Deisler

Dear All, I have had two sessions (3 hrs+ each) with my 200P (f/6, 1200mm length) since it arrived. Spent most time on moon and bright starts in major constellations. Very happy with 200P and 25mm EP (moon looks amazing with 25mm stock EP). But when I used 10mm EP, I found the quality is quite poor and the lack of details is disappointing, although I don't really know what benchmark looks like to be honest. My plan is to get at least 20-30 hours out of 200P with stock EPs first prior to any upgrade, so I am not in a hurry at the moment. But I hope to get an EP upgrade close to Christmas/New Year. I spent my whole evening and went through 20-30+ threads in this forum about first EP upgrade. Some very useful advice given there but very confusing for me still. Currently I find myself in between a few options: My budget is around £200, and I hope that can help me get enough EP range to cover moon/planet and large-size DSO. I am willing to put more money in - but I don't like to get something that I know I will sell in a few months time. 1) First, I read about highly rated Tele Vue Powermate - 1.25'' 2.5x . £172 on FLO. I realised with 2.5x, I actually only gain 1 'new' EP which is 4mm. I like the possibility of using powermate for luna imaging (I have DSLR), but maybe it is not a good idea to buy it as my first EP upgrade as it offers so little? Same can be said for TV Barlow I guess? 2) Many here also recommended Baader Hyperion Zoom. Most people said it is ok with 200P, despite of fast f/6. But it is more for convenience as I understand - and ultimately I will have to replace it with good EP for visual? It is quite expensive, £239 (barlow incl.), so I am not sure if it is a good buy for me now? Generally do people use Hyperion Zoom for a long time, or is it just a 'starting' kit that will soon be replaced? 3) The other option mentioned many times here was to get a mid-power EP, such as BST StarGuider 15mm or 18mm. It is reasonably priced, and if I can also get a TV Powermate, then it really provides me with a nice range of EP (with stock 25mm). With them, I feel the only thing missing is a wide field low-power EP, but I don't think I need that at the moment? My concern about BST EP is - How much an upgrade it is from my stock EP? Is it just a 'one-step' upgrade, and eventually in a few months time I will want a better one. If so, I'd rather skip it and buy a decent mid-power EP, like the Explore Scientific 62 degree series? At the moment, I am leaning towards either 2) Baader Zoom, or 3) a decent mid-power EP plus a TV PM. Any advice you can give, I will really appreciate! PS: I would be keen to hear if you have other options to recommend as my first EP upgrade too. Thank you in advance. Regards Deisler

Oh I thought, after reading a few other replies here, that the spider does not have to be central as it gives the secondary mirror the off-set it needs? Or I misunderstood where the off-set is from? I struggled to get the clips central as I can only see one or none, never three at the same time... As @Alan64 suggested, I might need collimation cap to do this. I rotated my Cheshire just to get the cross orientated in the same way as the 'cross' of my secondary mirror. Is that correct? Cheers, Deisler

When I turned the centre screw, it also turned the mirror. So I had to hold the base of the secondary mirror to turn it back and make it appear circular. One thing I noticed - when I adjusted the 'height' of the 2nd mirror, it can only move left-right in my Cheshire view, but not up and down. Then I adjusted three outer screws to move the mirror to the centre of my view. Maybe this is what I did wrong?

Looking at his image through cheshire, it appears mine is not too dissimilar to his? Only thing is my little small ring is slightly off-centred, although not by much? Will try to correct that. Thank you.

Thank you, Alan. This is very useful indeed. Learning new things everyday from you guys! One thing I also struggled when I adjusted my secondary mirror was that I cannot make sure three clips are symmetrical in my view, as my cheshire seems to have too high magnification. I can only see one clip at a time at most. Does that mean for that purpose, I will have to use a collimation cap as you suggested? Cheers Deisler

Hi All, Just received my 200P. Spent 3 hours on collimation following a few different tutorials (including those recommended here), but felt I might be doing something wrong as the image through cheshire is not completely centered, so maybe you guys can help me.... Here is what I did: 1) Put a white paper in the tube, then tilt the secondary mirror with the central screw to make it look like a circle; 2) use the three screws next to the central screw to make the three "clips" appear symmetrical. also, the little ring (at the centre of the primary) appears to be under the cheshire cross. 3) adjust the primary mirror so the support structure of the secondary mirror and secondary mirror itself appear symmetrical in Cheshire. Am I missing anything? The reason I suspected I did something wrong is: 1) The little white cicle (which I assume is the reflection of cheshire) is not completely centered in the little black circle (is that reflection of secondary?). How do I get this right? It is not too bad but I struggled to have fine tuning of this.... 2) I cannot put all three clips in my view at the same time? I adjusted the secondary mirror so that three clips are at equal distance away from the center. Is that ok? 3) The white field, which I assume is the primary mirror, is not centered in Cheshire "view" (those very faint reflection on the Cheshire tube). I cannot adjust that whatsoever? Could it be misalignment of my focuser or Cheshire eyepiece? 4) One of the three adjusting screws for the primary mirror seems to be not working very well (I cannot tighten as much)? The other two work fine, and can compress against the rubber rings behind them. This one does not compress onto the rubber ring that much. Is it a problem? I used my phone to take a phone through Cheshire. Apologies for poor quality. Regards Deisler

Thank you guys so much for your replies. Very informative and a lot of great advice there! I have downloaded a observation log in pdf from www and will start using it - I plan to start from all constellations first, and for them I also downloaded charts for each of them. So will be fun! 200P arriving on Monday and ClearOutside shows Tuesday night is perfect for observing. Can't wait! Cheers Deisler

Good evening, My 200P will be arriving on Monday and, like anything else, I like to plan what I do (a bit OCD I know...). I am completely new to this hobby but eager to learn. So far I have read a couple of books and used a good few weeks searching tutorials and playing with Stellarium, despite not having any practical sessions yet.... I wonder if you guys have any advice about ways to help track and review progress of my stargazing sessions and observing in general? I have read the 'planning your sessions' post https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/230054-planning-your-sessions/ , so I understand the use of charts and writing session reports as well as the importance of session planning. I feel I would have much more fun, if I keep a good record of what I do from the very beginning and it may also help me review my progress. Specifically, 1) Any tips on what exactly I should draw on charts and include in the reports, that will later help me review my progress? 2) Any other things I should do to help keep record of my sessions? or things in general that make the sessions more productive (in addition to session planning and writing reports that I have mentioned above) Cheers Deisler

Just to let you guys know that I have ordered 200P from FLO, arriving on Monday. Exciting!

Checked on 'Clear Outside' APP - got a 'green sky' last hour - spent 10 mins and finally convinced wife to go out to freezing rare garden to see the night sky with me (first time for me too). This is what we saw (Stellarium showed this is Cassiopeia? - see pic below) - wow! I did not expect I can see so many stars with naked eyes as we live not very far from town (I checked our postcode has Bortle number 5/6). We can also see 'Cygnus', 'Lyra', 'Andromeda' and almost all constellations 45 degree around the Zenith. After we came back in, wife said to me 'you know what....maybe we should order the telescope sooner' Sure. 🤣😎

I will go with your advice, John. Cheers

I agree Bresser could be more cost-effective in a long run, but with 399 base price, adding cheshire/barlow etc etc on top of that, the price is a bit too high for me. But thank you @johninderby for recommending Bresser 8'' to me. No doubt it is a better one than 200P in design and overall value. 👍

Thank you so much for so many useful advice! I really appreciate that! Based on all your advice, I am leaning towards 200P, for the reasons below. 1) Bresser 8”dob is £110 more expensive than 200P at the moment, thanks to the weaker pound; With that, I can buy a Telrad, a Rigel and, potentially a set of tube rings for future upgrade. So 200P wins for me (If last year I would definitely buy Bresser as the price was only £40 more at that time). 2) 200PDS+EQ5 = £479, almost £200 more expensive than 200P. I am not sure if it is wise for me to invest that much money into the new hobby. I will definitely consider upgrading 200P with an EQ5 in the future, or even buying a new scope for imaging. Last questions (I promise!) - 1) About the Barlow I watched some Youtube videos about Barlow - from what I can gather, I need a short Barlow for 200P, better to be 2x. But I am not sure which one I should choose from FLO : https://www.firstlightoptics.com/barlows.html Any suggestion? Astro Essentials 1.25" 2x Barlow with T thread seems to be multifunctional (it has a camera adapter), but there are many other options available there - quite confusing to me to be honest as they seem to be very similar. 2) I am confused what additional finderscope I need. I know 200P comes with a finderscope but I read people often recommend getting another one to help star hopping. I searched a few posts in this forum, and some said Telrad is best, and some Rigel, and some said they use both. Am I right to assume Telrad and Rigel are basically the same thing, i.e. to give observer a sense of hopping distance? If so, why both? Also people mentioned RACI a lot. I assume RACI is a magnified finderscope, but with correctly-flipped images? If so, I guess I can safely skip RACI, and only get either Telrad or Rigel, as RACI is quite expensive (~£100 on FLO). Thanks, Deisler

Hello, After my question about blocked view from my garden got answered (thank you for your replies guys!), I am now ready to order 200P Dobsonian from FLO. There are a couple of questions I would like to ask and wonder if you can help me on these, before I hit the order button 😀. 1) 200P Dob vs Reflector scope on a tracking system I understand the difference between 200P+Dob and 200PDS+EQ. Many people mentioned Reflector type is better for DSO, and I understand for astrophotography a tracking system is a must. So here is my question - why wouldn't everyone go for 200PDS+EQ option, since it is optimal for both visual and AP purposes? Why 200P+Dob is still the most recommended system for people like me who just start this hobby? I don't think I will get into serious astrophotography anytime soon, but I am just curious - if reflector type is best for DSO photography, then why don't people just go for 200P (or bigger one) and put it on an EQ mount for tracking? From what I read here it would be better than refractor type? 2) Here is my order list: Skywatcher 200P Dobsonian Barlow 2x Cheshire eyepiece (for collimation) Telrad Finder (Is this necessary for me to start with?) Turn Left to Orion + Collins Stargazing (books) [I know I probably will need some eyepieces but at the moment I assume the ones coming with 200P are probably good enough for me?] any other bits I should order? Cheers, Deisler

yeah I know. But my windows can be fully opened - guess I'll have to pay a little more gas bill 😆

During half-time of a football match I was watching, I launched the Stellarium software on my PC, then I found the moon at S/SW direction. Then I raised the curtain, and boom.... it is right there in the sky through the window. Took a picture with my phone. Does this count as my first luna photo? 🤔 Maybe I have another option, that is to use 200P in my bedroom, watching the entire S/SW sky through opened windows? 😆

Yeah I can see that. You seem to have a slightly better view than mine. The south and north directions in my garden has 60 degree view blocked, you seem to have only around 30 degree blocked. But I guess mine may have slightly less light pollution, so it should be fine. Cheers!

That is very useful to know. The basic version is good for me at the moment but I will certainly keep an eye on the offer they may have from time to time,

Thank you. I will try those step by step. Can't wait! I have SkySafari basic app on my phone. I found it very useful and probably enough for me to start this hobby. Will definitely buy Pro version once I am more into it.

I have checked on that website but at the moment there is no suitable ones for sale. I will keep an eye on it. Cheers.

Thank you so much guys for your replies - so informative and useful. I think I am now quite confident that at least I should be able to see something from my garden. I am particularly encouraged to know that I can also try from my front garden. The view angle there is pretty good, at least 60 degree 'cornical' view from Zenith in all directions. A quick question - do you guys know if FLO and other suppliers usually do some offers/discounts during Christmas time in the past years? If so, I think I can survive for a few more weeks before I order 200P. Regards Deisler

Hey, thank you for your reply. The size of the garden is 10m x 10m but the problem is the trees/houses are pretty tall and close to my garden, therefore the blocked 'angle' of the view in my drawing is huge. I have not tried to identify Polaris but I guess (I could be wrong) I should be able to, as I have at least 30 degree 'conical' view around Zenith, and much better than 30 degree in NW/SE directions.

Hello everyone, I am new to this hobby and forum but have found all discussion here very useful. I have always been wanting my own telescope, and after a few weeks's 'research' here, I decided to buy a Skywatcher 200P Dobsonian. I plan to use it myself but also like to encourage my 5 years old to use it too. I have two young kids and that means I cannot leave home during the night. But I do have a lot of free time at home after kids go to bed at 8pm 😀. So my plan is to set up my telescope in my back garden. However, before I hit the 'order' button on FLO, I thought, well, maybe I should estimate how much 'sky space' I can see from my garden. Then I realised I may have a big problem. I live at the edge of a small town in Scotland (near Edinburgh). My backyard can be completely dark during the night, as my house blocks all street lights from the south. The problem is, the view from my backyard is also blocked by neighbour's houses and some trees towards the N/NE. The front garden does have a better view, but it is heavily polluted by street lights. I estimated the view from my backyard and drew a view map, as you can find below. Hope it helps demonstrate my concern.... Last few days I have been using SkySafari APP on my phone to check what I can expect to see, and found I probably will not be able to see moon or most planets unless they are right next to Zenith (which I guess rarely happens in Scotland in winter?) I wonder if you guys can tell me if it is worth for me buying the telescope, considering I will be limited by the view from my backyard. If I can see some DSO and moon/planets, I'd be happy - I just want to have my expectation in check. Cheers, Deisler