RyanL

I upgraded from a 114mm reflector to an Ursa Major 6"inch dob in the summer. It's a brilliant scope for Jupiter, Saturn etc.. and don't forget the moon. It's more than capable for DSO"s under the right skies and I'm more than happy with it. (For now!!)

Mine was a Skywatcher 114/1000 scope and mount for £6.50 from eBay. Seller was local so couldn't resist. Not the best scope in the world but it was enough to rekindle my interest and I've since upgraded but I'll always be glad I bought it.

I used a company called printpond.co.uk in the end. Delivered in two days so I'm happy with that. Now I just need to play around making some kind of pointer.

Cheers

Ryan.

Thanks for replies .

Hi,

As above, I'm looking for a good UK based place for printing laminated degree circles for my 6imch dob. 

Any recommendations ?

4 hours ago, PeterStudz said:

I have a Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p and a Skywatcher 8” Dob. I’m also in Bortle 7.

The real difference (and it’s massive) is on the planets and to a lesser extent the moon plus white light solar. Not really the extra magnification but the contrast.

Eg Mars through the 114 was just a featureless small dot. You could tell it was a planet but that was about it. Through the 8” Dob and on a good night, I could make out a polar ice cap, the polar hood, darker albedo features, even clouds.

With the 8” Dob on Saturn I could see cloud banding and the Cassini Division in the ring. Occasionally other, if rather subtle, ring divisions too. Through the 114 the ring itself was clear and obvious but not much else.

Jupiter through the 8” can easily resolve the GRS, and cloud banding with much greater detail. Plus things like shadow transits which just could not be detected through the 114. 

For DSO there isn’t a great deal of difference apart from some of the brighter objects. Like the globular M13, Orion nebula, ring nebula, dumbbell plus some open clusters. Eg M13 - through the 114 it’s just a fuzzy blob. But on a good night in the 8” I can make out literally dozens of stars in the globular - kind of twinkles in and out of view like a glitter ball. However, a good night is key. Some nights, even in Bortle 7 are “darker” than others. And I find that here, after about 1:30am, things are generally darker. So usually worth staying up late. Oh, the galaxies M81 & M82 are obviously better in the Dob too.

Of course nothing beats a dark site. Last year I took the 114 on holiday, and on an aircraft, to Bortle 1-2. Obviously not possible with an 8” Dob. And the views were stunning. Things like the lagoon, triffid and swan nebula were breath taking. Mind, it was so dark that I could even make out the swan naked eye. At home, even through the 8”, it simply isn’t there. 

Thank you for such a detailed reply. Much appreciated. I'm tempted to just go with my heart and get a dob, I know if I don't at least try one it will always be on my mind, however other suggestions are also tempting. Times like this I wish I was rich!

Cheers

Ryan.

34 minutes ago, John said:

The 127mm maksutov-cassegrains do a great job on the moon, planets and double stars. They are compact and portable. You will need to use a dew shield with one but those don't cost much and are also light.

Sky-Watcher SkyMax-127 AZ5 Deluxe | First Light Optics

I believe your current 114mm scope is of the bird-jones design ?

You may well get a nice surprise on how much of an upgrade something like the above linked scope would be.

Yeah, It is a bird Jones but I only paid £6.50 for it on eBay so thought why not. I do have a Heritage 100p that has better contrast but planets are tiny in it.

I've been looking at the Skymax 127 and it's definitely on the list. How's the field of view in it?

43 minutes ago, Cosmic Geoff said:

What objects do you want to see? Faint extended objects will be invisible or very hard to see in Bortle 7, while planets and double stars will be observable.  EAA would help to some extent

I'm starting to realise the fuzzies aren't viable from here so I'm thinking about something suitable for planets etc..from home that's portable enough to take to darker skies. 

10 minutes ago, Elp said:

Tbh I don't think you'll see that much difference going up aperture. I'm bortle 7, started with a 60mm refractor, went up to 130 reflector now have a 150mm SCT. Globular clusters are still invisible to me, can just about make out M13 with averted vision but it's so incredibly dim it's not even worth it. Put a camera on however and within 10s it's there in plain sight. Maybe you can explore EAA. I'm under the impression due to my LP, it doesn't matter what size scope I get, any background light will just be magnified in a larger aperture (so will the object). It's a completely different experience if you observe from a darker sky.

Starting to think the same as your last paragraph!

4 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

What sort of mount do you have your existing 114/1000 reflector on? This will greatly influence recommendations.

It's only the EQ1 that came with it, so not the best! 

Hi,

I'm soon to be in the market for an upgrade of my 114/1000 reflector that I got for a bargain price. There's nothing wrong with it as such, I just want the ability to see a bit more.

I'm apparently in Bortle 7 but I'm right near junction 1 of the M3 with Heathrow in the other direction and a nice glow from London to the East so I'm a bit sceptical!

I really fancy an 8 inch dob although I only have a small garden so not sure it would see over the neighbours fence, a problem I don't have with a mounted scope. Plus my back is kaput so not sure about portability.

So my question is what kind of upgrade would you suggest? Budget around £500 for visual only at this point.

Cheers

Ryan.

Thanks for the advice, I know almost nothing about photography and for my wallets sake I don't want to dig too deeply! 

I will continue to play around with what I already have though as I can see the appeal but I'm red/green colour blind so any photos may look a bit odd to others! 

Cheers

Ryan.

On 21/05/2023 at 03:59, Marvin Jenkins said:

I want to be the first to say well done. Entry into astronomy for less than a tenner!

A lot of good advice here but I can’t help but feel that you just need clear skies and opportunities, don’t we all?

Will you be the first to do Astro photography with a phone holder for less than 50quid.

Good luck with your purchases and clear skies, enjoy the bargain.

Marv

No holder! That's why they're so bad.

22 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

It all depends on what you want to do. you've identified your first problem....EQ mounts are not designed for scanning the sky, they are designed so you can track objects once you have found them, so, if you want to take photos or stay on one object with it staying in the field of view, then an eq is what you want (however, that presents further issues in the form of polar alignment). You are also correct in that an eq1 is garbage. My first mount was an EQ1, it was really hard work so I progressed to an EQ5 which i then adapted to GoTo and then on to an EQ6-R-Pro.......the difference is huge. Personally I like to stay on my objects for quite some time, after all , it's usually been a pain in the backside finding it, so i like to study it, make notes and remember it so I have a driven EQ that will do that with ease, sometimes staying in the fov for as much as an hour or more

My advice would be, decide what you want to achieve and then save up to buy what will service that achievement, no matter what you decide, get rid of the EQ1.......eventually.

Hi,

Good point about staying on target and thanks for confirming the eq1 is rubbish!

Hi,

Some of you you may have seen my post about eyepieces where I mentioned I picked up a Starwatcher 114/1000 scope on an EQ 1 for a steal.

Since then I've learned to removed the lense in the focuser, collimate and replace the lense and I've been getting some nice views out of it, Including The Moon, Jupiter and a couple of double stars. I was also gifted an SVbony 27-9mm zoom eyepiece which I really like and it has improved the views but the scope still can't match my 100p for contast.

The issue I'm having is the mount. I really hate using it as an EQ and have it set up as Alt,/Az for now. I find using the EQ ties me up in knots and it doesn't feel natural scanning the sky. Is this because Eq1 mounts are just junk as I suspect? 

Cheers

Ryan.

Hi

Thanks for all the advice. I've decided that as the scope doesn't get great reviews I'm not going to get any upgrades, instead I'll put money into my new scope fund and just use what came with it.

At the price I paid it doesn't matter if I break it so I can use it to practice collamation and getting used to an Eq mount etc.. Just need to find some time and a clear sky to use it now.

Cheers

Ryan.

Thank you for the explanation, much appreciated .

1 hour ago, Adam J said:

I would think the 32mm 52 degree astro essential would give a similar fov as the 25mm 60 degree BSG. Also with a larger exit pupil in the 32mm.

Hi,  Am I right in thinking the larger exit pupil is better for glasses wearers like my son?

Thanks..

Thanks for the advice,, I'll take a look 

Hi,

I recently picked up a Skywatcher 114/1000 eq1 for the grand sum of £6.50 on eBay ( I know not the best but couldn't let it go far that price!) and I'm thinking of getting a couple of Astro Essentials Eye pieces to go with it and to maybe also use on my Heritage 100p.

Are these EP's as good a bargain as I suspect they are and which one would be best for a wide field of view particularly with the 114? I already have 2 lots of the standard Skywatcher 25mm and 10mm EPs and 2x Barlow so would something different be better for higher magnification?

Cheers

Ryan.

I'm still using the 60mm refractor I mentioned earlier in this thread and this week have had some amazing views of Saturn that have blown me away.

I'm the proud owner of a 60mm Tasco that up until a couple of months ago had been in a shed for over 20 years and was about that old again when it was put there and I love it. I've bought a couple of cheap ep upgrades and my sons and I have enjoyed fantastic views of the moon (doing the Lunar 100 at the mo) and Jupiter plus lots of other wonderful sights that our bins would struggle with. Ok so I am now looking at upgrading to a Dob but the fact my boys are happy to ditch the Xbox to come and stand in the cold with me and learn something means the little Tasco is worth its weight in gold !

This has to be one of the friendliest forums on the web, I have other hobbies that I've had a long time and being a total newbie asking questions instead of answering them is a bit daunting on some sites but not here, The amount of knowledge given freely is staggering.