dweller25

2 hours ago, Rainmaker said:

Funny how often many people quote RC .......  I have a very nice Newtonian with an excellent mirror, a well set up SIPS system but there so many occasions when my refractors put up a better image

Obviously the Newtonian will have its advantage in terms of ability to resolve finer details but the fact remains that so often the sky conditions of seeing and transparency set the limit to what the scopes can do..... in optimum conditions there is no question about what a very good large mirror can do, but  more often when the conditions, including the position of the target planet in the sky, are sub-optimal the refractors are my choice......

 

but we are veering away from the topic that is FS102 V TSA102..........

I really do not want to hijack the OP’s thread and understand the issues you have with a large aperture Scope like your 18”

My experience in the UK is that my 5” Tak ALWAYS shows more planetary detail than my 4” Tak and a 10” Newtonian USUALLY outperforms both on the planets, unless the seeing is poor - then the smaller refactors will show a steadier image than the Newt but the level of planetary detail will still be very low in both types of scope.

There have been several constructive replies to the question asked by the OP and alternatives have been discussed too, but in the end it’s up to the OP to decide what he/she would like to do, but I think we all agree that you cannot go far wrong with a 4” Tak 👍🙂

8 hours ago, Rainmaker said:

Fixed that for you !

 

Here are the thoughts of a world famous refractor manufacturer.......

https://www.cloudynights.com/articles/cat/articles/how-to/what-is-the-best-planetary-telescope-r402

1 hour ago, foffof said:

Thanks alot, do you have experience with 100dz and is it better for planets than FS102 or 100DL.

All the 4” Taks are probably very similar in performance - but honestly a cheaper 10” Newtonian will be better on the planets.

29 minutes ago, foffof said:

Many thanks for the very useful opinion. I read that fs102 is better on Jupiter at high magnifications due to better contrast of the fluorite element, is there someone who shares this opinion?

I suspect there is very little difference, perhaps you may be better considering the new FC100DZ ?

22 minutes ago, AliP80 said:

Wow guys thank you so much for all your help! I'm definitely leaning towards the dobsonian, but good call on the Bressier, I hadn't considered that. Tbh I was originally thinking a £200 budget so already going over on the Skywatcher dob! But maybe I can be swayed...as you say, you get what you pay for! I have a couple of other questions, how easy is it to set up? I've read that is needs collimating (forgive my ignorance but I've no idea what that is, I'm super new to all this lingo!)...? Also, is it worth getting a barlow lens (or other), and a filter for the moon glare? I've read in certain reviews that it's worthwhile getting those things as well...

It is worth spending the extra money on the Bresser and First Light Optics are great to buy from.

An 8” Dobsonian will give serious performance for a very long time.

Dobsonians are very easy to setup - the base and scope can be carried outside separately if required in two trips at the most.

Collimation is just ensuring the mirrors all line up with each other - there are loads of guides on the net which take longer to read than the actual process takes 😀

The Bresser is supplied with a 25mm eyepiece giving x49 which is good for deep sky and the Moon, perhaps a barlow first then another eyepiece later would be a good first step.

Hello @AliP80 and welcome to SGL.

The 8” Dobsonian is an excellent scope for beginners and experienced users too and can be upgraded in the future to a fully motorised/ tracking telescope as it suits you.

It will easily show a wealth of detail on the Moon and planets and as you have dark skies will perform well on the deep sky objects too.

3 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Hi, welcome to SGL 

I have a 120mm f8.3. They are excellent at low powers but bit of an unwieldy beast. An EQ6 is the minimum I would say.

If you are after inexpensive low power views, how about this https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-130p-ds-ota.html At £179 it comes with a (basic) 28mm 2" eyepiece giving x23 and a 2.4° field of view. It is also a capable imaging scope should you choose to venture down that route later.

Good suggestion 👍

The Skymax 127 is a good 5” scope - how about buying a 32mm eyepiece for it to give x47 and an exit pupil size of 2.7mm ?

https://www.365astronomy.com/32mm-GSO-Plossl-Eyepiece.html

https://www.telescopehouse.com/televue-32mm-plossl-eyepiece-1-25.html

Hello @Plissken and welcome to SGL

For deep sky objects you may be better with more aperture than 72mm.

Have you thought about a Dobsonian ?

See this thread on Cloudynights - I suspect it is the same guy ?

Sounds like there was a problem with the visual back.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/695985-i-tried-to-collimate-my-sct-after-2-hrs-i-didnt-do-much/

50 minutes ago, noah4x4 said:

A new SCT rarely needs collimating. My advise is don’t (at least not yet).  Instead concentrate on better focusing the camera. 

I think it’s too late for that as the OP has been tinkering 😩

I must have been unlucky as my C6 and C9.25 needed collimating, however my C8 was spot on 🙂

Sorry - but don’t expect miracles 

That is exactly what I did - it worked well 👍

How do slightly out of focus star images look ?

When well collimated you should see several perfect concentric circles like this....

@Captain Magenta

I suspect your primary is not pointing directly at your secondary so would suggest you focus (pun intended) on that first.

Looking at the scope from the front in daylight and examining the hall of mirrors may help you to get reasonably good collimation.

Here is a little info......

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/429506-diamond-z/

Not really, just wait for a clear night and use the Moon to align the finder

Lots of factors can give an unsteady image.....

Target at a low altitude

Scope not cooled properly - a scope stored outside in a garage/shed will still need a little time to reach true ambient temperature.

Observing over the roofs of houses giving off heat

Scope set up on concrete giving off heat - grass is best

High wind speeds

The Jet stream 

Your video is quite good given it was windy 👍

5 hours ago, Neil H said:

Thank you mind is the VX8L 

Your all nice folk on here it's the best forum by far 

Well it does seem to focus so may be I don't need one , so how can I set up the spotter scope in the day time unless I can find something miles away 

I also had the VX8L.

To align the finder during the day on a church spire around 1/4 mile away I had to use all the extension tubes in the focuser.

Once under the stars I had to remove one extension tube to get focus.

I also moved the primary to it’s furthest setting from the secondary.

@Neil H

You will not need the extension tube when you focus on astronomical targets

Good advice from Stu 👍

Moon & Venus taken with an iPad 19:20UT 

Unexpectedly I am enjoying ST Picard.

It’s pitched just right for Patrick Stewarts age and the storyline is intriguing.

It’s good 🙂

13 hours ago, Vicky050373 said:

I feel as though my vintage frac has really let page 99 down in the "serious glass" category LOL 

No,no @Vicky050373, I think your scope is the most interesting 👍

1 hour ago, Captain Magenta said:

... well it turns out that @dweller25 was right after all, my apologies. The focuser arrangement *is* offset, allowing for adjustment of the distance from focus-knob axis to the big sprocket.

Back plate, baffle-tubes and focus mechanism all now reassembled with new fittings, pics and more descriptions to follow...

cheers, Magnus

👍