Sky-searcher

I’m in a Bortle 4 & better after 1am as the street light turn off, but also lots of nearby dark sky sites, so I am spoiled 😂. Do agree, big aperture would be king, but bigger than 150mm would cause me a problem as I want to mount both scopes side by side.

I was thinking that the Mak would be good for more planet & lunar with its larger focal length & the the likes of the 150pds for DSOs etc, even though the 150pds would be good for lunar, etc. The wider/ brighter view is also a plus to me. I would love a big dob or newt, but don’t like having to lug them round & storing them when not in use. Understand there is going to be overlap in the two scopes.

Should of said will be visual setup. Even though the 150pds is marketed as photo, it’s as good visually & with the dual speed focuser. The 80 Ed is also great visually from what I have read. Don’t want anything bulky, as the weight & size of a 8” will be a problem with the Mak on the mount. Not had any experience with refractors, but I guess that the small aperture will be a problem for DSOs visually.

What do you think? I’m am looking to shortly purchase another scope to complement my Mak127. I have a Giaz mount & want a scope to mount next to the Mak to give me different variations on view. Like to view planets, lunar. But also like nebula & DSO’s, etc. What would you complement a Mak with, reflector (150pds) or refractor (evostar 80ed)? Thanks Andy

It certainly is brilliant. You see the moon & stars by eye. You look through your scope & see multiple times more stars, clusters, nebula, galaxies, planets & moon in detail. Always changing & new things to see & learn. Andy 👍

Hi Sunshine, used the mount for the 1st time last night. Got to say I would fully recommend it. If a az-alt mount without slow-mo controls is what your looking for with tee mount then it’s great for the price. Really smooth. Had no problem making fine adjustments when looking at Saturn & Jupiter last night manually. Well made also. Happy with my purchase!

This is not a detailed write up of my session last night, but got to see the two planets that have been on my astronomy bucket list since starting this hobby at the start of the year. Didn’t hold out much hope for last night as the weather & clear skies apps both predicted cloud cover by midnight. I had put my Mak127 in the garage to cool at 8pm & kept my fingers crossed! Some clouds started to roll in at 10pm, so was not hopeful. By 11pm there was a clear spot, so setup the tripod & scope & took a look at the moon. Even with a moon filter it was extremely bright, showing good crater detail on it’s shadowy edge. Jupiter had also risen & took a look for the 1st time. I was amazed, a bright disc & 4 moons visible. 1st views were with my 8mm BST star guider at 187x. Placed in my 15mm BST to give me 100x & the view was bettered due to the conditions & height of the planet. Tried several different filters (green, yellow, red, etc) & finally got the best views with a light pollution filter showing 2 bands on Jupiter. With the sky holding out I decided to wait for Saturn to rise as wouldn’t be to far behind. At 12.30 a small bright light rose above the distant tree line in the SE. Moved the scope & to my amazement my 1st every view of Saturn! I could clearly make out the planet & its discs. At 1am I am lucky the the street lights turn off in the north of the Isle of Man, turning my Bortle 4 into a 1 or 2. But the brightness of the moon lit the sky. Had to drag my self to bed at 2am. Great night trying out my new equipment ( Mak127, dielectric diagonal & Giaz mount ) which performed brilliant & seeing Saturn & Jupiter topped it off. Hopefully many more clear skies as there hasn’t been many lately!

That’s some eyepiece collection David. 👍

Glad you like the heritage Steve. It’s a great little scope & there is a lot you can do to improve on it. The problem with upgrading, is you will be looking at getting something much more bigger, heavier & costing considerably more. I would use the heritage a little bit more & think about what matters to you ( portability, storage, setup time, etc ). The heritage is good at all of them. Going bigger means you’re setup times are longer, cooling of the scope takes longer & the misses in your ear about the mass of equipment stored in the house 😂. A larger dobsonion maybe the best next step, ( cost effective & good all rounder) but big to move & store. You maybe better getting a Mak127 as next scope to work along with heritage. The planetary & lunar views fantastic, but not much use on DSO. You could also mount it on the heritage dob base at 1st before you look at what mount you would like ( another mine field ). There’s a lot to take in, give it a lot of thought before you make the next step. Thanks Andy

Hi, not had chance to use the mount as yet fully, so can’t comment in full. The mount is fully manual with no slow motion controls. Friction is adjustable on both axis with large adjusters. Not tried with scopes attached as yet, but head very fluid on its own. No sticky points when turning on both axis. Tripod is very sturdy & build quality good for price. So hopefully will be a winner 👍

Hi Paul, after a lot of searching for a mount, the Giaz was the one that most interested me. Not a lot of reviews on the internet, but decided to take the plunge & get it from Zoltan, who I have got to say was great. 1st impressions are good. Sturdy tripod & mount seams to be really fluid. I have a heritage 130p & recently purchased a Mak127, as new to the hobby at the start of the year. I have ordered tube rings from Orion in US as I want to mount the Mak on the righthand side & want to eventually purchase a 150pds to mount on left side. I am also having a counter weight made so I can use a single OTA on the mount. I will post some pics & impressions of the mount as all comes together. Thanks Andy.

Postman delivered my Giant alt-az mount today. Thanks Zoltan! 1st inspection looks good!

Recently acquired a MAK 127 & 2” dielectric diagonal thanks to 2 SGL members. Wanted a padded bag to keep them safe when not in use. Postman brought a Cobra case bag today at a bargain price of £18 delivered. Made for the job! 👍

Thanks Jeremy, totally understand quality maybe not the same or could be identical mount, but couldn’t find too much info when googling it on the net. No bad reports, so usually means it’s okay! Nice to hear some good reports. Thanks

Thanks Ade, the Gaint mount is the one I have seen. Very reasonable on price on does everything I need it to do ?

Thanks Jeremy, have been looking at the Gaint az mount from 365. Similar/identical mount to the EZtouch, but couldn’t find to many reviews on either mount. You have helped to reassure that it’s the mount for my uses. Always come back to this one when checking others that are available. Thanks very much for info ?

Looks great ? I’m interested in getting this mount also. How are you getting on with it? Thanks

Just completed my eyepiece/accessory case. Lots of room left for more goodies ? used supplied dividers for accessories . Pluck foam easy to work with. Just cut the desired amount of squares with a knife & then cut the extracted foam to required depth & reinsert.