Mentos

On 07/09/2021 at 07:10, Geoff Lister said:

The usual advice, is to use the 'scope with its 25mm and 10mm eyepieces, and then decide. The 10mm is probably the weak link.

I can only advise, based on my experience, but this would be my order of purchase.

1  A 32mm Plossl eyepiece - the Mak gives a narrow field of view, but this will give you the widest view with a 1.25" eyepiece.

2  A x2 Barlow - this will give you the equivalent of 16mm and 12.5mm eyepieces, using the 32mm Plossl and the supplied 25mm.

3  An 8-24mm zoom eyepiece - the Skywatcher and Celestron offerings at about £80 work for me, without breaking the bank.

4  A suitable power supply - the Az-GTi mount is not thirsty, but 8-off alkaline AA cells will probably not last very long. This is what I use:-

The 6V packs were "borrowed" from my radio-controlled model sailing yachts, and the plug-top supply came from an obsolete ethernet switch (the white, heavy-duty, bell flex shows up well in the dark), but there are plenty of 1.5 or 2A equivalents, often sold for powering the 12V LED flexible, stick-on, lighting strips.

Geoff

Thank you for the advice!

Have started using it already, and was very excited with the views of Jupiter to start with! I'll definitely be replacing the 10mm, so will look at the zoom ones suggested. Started looking at a 32mm plossi too after looking at others advice.  Then I might see how it goes before getting a barlow.

Already got a power supply too in my sight. Trying to keep to the lithium phospate packs, due to being safer. 

17 minutes ago, Geoff Lister said:

+1 for the 127. The AZ-GTI mount is an improved version of my Skymax mount - mine does not have the manual clutches.

The Synscan GoTo is very effective, but I found that I had to do a bit of homework on my bright stars to speed up alignment. Quite often, I would select the suggested second alignment star, only to find that it was behind a tree, roof, or fence. I spent a couple of hours with the excellent "Stellarium" program on my PC, and, by adjusting date and time, for dusk at the middle of each month of the year, I was able to produce a table of 14 bright stars, visible from my garden's patio, and select a few of these, with rough compass direction and altitude angle. I did the same for an hour before dawn, but that table is rarely used! By selecting a pair of alignment stars with about 90 degrees difference in alignment, the Synscan software does a good job of compensating for any errors in leveling the tripod.

Once the bug takes hold, it is possible to use different OTAs on each other's mounts, although there may be some limitations on maximum altitude angle. If I want a wider angle view, I can (carefully) remove the 127 Mak OTA and fit the Newtoian OTA from my Heritage 130P, or my Star Travel 120mm refractor, without having to repeat alignment.

Geoff

 

That's really good to know thank you, think I have decided on the 127 with the AZ-GTI. Now I'll just have to look at the accessories!

6 hours ago, Alan64 said:

For the time being, during these difficult times, consider a 127mm Maksutov.  It's a solid design, tightly constructed, and compact; a bit of a grab-and-go in its own right. 

Then, when things settle down, in future, you can get a C6, or a larger C8 perhaps, with a larger mount to support it.

A C6 is lighter in weight, with a somewhat shorter focal-length, and with an extra inch of aperture.  But then, it has a larger secondary-obstruction, blocking a little more of the aperture, and not quite as sharp as a Maksutov.  It is more of an ergonomic telescope, for comfort, and that over optical-quality, I'm afraid.  I almost considered a C6 myself, but after careful and lengthy research, I chose a Maksutov instead.

A C6 is like a day at the county-fair, and fleeting.  A Maksutov, however, is like a home-baked supper, each and every day, throughout the year.

Ye its what I was thinking. I imagine and hope the prices will come down when supply is back to normal!  When I get more space, I'll be happier to get the bigger scopes too.

Was looking at the 150 mak, but out of my price range when considering a mount too.

29 minutes ago, johninderby said:

The C6 OTA on the AZ-GTi mount is a popular option although the C6 OTA is expensive on it’s own.

Yes, the c6 unfortunately seems out of my price range (although can't even find any in stock to be honest!) 

After researching your suggestions, what would you guys pick out of these,? Portability, ease of use and one that will last me a while till I skill up with just observing are my key points.  Budget, i think I can stretch to the £700 but just wondering if its worth it.

Celestron Nexstar 6 SLT  Goto £629-£699 (Think my preference is with this one for the better scope, but worried about the mount) 

Sky-Watcher SkyMax-127 AZ GTi £559 (Seems an excellent mount but with less aperture but highly recommended scope)

Apologies for the delay in replying. Going to have a look through these suggestions tonight. Thank you for showing your setups/pictures its really helpful to decide as well! 

I'll let you guys know what I pick, or If I have other questions. 

Thank you very much for your advice! Theres definitely quite a lot of choice, and searching for the best price. Doesn't seem easy to get telescopes at the moment. Can't seem to find many secondhand SCTs, I did find this SCT: https://www.harrisontelescopes.co.uk/acatalog/celestron-starsense-6sct.html. but there doesn't seem to be much info about the mount. Might be able to stretch the budget a bit. I think visual and portability is the most important at the moment, and just wondering if its worth the extra stretch. Definitely looking at the heritage 150, didn't mean to bait!

Would there be any suggestions on a 6" SCT or a 150 Mak? Apologies, for these questions I'm still quite new and feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the information out there. It was much easier with the cheaper scopes (although that choice could have been better in hindsight!)

So I have been using a celestron 70mm travel scope for a little while now, and I think its time for a nice upgrade. Looking at a £400-600 budget, portable, able to see the planets and the smudges of deep space, and generally spend the most time just enjoying the night sky. Being able to image might be a thing I want to do further down the line. I live in a flat, so space is minimal and I will have to travel to get to less light polluted areas. Would love one of the 200 dobsonians but think one may have to wait till I get more space and less travelling.

Wondering If saving for a Schmidt-Cassegrain would be a better idea for me at the moment, since they seem smaller with the great quality still? Also heard that a Heritage 150p could be quite a good idea too. What do people think?