanks again for your support mate and clear skies
Man, this inspires me to go and modify my 6 inch f4 newtonian. I've already done a few things to make my life easier but especially the flocking looks interesting. I also tuned my HEQ5 with the help of your videos and it's guiding 0.4-0.7 (with no wind I have to mention). Your videos are a great addition to the astrophotography community, thanks a lot.
Thank you for your kind comments and I am really glad my videos are well received and have helped. Thats nice guiding numbers (Newts and wind are never a good match) The flocking makes a big contrast difference I found so worth the effort. Clear skies
I have proper gone to town on it. Its surprising how much better it is too. I saw the idea elsewhere and yes it looks cool but very practical too. Thanks for commenting mate, clear skies
Great work Glenn, there is something so satisfying about tinkering and projects... I'm the same, always something pops into the head to investigate further. Looking at my list, I have 20 items on the brain dump list, from small mods to big projects. Keep it up, love seeing content like this.
Hi Dave and thank you so much. This is a great hobby for tinkerers thats for sure. Its all the projects that really adds the cherry on top for me. Clear skies mate.
Thank you Logan. I am really thinking of getting a 3D printer myself. I am very happy with the results this scope returns. Thanks for watching, clear skies
@@Astrobloke You like to tinker and tweak things and make improvements etc so a 3d printer is the ultimate toy...... I mean precision piece of machinery for that sort of thing. It's so amazing that you can imagine and item you need, draw it up in whatever software you use (I use Tinkercad because it's free and simple like me) and before you know it, it's printed and that idea has materialised into physical form. I haven't used mine a lot for astro yet (just a few items) but I used it heaps when I was doing Christmas light displays to create things like snowflakes and stars and icicles to hold the pixels etc.
Glenn, another great video with sound practical advice for us all. Keep up the great work - thanks for sharing. Regards from the South Island of New Zealand.
Hi Charles. Blow my mind that I am being watched that far away around the world. Really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment, clear skies
Thank you mate. It did come out well didn’t it? I hadn’t even thought of capturing it and in hindsight wish I had framed it up better. Very happy with the scope though, its taking great images
Again great mods you're doing there Glenn keeping everything nice & neat unlike my spaghetti on my scope lol, looking forward to seeing the next project.
Hi Tich, thanks mate. Having lots of fun basically making my own scope lol. I like it tidy and am looking at all new cables to get it even tidier. Clear skies mate
Hey Glenn. Hope all is well mate. Love that Disclaimer....Deny everything. Love the mods you done, the 3D printer cap was a nice touch I thought, The saddle is brilliant, keeps everything neat, great video. Love the channel Clear Skies mate!
Hi Ben, great to see you mate and thank you for such a lovely comment. I am very happy with all the changes I have made and really enjoying the results. Take care buddy and clear skies
Great video again Glenn thanks for the information, still can't believe that such a small scope gives such excellent results, the digital age has sure made a difference to when a is started and any scope smaller then an 6in or 8in was considered as a toy, looking forward to seeing your next video
Hi Anthony and thank you for your comments. I think you are right that the cameras now make a huge difference. I am surprised at just how good this little scope is, love it.
Hi Glenn, Great video. I really like your idea of the risers building the area for the mini computer and power box. I am in the process of doing that on my CGX Rig supporting the EdgeHD 11". BTW, I told my wife 'Glenn said it was necessary that I buy more and more astronomy equipment', so beware. Plus, it is quite obvious that you thoroughly enjoy this hobby. Looking forward to seeing the next flying bats/squid video.
Hi Pat. Hope you are well. The risers are very nice and work a treat. certainly neatens everything up and works very well. No telling on me now if you buy any. clear skies
Incredible work Glenn! I love how you can make a cheap scope perform so much better with some simple, cheap tweeks. I recently pulled the trigger and bought a 130 PDS, the moment I received it I did all the mods you've done all at once. I even flocked the top and underside of the mirror mask because I put it on top of the clips, and I find that pla stuff was still reflecting some light. I hope this will be a nice improvement coming from an old, budget Meade LXD75 scope. The only thing I need to do is add a backcover over the primary including a fan, since there are still some light leaks. Sadly I can't seem to find a proper stl. file for a backcover. And since I am not that handy with 3d modelling myself, do you mind sharing your model? Ofcourse, only if you want to. I hope I can get first light with it soon, but as always when you get new gear: the weather is always against you 😅, especially here in The Netherlands
Hi and thank you for your kind comments. Excellent little scope and the mods really elevate its performance to ones that cost a lot more. Can you email me at Astrobloke@outlook.com and I will forward you the stl file for the cap I have. We are having fun with the weather now too, but lets hope we both have some clear skies soon
Always interesting and fun to watch your videoes Glenn - especially I liked the solution with the fan and the 3D printed tube. I`ve just got the TS-Optics 8" f/5 ONTC Carbon Tube (1000mm) and I wonder if the guy who made the cap does this for others also? :) Clear skies!
Hi Arstein and thank you so much for your support and comments. Send me an email at Astrobloke@outlook.com and I discuss with you how I can help. Clear skies
Loving your work Glenn. It’s so good to see great results coming from an affordable scope. I am struggling to get something I’m happy with from my SW 200 quattro but have just ordered a collimation kit from Farpoint which I hope will improve things. Can you please tell me which guidescope you are using in the video? I see you have a William Optics 50 listed in your equipment but this is something else. All the best from NZ.
Thank you Pete. Its very satisfying taking a budget scope and being able to improve its performance, I get really surprised at what it can do everytime I use it. I have heard that the Farpoint collimator is very good so should help. The Guidescope is like super basic. It was very cheap off ebay and called Starguider.. I think its exactly the same as the SVbony one thats sold. Just a Generic 50mm guidescope with no frills but it does have a Helical focuser included, Hope that helps and thank you for your support. Clear skies.
I was able to turn the flange off the sky watcher CC that I use and so it can slide in further so the focuser is racked out enough so none of it intrudes. Would have cut it like you did otherwise. Thanks for watching and commenting. Clear skies
Hi Robert and thank you for watching and commenting. My CT10 has fans built in and wasn’t sure the 130 really needed one. But I was discussing how pockets of warm air in a tube can cause effects on your imaging and it was easy to fit one. Just disturbs that air and also helps with any dewing
Good and well executed mods! Excellent capture of the Soap-Bubble too! What about the diffraction from the focusser draw-tube? You can either shorten the main tube, or cut down the draw tube. Good luck with OU4 in OIII - you'll need dark skies or very good filters (Chroma or Astrodon), preferably both!
Hi Pompey and thanks for commenting, i see you saw how I worked around the focus tube issues. I use the Antlia 3nm filters which work great, getting good data so will have a nice image 🤞
@@Astrobloke Super! I am one half of a pair of amateurs who have a remote obsy in Spain, and have quite a bit of OIII data on OU4. I'll look up your contact details! :)
Great video Glenn! Makes me want to get a Newt and mod it myself! Not sure how I’d get on though🤣 Great images mate! Looking forward to your colab vid coming up! Back home tomorrow, can’t wait to do some Astro! Couldn’t fit my scope on the plane🤣 Clear skies!
Thank you Simon. They are great fun scopes and not that hard to work on, i have it all working now so look forward to our next outing hopefully soon. Hope you had a great trip mate.
@@Astrobloke Thanks Glenn, had a great holiday! Only problem Karen has come back with Covid! I’ve tested and I’m fine! So fingers crossed! Can’t wait to get some Astro in now I’m back, look forward to our next meeting 👍 Clear skies!
@@4500Timer hi Danny I was going to but have since found a way not to. I will mention and show this is next video involving the 130pds. I was able to get the lip machined off the sky watcher CC so can slide the imaging train right into the focuser tube, this means its racked all the way out to achieve focus so no intrusion into the scope.
Could you do a video fully explaining the mele etc; how you connect everything. up and how you then actually use it all. There are so many electronic boxes these days for these things ("Raspberry Pie", "ASIAiR" etc). that I (and probably many others) have no clue what. to do with them and. how, exactly, they are used. You can look them all up online and read specs and descriptions but it just all becomes a 'cloud' of despair at trying to understand how they all interface and what, exactly, works with what and why? Then you find most are windows and you have a mac!! Cheers.
Enjoyed your mods to the Sky-Watcher. I just got the Sky-Watcher 6” Quattro Imaging 150P Newtonian. Been having issues with the secondary mirror adjustments. The screws are really tight and make a popping noise at times. The AstronomyShed guy had a mod on his secondary mirror he did that I will probably do. Your primary mirror and fan idea will be top on my list also. I live in the Deep South USA and lots of humidity and dew most all the year round. Does the dew strap work well? I put some resistors under the mirror on a smaller Meade DS114 Newtonian I have. The resistors were placed on top of some rock wool but were also directly under the mirror. The mirror rested on a plastic base that had recessed pockets that the rock wool was put in. The small Newtonian’s secondary mirror is in a plastic tube, I also put some resistors and rock wool behind that mirror. The secondary always fogged up first but now it is clear. DewBuster site has information on making dew heating systems from various electrical items. DewBuster guy got some hurricane Ida damage which shut him down for a while, but his site is still up and giving update status.
Hi there and thank you for messaging. Thats a nice scope you have bought and will return some lovely images. It does sound like those screws have been overtightened at some point and dug into the soft metal on the back of the secondary. I believe he puts a plate of metal or plastic there to put the flat surface back, should be easy to fix. The dew strap with the fan in the cap works very well indeed and so far I have kept dew free. Wish you all the best and cler skies
Great video Glenn. With the fan, you could flip it over and reverse the polarity of the plug if you want it to sit flush on the back cover but still suck air in rather than blow it out, then there’s no need to stand it off with Velcro pads. But if it works great already there’s no need I guess 👍
Thats a great shout and I didn’t think of that. Its working really well as it is but if I need to make any changes or replace the fan I will remember this and give it a try.
Hello Glenn !!! A question : the dew heater strip in the botom of the telescope (arround the primary) can produce some effects in the images?, Thanks!!! :D
Hi Jean. It never gets hot enough to cause that and the air is disturbed by the fan in the cap anyways. I never get any dew issues and have not noticed any problems on any subs taken while its on even at full
So I like a great idea having the riser, but then looking at the amount of counterweight you've got made me think that you're increasing the moment of inertia a lot by move the scope out. So is it going to make a difference to the guiding and performance of the mount?
Hi Richard and thank you for commenting. Obviously you need a good mount to be able to do this as it does add a fair amount of weight. For me the convenience and cable management makes that worth the extra payload. The EQ6 R Pro has no issues with this at all and my guiding is rarely above 0.6 total rms and most nights below 0.5 total rms. You actually only need 2 counterweights to balance this but they are then far down the counterweight bar so 3 closer to the centre is better. Clear skies
Hi Glenn, many greetings from Germany. Thank you for your faboulus videos, I learn so much from you. I have just bought an HEQ5 Pro and think about to buy the 130pds or the 150pds. Would I see much more with the 150pds? Which one would you recommend? Could you please tell me the name of the facebook group for the 130pds? Thank you and sorry for my poor english.
Hi Meltem and thank you for your kind comments, very nice to meet you. Both scopes are very good but would recommend the 130pds as its smaller and lighter form is easier for guiding. The 150pds is a great scope though so either will be great. You can put your camera and the scope details into free tools like, Stellarium ot telescopius ot Astronomy tools and they will show you how they would frame different targets. The facebook group is called 130PDS Astro Imagers. Your English is very good, no need to apologise. Hope I have helped and wish you luck
Great work you did there Glenn with some beautiful pictures as result, looks handy with that extra plate under the scope. Question though, where dit you find those risers ? And what kind of router do you use, is this one working on 12 volt ? Thanks in advance
Hi Siegfried and thank you for the kind comments and support. The risers I got from Altair Astro here in the UK. The router was off AMzon and called the GLinet mini travel amzn.to/3ngUwC4 Is powered via usb from the mini PC and works great. Clear skies
Hey mate, another fantastic video. Is it possible to get the end cap plan so I can print. I've just joined the Facebook group however can't find it on there. Really enjoying your content, getting a HEQ5 next week, can't wait to do a Hyper tune
Hi Stuart and thank you very much for your comments and support. Can you email me at Astrobloke@outlook.com and I will email you back the details you need. The Heq5 is a great mount and works great. Good luck with the project and please just reach out if I can help n any way. Clear skies
Hi Glen good evening to you. I've been looking on line and ebay seller has offered me a 130pds F5 Parabolic at £265,that includes delivery. It is new, and of course zi would be covered by Ebay Guarantee..Do you think that would be a fair price ? I then of course have to splash out on a Good Tripod so I can track for long exposures .. I dont know if I'm using the right Technology when I'm try to explain. But I want to be able to take deep sky photo after getting into Astrophotography in the long run..Have a great weekend. Roy
Hi Roy. Its not a terrible price but FLO (first light optics) sell it for less and would give you great support should you have any issues. www.firstlightoptics.com/telescopes-in-stock/skywatcher-explorer-130p-ds-ota.html Mount wise will really depend on your budget. Did you have a price you were thinking as a max and also whether you wanted an equatorial mount or one of the newer harmonic ones (these are light and more compact)
Hey man... about Coma Correctors which one would you buy? Sharpstar 1x, Sharpstar 0.95x or Skywatcher for F5 reflectors? I'm leaning towards the SkyWatcher one. Also... do you get obstruction from the focuser barrel? Thank you :)
Hi Rafael. I own 2 which is the Baader MPCC MkIII and the sky watcher 0.9x CC. Both work really well. The sky watcher has a flange on it which prevents you getting the image train pushed far into the focuser and means the focuser is intruding into the telescope to get focus. This can mess up the stars. I used a lathe and turned this lip off to fix this. The Baader has a lip that unscrews so unless you want a reducing CC I would go for the Baader
@@Astrobloke I would like to avoid this obstruction so you just saved me from buying the SW one :) Baader is too out of my range $. I did some research and I found the Sharpstar should do just fine. Thanks a bunch!
Superb video Glenn, as always!! - loved the disclaimer to the astro-wives too, LOL!
I really know what you mean about the satisfaction that comes with modification, it really makes the scope feel your own - I had tons of fun modifying my old 150pds with my 3d printer, such a lovely scope as I know the 130 is too!
You've taken this particular 130 to the next level, the results speak for themselves buddy! :-)
Clear skies!
Hi Luke and thank you so much for your kind comments mate. They are a lot of fun to work on and I just keep finding new things to do constantly. It keeps surprising me what this little scope is capable of and I will test its limits now on the flying bat and squid nebula that I am about to start. Thanks again for your support mate and clear skies
Man, this inspires me to go and modify my 6 inch f4 newtonian. I've already done a few things to make my life easier but especially the flocking looks interesting. I also tuned my HEQ5 with the help of your videos and it's guiding 0.4-0.7 (with no wind I have to mention). Your videos are a great addition to the astrophotography community, thanks a lot.
Thank you for your kind comments and I am really glad my videos are well received and have helped.
Thats nice guiding numbers (Newts and wind are never a good match)
The flocking makes a big contrast difference I found so worth the effort.
Clear skies
You've properly pimped that scope Glenn looks great. I particularly like the Losmandy with the Riser blocks idea, it just looks cool.
I have proper gone to town on it. Its surprising how much better it is too. I saw the idea elsewhere and yes it looks cool but very practical too. Thanks for commenting mate, clear skies
Great work Glenn, there is something so satisfying about tinkering and projects... I'm the same, always something pops into the head to investigate further. Looking at my list, I have 20 items on the brain dump list, from small mods to big projects. Keep it up, love seeing content like this.
Hi Dave and thank you so much. This is a great hobby for tinkerers thats for sure. Its all the projects that really adds the cherry on top for me. Clear skies mate.
Great Ideas you've done ,and Cracking Images 👍.
Thank you. They are great little scopes and with some tweaks work great
Great video Glenn! If you ever go into the telescope making business, I’ll be your first customer.
Thanks Joe. The Astrobloke edition Newtonian is on order for you. A snip at $1000. 😜
Mods look great. The joy of being able to 3d print parts custom parts eh! And those images looked fantastic - the stars looked pinpoint.
Thank you Logan. I am really thinking of getting a 3D printer myself. I am very happy with the results this scope returns. Thanks for watching, clear skies
@@Astrobloke You like to tinker and tweak things and make improvements etc so a 3d printer is the ultimate toy...... I mean precision piece of machinery for that sort of thing. It's so amazing that you can imagine and item you need, draw it up in whatever software you use (I use Tinkercad because it's free and simple like me) and before you know it, it's printed and that idea has materialised into physical form. I haven't used mine a lot for astro yet (just a few items) but I used it heaps when I was doing Christmas light displays to create things like snowflakes and stars and icicles to hold the pixels etc.
Glenn, another great video with sound practical advice for us all. Keep up the great work - thanks for sharing. Regards from the South Island of New Zealand.
Hi Charles. Blow my mind that I am being watched that far away around the world. Really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment, clear skies
I am always waiting for your videos about the 130pds ! Greetings from France 😊
Hi David and thank you so much for your support. Clear skies
Nice Overview Glenn. The Soap bubble Nebula Looks Very Detailed and well Resolved!
Thank you mate. It did come out well didn’t it? I hadn’t even thought of capturing it and in hindsight wish I had framed it up better. Very happy with the scope though, its taking great images
Nice video Glenn! And interesting mods. Those custom-made 3d prints are really helpful. And as always: Great images! Clear skies! :)
Thank you Tully. The 3D printer and this hobby are a good marriage. Take care mate and clear skies
Again great mods you're doing there Glenn keeping everything nice & neat unlike my spaghetti on my scope lol, looking forward to seeing the next project.
Hi Tich, thanks mate. Having lots of fun basically making my own scope lol. I like it tidy and am looking at all new cables to get it even tidier. Clear skies mate
Hey Glenn.
Hope all is well mate.
Love that Disclaimer....Deny everything. Love the mods you done, the 3D printer cap was a nice touch I thought, The saddle is brilliant, keeps everything neat, great video. Love the channel
Clear Skies mate!
Hi Ben, great to see you mate and thank you for such a lovely comment. I am very happy with all the changes I have made and really enjoying the results.
Take care buddy and clear skies
Great video again Glenn thanks for the information, still can't believe that such a small scope gives such excellent results, the digital age has sure made a difference to when a is started and any scope smaller then an 6in or 8in was considered as a toy, looking forward to seeing your next video
Hi Anthony and thank you for your comments. I think you are right that the cameras now make a huge difference. I am surprised at just how good this little scope is, love it.
Very nice Glenn. I especially like the risers and the bars.
Thanks James. They do look nice and smart. Very practical too which is a massive bonus. Clear skies
Hi Glenn,
Great video. I really like your idea of the risers building the area for the mini computer and power box. I am in the process of doing that on my CGX Rig supporting the EdgeHD 11". BTW, I told my wife 'Glenn said it was necessary that I buy more and more astronomy equipment', so beware. Plus, it is quite obvious that you thoroughly enjoy this hobby. Looking forward to seeing the next flying bats/squid video.
Hi Pat. Hope you are well. The risers are very nice and work a treat. certainly neatens everything up and works very well. No telling on me now if you buy any. clear skies
Incredible work Glenn! I love how you can make a cheap scope perform so much better with some simple, cheap tweeks. I recently pulled the trigger and bought a 130 PDS, the moment I received it I did all the mods you've done all at once. I even flocked the top and underside of the mirror mask because I put it on top of the clips, and I find that pla stuff was still reflecting some light. I hope this will be a nice improvement coming from an old, budget Meade LXD75 scope. The only thing I need to do is add a backcover over the primary including a fan, since there are still some light leaks. Sadly I can't seem to find a proper stl. file for a backcover. And since I am not that handy with 3d modelling myself, do you mind sharing your model? Ofcourse, only if you want to. I hope I can get first light with it soon, but as always when you get new gear: the weather is always against you 😅, especially here in The Netherlands
Hi and thank you for your kind comments. Excellent little scope and the mods really elevate its performance to ones that cost a lot more. Can you email me at Astrobloke@outlook.com and I will forward you the stl file for the cap I have. We are having fun with the weather now too, but lets hope we both have some clear skies soon
Amazed by your dedication ☺️
Thank you so much 😀
Awesome mods Glenn, well done👌
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment. Clear skies
Wow
Always interesting and fun to watch your videoes Glenn - especially I liked the solution with the fan and the 3D printed tube. I`ve just got the TS-Optics 8" f/5 ONTC Carbon Tube (1000mm) and I wonder if the guy who made the cap does this for others also? :) Clear skies!
Hi Arstein and thank you so much for your support and comments. Send me an email at Astrobloke@outlook.com and I discuss with you how I can help.
Clear skies
Loving your work Glenn. It’s so good to see great results coming from an affordable scope. I am struggling to get something I’m happy with from my SW 200 quattro but have just ordered a collimation kit from Farpoint which I hope will improve things. Can you please tell me which guidescope you are using in the video? I see you have a William Optics 50 listed in your equipment but this is something else. All the best from NZ.
Thank you Pete. Its very satisfying taking a budget scope and being able to improve its performance, I get really surprised at what it can do everytime I use it. I have heard that the Farpoint collimator is very good so should help. The Guidescope is like super basic. It was very cheap off ebay and called Starguider.. I think its exactly the same as the SVbony one thats sold. Just a Generic 50mm guidescope with no frills but it does have a Helical focuser included, Hope that helps and thank you for your support. Clear skies.
I also cut 1.5cm from mirror side of tube of my 150p so focuser tube doesn't cause strange stars.
I was able to turn the flange off the sky watcher CC that I use and so it can slide in further so the focuser is racked out enough so none of it intrudes. Would have cut it like you did otherwise. Thanks for watching and commenting. Clear skies
I did this too. Nice symmetrical stars now! :)
Hi Glenn. I've an CN8 Newt that I hope to modify one day along the lines you have worked out. Thanks!
Hi Douglas, that sounds great and best of luck. Thank you for watching and commenting
Another excellent video Glenn.
I’ve been thinking about installing a fan on the primary but unsure if it’ll make a difference.
Hi Robert and thank you for watching and commenting. My CT10 has fans built in and wasn’t sure the 130 really needed one. But I was discussing how pockets of warm air in a tube can cause effects on your imaging and it was easy to fit one. Just disturbs that air and also helps with any dewing
Good and well executed mods! Excellent capture of the Soap-Bubble too!
What about the diffraction from the focusser draw-tube? You can either shorten the main tube, or cut down the draw tube.
Good luck with OU4 in OIII - you'll need dark skies or very good filters (Chroma or Astrodon), preferably both!
Hi Pompey and thanks for commenting, i see you saw how I worked around the focus tube issues. I use the Antlia 3nm filters which work great, getting good data so will have a nice image 🤞
@@Astrobloke Super!
I am one half of a pair of amateurs who have a remote obsy in Spain, and have quite a bit of OIII data on OU4. I'll look up your contact details! :)
Great video Glenn! Makes me want to get a Newt and mod it myself! Not sure how I’d get on though🤣 Great images mate! Looking forward to your colab vid coming up! Back home tomorrow, can’t wait to do some Astro! Couldn’t fit my scope on the plane🤣 Clear skies!
Thank you Simon. They are great fun scopes and not that hard to work on, i have it all working now so look forward to our next outing hopefully soon. Hope you had a great trip mate.
@@Astrobloke Thanks Glenn, had a great holiday! Only problem Karen has come back with Covid! I’ve tested and I’m fine! So fingers crossed! Can’t wait to get some Astro in now I’m back, look forward to our next meeting 👍 Clear skies!
Really enjoing seeing the changes your making to your 130PDS. Would all of these be equally applicable to the 150PDS?
Hi Danny. Absolutely and would be great improvements to the scope
@@Astrobloke have you also cut down the focuser tube? I seem to recall you mentioning this
@@4500Timer hi Danny I was going to but have since found a way not to. I will mention and show this is next video involving the 130pds. I was able to get the lip machined off the sky watcher CC so can slide the imaging train right into the focuser tube, this means its racked all the way out to achieve focus so no intrusion into the scope.
@@Astrobloke That negates part of my comment I just made!
Could you do a video fully explaining the mele etc; how you connect everything. up and how you then actually use it all. There are so many electronic boxes these days for these things ("Raspberry Pie", "ASIAiR" etc). that I (and probably many others) have no clue what. to do with them and. how, exactly, they are used. You can look them all up online and read specs and descriptions but it just all becomes a 'cloud' of despair at trying to understand how they all interface and what, exactly, works with what and why? Then you find most are windows and you have a mac!! Cheers.
Hi Mark. I am actually in the process of making that exact video and hopefully will release in the next week.
@@Astrobloke Ha! Excellent. Present it like you're trying to explain to a monkey!
Enjoyed your mods to the Sky-Watcher. I just got the Sky-Watcher 6” Quattro Imaging 150P Newtonian. Been having issues with the secondary mirror adjustments. The screws are really tight and make a popping noise at times. The AstronomyShed guy had a mod on his secondary mirror he did that I will probably do. Your primary mirror and fan idea will be top on my list also. I live in the Deep South USA and lots of humidity and dew most all the year round. Does the dew strap work well? I put some resistors under the mirror on a smaller Meade DS114 Newtonian I have. The resistors were placed on top of some rock wool but were also directly under the mirror. The mirror rested on a plastic base that had recessed pockets that the rock wool was put in. The small Newtonian’s secondary mirror is in a plastic tube, I also put some resistors and rock wool behind that mirror. The secondary always fogged up first but now it is clear. DewBuster site has information on making dew heating systems from various electrical items. DewBuster guy got some hurricane Ida damage which shut him down for a while, but his site is still up and giving update status.
Hi there and thank you for messaging. Thats a nice scope you have bought and will return some lovely images. It does sound like those screws have been overtightened at some point and dug into the soft metal on the back of the secondary. I believe he puts a plate of metal or plastic there to put the flat surface back, should be easy to fix.
The dew strap with the fan in the cap works very well indeed and so far I have kept dew free.
Wish you all the best and cler skies
Great video Glenn. With the fan, you could flip it over and reverse the polarity of the plug if you want it to sit flush on the back cover but still suck air in rather than blow it out, then there’s no need to stand it off with Velcro pads. But if it works great already there’s no need I guess 👍
Sounds like a good idea, I'm interested to see is there is a benefit either way. 🤔
Thats a great shout and I didn’t think of that. Its working really well as it is but if I need to make any changes or replace the fan I will remember this and give it a try.
Hello Glenn !!! A question : the dew heater strip in the botom of the telescope (arround the primary) can produce some effects in the images?, Thanks!!! :D
Hi Jean. It never gets hot enough to cause that and the air is disturbed by the fan in the cap anyways. I never get any dew issues and have not noticed any problems on any subs taken while its on even at full
So I like a great idea having the riser, but then looking at the amount of counterweight you've got made me think that you're increasing the moment of inertia a lot by move the scope out. So is it going to make a difference to the guiding and performance of the mount?
Hi Richard and thank you for commenting. Obviously you need a good mount to be able to do this as it does add a fair amount of weight. For me the convenience and cable management makes that worth the extra payload. The EQ6 R Pro has no issues with this at all and my guiding is rarely above 0.6 total rms and most nights below 0.5 total rms. You actually only need 2 counterweights to balance this but they are then far down the counterweight bar so 3 closer to the centre is better. Clear skies
Hi Glenn, many greetings from Germany. Thank you for your faboulus videos, I learn so much from you. I have just bought an HEQ5 Pro and think about to buy the 130pds or the 150pds. Would I see much more with the 150pds? Which one would you recommend? Could you please tell me the name of the facebook group for the 130pds? Thank you and sorry for my poor english.
Hi Meltem and thank you for your kind comments, very nice to meet you. Both scopes are very good but would recommend the 130pds as its smaller and lighter form is easier for guiding. The 150pds is a great scope though so either will be great. You can put your camera and the scope details into free tools like, Stellarium ot telescopius ot Astronomy tools and they will show you how they would frame different targets. The facebook group is called 130PDS Astro Imagers. Your English is very good, no need to apologise. Hope I have helped and wish you luck
@@Astrobloke Hi Glenn, thanks a lot for your quick response. I think I will go with the 130pds.
Great work you did there Glenn with some beautiful pictures as result, looks handy with that extra plate under the scope.
Question though, where dit you find those risers ? And what kind of router do you use, is this one working on 12 volt ?
Thanks in advance
Hi Siegfried and thank you for the kind comments and support. The risers I got from Altair Astro here in the UK. The router was off AMzon and called the GLinet mini travel amzn.to/3ngUwC4
Is powered via usb from the mini PC and works great.
Clear skies
@@Astrobloke Thanks Glenn for the info !
I'm jealous
Maybe we can arrange a live stream one night here so you can join in the imaging session live and be part of it.
Hey mate,
another fantastic video. Is it possible to get the end cap plan so I can print. I've just joined the Facebook group however can't find it on there.
Really enjoying your content, getting a HEQ5 next week, can't wait to do a Hyper tune
Hi Stuart and thank you very much for your comments and support. Can you email me at Astrobloke@outlook.com and I will email you back the details you need.
The Heq5 is a great mount and works great. Good luck with the project and please just reach out if I can help n any way. Clear skies
@@Astrobloke Thanks Legend
Great mods. No vibration issues from the fan?
Hi Richard and thanks for dropping in mate. Not had any issues with the fan as yet. All the images I have taken are unaffected so happy days.
Hi Glen good evening to you. I've been looking on line and ebay seller has offered me a 130pds F5 Parabolic at £265,that includes delivery. It is new, and of course zi would be covered by Ebay Guarantee..Do you think that would be a fair price ? I then of course have to splash out on a Good Tripod so I can track for long exposures .. I dont know if I'm using the right Technology when I'm try to explain. But I want to be able to take deep sky photo after getting into Astrophotography in the long run..Have a great weekend. Roy
Hi Roy. Its not a terrible price but FLO (first light optics) sell it for less and would give you great support should you have any issues. www.firstlightoptics.com/telescopes-in-stock/skywatcher-explorer-130p-ds-ota.html
Mount wise will really depend on your budget. Did you have a price you were thinking as a max and also whether you wanted an equatorial mount or one of the newer harmonic ones (these are light and more compact)
Hey man... about Coma Correctors which one would you buy? Sharpstar 1x, Sharpstar 0.95x or Skywatcher for F5 reflectors? I'm leaning towards the SkyWatcher one. Also... do you get obstruction from the focuser barrel?
Thank you :)
Hi Rafael. I own 2 which is the Baader MPCC MkIII and the sky watcher 0.9x CC. Both work really well. The sky watcher has a flange on it which prevents you getting the image train pushed far into the focuser and means the focuser is intruding into the telescope to get focus. This can mess up the stars. I used a lathe and turned this lip off to fix this. The Baader has a lip that unscrews so unless you want a reducing CC I would go for the Baader
@@Astrobloke I would like to avoid this obstruction so you just saved me from buying the SW one :)
Baader is too out of my range $. I did some research and I found the Sharpstar should do just fine. Thanks a bunch!
@@RaffaelMarx glad I could help
Glenn your an intelligent guy, start producing these for sale.
Thank you Bruce. I think some companies do but charge a lot more for their scopes.
Is there a mice running over the roof on the right side of the intro?
excellent spot but its actually a snail lol
Hi, can u tell me, what this green spacers between the Losmandy plates are and where to get them?
Here is a link to where I bought them www.altairastro.com/altair-keystone-riser-block---pair---green-10244-p.asp
@@Astrobloke thanks a lot for the link. Your videos are very informative, keep up the good work.
@@schmaehtandla you are most welcome and thank you for the kind comment. Clear skies and good luck
Hey Glenn. What ASI camera are you using at the moment?
Hi Joakim. Using the 2600mm on the 130pds and the 294mm on the CT10
@@Astrobloke Thanks mate. Just sold my 533MC Pro and about to order 1600MM Pro :)
I'm always struck by just how reflective the mirrors are. Looks realer than real
They certainly are bright and do a fantastic job. Thank you for watching.
stl for the back cover ?
Hi Marnix. Please email me at astrobloke@outlook.com and I will sort that out for you
Why don't the manufacturers do these mods.
I should buy a load of 130pds scopes and mod them and sell the Astrobloke editions lol
You could borrow the money from Joe. He lives on a million acres😄