Couple of new (small) purchases

My new Skywatcher laser collimator arrived yesterday (Tuesday). That's excellent service from First Light Optics although I was surprised it turned up at all, given that there was a local postal strike yesterday.

The collimator looks good and feels quality, although not as solid and as heavy as the sporadically defunct Revelation one is (I might keep the Revelation one - it might come in handy as a cosh if I decide to go observing along the Military Road one night and uninvited guests turn up!). It also has seven brightness settings. Sadly no instructions were with it, which would have been a bit of a bugger if I had been someone who didn't know how to use the thing!


Today, while I was in a local art shop I came across a handy-looking clip-on LED light. It looks just the job for observing, because 'juggling' torch, sketchbook, pencils, blending stump, etc AND keeping the object centered in the field of view becomes old very quickly! Making the white LED red might be a bit of a challenge but I bought some red acetate and some red tissue paper and this should make a handy sketching aid, particularly as there's no annoying 'bullseye' effect which you do get with some lights. It's also incredibly lightweight which is a big plus because you don't want a heavy object hanging from your sketchbook! However, as it is rather too lightweight, I hope it lasts, especially as it cost a rather extortionate £9.99.