Elio_C

Thanks, will do!

Hi @Stu, Sorry for the late post on this thread, but I just wanted to clarify if you're sure of this? I know that a member of this forum made a couple of great videos on the Heritage 150p, and in one he tested whether the focuser could handle heavier eyepieces. The conclusion ended up being that it could handle most heavier eyepieces, with a bit of wobble. Here's the video: I'm really keen to be able to take pictures through the new scope, so I would be able to share the great sights I see. Is the Heritage 150 simply not up to that task? Should I look for a different scope within my price range? I really hope that there's a solution to this dilemma, as I would hate to sacrifice aperture, portability, affordability and all the other countless benefits this scope holds for another scope. If it comes to it, as an alternative, I've heard great things about this scope?: https://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatcher-80mm-refractor-altaz-telescope.html\ Thanks for your time, any help would be fantastic! Elio.

Thanks for the advice, I'll see what I can find within budget but that sounds like a good idea.

Hi stargazers! At the moment I'm thinking of purchasing some cheap binoculars for some astronomy on the go, just some fun ones to whip out when the opportunity arrises. They will also be used for watching sailing boats, so preferably not heavy binos! My budget has allowed me a couple of options: I could go with the Celestron Cometron 7x50: https://www.amazon.com.au/Celestron-71198-Cometron-Binoculars-Black/dp/B00DV6SI3Q The Celestron UpClose 10x50: (very cheap, but apparently a good all rounder) https://www.amazon.com.au/Celestron-UpClose-10x50-Binocular-71256/dp/B006ZN4TZS/ref=pd_lpo_421_t_0/355-2235474-9110652?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B006ZN4TZS&pd_rd_r=c1b25379-1873-4614-a1b1-92e9a62fe41b&pd_rd_w=bi3en&pd_rd_wg=rdaqE&pf_rd_p=ad2d1e6e-bc60-4795-b4c0-2dbd35f6678d&pf_rd_r=PS30QD089ES4HEY9JB0G&psc=1&refRID=PS30QD089ES4HEY9JB0G Or a pair of Bushnell Binos I found for a surprising bargain on amazon: https://www.bushnell.com/binoculars/powerview/powerview-10x50-binoculars/BU-131056.html As I said, these would just be a casual pair for showing friends and family some astro sights and for watching boats over the summer, so I'm not very keen to splash cash on high performance Bak-4 prisms and etc that would really push the budget. Any advice would be amazing, as I'm not really sure which to choose! Thanks.

Thanks for the help! As Christmas is approaching I will hopefully be able to purchase a cheap one anyway, thanks everyone!

Hi SGL, I recently found out about variable polarising filters from a thread on this forum but I'm a bit confused, I'll explain. In the past, all I have been able to use for my astronomy has been a measly 76mm national geographic dobsonian, rather below average views and etc. One of my main gripes about it is that I have never been able to get detail on anything other than the moon, not even the planets! All I've been able to see them as has been just coloured bright stars, with the exception of Jupiter's moons. I will be upgrading to the heratige 150p dobsonian telescope from skywatcher soon, and I'm quite excited. However reading about the polarising filter has made me very worried! When I get the new scope, will all I will be able to see be just larger bright coloured objects because the planets are still too bright? Because that would be quite the disappointment. I have seen many videos of this scope producing great views without a polarising filter, so I would be quite confused if I had the same problem of getting no detail because of the brightness on this new scope. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks for your time. Elio.

Thanks for this insight, I live in the suburbs with bortle 6 skies but have a holiday house to escape to over summer with beautiful bortle 3 skies. Unfortunately I think the lack of portability of the f/8 will cause a problem when moving it over there in a car almost already full with other peoples bags and food. It may also cause a problem when moving it to an ideal viewing location.

Wow, that's a dream set up! But I don't know where to go from here... I can't find the 6" Orion for sale online anywhere, and the 8" is too large. So It's down to the 6 inch's: The Heritage 150p: Pros: affordable, lightweight, collapsable, easily adaptable to an altaz mount for in the future, and not too big. Cons: Just the helical focuser!!!!! The 6" Skyliner (also skywatcher): Pros: the focal length, better f/ ratio, rack and pinion focuser. Cons: too big! rather pricey, and very heavy. (PS: its size may turn it into a hobby killer! 😬) Decisions indeed... I know everyone at SGL loves to spend other people's money, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! 😁

I've worked out that the Orion Starblast 6 is unavailable in Australia, but I have found a Saxon (skywatcher) deepsky 8" dobsonian for quite a bargain second hand and local. It is usually valued at $730 AUD, but this one is at $550 AUD. It is quite out of my budget but is the price worth it? To be honest, unless this is an unmissable bargain, I'm keen to keep it to a smaller set up so later on I might turn it into an OTA on a mount. Also, that is quite a significant cash splash for a scope that might be too big for what I'm wanting to use it for! So I'm thinking, if not the Saxon then maybe I'll just stick to the heritage 150p and hold my phone up to the eyepiece when I want to take a photo or video... Or maybe the 6" saxon deepsky is the way to go? I'm just worried with its focal length that it might be too big. I've never seen it next to a person for comparison.

Thanks very much for the responses, they've been really helpful, I'll get back to this thread if I have any other questions.

Hi stargazers, Recently I have been saving up for a new scope, the Skywatcher 150p Dobsonian: https://skywatcheraustralia.com.au/product/6-tabletop-dobsonian/ It's had some great reviews, and I'm very excited as it is quite an upgrade. In the meantime though, I have been doing some smartphone astrophotography with my current scope, and I've really enjoyed getting the photos so I can show people what its like in the scope and so I can appreciate the sky all the time. Ideally it would be great if I could get a phone adapter for my new scope so I wouldn't have to hold my hand shakily up to the eyepiece and get dodgy quality videos of a few seconds of seeing my target. However, the new scope has a helical focuser, which means I would have to rotate the entire eyepiece shaft to focus the scope, which would be a massive pain if I had a phone adapter on the scope. Is there any solution to this dilemma? Should I look at a different scope or a different adapter? Or is there a way of getting around this? Thanks everyone, Elio.

Yeah, I saw that video. It looks like a great project!

Great news, we've managed to stretch the budget enough to accomodate for the SkyWatcher 150p. I'm very excited, and we'll most likely be ordering in October. But first, I do have a few questions. I've noticed it uses a helical focuser, I've never used one of these before. Is it annoying to have to spin the whole focuser and eyepiece to get into focus? I don't quite understand the advantages. Actually, I think you're right! I thought you meant it comes with a cheshire collimator, but I think the dust cap for the focuser is the collimator you're talking about. How do you use one like that? I found it at 11 minutes 51 seconds in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyhViri1utU&t=14s Also, as I've never used a larger telescope than my current one, is it an awkward height for sitting/lying on the ground and viewing? Because there's not always a table around and it'll be a while before I can invest in a mount. You've got me very excited now! Will that be achievable with just the eyepieces that come with the scope? Obviously I'll probably upgrade eventually but in the meantime I'll just be using the default eyepieces. Thanks for the help! 😁

Thanks, I'll have a look.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into that. I've been looking around for mounts for the reflector, and they're quite expensive! Anyway, I've noticed on all the AZ3 mounts that the part that connects to the ground is quite small and pointy, why is this? Does this make the mount really unstable, or is it a benefit I'm missing? https://www.ozscopes.com.au/skywatcher-az3-mount.html Thanks!