My Setup

Whenever the great British weather permits me - I try and get my telescope out.
Unfortunately it's not clear and wind free as often as I'd like!
I've now got one of these!

I managed to get the planning permission quickly... no - not from the council ...from the wife :P

I have a fairly modest set up :
I upgraded in Nov 2011
Meade LXD55 8" SCT - Telescope
Meade LX200 Classic 10" SCT - Telescope
Starlight Xpress SXV-M7C - CCD Camera
Opticstar PL-131C - planetary and guiding camera.
Macbook (Running XP under bootcamp) - for the image capture and auto guiding
Astro Engineering AC282 pier - for mounting the LX200.
Astro Engineering AC400 wedge - for polar aligning the LX200.
Shoestring GPUSB - guiding interface.
Orion Solar Filter - for looking at the sun.
Meade AP909 - guider interface for LXD55.

I have also just taken possession of an Autostar Upgrade Kit for LX200 Classics.
This gives me back the Autostar functionality that I had with the LXD55.
The Classic handbox is ok - but the Autostar is better - worth the additional $545 + UK customs charges?... I'll let you know..

Ebay Scammers - you gotta love them!

The initial purchase of the observatory from Pulsar Observatories was easy and pain free.

When I came to upgrade to the LX200 from my LXD55, I wanted to purchase the wedge and the marry plate to fit the AC282 pier (from Scopes and Skies / Astro Engineering).. oh boy was this painful.
They were unable to answer my questions on the phone and then did not call me back with answers. They also ignored all emails!
Did they not want to seel these items?

In the end, I had to drive 125 miles to Scope and Skies on a Saturday morning to see if they had the items in stock..
If anyone else had sold the Wedge and Marry Plate - I would have gone to them - even if the items were more expensive. Customer service like that in this day and age, especially when we are in recession, is criminal.

I certainly would not recommend them for upgrades / accessories.

In addition to the telescope, I'm always on the lookout for Aurora (Northern lights), and do enjoy looking out for the ISS and Iridium flares.
Living in Swindon (latitude 51 degrees) - It is quite rare to get a glimpse of Aurora, plus you have to find somewhere dark!

A selection of my pics are here..