Jasonb

Welcome Rob! I'm only here a couple of days myself, but have already been made to feel welcome and have got lots of great advice. If you haven't actually ordered a telescope yet, check out First Light Optics (FLO) sale that's currently ongoing, they have lots of good stuff at reduced prices!

Ha! I seem to have started some sort of thing about telescope/scope, sorry! So, try to keep up with me, it's been a hectic few days. After getting the Heritage yesterday, a StarQuest 130P appeared in the sale today! The one I had my heart set on in the first place. Cue a frantic email to FLO, who very generously and quickly refunded the Heritage sale and I was able to buy the StarQuest instead! Thanks to FLO for their prompt help, I'm delighted. Only a tenner more for the StarQuest! Need to take a breath now and relax for a bit, I was on the site parked outside one of my work buildings to get wifi to buy the scope!

Was just about to say that FLO seemed to have put up a couple of 200P Dobsonians today, when I saw you'd got one!

Just noticed that you'd typed "'scope" as well @Tiny Clanger, like yourself I'm just trying to save time typing! Delighted to have a scope on the way now, and I'm glad I lowered my sights a little and got a more basic scope but with the same spec optics. I've already been out with some Binoculars looking at the moon and Mars (my Daughter swears she saw an Alien!) and I'm using Skysafari too to get a sense of things when it's too cloudy out.

Thanks for the welcome! I have to say, I'm on a few different forums for different topics and I'm really struck by the amount of replies I've gotten, makes me feel quite welcome for a newbie! So, things changed quickly. I had been looking at the Starquest 130P, deciding I really wanted a 130P if possible, and the EQ mount, while possibly overkill for my first 'scope (do people say 'scope' or is that not cool? ), might have advantages later on. But, of course, nowhere has anything in stock for ages, so that's frustrating. Then FLO announce their Black Friday sale and I start thinking I should be open to other telescopes, and not be so locked into the Starquest. So I did a bit of research about other potential 130Ps and then FLO offer a Skywatcher Heritage 130P! Some quick research shows it basically has the same aperture, focal length etc. etc. as the Starquest, so the 'basics' are there for me. A light shroud and some pfe tape for the focuser seem to me the main first mods (though I'll look into that more later) and that doesn't seem too daunting. And the Dobsonian mount really is going to be easier to deal with from the off. This telescope is for me, but I have a 7 year old daughter as well, and this telescope seem like it would be much easier for her to get into too. So after that quick research I pulled the trigger and got the Heritage! Can't wait to get my hands on it now, it'll be good to being a beginner who actually has a telescope! Most of my thoughts around the Barlow/Eyepieces etc. are still valid as it's effectively the same size telescope. In fact, this one doesn't come with a Barlow, so the 2 way Barlow (1.3x and 2.25x) might be a good first buy now, before looking at eyepieces. Clearly I'm just writing all this 'cos I found a telescope in stock and I'm all happy, but I also want to say thanks to the forum already for the help and advice I've gotten, I literally wouldn't have bought a telescope today if I hadn't have joined here. I don't want to bend any potential forum rules by continuing to use my 'welcome' thread for weeks and weeks, so I'll probably look at starting a new equipment thread in the Newbie section (if that's the right place to go?) once I get the telescope. Thanks again!

Hi @AustenPhil! I'm a newbie to the forum, but I have a question about your telescope. My biggest concern with the open ones like that is reports online of needing a light shroud, and dew on the mirrors etc. Have you had any issues like that, do you feel the need for a light shroud etc? I'd appreciate any feedback from yourself (or anyone else on here!), thanks!

Cool, thanks for confirming that, it does mean I wouldn't have as many options as I thought with that layout. But I can use that knowledge to plan which eyepieces to get to the best range for my money.

Yep, the plan would definitely be to slowly add equipment over time, and I'd read elsewhere that the 25mm that comes with the Telescope is decent enough, so a lower focal length eyepiece would probably be the first purchase. @Zermelowhen you say 'at the nose end', what do you mean? I assume the smaller Barlow screws into the opposite end from the rubber eyepiece end, so it depends on the 'silver' end of the Starguider being long enough to take the piece? Do you know which of the Starguider range can't take that Barlow?

Well, that article was very interesting, and based the main calculations on what to get for low, medium and high power eyepieces on exit pupil size. Going by that criteria, the 'ideal' exit pupil sizes for the 130P would mean I'd want a 3.5mm, 10mm and 25mm. Being more practical, I'd probably be looking at a 5mm, 12mm (10mm not available in the BST Starguiders Range) and 25mm, though even the 5mm would never really get used with a Barlow, so perhaps going with an 8mm/12mm/25mm or something like that might be more practical. It's great that it gives me a sense of what to be looking for. Of course, the Barlow calculations would change if I got the one recommended above (a 1.3x and 2.25x one) that would effectively give my 3 eyepieces 9 different magnifications. If I went with the 8mm, 12mm and 25mm with that Barlow, I'd end up with x26, x34, x54, x59, x70, x81, x105, x122, x182 which wouldn't be a bad range at all. Of course, this is all theory, practice may tell a completely different story! And I should note that those 3 eyepieces and the Barlow would probably cost more than the 130P when it's back in stock.

Thanks again. Yep, I wasn't really planning to get a 2.5mm, or even a 5mm necessarily for that matter, but it's good to know that my thought process made sense at least! I would like to plan which eyepieces to spend money on. After searching for 'telescope eyepieces maximum magnification' I'm currently reading through this https://agenaastro.com/articles/guides/choosing-eyepieces-for-your-telescope.html Thanks!

Wow! Thanks for taking the time to reply everyone, I appreciate it. I do wish it was 'my Starquest', right now it's just what I'm hoping to get. It's so annoying that stock levels are so poor right now, hard to get into the hobby if you can't get a Telescope! Some great advice here, thanks. I'll check out the BST Starguiders, everywhere recommended upgrading the eye pieces, but it's hard to know which ones, until now! That dual Baader Barlow looks good, though am I reading it right that it might only work with Baader eyepieces, or are others ok with it too? This is exactly what I want, I'm getting a sense of specific makes and models rather than general recommendations. I'll wait 'til I get a telescope before I look at filters, thanks. And thanks for the advice with Skysafari as well. A thought has occurred to me. I think I'm right in saying that based on the aperture size and focal length, there's basically a eyepiece that will give you your max magnification. Like, with the Starquest, the 130mm aperture suggests a max magnification of 260, and the 650 focal length means a 2.5mm eyepiece would give that 260 magnification. Is that right? In that case, rather than get a 2.5mm eyepiece, would it make more sense to get a 5mm eyepiece and use it with the 2x Barlow to reach 260x? 'Cos if you got a 2.5mm eyepiece, you couldn't use it with the Barlow as it would double the max magnification, so that eyepiece could only be used for 1 magnification level, whereas the 5mm could be used for two (on its own, or with a Barlow). Does that all make sense?

Thanks for your advice. I'll definitely look up Turn Left at Orion. Yeah, I've been learning a bit about Focal Lengths etc., stuff I haven't heard since university!

Thanks! I've done the first obvious thing and gone out the backgarden and found Polaris, so at least I know I could align an EQ mount there!

Just found this forum and it looks like it's really active which bodes well! Like a lot of newbies I'm sure, I've always been interested in Astronomy and used to own a small refractor years ago, but I'm finally deciding to take the plunge and get a decent beginners set up. Of course, I seem to have picked the absolute wrong time to do this, as nearly any telescope I've been interested in is sold out everywhere, and with Brexit finally finally happening soon, I don't know how that will affect buying online (I live in Ireland). At this stage it's looking doubtful that I'll get a telescope before the new year. The ideal for me would be the Skywatcher Starquest 130P, which seems a great set up for £170 (if anyone had one!). However, I am enjoying all the research online and learning so much already about Astronomy. I'm also looking into what accessories I should get, at least I can get them sooner, as they're in stock! From various sites/videos online, most places seem to recommend the following... Barlow 2x Laser Collimator Better eyepieces if needed Fliters I was looking for some advice, as there are so many options out there! I've seen some people recommend a Barlow that can do both 1.5x and 2x. I've seen laser and non-laser Collimators recommended. As for Eyepieces, Skywatcher do their own brand of Super Plossl eyepieces, but I don't know if they're decent or not. And as for Filters! For the Moon, I've seen people recommend a specific 'Moon' filter, I've also seen Polariszing filters (including adjustable ones) being recommend, and also Blue Filters. If there was one type of filter to help with the Moon, and potentially other stuff too, which would you all recommend? I've also seen a Light Pollution filter being advised, and I was wondering if that's a good idea to get? I live in an estate on the edge of a town, so there's a fair bit of light pollution, but darker skies aren't too far away from me. Another thing I was wondering about... The Starquest 130P comes with an EQ mount (which can also be used as an AZ mount). My back garden, where I would do a good bit of observing obviously, faces south. So, stupid newbie question, I need to see Polaris to align the mount, don't I? So if my own house is blocking Polaris, that's gonna cause issues, isn't it? I'm gonna check tonight to see if I can see it from my back garden, I'm hoping it will be high enough in the sky. Oh, another thing... I've read a lot of good things about Sky Safari, and I was wondering if the Plus version is worth the money over the free one, and would there be any point of my going for the Pro one, or is that overkill for a Newbie? There's a sale on now, so Plus costs €7 and the Pro costs €20. Sorry for all these questions, once I started I couldn't stop... Any advice appreciated, thanks! Jason.