Soligor Rob

1 hour ago, Basementboy said:

Thanks! How so, if you don't mind my asking? Decent FOV, good for exploring the sky, that kind of thing? (I note you'd still prefer a 2" widefield eyepiece)

How is it on planets? Do you find the CA very distracting/unpleasant? 

In case you are interested I do have a 90mm Refactor for sale on a EQ3 mount that is a lot lighter than the 120mm so much easier to move around.

The Op Basementboy might be interested in this scope currently on ebay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sky-Watcher-Evostar-120mm-Refractor-Telescope-EQ3-2-Mount-Accessories/313423187178?hash=item48f97a4cea%3Ag%3AY88AAOSwyVBgLac9&LH_Auction=1

It would be a good start, obviously I would like the mount but that's in the perfect world.

26 minutes ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

I have the skywatcher version on a steel tripod and AZ5 ... out last night in a strong breeze but it was really steady . Brilliant views of the moon & Plaides. ( scope is surprisingly light too ) 

Yes the steel legs are so much more stable than the Aluminium ones, hence me looking/waiting for a EQ6 to come up for sale.

I have the Helios 120 which is the same as the Sky Watcher 120 and have to say optically it's an excellent tool for a beginner, the problem with my set-up is I find the EQ3 mount has a bit too much play for my comfort and the Tripod just isn't stable enough.

I have done as much as I can to eliminate the backlash in the mount but there is still that little bit there when going from one direction to the other.

I have bought better quality eye pieces and a 9x50mm finder scope which makes setting up easier, next upgrade for me is a better diagonal and I'm also thinking maybe a 2" eyepiece for a better FOV.

One thing for certain the guys and their knowledge on here are a very valuable commodity.

Reading lots of threads were night sky watchers are suffering with the chilly cold conditions, well I am raw newbie at this and may have the answer to keep you guys toasty warm.

It comes in the form of a “Weezle under suit” when Scuba diving in this country we wear a dry suit which has no thermal qualities so underneath I wear a Weezle suit.

https://weezle.co.uk/collections/undersuits/products/weezle-extreme-plus-one-piece-undersuit

Obviously you will need to add a good pair of thermal socks and also a warm gloves & hat, you will never be cold again.

Decided this bending down to struggle to see through my 6x30 finder scope was a pain so this morning my new 9x50 right angled finder arrived, thanks FLO for such excellent service.

Thanks guys, I intend to be in amazing pastime for the long term so I think I will invest in the future and buy the HEQ6, a tad overkill for my current scope but as I have excellent easy access to the patio from the conservatory doors the weight isn't a problem, it will also allow me to upgrade the scope when I am ready to move on.

Looking for some advice on setup, I am a novice and learning my way around my current set-up, A Helios D+120mm F=1000mm refractor (same as the Sky Watcher) sat on a EQ3 mount, last night was the first time I managed to get out and see something, apart from the obvious novice fumbling my biggest problem is vibration.

I notice that on the mount the declination movement has about ½” of play but it seems the size of the telescope is just too big for the tripod hence the vibration.

I attached my DSLR and had to set the self timer at 10secs to allow enough time for the movement to calm down.

So my question is what would be the minimum size of  Mount / Tripod to eliminate the vibration for my telescope and what systems suffer less from this vibration?

Thanking you in anticipation.

Rory Gallagher a true star, I took my wife Chris on our first date to watch Rory in concert,  I followed him through Taste and his Solo Career, Still have all his Albums (but now listen to him via Spotify)

Fabulous to hear Joe Bonamassa play Rory's Strat.

Ha if you could have seen me last night, Chris my wife said as we were going to bed "oh look the sky has cleared and I can see the stars, whooosh I was into my thermals hat and boots and unlocking the conservatory doors, my scope was carried out on to the patio and yes a star, lined up towards the West, down on one knee to get focus, too late cloud cover, never mind there is another smattering of stars to the East, swing the scope round, down on one and oppps clouded over again.

This went on for about 40 mins before it dawned on me that most experienced sky watchers wouldn't even have unlocked the conservatory's doors but me being a total novice with his first telescope was devoid of this vital important information.

Still it was a good cardio vascular workout and had somehow got to 1am so pack everything away and off to bed.

is it often like this I wondered as I fell asleep?

15 hours ago, Tiny Clanger said:

Hello and welcome.

The learning curve with observing is steep but worth the climb !

Soligor I remember that name from camera lenses ... 🙂

The two eyepieces you have are very similar in what they will show  you as far as magnification goes :  the 25mm plossl will give you 49x magnification and the 18mm 55.5x ( just divide the focal  length of your 'scope(s) 1000 by the eyepiece mm ) 

The slightly higher magnification more expensive celestron has a wider (60 degree)  field of view than a plossl ( usually the design is quoted as 50 degrees whatever the manufacturer) so the actual  view in the two will be very similar. Take a look at the field of view simulator at the bottom of this page, you can dial in your scope (or the present day equivalent John told you about  anyway) , delete the circles for all but your specific EP and add one for another manufaturer's plossl to see the difference on various targets

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/celestron-eyepieces/celestron-x-cel-lx-eyepiece.html

So if you expected a dramatic change in the field of view or magnification between the two, you won't see it. What you should see for your extra ££s on a clear night is sharper , better detail on whatever you point the 'scope at. If the telescope(s) are so forgiving that you cannot see a difference in quality, at least you have a good EP you can use if you upgrade at some point , and a plossl to bundle with one of the 'scopes if you sell 'em !

Fingers crossed you get the chance to use the kit at night  soon .

Heather

 

Hi Heather, Thanks for the FOV simulator, I bought the Celestron eyepiece hoping I would get a more sharp and clear view I realise now that using it in daylight isn't a fair assessment.

Hopeful this bitterly cold Easterly wind will turn soon and we will get some clear skies.

17 minutes ago, John said:

The Helios is the same instrument as the Skywatcher Evostar 120mm. The manufacturer (Synta) used the brand name Helios before moving to Skywatcher.  I think the Soligor refractor is made by GSO, Guan Sheng Optical in Taiwan.

 

 

 

That's good information thanks so they are both fairly decent scopes for a beginner, hopefully we will have some clear skies soon.

Both are mounted on EQ3 mounts, the Helios on a "Sky Scan 2001"  don't know the Soligor mount, when I got the scope the mount was difficult to move but after stripping & cleaning it's movement is now fluid and precise.

18 minutes ago, John said:

The focal ratios of these long refractors are F/10.75 for the 93mm (although I think that might really be a 90mm) and F/8.3 for the 120mm. These are considered relatively "slow" focal ratios by todays standards so the light cone they produce is not as steep as a "faster" scope would produce and this means that the optics within the eyepiece do not have to be too sophisticated / complex to deal with it effectively, ie: without adding optical issues.

Better quality accessories such as diagonals, barlows and eyepieces can improve things a bit but won't turn a poor scope into a good one.

Having used both the types of scope that you have, they are not poor scopes anyway. They actually perform pretty well.

You said in the earlier post that you learned a lesson that these scopes aren't that good - was that though your own experience of using them or from what you have read ?

Why not try them at night on astro targets and see how they perform then ?

 

 

 

 

Again John thanks for the reply, the diagram explains a lot, in answer  to your question, I wasn't saying that either scope was of poor quality I was asking  were they of poor quality, I remember Soligor made some excellent camera lens in the 1980's so thought that might be ok, the Helios  having a  slightly larger diameter I assume will collect more light.

I have only been using them for a month and in that time only managed to get outside 3 times because of the skies, we live in a Bortle 5 area so not too bad for viewing, (have been reading lots) I purchased a Steve Richards book "Making every photon count" which is a fountain of knowledge, most of which is beyond me , I am at the start of a learning curve and well out of my comfort zone but eager to learn.

1 hour ago, John said:

Both these refractors are good performers. Their focal ratios (focal length divided by the diameter of the objective lens) are not particularly demanding on eyepieces so you probably won't see much difference between using the 25mm plossl and the more expensive Celestron X-Cel LX 18mm, apart from the latter giving a bit more magnification.

As has been said - get them out under the stars and they should both deliver some very satisfying views.

 

Thanks for that, I wasn't certain if a daylight test was the best option

Can you explain why Their  focal Ratios are not particularly demanding on eyepieces?

Would I be better quality Diagonal if there is such a thing help? or buying the X-Cel Barlow.

Thanks.

I have a couple of 30yr oldish Refactor’s, a Helios Telescope D=120mm, F1000mm and a Soligor D=93mm, F1000mm.

Ok being a total novice I thought I could improve the quality by purchasing a better eye piece, currently I have a Plossl 25mm as attached photo, so I bought the Celestron X-Cel LX 18mm.

Using a daylight test of a tree some 150m away I’m not certain there is very much difference in image quality.

Have I just learnt a lesson that the scopes aren’t that good, the X-Cel doesn’t match the scopes, or that the Plossl eye piece is equal to the X-Cel.

Any advice appreciated.