Oat

Hi Folks I have a new skywatcher startravel 80 frac and an fed up with getting that horrid stick grease from the focusser on my hands. It's near worse then juggling treacle. How to remove it, and what lube to us instead? Is there anything to look out for - i don't want to ruin my scope. With thanks Oat

Hi No i didn't try any other zoon eyepieces. I did consider the Baader, i have to say the price put me off so i was going to expand the plossl's i have. Then i came across this review by chance and went with it - it is a real revelation. I'm reasonably well informed about optics quality from an interesting in shooting and binoculars, and i cannot fault this SVBONY zoon. Sure it's a big but i actually like that, it's very comfortable to use. SVBONY also make a smallr zoom which is actually the same as the Orion zoom....

@Zermelo @MercianDabbler Thank you both for your responses, the information shared, and the time taken to help me. I am hugely greatful to you. Tim

@Basementboy I just got an ST80 this week too. I had previosuly had an 8" dob, and a couple of newts. The newts were a pain to set up on the EQ mount (i never did master that), and the dob was just too big to store and move outside. This ST80 packs quite a punch - i really wish it had been my first scope, it's awesome 😀 I have upgraded the diagonal to a 90 degree SVBONY Dielectric one and the improvement is huge. It appears to be really well made and of great quality. I have also got an SVBONY SV171 zoom eyepiece which i saw recommended here it is also great quality and perfect for grab and go astronomy, saves changing eyeieces and honestly is probably all i'll ever use. It is quite a big lump, but i like that and find it easier to align my eye with than the plossl's that came with the scope. It gets a big recommendation from me.

So folks. The ST80 arrived and i have fitted some new bits. The ST40 is a great little scope. So portable, easy to store, has a nice wide field of view and is my first frac. It is a much welcome change from my 200 dob and 130 newt - i can't believe i havent had a frac until now. An Svbony SV188P dielectric star diagonal to replace rhe 45 degree prism the scope came with. This appears very well made and is optically the difference between night and day compared the 45 prism that came with the scope. An Svbony SV171 8-24mm zoom eyepiece. Wow, what a tool! Appears extremely well made, is HUGE, heavy (more than twice the size of a 25mm plossl) but is so convenient. I am so happy i made this purchase and would recommend this lens to others - also a bargain for the price. For me as a novice, this zoom lens hugely improves scope usability and satisfaction. Optically, i can't fault it. I may not be a well healed astronomer but i know good optics from my various sports optics interests. I also gota celestron moon filter, and will soon get a UHC filter soon to bring out contast on other targets.

@Kon thank you I am in North Oxfordshire and Bortle 4. From the garden, I have good views to the west, north and east. To get views south i would need to go in to the field at the back of the house. I have had a play with stellarium and a phone app called sky view. My set up is pictured below and in my signature. I mainly use the 80mm refractor it's just a joy to use. Tonight i set on Mars, but there's not too much to see, also set on capella and sirius. My main achievement for tonight was Plaides - i've put a pic below which i took on my phone (probably someone will now tell me it's not plaides 🤣) So, some progress tonight but not easy to select which targets to go for.

@Zermelo @LeeHore7 @Kon @Pixies Thank you for your time to reply. Much appreciated. I find being prepared for astronomy quite difficult. How to come up with a target list for a particular session? I'd love to see a fuzzy galaxy, i'd love to split some starts, i'd love to see the planets. I'd love to see nebula but appreciate that's more appropriate for photography. I am close to an astronomy club and have made an enquiry with them for when gatherings are possible again. Cheers all

Hi Folks Firstly - i have read the 'sticky's 2 areas to this - one is to how best plan an observing session. What can be seen and when appreciating that some things are closer to the earth, or more visible at certain times of the year. I've got Turn Left at Orion but in honesty don't find it very intuitive. I also have planasphere however they show only constellations not plants or M's etc. TELESCOPIUS - i turned to this site to get an idea of what to target each night and to picture what kind of image i can expect to see. But i really question the authenticity of this site. It suggests that with my little skywatcher ST80 frac that the image of the horsehead nebula should be similar to the below. I feel this is a massive overstatement. Are there any better, or other online ways to plan your astronomy viewing sessions that may taken in to account your location and time, distance of objects, telescope and ep specs etc etc? Please don't bash my enthusiasm 😎 Rgds Tim

Thank you for your explanation. Its very much appreciated.

Hi All I have an ST80 achromatic scope. If I use ED eyepiece in it such as the BST starguider's will this eliminate (or massively reduce) chromatic aberration? With thanks

Thank you all for your input. I'm somewhat reluctant to speand Baader money at this stage in my commitment to this hobby / interest, not least as the Baader would be more expensive than the scope it would be used on. I have followed astrofarsopgraphy youtube channel for a while and quite by chance found he'd done a review of an SVBony zoom so i'm planning to give it a go. It won't replace the regular plossl eyepieces but will be nice for grab n go, helping my daughter see various sights, and for general scanning of the night sky with a fast scope. SVBony SV171 zoom eyepiece review here

I have just ordered one of these yesterday - i managed to find a UK supplier who had a couple in stock with the basic AZ mount. Looking forward to it arriving during the week.

Hi Folks I'm looking to buy the following and looking for recommendations of sensibly priced options. Zoom eyepiece Colour filters (set) Light pollution / deepsky filter Neutral density filter / lunar (25%) Is the SVBONY brand any good? Scopes i'm presently using are a 130newt and a 80mm frac (achromatic). You might have guessed that when it comes to filters i have no idea what i'm talking about. All i know is what i have read. With thanks in advance Oat

Hi They offer....: Startravel 102 frac 127 Mak 130 newt (non collimatable primary mirror)

Evening all I have an old skywatcher explorer 130 on an EQ mount. The scope is OK, but the mount isn't at all for me as it's on no way grab n go / easy to set up. I want to sit this on an Alt Az mount and have been eyeing up the skywatcher AZ pronto and AZ5 delux. Are any of the scopes that come with these packages worth having? If they are then i may get the full package, though primarily to take advantage of the stand and mount. In particular (and i know it's achromatic) i love the idea of the startravel 102. The Astrobiscuit vids on youtube even recommend the startravel 80. I would love a frac, can't justify an ED one, to use it for wide field viewing and be easy to transport and set up is VERY appealing. So in essence 2 questions. Are these little 80 and 102 fracs any good? Or shall i just get the AZ5 mount for my existing scope? With thanks

Thank you

Hi Folks I havea 130 newt that doesn't have a centre mark on the mirror to allow collimation. How can i either mark the mirror, or collimate it without marking the centre? Regards Tim

Thanks. The obs are superb and the ease of use is very attractive. I can transport a dob but it just doesn't lend itself to being transported. What would probably be best is a DOB for use at home and a heritage or newt for my daughter and for ease of transport...... i just didn't win the lotto yet.

It's the cheaper 130 not the 130P. It's pretty old, the mirrors are OK, but are showing signs of tarnishing a little at the edges. You can see stuff with it and it's fine to get started with for very little outlay (cost me £50 used) but really i want a new one. 👍

Hi Folks I'm a very oocasional astronomoer though i have an interest to take this further and join a nocal astro club. My daughter (5yrs) is mad in to planets (and has made her own space ship). We're currently using a skywatcher 130 newtonian on a EQ mount but want to change as the EQ mount isn't for us. Our requirements are: Easy for a 5year old to get to the eyepiece (though she can stand on a chain) Alt / Az mount (definalty don't want EQ) Ample diameter Ideally one scope that the whole family can use, but one that i won't look silly using if i join an astro club. Reasonably portable - so it can be transported to an astro club dark / sky site. Budget is hundreds not thousands. Here's the shortlist (all skywatcher). Would appreciate your help in narrowing this down. Heritage 130 or Heritage 150 like the idea of these but don't like the idea of being buckled over to use it ir putting it on a wobbly table to raise it. 150 Dob had a 200 Dob before. Great views but really not great for transport. 130PS with AZ5 mount 127 Mak Cass with AZ5 A skywatcher frac' with ED glass on an alt az mount would be aweson too but price is getting too high. Thanks in advance for your support. With the current lead times i'm keep to place an order soon...

I may end up going for for the PDS and buying an AZ5 to sit it on.

I sold my 200 Dob - it was too big to move, certainly not grab and go. Now i am scope less..... ;-( Just how bad is the Skywatcher 130PS ? On paper the scope is pretty suitable for my needs, and the simplicity of the AZ5 is exactly what i want. The reason i ask how bad the 130PS is, is that the primary mirror is fixed and non collimatable. In this regard, it would be good to hear from someone with first hand experience of this scope. I did also consider the 130 heritage scope but discounted it for 2 reasons. The helical focuer is not as nice to use as 'proper' focusers on other scopes, but mainly as i am tall and do not want to be buckled over looked through a scope. Hence i am looking at the 130PS ont he AZ5. I am budget sensitive, but am open to buying used.

I had a 200p and sold it - views were great but i learnt that the best telescope is the one you'll use the most, and for me the 200p was so big to store and so heavy and awkward to take outdoors that it didn't get much use. If you have the space to store it and are happy to carry it outdoors (it's not light) then i'd go for aperture every time. But is not, then go for the smaller one..