19 replies to this topic

[manolito]

Could I fix the Skyscope in my Dobson 8"?

[Zamboni]

Uh... what?

[Jawaid I. Abbasi]

Yes you can IF the dob do not have ferrous oxide characteristics

[RobDob]

I use an Orion Slo-mo mount on my old Coulter Odyssey 10". Coupled with a Telrad it's a pretty effective push-to system. Most objects I can get within about 1 degree. The Telrad helps with nearby bright star reference to the object I'm looking for if I get lost.

I'm not getting any magnetic interference, probably because the mount is aluminum and the scope tube is cardboard, was afraid that the Skyscout would pick up some interference from the battery in the Telrad and misc. little bolts on the mount, but not so .

Another alternative is the Scope Scout. I came this close '' to ordering one until I realized I had an old slo-mo mount in my scope bag (almost forgot that I had bought one years ago).

Orion slo-mo mount: http://www.telescope...-motion-adapter

Rob

Attached Files

•  4012037-SkyScoutMounting2.jpg   95.35KB   105 downloads

[Rob E]

Yes you can IF the dob do not have ferrous oxide characteristics

Did you mean ferrous metals that would interfere with magnetic fields? (Ferrous Oxide is rust.)
Respectfully,

[Jawaid I. Abbasi]

Yes Rob. That is what I mean and thank you for correcting the statement.

I hesitate to use the word IRON and hence I wrote Ferrous Oxide.

[dmgriff]

Yes, you can mount the skyscout to a dob.

The astronomy-shoppe has some adapters that will allow one to mount the Skyscout to the supplied ota finder scope dovetail on your scope. The product simply mounts the Skyscout at a distance from the ota that resolves the interference problem.

Then, you have to align the Skyscout to your dob ota. There's the rub.

Also, putting the weight of the Skyscout up around the focuser, may require some additional weight adjustment on the dob ota.

Good viewing,

Dave

[tincup01]

I haven't tried it with a Sky Scout (I am thinking about buying one), but I do have a cheap digital climometer on my 8" Dobsonian (magnetic), plus a "after market" brake. I use the coordinates from some laptop software to tell me the ALT and then find the object my moving the scope backwards and forwards. I live near London, England, so skies are not great . The Sky Scout could replace the laptop (giving you the ALT) and the 'heads up' :jump:about the horizontal direction.

[Beau Brummell]

I've just bought a SkyScout to mount on my Dob.
I found a neat little bracket to hold the SkyScout slightly forward of the OTA and therefore should not pickup magnetic interference.
However, the SkyScout has gone in for repair due to a fault so I haven't been able to use it yet or confirm the success of my OTA mount method.

Great thread though, thanks!

[tincup01]

I just got my second hand Sky Scout at the weekend. This one is about three years old. It had the battery sleeves and everything except corded handle. It worked first time - it noticed my patio heater was made of steel :o. It identified the moon ;)and Altair :jump:plus it 'found' Jupiter . Fanastic piece of kit. It is worth upgrading the software, since it seems to work as is?

[DavidD]

Beau -

What mount did you get? In my experimenting, I had to have the SkyScout about a foot to 2 feet away from the OTA before it would stop complaining of interference.

What did you sent the SkyScout in for, and how did you get Celestron to agree to work on it? Mine is off a bit - the object is just outside the viewing circle - and Celestron keeps telling me it's working normally.

David

[Beau Brummell]

Hi David,

Right here goes...!
Mine was off too. I could be in the middle of a field and it would not even identify the moon let alone a bright star correctly.
...not good enough for me! I don't want to learn the night sky all wrong because a piece of clever kit is malfunctioning.

After lengthy discussions with the manufacturer about things to try that might be upsetting it I sent it straight back after nothing made it work.

I just got another today and it's even worse!
This one is a MILE off! I changed the batteries (I always have loads of batteries), walked well away from the house, car, children's climbing frame, took off my watch - nothing made it any better.

No good at all for me. It's good to vent this though because I'm extremely disappointed right now.

The mount seemed good though! ha ha!
It's a Pedco UltraClamp - aluminium and plastic. www.pedcopods.com
I was really pleased with this. It holds the SkyScout just forwards of the OTA and sits in between the focuser and the finder...perfect!

Cheers

[DavidD]

Beau -

I have a clamp similar to that, that I use for binoculars. I didn't even thing about using it. I can't picture how you clamped it on.....can you post a picture. Also, did you test it enough to verify the SkyScout didn't complain? I've tried wood/aluminum to shield it, but the closest I could get to the OTA was about a foot. I've sort of given up, and working on a mount for my binoculars/SkyScout/GLP. But, I'd still be interested in how you did it.

Mine is a bit weird. If I aim at an object and click identify, it usually has the object as the top object on the list. If I try to go to an object, though, when I get to where the circle goes solid, the object is just at or just off the edge. If I work back towards the object, I can go just a bit before the SkyScout wants me to move back.

Now, there is one possibility. Arizona doesn't go on daylight savings time. I can't find any place to tell it to not do DST. I could be off by an hour. I've tried setting the time manually, but since it loses it every time it goes off, it's a pain. I also can't always remember which way to adjust the time to get the SkyScout to be correct. Once the rest of you are out of DST, I'll check it again.

My current plan is to mount the binoculars/SkyScout/GLP together. I'm working on a plate to allow the SkyScout tilt to be adjusted relative to the binoculars. Then, I can calibrate and aim the binos/GLP at the object, and pretty much ignore where the SkyScout is pointing.

David

[Beau Brummell]

Hi David
Yep, I'll try and post a picture for you.
However, The SkyScout doesn't use Daylight Saving Time, don't forget, and punching in the time manually and adjusting for your timezone might make it worse.

Your SkyScout is working slightly better than mine did I think.

I like your current plan of attaching it to your bins.

I would ask why it is that some SkyScout owners say theirs is spot-on, but some of us find it isn't and have to resort to other methods in order to make use of it.

I sent my replacement back and am debating whether or not to go for a third SkyScout - the store must be fed up!

Cheers!

[Jawaid I. Abbasi]

Mine worked perfectly. Perhaps, I have everything made from aluminum except couple of bolt.

[DavidD]

Beau -

I'd try at least one more time. I'm not sure what is "off" on some of the units. I know they have tried to make these as user friendly as possible, but they really should have made allowances for user calibration.

Jawaid -

This is being off with no mount at all. I'm using wood/aluminum for mounting, but even hand held, and as far away from buildings and metal that I can get, I'm still right around the border of the circle instead of dead on.

David

[Jawaid I. Abbasi]

David,
Mine does not dead on the target but it is "most of the time" within the circle. I beleive that both devices from Meade and Celestron are not perfect.

Lets say; you are looking m36 then It will show you within the circle or very close to it and ofcourse; you can't see naked eyes from Mag 3 to Mag 5 so it is giving you the general idea where the object it should be.

One importent factor when using without tripod and that is; it must be away from you (at least 2 feet). It is not a zero finder so if you bring the device closer to eyes; you get more error.

[Jawaid I. Abbasi]

I use only to locate the object as close as possible and then do a spiral search. It usually takes 15 seconds to see the object in my binocular.

[DavidD]

Jawai -

I either have mine on the tripod with a wood mount, or I hold it at arms length. I essentially lay one circle on top of the other. Most of the time I'm just outside the circle. Rarely I'll be on the line. It's close enough to use it, and as I said, I can reaim whatever device (binos) to be looking at the correct spot.

BTW, I bought an aluminum sheet to put under it, so I can adjust the tilt, but I haven't had time to work on it. The sheet ended up about 4x larger than I needed. A friend who does metal work pulled if from the scrap bin when he was out metal shopping. I also have some aluminum bars to hopefully remake my wooden mount with (stiffer). Time, just need time....

David

[Jawaid I. Abbasi]

David,
If it the case as you described then It must have some problem.

When I bought mine about 3 or 4 months ago; I never bother to see what version do I have and still do not know. As long it is giving me correct co-ordinates; I am happy.

Although, I do not use it frequently but on those time when an object become challenge.