Brainstorm

can't see the picture.. I'm just hunting around to see the sort of things I'll be seeing once I get a clear sky, I've had my SW 130mm for about a week now and it's done nothing but rain.. Do I need to be an advanced member to view pics or something? I know I can't get into the sales forum just yet, maybe that's the same with pics too.

If I were to stick one on my primary, how would I guarantee exact centre? Knowing my luck I'd drop it and it would stick to the primary somewhere unintended

That site requires a password to continue

So, in other words, the O in the centre appears once the collimator is in place (but not visible before). I just thought it was missing from my primary lol.

It discusses it, but doesn't explain how.. I'm guessing a measuring tape and an indelible ink marker, or maybe a small round sticker? Also mentioned is collimating without the O, and a 'star test', but again doesn't explain how.. Any suggestions would be much appreciated

I have a SW 130M, and would like to collimate it. On all the tutorial videos I've seen, there is a small O on the primary mirror. Mine doesn't have it; does it appear once the collimator is installed into the eyepiece? If not, how do I centralise it accurately?

I've seen a few guys on here with several scopes listed in their signature. Why would you need an 8" if you have a 10"? Surely the 10" is going to do pretty much the same as the 8" just allowing more light in?

Sounds like you had a really good night of stargazing. I've just bought a secondhand SW 130M, but not yet had good enough weather to take it out. I'm just reading other people's stories to get an idea of what sort of things I'll be seeing through a scope this size.

Same as this one (so it seems).. Review of Sky-Watcher 130M telescope with EQ2 mount

To be honest, I didn't know enough about what to look for, and never noticed the faults before leaving his property The measurements are on the side under the eyepiece D=130mm F=900mm. I wish I'd noticed that before parting with the cash. It also seems to be missing all the dustcaps from the eyepieces and the focus tube (I wonder if I can buy a set of these), it's also missing one of the tightening nuts for the finderscope. Again, I wonder if these are sold as replacement parts. I'll look into the collimator, does it make that much difference in performance from a hand aligned, and if so, what would I be gaining?

Thanks for all your replies, I do feel a bit better about the deal now. I know it's not as advertised, but if that's an acceptable price for what I got then I'm happy with that. Demonperformer, with regards to collimation, I spent a good few hours calibrating the mirrors, as they were way out when I got it (I'm assuming this is what you're referring to). It appears to be good now (as recommended in the manual with my eye central looking back at me). I've had quite a lot of experience with optics, as I'm also into photography (and hopefully soon, astrophotography). However, any pointers to make things better would be welcomed. Thanks again

I just bought my first telescope, but on further reading it seems the one advertised isn't the one I got. It was from Gumtree, and the guy was in the final stage of moving house, so there's no way I can return this. The guy claimed to know nothing about 'astrology' (his words). I have no experience buying telescopes, and didn't know what to look out for. Here's the advert: Here's what I got:SkyWatcher Explorer 130 http://firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=SW_explorer_130&cat=150 I paid £99. It seems there's a similar model to what I got for £129 new: Skywatcher Explorer 130 (922) - Best Price at Bristol Cameras The difference is the one for sale there has a "red dot" finder, mine is a standard crosshair (which I can't get to focus). Also the 10mm lens that came with mine appears to be badly scratched, I also noticed a small dent in the side (although this doesn't seem to affect performance, but wasn't pointed out at the time of sale). I'm thinking I've bought a lemon, or maybe £99 is about right for what I got. It did come with the sky clock as advertised (about the only bit of truth in the whole advert). I'm new to this, so not really sure if this is reasonable price for what I got.

Hi, I just bought my first scope, and want to learn a bit more about it all. Seems there's a lot more to it than I initially thought.