rwilkey

Hi Mike, that's a great idea, the best of both worlds, I tend to mix and match, I did this with my 200P.

Yes, the Porta II does look a bit light compared to the AZ4 but it is as solid as a rock. My wife has the AZ5 which is quite good for her small scope (a Startravel 102), but to be honest, the AZ4 is a much stronger affair. One of the things I liked about the Porta II compared to the AZ4 was that you didn't have to set up the tripod, ie. screwing the ep tray on etc to stabalize it, with the Porta II you can just collapse the tripod without any fiddling about and so on. Here is my scope on its Porta II:

I agree with Ian above, the 100ED will sit vey well on an AZ4, I did this with the Bresser AR102 for a friend (who had bought this great scope for his 8 yo son). For my scope I chose the Vixen Porta II mount which is equally up to the task and having tried both, I prefer the Vixen. The only advantage it has over the AZ4 is that it has got good slo-mo controls, which the AZ4 does not. I like my slo-mo controls. Good luck and clear skies!

I totally agree, with hindsight I would have bought a Dobsonian rather than an EQ5. However, not happy with this I changed it to a SkyTee II AZ mount which I much prefer, esp. as I became disabled on my left side after a stroke shortly after buying the EQ5. You learn as you go along, I think.

Hi Peter, I agree, but the EQ mount suggested by the OP is not accurate in my opinion, it can get you to the right part of the sky but that's all

Speaking about finding objects through co-ordinates, this is virtually impossible with the type of mounts generally available, you will not find this a successful method, I believe.

To my knowledge diagonals cannot be used very easily with reflectors, just a thought.

Hi Wicksee, I have the C100 ED and the first thing I did was to replace the diagonal (with a 2" Sky Watcher one), I also bought a Vixen Porta II mount, expensive but solid as a rock, as is the Sky Watcher AZ4. Just some thoughts about what I did. Good luck and clear skies!

Hi there, welcome to SGL from me, that looks like a pretty good scope and as said above, will literally open up the sky for you. Clear skies!

Hi Ecki and a warm welcome from me. Good luck & clear skies!

Hi Susanm and welcome to SGL. The American supplier for the StarGuiders are Agena Astro, I have bought from them many times, great service, found here: https://agenaastro.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=starguider Good luck and clear skies!

Hi Junare and a warm welcome from me, that's a serious bit of kit you have there, good luck with the upgrading. Clear skies!

Hi Simon, I have never been successful at maxing out but if you want to try it then try it you must, with experience you will find the lower powers more useful even on solar system objects. However, if you want to go down that road then the XF 8.5mm is a good eyepiece, but my opinion is that at that high magnification the image will be diminished and you will subsequently blame the eyepiece. Jupiter, for example, is best at around 150x I have found, Saturn a bit more at 200x and so on. Good luck in whatever you decide!

Hi Greg and a warm welcome from me just down the road from you. Good luck and clear skies!

Hi Budgie and a warm welcome back from me way down south. Good luck & clear skies!

Hi Chris, welcome to SGL. Before you even think about astrophotography you ought to read the book by Steve Richards called 'Making Every Photon Count', it is the beginners astro-imaging 'bible', found here: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html Good luck and clear skies!

Hi Michele and a warm welcome from me. We have friends in Augsburg and have been there a few times, but never found our way to Ulm, it looks very pretty on the River Danube. Good luck and clear skies!

Nair al Saif, you can't beat first-hand experience, go for the 200P Dobsonian, highly recommended. BTW, welcome to the forum!

Hi Slingshot and a warm welcome to the forum. The Sky Watcher 130P is ceretainly a good place to start. I have been to your part of the country (Co. Cork), a lovely area I have to say, you are so lucky. Good luck & clear skies!

Hi Joe and welcome to the forum, one of the best guidebooks around is 'Sky & Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas' by Roger W. Sinnott, this is the one I use and is a good guide to DSO's (deep sky objects), through this you will learn to navigate the sky, found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Telescopes-Pocket-Sinnott-30-Mar-2006-Spiral-bound/dp/B011T83TX6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=201ZXLWVM8LPI&keywords=sky+%26+telescope's+pocket+sky+atlas&qid=1597395824&sprefix=sky+%26+%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-4 Highly recommended!

Hi Hutch and a warm welcome to SGL. I am not so far away from the Cotswolds here in Swindon. You have a club in your area found here: https://cotswoldas.org.uk/ At our club in Swindon for observing sites we use anything from a lay-by to a nature reserve (never go out alone BTW!), here is a list of our main sites with photos to give you ideas, however, the best thing you could do is to join a local club: http://www.swindonstargazers.com/noticeboard/noticeboard04.htm Also, note that new telescopes come packed with clouds, so open the box carefully! Good luck and clear skies!

Hi Phil and a warm welcome to SGL. My wife sketches the Moon a lot and she just sits at the telescope with a small (white) torch and then keeps a diary. The following is also a good resource where you can print out sketch observation sheets: http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/templates.html Good luck and clear skies!

Hi Chris, I agree with John above, get the 7mm, it will give you just over 200x which is perfect for planets and the Moon (and what more would you want besides this as the seeing will not always be perfect!)

I have found this, in fact, I have just sold my only two 100° eyepieces (Omegons) in favour of my trusted 82° eyepieces.

WOW!