Advice on new kit

[ER Man]

Hi. New to astronomy, (1st post so be gentle!!!) but have always had a keen interest since visiting the lake district about 15yrs ago through my work. It was on a clear cold December night at an outward bound centre. Looking up it was amazing, as if there were layer upon layer upon layer of stars that I had never seen before. Came home boasting about it. The wife has also taken a keen interest as well since I took her down to see the millions of stars that can be seen without a scope. In the short time we were there we observed  5 shooting stars and a satellite, absolutely fantastic, clear dark crispy night, she was boasting to everyone  to get it on their bucket list!!! 

So have decided to purchase my first scope. Would like to know if the system I am thinking of purchasing would be suitable, as I would rather spend the money now getting a decent scope/mount that will last for years. I live in Scotland and have good dark skies to rear of house as we look over fields in all directions.

I am looking at a Skywatcher Skymax 127 scope. Seems to get good reviews and is suitable for  4 of the points below.

1 - Portability

2 - Possible photograph in future.

3 - Ease of setting up.

4 - Good all rounder as regards to imaging.(as much as I will require anyway)

5 - Mount - Able to use without power.

Can't decide on the mount between an EQ3 Pro Goto setup or a SynScan AZ GoTo .

What I have researched so far(main Points only) for the mounts are:-

The AZ uses batteries so is less weight to carry/transport. But can't track for long exposures.

The EQ3 mount, if I am reading correctly requires a power pack/ 12v Battery to operate? But can track for long exposures

Both can be connected to computer and run Stellarium if required.

Unable to find info as regards being able to use any of them without power?

Hope someone out there can help regarding above, and help make my mind up. Always open to suggestions from knowledgeable people regarding kit.

Thanks

Frank

[baggywrinkle]

Most mounts that use batteries have a connector to allow a power pack to drive them too.

AZ mounts allow perhaps 30 secs max for exposures.

I have not used an EQ3 but some have said that they are a bit light for serious AP work.

As the OTA is F11.8 is is mainly suited to planetary and lunar observing, for DSO work you need something a tad faster. However it will reveal brighter DSO's.

[ER Man]

Thanks very much for the reply. It doesn't  tell you that in the EQ3 information leaflet. Is there any that you could recommend that I could look at on line to give me an idea as to what's right for the job.

Can any of the above be used manually if no power available?

[NGC 1502]

Hi Frank.  It's a tough call advising on kit for someone else.......it's easier to choose a wife for someone else than a scope

First up, best to decide your budget and let us know, so many choices at all price points.

Portability....what to one person is portable, to another definitely is not....if you can get to a dealer with a showroom then that could help a lot with that part of your decision, or maybe get along to an astronomy club and chat to the members.

Visual astronomy can be done with basic kit that needs no power supply, the popular Skywatcher 200p Dobsonian is a good example of that, and under a dark sky will be great, but you need to learn the sky, find stuff manually, and hand track, are you up for that ?  If not, maybe a go-to scope that may also be ok for imaging may be your best bet, but please don't underestimate the steep learning curve, and of course a good power supply is needed, built in batteries are not the best especially on a cold night.

Hope that helps, at least a bit, Ed.

[TwoPi]

Hi Frank,

Regarding using driven mounts without power, I only have experience of my 200P with the SynScan AZ GOTO. With mine, whilst you can move it without power it is not a smooth action and so is fairly impractical to nudge around. Especially compared with the beautifully smooth action of an un-driven Dobsonian.

The EQ mount might be different, but I would definitely check in a showroom first if you want to do this. Otherwise assume you will need power.

A little more food for thought perhaps!

Cheers,

[oldpink]

Hi frank

I'm just down the road from you (Blantyre)

if you want to go down the AP road at some point your mount will be very important

thats why I went for the EQ5 with synscan and the 200 with its F5 FL

also if you are doing DSO you are better having a decent power supply as you will have other equipment that needs power
laptop's etc

[Alien 13]

I use the EQ3-2 and it is reasonably portable mine only has the single axis motor so battery life with the standard pack is quite good (the current drawn is 290mA tracking and 380mA when slewing).

The mount is better than most people think for AP provided its used with short FL camera lenses or scopes up to about 400mm FL, 2 min unguided subs are doable with accurate polar alignment.

The one problem with the mount though is the tripod which is not as stable as the steel tubed ones but mine is never extended and works ok.

Alan

[Charic]

ER Man.......Hi, welcome to SGL, Whatever you choose, remember its dark up there and you need something that captures any and all of the  photons within that darkness, so aperture is a very important feature, generally the bigger the better. 

There really isn't a telescope that caters for all disciplines faithfully and without fault or omissions?

I would recommend for your visual work, the Sky-watcher Skyliner 200P .This telescope should last you a lifetime, easy set-up, a breeze to use, a decent forgiving aperture,  and will accept most eyepieces.

I just lift the telescope outside, and its ready to go, straight away at the lowest of powers until the optics have cooled and settled, then I can use the highest powers, depending on atmospheric conditions. All telescopes do require a cooling period from warm environments.

With the GoTo EQ setups, there is Polar Alignment,  Star alignment, then programming your position, get any of that wrong and its a missed night. Get it right and your well on your way. Everyone becomes proficient with practice, but all that set-up, for me, is a waste of time, just for visual observations. I have  a 127EQ so I learnt the procedures, and very quickly too. But what a mess, adjust this, adjust that, tilt, rotate, and that's repeated for every target and the 127mm aperture didn't help except on the Moon. I'm more than happy with my Skyliner, just point it to where I want to see and then observe, following the movement of my target. No fiddly adjustments, just follow the target. couldn't be  any easier. Should you want to further progress into astro, then the SW 80ED and the 100ED scopes have good reports.

[ER Man]

Thanks to all for the advice, Iam glad I have not done anything rash before seeking advice from people who know what they are talking about. So I will have a rethink regarding Goto mounts at present and stick to the good old manual, when more proficient with the sky could always upgrade with motor drive. As for the scope I will check out the 200. Hope to spend in the region of £500 to £600. 

[ronin]

If AP is what you want to do then you need to forget visual to a fair extent.

A 127 Mak has too long a focal length, any slight movement is amplified by the focal length.

The 200P is a nice visual scope but again it has a fair focal length, either 1000mm or 1200mm, it  is not exactly a lightweight and owing to its size any breeze will cause unwanted movement.

We had a talk by a serious imager, actually 3 came along from a local club, some of the answers he gave did not exactly please the people that asked them.

[happy-kat]

What about the 130PDS or the 150PDS giving visual and imaging support with the later being dependant on the mount.

Do you want to find stuff yourself or punch in a number and get shown it?

[oldpink]

you are more than welcome to pop down on a clear night and see my setup running
will give you an idea what the 200 can do for both visual and AP

[ER Man]

From the great response I'm getting, I now believe that a straight manual setup would at this present time be the one to go for, until more experienced gained at least.( Im a keen photographer but didn't realise whats involved in taking pictures of the planets etc).  I can take the scope out and manually move it about without trying to set up a point and go system. This could be purchased later.  In the back of my mind I think this was the system I prefered but couldn't convince myself, as being new to the game i thought the goto was the answer with all the bells and whistles. But when broken down in the light of day it might be a nightmare to start with. I have been on the web all day checking out scopes/mounts. I like the 200p but looks to bulky as the wife takes the kitchen sink when we go anywhere.  Would a SKYWATCHER STARTRAVEL-120 or 150 be suitable on an Azimuth mount as regards portability/setup and viewing, that way everything is down to me to setup and locate, and I will be learning at the same time?

Thanks to all that have taken the time to advise. That would be great oldpink. Id like that very much thank. The way the weather is up here at present it might be a while tho!!!

Frank

[Charic]

The Skyliner 200P  will lay across the back seat of a Focus sized car, wrapped in a duvet! The Dobsonian  mount sits on the front seat or in the boot! The OTA( Optical Tube assembly ) weighs 9kg and the base weighs 13kg 

[oldpink]

tonight is a bit of a washout, tomorrow looks a bit better but after that its Rubbish the rest of the week
if we get a window in the weather I'll drop you a PM if its looking good
like I said more than happy to help out

[ER Man]

Thanks again oldpink. Will be watching.

 Its a great specked scope, but rather keep it out of site in boot as we go down to Gloucester quite often to stay with sister-in-law and the car is full. May try and convince better half to purchase this for home use only, and Skytravel 120/150 for portability.

If you don't hear from me again you know she said NO!!!!

[ER Man]

Done more research on advice given here and have decided on SW Explorer 200P at present, at least for the house anyway. Would also like to mount on an Alt-Azimuth mount if this is possible due to weight/size. Don't want an EQ mount at present, just want to do manually. When more knowledgeable/experienced would like to purchase SW Evo 80/100 DS. Would like to pay for a good Alt-Azimuth mount the now that would if poss take the weight of both scopes(not at same time). Unfortunately there is not a lot of info regarding mounts/scope weights out there. Can someone help or supply a link to a suitable one. Or am I barking up the wrong tree again as for my expectations of what is available?

[ER Man]

OOps forgot to include Tripod AND mount in post above ---- sorry

[faulksy]

why not go for this from flo http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html  you wont find a better retailer either

[NGC 1502]

Done more research on advice given here and have decided on SW Explorer 200P at present, at least for the house anyway. Would also like to mount on an Alt-Azimuth mount if this is possible due to weight/size. Don't want an EQ mount at present, just want to do manually. When more knowledgeable/experienced would like to purchase SW Evo 80/100 DS. Would like to pay for a good Alt-Azimuth mount the now that would if poss take the weight of both scopes(not at same time). Unfortunately there is not a lot of info regarding mounts/scope weights out there. Can someone help or supply a link to a suitable one. Or am I barking up the wrong tree again as for my expectations of what is available?

If you are looking for a simple alt-az mounted manual scope, then the Skywatcher 200p is very popular for a good reason, biggest 'bang for the buck' around. Link in post # 19.

Regards, Ed.

[ER Man]

Yes looks good for the price, easy to use, and a good one to start with as a first scope.

My mate at work made a good statement when I was explaining to him re types of scopes to buy. He said that "the more light you can get into a scope the further back in time you can see". Which proves a point ..

Thanks ED

[Charic]

Done more research on advice given here and have decided on SW Explorer 200P at present, at least for the house anyway. Would also like to mount on an Alt-Azimuth mount if this is possible due to weight/size. Don't want an EQ mount at present, just want to do manually. When more knowledgeable/experienced would like to purchase SW Evo 80/100 DS. Would like to pay for a good Alt-Azimuth mount the now that would if poss take the weight of both scopes(not at same time). Unfortunately there is not a lot of info regarding mounts/scope weights out there. Can someone help or supply a link to a suitable one. Or am I barking up the wrong tree again as for my expectations of what is available?

An Alt-Azimuth tripod  would take up a greater surface area in use, and in storage if left  fully set-up. The Dobsonian mount will take less space but weighs 13kgs.  If you buy the Explorer 200P, you would get it with an EQ mount, then have to buy an Alt-Az mount seperate ? The Skyliner 200P just has the Dobsonian mount, which is, technically an Alt-Az, with only one lock?

The magnification will be slightly different between the two scopes. Explorer F-1000  f/5  &  Skyliner F-1200 f/6, the Skyliner has  the  slightly larger magnification for a given eyepiece.

Will you be able to reach up to the eyepieces if mounted up on a tripod? Its just a thought.

[Carina Lass]

Eq3 and a nice 102 ED. Great views, great clarity, easy to use for AP and easy to move.

[ER Man]

Thats what I was thinking as well regarding storage. less moaning from the wife!!

Nice scope- worth considering

[ER Man]

Update re-purchase of first scope.(after asking permission from my better half!!!

Purchase 1 – “Making Every Photon Count” by Steve Richards. Book arrived23/4. Up to page 60 already – arriving home at 0400hrs this morning, after working from 0800 yesterday, decided to read a few pages – crawled into bed at 0530. Great read/advice. A MUST HAVE information book as recommended on this forum. Thanks for that.

Have made a database for equipment – scope-mounts-lenses-dew shields,-t mounts etc. narrowed scope down to Nexstar 5SE?  with its goto -EASY? set up and portability. Would have preferred the 6SE for the heavier mount for the future purchase of a SW 80 ED refractor, but this mount doesn’t come with a built in wedge like the 5SE so would require the purchase of a wedge at a later date.The mount for the 5SE should be able to take the weight of the 80ED with the info found on web. The problem I have is regards my camera which is a Samsung GX10 DSLR.  I am unable to track down a t-ring to suit (any advice web link to try?) a Pentax K mount doesn’t fit.

Above not set in stone, as yet, only the t-ring.

Thanks Frank