joe aguiar

I bet you flo has rings and bar to sell you all real scope store should just tell the diameter of the scope and what model it is and that's about it. joejaguar

now that iam on a computer I can type better then b4 on my cell phone. refractors uses lenes its more expensive to make but longer version have clean clear views so the planets will be excellent in this type as well as double stars and some bright dso. a reflector uses 2 mirrors which is cheaper to make BUT those 2 mirrors need to be aligned 100% if he/you bump it or over time it unligned then u have to fix it. you can get a laser to help with this its not easy but not super hard once you learn. You can get this kind much larger for cheaper price compared to a refractor type and the images maybe slightly less clear and clean compared to the long version refractor. The reflector if bigger will see the deep sky stuff better tho since it can collect more light. the reflector over time may need a the mirrors to be cleaned once every couple years as long the dust caps are on when ever it not used. some people may clean it once a year so it depends. hope this helps narrow down at least the type scope then we can talk about the mount type LOL joejaguar

hi neil also I like tracking but cant you get get another slow motion control for now? and save some money. I just looked up that model just to be 100% sure and a lot times I see since iam in Canada we called it slighty different when it comes to models etc compared to UK or euro area. Iam sure those are hygens type eps however they are at least the 1,25" size which is good at least that part. I would first upgrade all eps and barlow. like the guy up above also said get a decent quality 2x barlow, get again plossl or super plossls. They sell for about $20 for a generic model to $40 for more quality name brands and even more. You can even find these on the used markets too. with better scopes they give plossl as standard BUT for the lower end models they cant do that and give the most basic accessiors. so you will get better views going to these eps rather then spending it filters etc for now. also if your scope has the 5x24 finderscope I think you may have to upgrade that asap as well, the moon is probally the only thing you will be able to find with that kind of finder. maybe get a decent red dot finderscope. I am not sure if you already started to look for other things besides the moon but if you have or tried then u will see what I am talking about. last if your scope is the long version 4.5" inch reflector then that s a good scope itself BUT if its on the eq1 you will notice it has lots vibrations and shacks a lot, it really should have been on the eq2 mount not eq1. Again the maker did this to save money the scope is good but gave a cheaper mount eps finderscope to give it the big box store or interent store at a cheaper cost I didn't write this to put you down or say your scope is bad etc but here are some good points of it and not so good points but if you change some those cheaper acessiors then it becomes a better scope. I sent you a link to your PM I hope that helps you sorry if this felt like iam being mean but iam not. joejaguar

Well do u think he will like look at sun moon and planets then maybe a refractor is good. Or maybe that and deep sky objects like galaxies nebula and clusters? Then maybe a reflector maybe better. Each have their pros and cons tho too. I'm sure if u Google what r the difference of refractor and reflector it will show u a vid. Maybe this will narrow down to which one he would prefer and then we can just find the size. Joejaguar

Forget the blue and red filter those r planetary filter which do very little to the views. I'm thinking that your eps are the hygens one by the numbers u said. The worst is 0.965 inch. If that's the case first step is get a 0.965 to 1.25 adptor. Then like 3 good eps like plossls or super plossls. If u got the 1.25 focuser that great but 1.25 hygens they r a tad better then the 0.965 one but barely. U need to change those also asap b4 anything else you do. If u can send a pic we can confirm. Joejaguar

well USING 2 ED lens will be very expensive BUT you could make it like f/6 to 6.5 and have the same colour correction as a triplet with 1 ed lens at f7.7 to some people this may be work it having something that short and less weight, you can use a bit smaller mount verses something 12 to 16" longer joejaguar

Ok so let's say u have a manual mount I know u dont but let's go back to basics. If you polar align just to Polaris right in the center of the polar scope thats about 5 degrees off but that's good enough for visual. With tracking off or no tracking, you will the sky is only moving on one axis. Let's say u are viewing juipter at 200x power. It will leave the fov in about 20 sec but this also depends what ep fov u have too. With a manual slow motion controls u can move it back to the object. Ok now if u turned on tracking Jupiter would be in the view for along time let's say 20 to 30 min. BUT you will then notice it's also moving upwards in the other direction opposite from when u had the tracking off and that cause the polar alignment is off 5 degrees from true north. If u fixed the alignment for Polaris to be 100 or 99% you wouldn't see that 2nd movement. However your latitude has to also be 100% and the dial on the mount is not big or accurate enough to be 100% so it wont be. Also all mount drives are also not 100% on tracking either. But get all these very close and u ALMOST never have to track. Did that help or not? There r videos that show u a projected view so u understand. Joejaguar

I have used polar scopes that are not even illumanted so u could just take out the barriers and u should still see the black lines and polaris I agree with above u got to try different exposures first try few at 20 sec few at 30sec etc, if your not polar aligned good I would say after 30 you will see star trails. or at the least bloated stars. so you can take more pics less exposure that will work too. joejaguar

have u looked on the used site astro buy and sell UK? joejaguar

if I can first i 1st try on can wide astro buy and sell or kiji then a candian dealer joe

true john even getting stuff from the usa to Canada becomes expensive fast, 1.30% exchange rate then customs duties. one time I ordered a $50 ep $15 to ship, I had to pay $27 in duties it wasn't so worth it after all thos fees. So when talking about a scope of several thousdands gets pricy and sometimes not worth it anymore. joe

apm is too far from Canada to order BUT I did ask WO I was reday to buy the 153mmf/7.8 apo triplet, if they could switch to a 2.5" dual speed focuser like the ones the smaller 80mm to 103 models have instead of the feather touch 3.5 dual speed which is like $1200 focuser. I told them that focuser is meant for imaging and just needed something smaller cheaper for visual etc they said to just buy another scope then. in can that scope costs $9800 after taxes which is a lot I figure I could save from $800 to $1000 just on the focuser doing that. so not every company will do that maybe one or 2 here and there but apm is just too far and then with exchange customs duties etc would be too much I just want something local from north amercia joejaguar

to me tho 140 is too close to 2 of my scope i alreday got a meade 6000 130mm apo and then the skywatcher evostar 150 apo so it wouldnt fit my needs. altho i dont like the f/8 in the 6" size if it had a double ED lens makeing it f/6.5 and having the same colour correction as my SW150 ed i would sell the SW one and get that joejaguar

i wish companies would give you a choice of focusers tho. a 4" focuser is really meant for imagers. people like myself that are visual only dont need a $1200 focuser (W.O does this too with their 153GT). just a decent 2.5" dual speed focuser is fine for like 200 to 300. they should offer 2 versions one with that focuser for the imager and a one not so robust just for eps/visual and have a cheaper price it could be $500 to $800 less without an imgers focuser. joejaguar

i think thats ok for a smallish goto system something to consider is goto costs more then double compared to a manual scope and in alot cases goto being computer/electronics will get outdated sooner or later. when that happen and the next model or version comes out the price of your will decrease thats normal for anything computer/electroincs. Like a phone laptop or tablet. saying that tho as long as u have it and it suits your needs then keep it till it dies is ok too. I mean i have a galaxy3 which is waaaay old compared to most people phone BUT since i dont really care for the newest shinniest phone it serves me fine as a phone. PS my phone is a phone only and not a computer like most have, thats y i have a computer for that, and my phone to talk /text. anyway if your goto does break remember it probally garbage or can only be used for parts. So somtimes getting manual gets u somthing that really nothing can go wrong unless u break the glass or mirror, and u can get something twice as big for the same money, and it wont get outdated so holding its money much longer. but if you want goto and dont mind all that then go for it. ops forgot to say i have seen HUNDREDS of people think that when they see goto that it does EVERYTHING for u and u just hit a few buttons and you can see whatever u want BUT thats not true. if u cant align the scope and stars then it wont show u anything. I have read soo many posts where people cant get the goto scope to work, or align the or the goto is not working properly. most people views from their yard has some obstructions which may even be worse as the new people may think y is the scope pointing to a house theres nothing there? new people have to know some things about the sky and maybe at least 20 to 30 of the brighter stars of they may have lots issues getting the scope to work. i say get manual then upgrade later after a year or 2 to goto joejaguar

I agree with you there used is good a lot times, and most times its still very good condition and you can get it close to half the price. iam looking right now for a used flex tube either the 4.5" or the 130 as I mentioned to do a youtube video on lastly tho if the 130 is a bit too much over the price of the poster here you can do as raph says try finding it used or look into maybe the 4.5" size cheers joejaguar

binos have a place in astronomy but at that power you cant get close into the moon craters and mountain nor will you see a lot close up views if that's what the person giving it wants their partner to see. Can you see Jupiter or Saturn sure you can but they will be very small at that power, Saturn will be oval but the rings will be 1mm bump. Iam thinking the person wants to get some power and closer view like 50 power to 150 power. there are few decent scopes out there like meade mini 114 dob the 80mmf/5 refractor on camera tripod or az3 mount 130 skywatcher flextube 130 meade celestron and skywatcher all make these in that price range where they can power up the power and get close to the planerts sun and moon, and in this size they will see tons of other stuff. maybe I will be the only saying going for a scope rather than binos here but that's ok joejaguar

The 130 table top flex tube is my suggestion it's really light weight and easy to use, just point it and look into ep. Even if u do larger binos cause your holding them in your hand they will be shaky so viewing the moon Jupiter and Saturn dont be good unless u put them on a tripod. Some people use a fence or other ojects to lean against to hold it steady, then that's ok. With a telescope u will see 1000s of more stuff probably push the power to 150x where u will see saturns rings jupiters red spot and 4 moons. Nebulas clusters and if theres not too much light pollution even galaxies. The moon u can zoom in any of the mountain ranges or craters. With 10 to 15 power it's really the same as a finder scope view. At 10x Saturn will be oval abut I dont even think u can see the ring at 10 power. There r a few nice big clusters in that range but u will need to know how to find them.

yep that one can fit the bill its not expensive easy to use and set-up and not too heavy, in a country sky it can show a lot being 5 inches joejaguar

I don't think putting any grease on most mounts will de value it in anyway or mess it up, so if its sticky do it. I did it on an old eq5 probally 12 to 15 years old which was also sticky and it helped. joejaguar

norm they cant as the hand controller moves the scope BUT iam not 100% when it comes to apps on phone or using a remote controller or laptop to control the telescope is not my forte iam not sure if the AVX can break down into a manual mount, for instance I took out the goto's, drives and gears from a meade LXD75 mount and I will be selling that off in the spring time. So now its bascally a manual mount BUT I also did buy a dual axis drives with hand controller for tracking. What I will get from the auto star, gears motor and goto will almost be as much as I paid for the whole set-up so its not a loss, and to me using a manual mount with just tracking 1000x easier and less headaches. BUT iam not sure if you can do this with the avx, if you can you can do the same sell it to someone whos avx fried and just need parts. joejaguar

ya I agree u should sent it back to TS who makes it and have them re align the lens if its a triplet that's not so easy to do perfect. even if you have to pay for this service then I think u should one time my meade lx6 drive base stopped working after 2 years, but I got it used and by then it was at least 10 years old. I had to pay meade to fix it they just replaced the whole drive base cost was $550 joejaguar

ok u may need to upgrade the finderscope if its 5x24 finder they are basically garbage the only thing it will be ok on is the moon for anything else it will just frustrate you and you wont find anything. A red dot finder scope will be ok, there are better BUT I don't think you should spend too much on this scope for now just enough where it will show you stuff. Next upgrade the eps, I have a felling its the hygens eps if so they are garbage too, they are a 2 element 25 degree fov. Even getting to plossl will do wonders. U can find these used for 20 each maybe get 3 like a 25, 15 and 10mm but also depends on your focal length of your scope, since it can be the short tube 114 or the long tube. If its the short u may also need a decent 2x barlow. this will get you going for now. BUT as I said even this 3x ep a barlow and finder scope may be more then the scope itself, u sometimes can find a scope with all these regular stuff for cheaper then upgrading but that's just my opionion. joejaguar

or is it you don't know how to get the scope or goto aligned to get it to work? this I think is a HUGE issue with goto a lot of brand new people think and maybe its cause they read goto shows u everything and u just push a few buttons and the goto does all the work. But almost all brand new people diont know how the sky works, names of nay stars or constellations and maybe even have part of their their skies blocked by neibours trees buildings etc makes the goto hard or not work. I think a manual scope is much better for brans new people learn sky with map chart if u want phone etc THEN later upgrade to goto if that's what u want. joejaguar

Agree with all since it came with it use it. That's what I do on all my scopes have 2 inch diagonal. Joejaguar