NOTE: Sections are kinda thrown together, so some newer ones might contradict older ones as my current equipment changes.....

My current setup is as follows....

• Megrez II SD Semi Apo on way!!!
• Skywatcher Startravel 150mm short tube achro. refractor (Now Sold)
• EQ5 german equatorial mount on (not perfect) stainless steel tripod
• Vesta SC1.5 webcam re-chipped to Philips Toucam Pro 840k
• HP/Compaq NC4000 Ultra-Portable laptop
• Random eyepieces and boxes to protect it all and other bits n bobs

Its a fairly simple design. The light comes in through a big hole in the end, and travels to the bottom of the scope, where a mirror (the primary) reflects it back up the tube, 'focussing' it onto another smaller mirror (secondary) The secondary is angled to reflect the light out of a hole in the side of the tube, where it is focussed through an eyepiece.

However, because the mirrors need to be accurately lined up, it is necessary to  'collimate' the scope often (line the mirrors up) This is a delicate process that can be done very roughly or very accurately. One fast way is to use a laser, but many will tell you this is not the most accurate way. The seasoned astronomers out there can gain higher precision than a laser by collimating by eye. I am not a seasoned astronomer...And I don't like having to re-collimate all the time! It's not a difficult process, nor does it take very long, its just annoying!

This is the reason I hvae moved towards refracting telescopes.

Description of first Ultra-Portable I bought....

Bargain orice from E-bay, seller was less than co-operative but eventually everything went through ok. It was a Toshiba Portege 3480ct with a 600mhz P3 and 192MB Ram. After holding the >1inch thick laptop, i was immediately addicted to ultraportables and saw the advantages they offered to astronomers immediately.

It worked well on small games, small media applications etc. and obviously was perfect for doing college work on. However, I was made an offer on it I couldn't resist so sold it on at a nice profit.

Current: HP/Compaq NC4000

Well this is the current ultra-portable. It's not quite as small as the last one, but it boasts a 1.4Ghz Pentium M (chip used in Centrino Laptops) and 512MB Ram and a much bigger 40GB of storage. As with the last it hasn't got any internal optical drives, but the long battery life and high performance is great for using out with the scope.

One piece of advice I would offer is keeping the aptop warm in winter, as the cold can really hamper the battery performance of the laptop! This cost a small £390 and is plenty of performance for University work and astronomy alike. I can't understand why anyone would use the huge desktop replacement notebooks after using one this size! Anyways, theres a good review of this particular model on the CNET site if you want to read more onthem. Mine was from www.cheap-it.com

Vesta SC1.5 Webcam...

Well a little different than planned, this camera came up for sale at a abargain price. It seemed fellow forum memebr Andy Ellis aka Coxellis had acquired an old Philips Vesta pro camera (pcvc680k) and re-chipped it with the more sensitive Sony ICX098BQ which is the chip found in the Philips Toucam Pro (PCVC840k)

It's modded for LX mode, is air cooled and also Amp off, which reduces the glow that begins to develop in the corner of an ordfinary LX image. Please contact Andy Ellis directly from his website or on the UKAI website, he's pretty much becoming the best guy on the web regarding CCD modifications, and not forgetting he does them all at no profit!

However, Sods law that as I get the camera I need to sell the laptop I bought (at a very nice profit on what I paid so I couldn't resist!) But to remedy this a good friend on the forum Nick King has sent me an old P1 laptop until I get another one. It won't do much good for capturing planetary AVI's but copes with LX very well.

However, if your wondering what I did with the money from the laptop, check out the new mount......

Well I sold a few various bits and upgraded my mount to an EQ5.

It's a german equatorial, so identical in concept to the previous mount, but the load bearing is greater (to take the new heavier scope) and also is easier to accurately polar align thanks to the polar scope. I saved a bit of money as the tripod had a little bit of damage, I've managed to brace the legs with some strong chain, but it's still not ideal to use at full extension as the weight of the 'scope is pretty close to the limit.

It's motorized in RA for photography and is definately a great mount for the cost. Like I said, the stainless steel legs are not very solid, leading me to either start looking at portable pedestals or building some replacement hardwood legs.

Anyways, not much to say on it, but I would advise ayone with this mount to check out Astronomy Boy's website for some great tutorials on servicing this mount and improving it. (The EQ5 and CG5 are near identical clones of the Vixen GP mount)

http://www.astronomyboy.com/cg5/ - Astronomy Boys CG5 improvements