bosun21

Hi Peter, I am also from Oxford and also back into the hobby after a 30+ year break. I have bought a 200mm Dobsonian as well and also a 127 Skywatcher Maksutov Go to. The biggest difference I found on my return was that there’s now so much choice of equipment, of every genre. I am concentrating on visual for the moment but I am saving for a decent astrophotography set up. When I started viewing again, I asked myself “ Why did I ever stop in the first place “.Good luck with your Dob

Thanks Heather

Thanks for that feedback Heather. I also have a new 127 Mak and was wanting to ask you about the maximum useful magnification that works for you? Seeing allows obviously. Thanks

Yes I forgot to mention that they were version II

That’s the ones. That’s a really good price you got

Thanks

Oops, trust me to step on this hot potato. Thanks for the heads up

I’ve done a little research on these and they appear to be cheap eyepieces and that’s usually a good measure of the quality of them. I’ll tell him to give them a miss

I have a friend who is asking me about whether the TMB range of planetary eyepieces are worth buying or not. I told him that I have no idea and that I would ask on here on his behalf.( 2.5mm up to the 8mm). Thanks

I second what Carbon Brush has said above regarding the size of your choice. I first jumped in too deep and bought a 12” Dobsonian go to second hand. When I picked it up I couldn’t believe how big it actually was. It was even heavy due to the motors in the base etc. They don’t appear that big in the photos online. I swiftly sold it after using it only once as it was just too cumbersome. I then opted for the 8” Stella Lyra from FLO (just sold out). The Bresser was going to be my next choice. Take your time and don’t make the mistake i did. Good luck 👍

Thanks for your reply and I want it for my 127 Maksutov so should be okay for focus. I will definitely pick one up, for as you say they aren’t that expensive

Thanks for the links

I like viewing the planets especially the gas giants and was wondering whether the addition of a ZWO ADC would be worth buying. This came to mind with the planets being so low in the sky. Does anyone have any experience with these?, as i would like to know before i buy. Thanks

Hi 👋, and welcome to the lounge

I can sympathize with you as I was in the exact same position as you some months back. So many choices, so many scopes and mounts. I eventually decided on a 127 Maksutov Go to and I wasn’t disappointed with it’s performance, especially on the planets, moon and small bright deep sky targets like planetary nebulae. But due to having the Astro bug I added a 8” Dobsonian which certainly lives up to its reputation. These two keep me satisfied while I am saving up for my astrophotography rig. If this is your first go at astronomy then I advise you to get a visual set up and see if astronomy is your cup of tea before committing to a more expensive photography set up

From what you said it appears to be a standard 8” reflector with a single size focuser of 1.25”. Any of the 1.25” eyepieces will fit the scope and Banjaxed’s kind offer of a 20mm will get you up and running. Although they are not great i have the 10mm partner to the 20mm which I have blackened the lens edges that you can have also for the price of postage. Just drop me a PM if interested.

I was really into microscopy some years back and was quite serious about it. I had several laboratory grade microscopes all fitted with cameras for imaging. I used to concentrate mainly on the biological side of things. I cultivated all sorts of bacteria to study, both live viewing and stained and mounted. Also did dark field microscopy and phase contrast etc. I guess I just love looking and observing, hence I’ve jumped back into astronomy with both feet. Again welcome to SGL

Hi and welcome to SGL

I’ve found that Harrisons Telescopes have the full range of the Ultimate Duo’s for sale at the moment.

Silly question but are you loosening the other bolt when you want to change direction?

I did look at them but with an up to 90 working days waiting time I was somewhat put off. I have the Hyperion Zoom and find it decent although the 50 degree at 24x is limiting. I have been swayed away from the Hyperion range so the Morpheus it is.(Unless the ES becomes available)

Thanks and I think i will just stick to my original plan of getting the Baader Morpheus range as they seem to be decent across the range. Thanks for your reply

No it’s someone selling it and as I’d never heard of it before I was curious to see if it was worth buying. Thanks

Sorry I keep forgetting to include the scopes. 8” Dobsonian and a 127 Skymax Maksutov.

Are these eyepieces any good and worth looking at?, or are they best avoided?. Thanks in advance