grab and go scope

[alro]

Hello all and thanks in advance.

im looking at maybe getting a small grab and go scope for those occasions when i dont take out my main set up. This does not need to have goto .

i am considering skywatcher heritage 130. all pros and cons welcome. I like the small amount of space thus will take and it seems a real good price.

How does this scope stand up to the elements and does this just go on a table/bench or is there a recommended mount.

thanks again team

al

[ronin]

The 130 scope will need a table or stand to go on, it is simply too small to stand on the ground.

I would almost say consider the 150P dobsonian, for all it is bigger it does not need anything to stand on, equally a table or whatever keeps the base off the ground and you can put things/bits on iot.

Whatever you get or use there still tends to be a fair bit of stuff to drag out and around.

I have adopted the idea of a trolly bag with all the stuff for a small scope - meant getting another 3 BST's - that way it is easy to pick up bag and then scope and that should be everything. Real trick is to be more then 100% sure that everything required is in the bag. Then it is grab scope, grab bag, go.

[alro]

Thanks ronin,

just had a look at the 150. Hmmmmm

i like the idea of standing 150 on ground and 130 taking less space.

compromises. However i do like the idea of more bst s.

al

[happy-kat]

I use my Heritage 130p from the ground, I sit on a low garden chair or small folding stool. It is a bit body bending but I don't have an expanded belly in the way. An upturned bucket will raise the 130 up which I also sometimes do.

[russ.will]

but I don't have an expanded belly in the way.

Get you!

I find 12" F5 Dobs too short.

Russell

[LukeSkywatcher]

Ive seen the Heritage mounted on an AZ4. Its a fellow SGL members image. Cant think whos:

[happy-kat]

Being practical it could be uncomfortable to lean over to observe if you placed it on the ground. On a table it would be too high much of the time to look through the eyepiece for me to observe so a bucket to place it on gives a better height though the base then does not sit on the 3 feet.

[alro]

Thanks for the advice guys, this has helped. Can anyone suggest any other alternatives of about same price range, 200£ tops. My preference would be new.

al

[happy-kat]

The Heritage 130p is very portable and capable and for using at home easy to create a spot to use it from where perhaps the base is a little raised. For out and about I just lean over it, the only bit that suffers from leaning over is using the RDF.

[ghostdance]

Being practical it could be uncomfortable to lean over to observe if you placed it on the ground. On a table it would be too high much of the time to look through the eyepiece for me to observe so a bucket to place it on gives a better height though the base then does not sit on the 3 feet.

Buckets are good..nay, great.  A large builders bucket works a treat with my Orion Starblast 6i when I can't be bothered with the tripod or table. Huzzah for buckets!

(I cut a hole in the middle of the bucket for the bolt to sit in, so the scope rests on the upturned bottom. Pretty darn stable!)

[alro]

Is heritage 100p a good option or is 130p much better, im thinking storage space.

al

[Highburymark]

My grab and go is a Meade ETX 105 - takes no time to set up as I generally use it without go to, simply stands on a table or balcony. Love it. Though I bow to the vastly superior knowledge and experience of others on this forum.

[John]

My grab and go is my Vixen 4" ED refractor on an alt-azimuth mount which is quick and easy to set up. I've sometimes thought of getting a 6" F/5 newtonian and putting it on a mount such as the AZ-4 as a larger aperture grab and go. We used an instrument like this at an SGL star party a few years back and saw loads of galaxies under the dark skies

[happy-kat]

Is heritage 100p a good option or is 130p much better, im thinking storage space.

al

the heritage 130p here sits on a side cupboard, not ideal perhaps for inside heat, but easy to grab and take outside. As to the foot print difference between the two for the mount having not seen a 100p can't comment on whether it is much smaller.

[MAN or ASTROMAN]

Buckets are good..nay, great.  A large builders bucket works a treat with my Orion Starblast 6i when I can't be bothered with the tripod or table. Huzzah for buckets!

(I cut a hole in the middle of the bucket for the bolt to sit in, so the scope rests on the upturned bottom. Pretty darn stable!)

I'd be tempted to call it the 'Oor Wullie Scope'.

[recceranger]

I have 2 grab and go scopes. SW 80ED and MAK 150 Pro. Use them on camping trips and star parties of simply when I jump in the car to get out of LP

They are great and no hassle. I mount on an HEQ5 which is very portable. All powered with SW 17ah Power Tank

Rick

[ghostdance]

I'd be tempted to call it the 'Oor Wullie Scope'.

Nice Clear Night    vs    Clouded Out Again....

[Alfian]

Hi Al, pretty much on a whim, I have just bought Heriitage 130P Mini-dob from AB for similar reasons to those you mention. Bought as seperate units at a useful price they were advertised as dusty but A1. The dovetail has some scuffs so I guess the scope was a used returned item or similar but is otherwise fine. The overwhelming initial impression is that it is so compact and seemed so small compared to my "old" 130EQ that I measured the aperture! I just love the way it all works and the simplicity of it BUT there is one simple bit where it falls slightly apart - the focuser. I'd read about peoples grumbles about it but thought "it can't be too bad". Wrong. It is a very very simple helical focuser which is fine in itself, but the fit is so loose its really poor and frustrating because it could have been better. There is a simple solution that many use and that is a few winds of PTFE tape on the threads and yes, bingo, its much better, it works, and quite fine focus is perfectly possible. The thing is it leaves me wanting to improve it/replace it and, because of the construction of the scope, that is not an easy thing. It would call for very well thought through irreversible surgery and I have thought about it a lot. The reason I've thought a lot about it is because I like the scope a lot. I've not used it much at all (weather) but so far it seems optically very nice (for a smallish F5!) and and so immediately deployable its ridiculous. Collimation is a doddle. The open truss design means that you can easily obscure the primary and put a coloured piece of card behind the secondary.This makes checking the secondary easy which is useful given the offset which can confuse things. After that the primary adjustment is just a few minutes of a job. Easy. So yes I like it and if I was the technical engineer type I would be drawing up plans to make a better version based on a similar design.

Regarding how to mount it, it takes very little to improvise a suitable sturdy platform. I have a garden table that is ideal, but a smallish sturdy raised platform is not hard to put together - even a bucket it seems! 

To put things in perspective though the Skyliner 150p will without any doubt be a more capable scope, more aperture with a very nice F8 focal ratio and a 2" focuser too. No competition really BUT (another) if you want something really compact and portable the Heritage 130P is an interesting package, it just depends on whether you can live  with that focuser.   

[alro]

Thanks guys, loads of great advice from you all. Definitely gave me a few options and pros and cons to look at. It will be this ball park price range i go for.

You all seem to enjoy the 130p who have it, had a look at the meade and sw that were recommended also.

al

[alro]

Ive seen the Heritage mounted on an AZ4. Its a fellow SGL members image. Cant think whos:

Paul,

Is it straightforward  and quick to attach your 130 to the az4 and do you need any extra attachment etc?

Thanks

Al

[LukeSkywatcher]

As far as i know its straight forward. The dovetails are the same size if i am not mistaken. 

[Moonshane]

the scope I can get out most rapidly and use is my 12" f4 dob. if I were in a position of not doing any solar observing I'd probably have a 6" f5 newtonian on an AZ4 as a cheapest option but really like my Giro 3 mount on a steel legged EQ5 tripod.

this can take my two solar refractors (100mm Tal based PST and a 120mm ED for white light) together easily so weight would not be an issue.

assuming you want to look at 'everything' then I think a small newtonian is a better bet than a fast achromatic refractor. I'd be tempted to go the solid tube route than the the heritage route simply due to the better focuser.

[alro]

Thanks moonshane, would Skywatcher Explorer 130P SupaTrak AUTO be a better option from what ive described?

Al

[LukeSkywatcher]

I have to agree with Shane (as im sure most Heritage owners would). The focuser on the Heritage is a bit of a nightmare. 

[Alfian]

I have to agree with Shane (as im sure most Heritage owners would). The focuser on the Heritage is a bit of a nightmare. 

Its a real shame about the focuser for it spoils an otherwise remarkable little 'scope. The PTFE fix does work and it does make it quite a usable focuser and indeed you wind up (excuse pun) with a useful very portable set up. I paid £80 for mine from AB which was OK but I have to say if I'd paid full price I think I would have returned it.