DaveL59

I have both the SV135 (7-21) and SV171 (8-24) zooms, they are nicely made and perform well optically from the brief outings they've been able to have so far 😉 The SV171 is huge and heavy but potentially better optically but the smaller SV135 works very well and is a more "normal" size and weight. Adding a good 2x Barlow they still perform very well so to me they are an easy recommendation. Going direct to their store on Ali current retail is USD 49 and arrives in a week ish so they are a bargain at the moment.

I'm sure the Baader will be better, but £100 better? Can't comment as I don't have the Baader to compare against but others will be along I'm sure.

quite a bit above your budget but this one should do very well and looks to be of good quality build unlike the lower end LT70/80 will be
https://www.castlecameras.co.uk/celestron-starsense-explorer-dx-102/p10769

Will give good light grasp and images of the planets etc and not need upgrading for some time if at all, other than perhaps eyepieces. It can be a slippery slop as you're likely realising, chasing better equipment and hoping to see more etc. Had I not already had the TAL100RS I might well have gone for this one 😉

PS - shhh that site says in stock 😮 

7 minutes ago, Sluke321 said:

I live in Holyhead North Wales 

pretty high light pollution there, perhaps?

hi Ash

oh yep, that pre-coffee moment can be problematic 😄 

Luckily, being IF they should be easy to split, even CF ones aren't so hard really but then I've taken a fair few apart now and have various tools and loupes to see what I'm doing etc. Often there is a little grub screw in a larger slotted end bolt that locks it into place under the trim plate. The trick when reassembling is to get the tension just right so the hinge moves smoothly but is tight enough so as to not drift when holding only one side.

I've not tried that rubber paint but it looks an interesting alternative, tho I too like the leather grain look rather than smooth. Looked pretty effective in that video tho didn't it and being able to easily peel it away if you wanted to change was pretty cool too 🙂 

it does seem that their reflector range is to be avoided especially the BJ variants which most seem to be, apart perhaps the 130 I believe.

The refractors tho aren't bad optically, comparing the LT70 against my 3-inch 1950's vintage and the TAL100RS which is a far better scope the LT70 still manages to give a nice image. I'd expect their LT80 and DX102 to be quite reasonable too. On the LT70 optically the lens seems very good, the plastic focuser works but can be easily improved - I recently added some teflon tape internally to reduce the rock when you change direction. A cheap motor focuser (Tasco 1603EF in my case) means fine focus with no wobble is easy to achieve too.

Sure a MAK or ED refractor or a SW130 etc will outperform but that is quite a step up in price compared to the LT starsense range. If you can live with the wobbles the LT refractors do pretty well I think.

One thing about Starsense, the app works, very well in fact and you can move the scope around the garden if needed and it will just figure out where it is aimed. No complex alignment etc, just plonk it down and go. It doesn't have the full range of objects compared to an expensive goto setup like SynScan etc but then it is targeted toward a starter audience. It also gives some nice detail info about the target you are searching for which is handy.

Here's the thread some of use have posted to about the mods we have made to get this working on our other scopes

On page 7 Mark details his experience of the LT114 which may help inform you on the reflector version.

@Sluke321 you don't say what the area you are viewing from is like, light pollution etc. That may well limit you in terms of the fainter objects but brighter targets like Moon, planets will be easily achievable as would clusters and doubles and brighter nebulae.

One thing to bear in mind with any of the scope kits you buy - you will get basic eyepieces to get you started and a big step improvement can be had by buying better ones. That is even more the case at the lower price range but you don't have to go for the £50/each BST starguiders that often get suggested. In fact a low-cost good zoom can fill the requirement pretty well albeit a narrowed field of view, you effectively get multiple eyepieces in a single unit and convenience in use.

hi there and welcome to the forum.

As noted a few of us have bought Starsense models recently, more because we wanted the finder part which you can't get on its own. I have the LT70AZ model as do a couple of others. One thing to note with the LT range is they are quite wobbly, the DX models are reportedly a lot better since they have a better mount but of course that is a jump in price of around £100. 

For the LT70AZ that I have, in use it is quite competent in fact, the objective (main) lens is quite good in fact and I've been able to view Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, tho of course you don't see as much detail as you might on a bigger scope. The moon however is brilliant, being much closer to us its a nice easy target and certainly wows. It does wobble when trying to focus or move/adjust to the movement of the target, but it settles reasonably well and for £135 isn't bad really.

The starsense app works very well if you have a phone it supports, figures out quite quickly where it is pointing and then directs to your chosen target with arrows showing where to move the scope. Cloudy sky will limit it however but for a beginner it is very useful.

The limitations of that scope:

• the diagonal is erecting type, useful for land use but loses a little for night sky. A replacement star diagonal can be obtained later quite easily as they are standard 1.25-inch units. I use a SVbony dielectric one for USD29 for example and that does improve things quite a lot.
• The eyepieces won't be the best, I've never used the ones that came with the scope as I already had better ones and now use a 7-21mm zoom with it instead. Again can upgrade to better later if you wish to. The one I have is the SVbony SV135 which cost USD49.
• No slow motion adjuster on the azimouth axis so you need to nidge the scope to track the target. The Altitude does have a SloMo which is adequate, just. The DX models I believe to have SloMo controls which are probably a lot better too.
• The lightweight tripod is best used not fully extended, less wobbles that way.
• 70mm will only grab so much light, so deep sky stuff really isn't viable tho might give you something if in a really dark site. The 700mm focal length means false colur is reasonably controlled and a 7mm eyepiece will give 100x magnification easily, with a 2x barlow reaching 200x. Things do lose resolution at that high magnification tho but depending on the target and conditions it can be done.

In hindsight I'd have probably chosen the LT80 model for the slightly larger light grab ability but its £40 more and not in stock at the time, not to mention I've a few bigger scopes already. For me the plan was always to pass this on to my daughter and her 4YO daughter to use, having made up my own carrier to mimic what the OEM one does 🙂 It is a lightweight beginner scope and given that it does perform reasonably well but it is made to a budget as all similar models will be. That said I find it fun to use being so easy to set up and start to play so I'd happily recommend it, with of course the caveats above.

As mentioned already, the reflector versions are it seems Bird-Jones so not the best tho @markse68 recently acquired one for similar reasons to many of us so he'll be able to offer comments on that one.

hope that helps...

edit - when you say "see the rings of saturn" - you'll see it has rings but may be pushing it to see the cassini division on the LT70, can't comment on the 80mm. You'd likely need to improve the diagonal and eyepieces & barlow to get the best performance in order to discern much detail but you'll be able to see that there are rings around the planet 🙂 

They will look small tho, have you taken a read of the thread "what can I expect to see", worth doing so you have your expectations set right before plunging in.

Hi Mark

yep one came on each of the TAL-1 and 100RS and then I bought another that looks to have the balsam failing. Think they are 35/38mm rather than 50 tho but they are optically excellent. That "spare" I bought is not in a 50mm finder holder awaiting me sorting how best to fit the finder shoe onto the old 3-inch vintage scope but could also be used on the SW130 if I wanted to. Did the TAL-2 come with a 50mm finder then?

Hadn't realised the difference in bearings, makes sense tho being a heavier scope it has to carry. Twas proper engineering back in those days huh 🙂 

1 minute ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

Why are they so “cheap “ they are made to such a high standard so I am surprised they don’t command higher prices .

I think the TAL-1 cost around £250 when the first owner bought it but they are quite old now or at least this one is, 1995 vintage. They were sold low at the time I expect as Russia needed income so we all benefited from that. Of course now China is the main supplier and the factory in Russia making these has moved back to military stuff I believe.

They are nicely (simply) put together, astrobaby did a guide for the TAL-1 where she did a total restoration, tho the motor unit will add some more complexity perhaps.

http://www.astro-baby.com/TAL Telescope Rebuild/TAL Telescope Restoration.htm

Should work out ok Ash, patience, a lot of and all that but I'm sure a nice finish is possible. The only area you might need a fill segment is the bit under the prism housing but it may be feasible to do it in a single piece. You might find it easier to do if you separate the two halves, watch out for the little grub screws in the larger brass cap bolts if you do decide to do that and remember what spacers/washers went where so you can reassemble as it was before.

I've 3 TAL's now, initially I was after a TAL-1 but missed it. Then a TAL-M came up in its original box and reading a review decided I'd have it. Always liked the idea of having a frac so along came the TAL100RS... Then looking to locate an older 25mm Plossl for the M (older 32mm russian fit) a TAL-1 of the right vintage came up locally, £60. I bought that from its first owner just for the one eyepiece lol. I figured I could either sell it on or overhaul it, managed to get a TAL 1.25 inch focuser for it so shifted the mirror up the tube to achieve focus and wow, it's as good as my SW130 and way more stable. So it's remained and at some stage I'll overhaul it as the SloMo controls could do with some attention. Slippery slope for sure 😉 

1 hour ago, Tiny Clanger said:

I've bought stuff from Bristol Cameras recently, they are fine. Over the summer when 'proper' astronomy shops online had bare stockrooms, some camera shops had some small stuff  available, I bought with no issues from Camarthen and Cardiff camera shops and Tring Astro as well .

Remember that people on here are enthusiasts, opinions and standards of what is a satisfactory bit of kit will probably not be the same as the view of a child,  and similarly the amount of money spent by enthusiasts is far beyond what most people would consider investing in a casual interest , for instance, opinions on eyepieces usually cite ones that cost £50 each as basic.

While I'd agree re enthusiasts, not all of us are hugely experienced and some of us relatively recently started out. For my part having one of these little tabletop dob's it is frustrating to use in my experience. For a child that'd likely be even more so if they can't get to see much, the moon is fairly easy, planets a bit more effort especially with no finder.

I bought that little NG locally for £10. It had been bought for their son when he was 10/11 and never got used after the first couple times. I'd missed out on landing a TAL-1 which was what I'd been looking for so I thought what the heck. Plan was to fettle it and give it to my daughter so she and her daughter (4) could use it. I added a red dot finder, sorted the focuser etc but the movement action of the tube is less than ideal, small fine movements aren't easy to achieve for me. I may still pass that one on for them to have a play but more likely I'll give them the Celestron LT70AZ with starsense as that'll be way more useful for them to be able to find targets to view. the 70/700 refractors aren't all bad at least the good brands rather than the noname varieties out there.

For eyepieces, nothing wrong with a couple plossls to start with, most of mine are in fact but then TAL supply good ones with their gear. I've recently added Svbony zooms 7-21 and 8-24mm, bargain price around USD49 and actually very good, with the advantage of having a range of magnifications and not needing to swap eyepieces out and then trying to find the target again. The 7-12mm works very well with the LT70AZ.  Maybe a useful option where younger children are involved to save time.

Ah that's handy then, a bit like when I bought an Italian car and the then OH happened to be Italian, not that she was the reason as I'd had Alfa's well before meeting her 🙂

Looks pretty good from the pics, that TAL finder is a gem too, I've 3 of those now lol. A thought re the motor drive, depending on it working etc, @markse68 did rebuild his with a different motor and powered it off a drill battery IIRC, a search may well find that thread if its something you need to do.

Know what you mean about lugging it far, the TAL-1 isn't too bad to just pick up assembled and carry out of the conservatory but then it is smaller/lighter than the 2 would be. The good side tho is the mount and feet easily detach from the pillar if you wanted to stick it all in the car for a trip and likely collimation will remain rock solid and not need adjusting once you get there.

TAL are extremely robust and at that price a bargain. Best check it has all the bits and the condition of the mirrors etc. Also check the counterweight can be freed up and moved as a recent post on here about trying to un-stick it. Likely fixable but better if it already works as it should. Also that the motor has the transformer and runs. Bonus points too if it has the wooden shipping cases 🙂 

Cosmetics like paint are easily redone, I overhauled my little TAL-M earlier this year, may do the same for the TAL-1 at some stage too.

edit - there is a pdf manual for the TAL's on here if you do a search, which should give you a guide to what would have come with it.

That celestron firstscope doesn't come with any finder so getting it on target will be a struggle even for planets as you'd need to try and sight along the tube. Not as simple as it sounds but can be done. Same issue with the NG 76/350 of that type. It might be slightly better than the NG as in smoother to move around but never seen one so can't say but I'd guess it'd be marginal either way.

As to Bristol Cameras, I've used them in the past for photographic gear and they were very good, tho that was quite some time ago now.

I'd avoid Jessops (used to be a good photographic store but scopes aren't great) and also any of those cheap short refractors. The 2 small reflectors are much the same comments as already made re the NatGeo and SW versions. Getting them onto target can be a pain if movement isn't smooth and add to that craning your neck to see thru the finder makes it little fun at all.

Sadly stock levels are a problem what with the pandemic affecting suppliers, shipping etc and the rush to buy during lockdowns and now the fast looming xmas period. You could perhaps register with a few places to notify when they come into stock, could be mid-Nov.

Today arrived the 100R 10-turn 2W wire-wound pots and in-line power connectors. So to while away some time (vet after lunch) I figured I'd have a go at the final mods to one of the focuser units.

The pot is wired in parallel to the motor since it can go from 0.5R up to 100R and gives a good reduction in the first half a turn from the end limit. Now the downside of this is it has to go in the motor housing since it is way too big for the hand controller. I don't feel that's much of a problem as this will be used more for fine focus anyway. The in-line power is a regular 5.5/2.1mm plug/socket affair which means no long trailing lead when assembling the motor onto the scope as well as allowing an easy disconnect if the cable gets snagged.

Assembly does mean you have to leave the pot loose and slip the cover on and then with a finger ease it back across and thru the mounting hole. Not hard to do tho and there's more than enough space to clear the drive tang.

You'd want to mount it on the side that'll face the user when it's on the scope, ideally. In my case I've fitted to the LH focuser wheel, YMMV.

Not sure if I'll bother to fit a control knob as the pot turns very easily, if I find I need to then I guess I'll have to order something to suit 🙂 

I may well do both mods to the other one that is now on the LT70 even tho that doesn't now seem to need rotational speed control having teflon taped the focuser drawtube path as per the previous post. As that slackens up it may prove beneficial and I do have the extra pot specifically for the purpose after all.

apparently putting greasy mechanical parts in the dishwasher is a no-no too 😉 

once you do have it released and have cleaned up the parts, a thin smear of grease on the contact areas before reassembly may be wise to prevent or at least slow future corrosion and stop things binding. 

in case you don't have it, there's a manual pdf elsewhere on the forums
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjctIeA4PPsAhWHX8AKHVobCnIQFjACegQIBBAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstargazerslounge.com%2Fapplications%2Fcore%2Finterface%2Ffile%2Fattachment.php%3Fid%3D25114&usg=AOvVaw0c_qrwHwLbhc0KbO-Zvmvo

I'd try penetrating oil rather than WD40 given the rust is likely holding things together. I'd suggest heat using a small/fine flame blowtorch too but I can't say for sure there's nothing that might melt under the collars. Could be that the collar (pic 2) pinches metal fingers to grip the shaft but never having met one I can't say for sure, does it unscrew at all? My TAL-1 the weight screws along the shaft which is threaded all the way along its length.

I got the same on my laptop yesterday afternoon, made I smile 🙂 

No idea on the object you mention tho.

I've tended to wipe a very thin smear of grease over the threads, tho all mine are second user so a clean up of the threads by running a matching tap/die over the threads first was something I also did. Where I do replace with new I tend to go for stainless if available but even that will rust in the wrong environment, especially if dissimilar metals are involved. 

I've found when using the TAL-M 80mm reflector that I have on occasion forgotten to switch out the optical finder which is a 25mm objective that sits in the light path using the same eyepiece as the scope. A few times I've had a 15mm+3x Barlow and one time the extension tube as well which would get me to x139 via the mirror and was quite surprised at how good the magnified image thru the finder lens was. In fact one time I'd even stacked the 2 TAL 32mm barlows (x3 and x2 or 3) I have with the 15mm while looking at Venus and that still showed well.

My TAL-M reflector came in its OEM box that uses shaped wood components to hold things in place, with cap sections to bolt down to finish the job. Older Japanese refractors often had similar wooden boxes in the same fashion. I've been thinking about doing similar for my TAL100 refractor but not got round to that so far. In shipping that came in a long cardboard box with the scope secured to a wood plate by its tube rings. While foam may absorb some of the shock wood formers lined with good foam may be enough to keep things nicely secure and absorb vibrations etc. Danger is foam may degrade over time and leave residue on the parts in contact with it so worth getting a good quality foam whichever path you take.

and the ex willie dixon astro compass, stuff likely quite available at that time in the surplus outlets 🙂