PeterStudz

I think you talking about Protostar flocking material. But it’s not the cheapest! https://www.firstlightoptics.com/telescope-flocking-material.html

Some lovely mounts in this thread and a good read. I posted this recently in the DIY section but as it’s cloudy, wet and I’m at home recovering from flu here’s my Frankensteinian mount. Small reflector - SkyWatcher StarQuest on-top of an EQ5 type tripod.

I tried Black3.0 but found that it would not adhere to metal (or plastics & glass for that matter) and would flake off at the slightest opportunity. Personally I would not allow it anywhere near optics. In the end I flocked and used blackboard paint for small areas and back/sides of the secondary. At least blackboard paint had good adhesion.

Manage to get out at between 11:30 and 12:15 for a short grab and go session on the sun before the rain came in. There’s a lot of activity at the moment with plenty to see. Mind, I had to pick my moments between the clouds. Took a few quick shots with my new iPhone 14 Pro at the end of the session. Although had to keep the magnification low as I had an annoying dust bunny show up in the pictures which also meant keeping the sun to one side and not in the centre of the FOV Skywatcher Skyhawk 1145p, BST Starguider 12mm, single shot using the stock camera app in RAW. Cropped, basic editing in Snapseed and stock camera app. First time I’d taken something using RAW and given the small aperture of the telescope, low magnification and low winter position of the sun it’s come out OK. Look forward to experimenting some more.

Looks good! And I’m annoyed that I’ve missed it so far. I’m been keeping an eye on it but have had the flu, so even if the weather played ball I wasn’t able to do much. But feeling better so possibly tomorrow morning if the forecast is anything to go by.

There’s a good amount of choice in this range. And even with the price increases it’s still very good value. When I was a kid my parents (around the mid-1970’) bought me a small refractor. It was enough to get me started. Then, in the late 1970’s, possibly 1980, just before I went to university I can remember flicking through some British telescope manufacturers brochure. I can still remember the disappointment when I realised the huge relative cost of something in the 8inch reflector range. And the realisation that I simply wouldn’t be able to afford it for many years. At that point I gave up. And didn’t get back into the hobby by chance until late 2020.

Yes, that’s been around for a few months now - I think. Although the Skywatcher 200p Dob is still being sold by FLO.

I’ve been meaning to write this up for months and at last the flu has given me a bit of time And it might help someone. Some of the pictures taken back in the summer. After seeing a member review of the SkyWatcher StarQuest-130P from @Chris I liked the mount. I’d grown to like EQ mounts and this looked far better than the wobbly EQ1 I had for my old SkyWatcher Skyhawk 1145p. However, you can only buy the StarQuest as an OTA, mount and tripod package. But looking at it the StarQuest mount exactly fits a EQ1 head plus aluminium tripod. Here’s the 1145p last January still with EQ1 doing some white light solar. I still like it. The OTA itself isn’t at all bad, it makes a quick grab and go, reasonable for wide-field and I find it complements my 200p Dob. I’m not interested in goto but do like the ability to track for visual. Surely something could be done. Seeing the mount only being sold second hand for a knock down price was too hard to resist. So, on the spur of the moment I bought it. It’s the exact same fixing as an EQ1 and fits an EQ1 tripod perfectly. In fact I’m sure that the tripod that is sold with the StarQuest package is a just EQ1 tripod. This worked fine. I could use the StarQuest in Alt-Azimuth mode or track in EQ mode with the little motor. Stability had improved but the aluminium tripod still let it down. At high magnification the issue was obvious - the legs of the tripod would vibrate like string in a guitar. I had bought a second hand steel EQ5 type tripod from another member on here. Thanks again @Stu1smartcookie! However, I did not plan to use it for the 1145p. Now, the EQ1/StarQuest both have the same fixing with a M10 thread. The EQ5 is for a mount with M10 thread. But the EQ1 & StarQuest have a shaft that makes it incompatible with a EQ5 tripod. In fact it’s not compatible with any tripod apart from the wobbly old EQ1 aluminium tripod. Why oh why SkyWatcher can’t use a fixing that will attached to any other tripod I just don’t know. Well, I have an ideal that it’s deliberate - so you can’t do what I wanted and easily upgrade in stages - you are forced to spend more money. Not to be beaten I made a riser block out of a bit of scrap wood. It needed a bit of a lift anyway as the extra spread of the EQ5 meant that the end of the OTA would hit the legs at certain angles when near zenith. This did mean that the fixing shaft of the EQ5 now wasn’t long enough. An easy fix would be to get a length of M10 threaded rod, but for me that had a few disadvantages. For one the rather basic way of polar aligning the StarQuest means loosening the fixing bolt. So, the plan was to get a M8 star knob that would pass through the bottom of the EQ5 hub without engaging the M10 thread and use a M8 to M10 adapter to connect to the mount. While getting bored waiting for the cheap M8 star knob to arrive from China I decided to make my own out of an M8 coach bolt and scrap plywood. Wish I’d thought of this before as a spade bit and jigsaw (you could use a hacksaw) had one made in around 20 minutes. Plenty pf instructions on the internet of how to do this and the result is far better than a plastic version. For a start it just feels so much better and is just the right size to grip. I’d certainly do it again if I even need a star knob. Of course now the tripod accessory tray didn’t fit. The tray also gives a bit more stability and I like accessory trays anyway. A few 45mm exhaust clamps at £1.45 fixed this, with the tray rammed up against the legs. The end result is something that’s rock solid and a joy to use. At last, no more wobbles! I can use the mount in EQ with or without motorised tracking. And I can also use it in Alt-Azimuth. I’ve kept the EQ1 aluminium tripod as a travel option - last summer I fitted the whole thing in hold luggage on an aircraft. A couple of other improvements. I find that the counterweight rod, whatever the mount, can wobble even if slightly. A penny washer fixes this. The thumb screws on the slow motion controls can work loose. A tiny section of plastic tubing (I used model aircraft fuel tubing which I had at home) provides some friction when tightened down and stops this happening. And just to show that you can, here’s the EQ1 on the EQ5. It’s amazing how much of the wobble actually comes from the aluminium tripod!

I have a Skywatcher 200p Dob, so a very similar telescope. I also have the 25, 12 & 5 mm Starguiders. As others have pointed out the 25mm isn’t the best and I plan to get something else to replace it soon, although it’s served its purpose. The 12mm has been the most useful out of the lot and I have no plans to upgrade this. Especially for DSO but also surprisingly good for planetary when used with a Barlow. I have the BST 2x Barlow and a cheap 3x Barlow to give 200x and 300x. Now, although conditions have got to be just right, on the few times this has happened the 12mm plus 3x Barlow has given me fab views of Saturn, very rarely Jupiter I admit and recently Mars. Obviously better than the 5mm which gives me 240x. Mars being a recent example, just 3 nights out of many, but 3 nights that I’m not going to forget. For some reason it’s the contrast/colour contrast with the 12mm plus Barlow that for me just works.

Ahh.. OK. But just to make it clear - We are both just touching the eyecup and I mean JUST. No pressing. Isn’t that they way it’s supposed to work? If the rubber was softer then it would be better. But it’s a very, very minor issue and if it bothers us (doesn’t always) then I remove it - simple.

I have the 12mm & 5mm Starguiders and often wear glasses when observing. I’m very short sighted and have some astigmatism, although to be honest I don’t really notice it when not wearing glasses. My daughter always prefers to observe wearing glasses, so any issues and I soon know! We both find that the 12 & 5mm Starguiders have adequate eye relief. And You can effectively get more by removing the large rubber eyecup (easy on these) which I find a little annoying when wearing glasses anyway - the rubber is a bit too solid for my liking with a spectacle level pressed against them.

I think that’s a very good choice. It also looks like it comes with a white light solar filter? I started out observing with my then 9 yr old daughter and to my total surprise she really enjoyed looking at the sun and sunspots. Of course you’ve got to be VERY careful when looking at the sun especially with children, so follow precautions. But it does have the advantage that it can be done during the day, when it’s warm and no need to get eyes use to the dark.

Yes, this is most relevant. And I’d also add that as cost & budget go it’s far cheaper to make/manufacture a stable Dob mount than it is to manufacture a stable tripod + mount.

I use the push to feature in an smartphone app called PS Align Pro, it works really well and cost £2.99. But the advantage of a goto is that it adds the ability to track. Without tracking, and If you are looking at a target at high magnification, eg Jupiter, it’ll move fast across the eyepiece. Eg 30 seconds and you need to find it or nudge your telescope again.

That’s quite a good idea. Although it would require some basic DIY. There’s also a small ready made Dob mount for small telescopes. Again, it would require some basic DIY to make it fit. And this also has the ability to fit onto a photo tripod. https://www.astroshop.eu/alt-azimuth-without-goto/omegon-mini-ii-dobsonian-mount/p,53648

On another note. If you are OK with DIY it would be straightforward to make a small tabletop Dob mount for your Maksy 60. It wouldn’t cost much and potentially far more stable than using an AZ3 on its aluminium tripod.

You beat me to it 😀! In this game there’s always something bigger and better.

And another £80 on top a 200p! I have a 200p and it’s great, although still far too big for my 11 yr old daughter to handle on her own. The 130p isn’t a problem. Have a look at this thread. Rather coincidently the 130p also gets a mention. I wonder why 🤔

Yes, that’s one. At the moment it costs around £189. Looking around a AZ3 with aluminium tripod is about £139. The adapter £19 - £158 in total. So for ~£31 more you’ll get more than twice the aperture of your Maksy 60. But see what others say.

I THINK that would work but I’m not sure!

In an ideal world upgrading in stages, especially on a tight budget, sounds like a sensible way to go - eg upgrading the tripod, then the mount and at a later date the telescope. And getting a nice sturdy tripod, even for a small telescope, isn’t cheap. However, there isn’t a standard way of mounting a mount to a tripod or a telescope to a mount, so you’ve got to be careful. Would the Maksy 60 even fit on a decent alt-az mount? A StarTravel 80 would be a noticeable upgrade. But since you’ve got this far and both have an interested (I observe with my daughter too) after using a small/simple telescope it might be worth biting the bullet and getting something with a bit more aperture. Something that’s also easy to setup and use like a table top dobsonian with an aperture of 130mm to 150mm.

Now you mention this it’s similar here. Although I have had comments about certain boxes in our recycling bin. The ones with “FLO May Contain Clouds” stickers. But I don’t think she’s worked out that they are related to astronomy.

Well, I do that and really it goes without saying. But some people simply have zero interest in visual and AP. My wife is like that. She’s seen the moon and Saturn but from what I can remember that’s it. She accepts it largely because my daughter enjoys visual and she can understand that’s it’s educational etc. Mind, I think if I started AP and she saw the price she would think that I have mental health issues Now, as I kid I can remember the first time I saw Saturn and its rings. Jupiter too. The telescope was so small that I could only just make out rings and on Jupiter I could only see its moons, no banding. Still, I was like a kid in a candy shop. This was in the late 1970’s and the fact I can remember it from so long ago is telling. My daughter is similar. The first time we both looked at Jupiter & Saturn was in June 2021. After that it was every opportunity and I mean every opportunity. As it was summer we’d be up in the early hours observing until the sun came up. A few times we carried on and did solar. But as I mentioned, it was also part of an event - camping outside, drinking hot chocolate, toasting marshmallows, having a friend for a sleepover. For me It was exhausting, especially if I had work in the morning, but so much fun. Then I have a friend whose teenage daughter has zero interest. And no interested in the night sky at all. When I was chatting to her she obviously didn’t even know what a galaxy is

Not sure which Skywatcher he has. Any idea on the primary mirror size? Or how bad the mirror is. But if it was me I’d take it apart, give it a clean including the mirrors, put it back together and try and use it. You might be surprised at the views. Nearly 2 yrs ago I got hold of a neglected Skywatcher 200p for free which I took apart, cleaned and put back together. The primary mirror was in a bit of a state with spots which were letting light through. See pictures. Eventually I got hold of a nice primary second hand but even with the old mirror in that state I could see a surprising amount including the Cassini Division on Saturn. Practically all a “new” clean mirror did was improve contrast a little.

Light pollution has a lot to answer for. I’m in Bortle 7. From my garden I’ve probably seen all that I can see in my 200p Dob. But that doesn’t mean I won’t see it better. The dumbbell nebula is an example. When first observed I found it underwhelming. But one very transparent night last year it was lovely, helped a little by using a filter. Is that the best I’ll see it? Certainly not. There’s always better nights plus dark sites and it’ll take years before I can say “I’ve seen it at its best”, if that ever happens. Mars is another. I first say that in 1970-something when I was a kid using the small refractor that my parents bought me. It was no more than a featureless small orange dot. I thought that was it and I’d never see it again. But this opposition has been great. I’ve seen ice caps, north polar hood and albedo features - I've been delighted. If I continue is that the best? Might have to wait a while but probably not!