Stu1smartcookie

i have tube rings for one of my scopes and i do just that , ie swivel the scope ... works a treat .

Hi Louis , had both of those scopes and ( stupidly ) sold them . I prefer the WO z61 if I’m honest over the 72ed but at present that’s too expensive for me . The Mak was great ( really don’t know why I sold it ) I love the st80 on my az-gti , sure there is CA .. but there must be a reason why so many have been sold and loved . It’s horses for courses of course and if I have the chance to get a 72ed then I will . Mind you , I like the look of a lot of small scopes . When will it ever end ???

What side of the mount is your scope positioned ? Left or right ? I read once that this matters . ( sorry if I’m wrong on this )

So , a lovely clear night and the first light of the evostar 102 .. I certainly cannot evaluate the scope in much detail as I am just scanning the sky with it tonight . What I will say is that the AZ5 holds the scope really well .. the finder scope will be in an awkward position though . Then I realised I only have to adjust the tube in the rings (sometimes the simple things are the hardest to think about lol ) so , all in all , really happy .. although frozen solid !! I

Meant to be -6 tonight just north of London , but clear ... so looking forward to at least seeing something in our night sky . At this time of year i don't tend to plan to see any targets in particular but am just grateful to be able to view those distant points of light . Spring is coming soon ( honestly , it is ) so hopefully we can look forward to less cold weather and setting up our gear in the early evening after work , in the light !

It seems you have the patience of a saint... something i wish i had . It will be well worth the wait though

Yes its the obvious answer really , but its good to get other Views ( no pun intended) from users . I've just put a Hyperflex 7.2mm-21.5mm Eyepiece into my basket on the FLO website .. looks like i will start there .

Sure , good point ... and also , how good are my eyes

Do you lose any clarity with a Zoom EP ?

Well , already some very interesting replies , thank you for those . The BST starguiders certainly seem popular . I also really like the look of the Hyperion Zoom . There is so much choice . For me , this area is a minefield . What about Barlows ?.

Hello all ...Whilst i would not describe myself as a total beginner in Astronomy , but , when it comes to Eye Pieces ( we will call them EPs from now on) i have very little knowledge . Indeed , every time i see an EP come up for sale on here i wonder what it will give me as a replacement to my , admittedly poor selection . Let me tell you where i am on this ... I have about six 25mm and the same number of 10mm , basic EP's that came with various scopes a 6mm cheap plossl , ... 3 or 4 cheap barlow lens ... a rather nice little 26mm Celestron EP all of which are 1 1/4 " .. oh and one 2" EP at 28mm . i rather like the 2" EP and the Celestron 26mm ... to be honest the rest are at best barely ok . So with that in mind i think its time i invested in something decent . Sure , just like scopes there are a wide variety of prices and manufacturers that offer a great product . I want a nice widefield EP , maybe a mid range and probably something like a 5mm ... maybe a good barlow lens ... I was thinking along the lines of a zoom EP ie one size fits all ... Any advice on these would be welcome My ST80 can only take 1 1/4" EPs , so until i upgrade the focuser ( when i can actually find one ) i probably need to stick to the 1 1/4" ... I do however have another refractor that takes 2" EPs . Like most , i am never going to buy the most expensive ... but , i suppose ( if i can use this analogy ) its like buying tyres for the car ... you get the best you can afford . So ... come on guys , give me some personal favourites that you use ... and maybe tell me why they are so good . After all ,any knowledge passed on here will help a whole bunch of people that are starting out on their journey into visual astronomy Thanks for reading Stu

it should come with a plastic dust cap ... if i remember it was quite a snug fit ... which is nice . Really nice scope btw ...

Goto Scopes are used right across the board these days ... look at people that image ..as long as polar alignment is achieved its a god send to find their target .. did i say polar align?... now there's another subject entirely And the visual only gang ... well , its a fast option ( i like computers and its cool to see a mount swing into action ) . Its also useful to learn the night sky though . There is a certain amount of pride in actually finding a target without the use of electronics .

Thanks for the answers Vlaiv . The seller is giving me an eq3 mount with the scope .. so I will use that . My Az-Gti will be used for my st80. I will try the scope on the Az5 though . Interesting to read your report on views on the moon and stars .. I hope I will get a chance to try it out this week .

i have had a couple of Maks before and i agree with you , most of the time they are reasonably quick to cool .. but, the fact that most of the time we have to get outside for a quick 30 minutes of viewing in this country due to clouds, rain , wind , fog , ( think i've covered everything there) i like the immediacy of using a refractor from my light polluted garden . I do love a good Mak though . I really liked Vlaiv's report about the Evostar because he was realistic.

Hi Vlaiv , so the evostar 102 has reduced in price and is now becoming a bit of a bargain . The tube weight for the scope is listed at around 3.5kgs ... would you say that was accurate ? I no longer have my 200p Newt and i now have an AZ5 Mount so i intend to use that for the evostar , or even on my AZ-Gti ( as that mount can take 5kgs ) . What are the views like on planets and the moon ... does the scope take magnification well ? Are double stars a good target for it ? I like the idea of a Mak but i hate the cooling down time associated with them , although i know that a 102 mak would not require as much as say a 127 .

Watch the article on the Astronomy and Nature channel on YouTube where he waxes lyrical about the 150p . As he rightly points out , skywatcher has a decent history of scopes and just because something isn’t “the norm” doesn’t make it inferior . In my mind anything that gets more people into this hobby is a good thing .. and although collimation is a good “skill” to learn it often puts people off . I was discussing with another SGL member on Friday how much snobbery there is in astronomy. That’s almost understandable as traditional hobbies like ours generally demand an understanding of the complexities involved in a scope or a mount . But , scope manufacturers are constantly trying to find new ways to produce a customer friendly product , and indeed to introduce low maintenance scopes . I think it’s a good thing . After all , who would have thought you would be using a smartphone to control your scope only a few years ago . I think the more people progress in this hobby the more they want to learn . And the more they learn the more keen they are to learn about things like collimating a scope . There is definitely a market out there for these scopes . I’m just waiting for a maksutov Cassegrain that never dews up without the need of a ridiculous dew shield .now there is an idea !

As others, i am always striving for the perfect set up ... the trouble is i really don't know what that is . I would never say i've wasted money in this hobby though ( my wife might beg to differ ) as i have had great enjoyment from gear that i have bought ( and sold) . The trouble is there is always something to buy lol . Three scopes is enough ? surely ? God only knows how many i would have had if we were able to travel

I can't believe i wrote this only last year ... since then i have tried and owned many scopes ... and now , would you believe i am getting a 150 mak .... AGAIN !! but this time i am a bit more clued up on the scope . Now i really am scoped out , with a short widefield Achromat , and a 200p Newt . ... NO MORE ( must keep reminding myself )

You can also buy an adapter which allows connection to an EQ5 mount , which is what i did .

As Heather said , the payload for an AZ5 on a steel tripod is a max 9kgs ... i have used it to its fullest capacity (not always adviseable ) and it worked well ... The AZ5 has two settings to adjust the angle of the mount which also helps . I think , once you have one of these you are sorted ... until you fancy a skytee 2 , that is

Hi ... what focuser did you buy for the st80 .. I enquired about one from FLO for refractors and they said that it wasn’t suitable . I would really like to replace the existing focuser to a dual speed . Stu

i was a bit worried when i first tried it , but , the blurb said it could handle 9kgs on a steel tripod and it did ... i was going to invest in a skytee but i am glad i bought the AZ5 first ( might still get a skytee at some point) .

Have to say , its a combination i have( Steel tripod and AZ5 ) and its rock steady ... i even put my 200p on it ( although i admit there was vibration) but a small scope sits beautifully on it , and it looks the part too .

Sigh ... got to stop falling in love with other people scopes