YogSothoth

So I was thinking of a small, lightweight refractor as a second scope and was looking at the SW ST80 (£189), but then I came across a Meade Adventure 80 (£99). My question is, are these the same scope? And if so, why the big price difference? I’m not bothered about the accessories that come with them really as I already have eyepieces. Many thanks.

Thanks for the replies and I’ll have a look at that thread @Zermelo

Well there is that 😂

OK, so I’m after a 12mm eyepiece for my 200p. Now a BST is £49, whereas something like a Baader Morpheus is £188, so my question is, what difference would I actually see between the two? Many thanks.

Thanks again for all of the replies and great information. My 200p arrived today and is now all set up. Looks to be well collimated as far as I can see, so just waiting for some clear sky now. It’s currently grey and drizzly. Oh well…….

As far as eyepieces go, I’ve got the original 25mm that I got with the Celestron 102 and a couple of Celestron plossls- 9mm + 15mm, so OK for those, although I might replace the 25mm at some stage. I hear that BST are quite reasonable eyepieces that aren’t too expensive? I know what you mean about a hands on demo. Much better than reading instructions. Just looking forward to getting my new scope now.

Thanks for all of the replies. I went ahead and ordered the 200p with a Cheshire and a collimator cap (it was only £6). Just waiting delivery and some clear skies now.

Yeah, I’m going to go and ask him about it at the weekend and see what he says. He may be quite reasonable and not know it’s a problem I guess. It also makes our bedroom much brighter, which is annoying. It’s usually pitch black but we can now see the room quite clearly.

I live in a small village where the street lights turn off at 12am. I get fairly dark skies with reasonable views of the Milky Way. That is until a couple of days ago, when my neighbour installed a very bright, unshielded light which he’s been leaving on all night.

Thanks a lot for all your replies. Some great info there and I’m a lot clearer now about what I need. I guess using refractors for years, I’ve been kind of anxious about the collimating process but doesn’t seem too bad. The Stellalyra 8” looks good but I can’t find any reviews. Does anyone know how it compares with the SW. in terms of the optical quality?

OK thanks for the reply. So I need a laser collimator and a Cheshire? Mm beginning to sound more expensive. I’ve used a Celestron 102HD for a number of years and have been quite happy with it until it suffered an err accident. The reason I’m thinking of a 200p is because it’s about the same price as replacing the 102 with a SW equivalent, but buying both collimator and a Cheshire is going to add about another £100 to the cost so maybe I’ll have to rethink.

Hi All. I’ve used a refractor for a number of years, but am thinking of buying a SW 200p. Now my question is, what do I need to buy along with it in terms of collimating tools. I’m guessing I’ll not be able to use it straight out of the box without collimating it first. There is an ‘essentials laser collimator’ for £45 on FLO site which says that I also need a sight tube as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.