Venster

I’m not looking to make a profit, but at the same time want to minimise my loss and not undersell the stuff. I understand people will only pay what they are to willing to pay. The scope in question cost me £325 at the time and is now £450. I’ve also bought a Telrad, collimating EP and. BST 12mm EP. I wouldn’t consider selling it all for £200 but likewise wouldn’t expect to sell for cost either. It’s in immaculate condition, maybe only used 4 or 5 times but is not boxed. Unfortunately there’s no other scope similar in the buy and sell section to compare.

Bought a scope brand new 2 months ago from RVO but the price has gone up 30% and isn’t in stock at the moment. Nothing special just a SW 150P with a Telrad and new EP.

What’s the gemeral resale % of original price of Astro gear considering the lack of supply and demand at the moment? I’m considering my gear that I bought 2 months ago- beginning to think it was an impulse buy and it isn't getting the use it should and the eternal cloud coverage in the NW makes it even harder to get outside. Somebody else could make much better use of it I think. TIA

Hi. I think I just need to appreciate what I’m seeing as Dannyb suggested. To think it’s taken 2.5m LY to get here and I can see it. I’ll take a look with my 25mm next time and try and see a bit more- I was just keen to use my new 12mm EP!

Never realised what PITA dew is. Was only outside for an hour last night and everything was getting damp. Is it a seasonal thing- I know it’s to do dew point and saturation- but is it less prevalent in the warmer seasons? And on that note, rather than looking for anything, I made my mission to find M31. I eventually found it- my dewy telrad didn’t help! I must admit I was expecting a little more from it - it was just a faint smudge - maybe it was dew in the lens but going back to the Orion Nebula that was clear as I would expect . Am I being unreasonable with what to expect with my Skywatcher 150p with 12mm EP(BST)?

Crikey. Been away for a while but decided to see how the scope was today. I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at in the Cheshire eyepiece but nothing was lined up. So I adjusted the primary to make the cross hairs centralise in the black dot. I will see how it goes tonight. First clear skies in weeks up here. Just looked at the moon and it seemed ok - nice and tight focus - even using Barlow and 10mm ep I tried following Astro baby guide but found it confusing 🤷‍♂️. When I have more time I’ll give it another go !

Ah yes, SW Explorer 150p

Thinking of checking and collimating my telescope- not much else to do with it living in the North at the moment! Bearing in mind I’ve never done this before am I better off getting a proper eyepiece instead of trying to make my own? It wouldn’t surprise me if it needed doing as the box it came in was quite damaged.

Just had the scope out for my 2nd time and couldn’t work out what was wrong. Then it dawned on me that I was viewing from the same side as the weights and couldn’t get close enough 🤪. What hope do I have trying to find stars! Must say the Telrad was a revelation- made finding things much easier. Then the cloud rolled in ☹️

Thought I’d ask a few questions after my first night’s obs with my SW 150P. First thing I noticed was how bright the flipping moon was, and I guess it had an effect on what I could see before the high cloud rolled in? Would a filter make my experience any better? I put the dust cover over the open end of the OTA with just the little hole open and it was still too bright. Found the Orion Nebula and possibly the trapezium but I did expect more of the cloud to be visible- tried all combinations of eyepieces and Barlow. Would this be the bright moon, or am I expecting too much again? Found Mars, but I was disappointed as it didn’t seem much bigger with any of the eye pieces. Would a better eyepiece be any good other than the stock one that it came with? I will have another read of the ‘What to expect’ thread but I did think I’d see ‘more’! One thing I think I need is a telrad, they get good reviews, because the finder scope did my head in trying to work out where things were! Do you think it might need collimating - the stars did seem a bit blurry but my eyesight isn’t exactly 20/20 and this is what state the box arrived in! Sorry for so many Q’s- just thought it would be best leaving it all in one thread.

Thanks guys, a lot for me to read properly later and digest. I appreciate everyone’s help here 👍. I put it all together today, that was a challenge- didn’t realise how heavy those weights are. I set up the finder scope easily enough but found I was getting in all sorts of a tangle moving the scope about 🤣. And the adjuster cables didn’t seem to be in the right place. I’ll have a look on YouTube on my days off to see what it’s meant to look like properly set up!!

Cheers everyone for your help. I just can’t wait to try it out- might be a while in this rain up North☹️

Thanks, CB that makes sense.

No it’s not a motorised or goto. I’m hoping once I’ve built it up and had a play it might make a bit more sense. You say it doesn’t have to be perfect, so if I’m out the front of my house, facing south, and not able to see Polaris as long as it’s roughly in that direction it will be fine (using a compass or something)? I know my latitude so once that’s set in and generally pointing North it will be ok? Or am I over simplifying it?

Hello. I bought my first telescope today after a lot of reading- SW Explorer 150P- with an EQ mount. I’m starting to think I’ve made a mistake. This EQ mount sounds so complicated! I’ve read the manuals a few times but it still mashes my swede! Are there any recommendations on a guide to get an understanding on how these work for a simpleton! I’m starting to think I should have got an alt-az 😞