cajen2

Good choice, Stephen! 👍

It's all my fault.....I bought a new scope three weeks ago, followed by a new finder and eyepiece. I think there has been a total of ten minutes during that time when I could set my scope up and try to get it focused. Then, clouds and nothing else....😭

Fair enough, thanks John. I'll leave it a little while in case I get other recommendations before I part with my hard-earned, but (as usual, sigh) the best option seems to be the most expensive one!

Thanks, John x2! I didn't know if the ED glass in the SL made any difference?

Any updates on this? Looks like a nice piece of kit...

Hi folks. I'm after a mid-range Barlow for my 150p f/5 dob. Obviously, I want value for money😄 and a minimum of wide-field aberrations or darkening. I have in mind three options: Baader Classic Q 2.25x at £45 StellaLyra ED 2x at £59 ES 'Barlow / Focal Extender' at £85 or obviously any other that you can personally recommend. I currently have only stock EPs but intend to upgrade these, quite possibly to BST Starguiders. Any help gratefully received.

Welcome SFM. I'm biased because I've just bought one, but you might consider the Skywatcher 150p Flextube Dobsonian. Its aperture is large enough for some great observations (though obviously a 200mm is even better) but it's relatively light, so taking it into the garden is easy, it slides shut to half its length, making is easy to store and it's well within your budget, allowing you to get much better eyepieces down the line.

Welcome, Claire, from another newbie to the forum. I love your enthusiasm! I hope you never lose it and thoroughly enjoy your stargazing.

I can only echo the positive comments of many newbies here. I've been a member only for a couple of weeks and a complete beginner in scope observing. People on here come across as helpful, tolerant, friendly and not patronising at all. I also notice very little one-upmanship here in comparison to some specialist forums I know ('oh, you have a 6" dob? I have a 12"!') 😛

I can see both sides here. I haven't got a degree in cosmology or physics (mine's in English language 😄) so I'm a science dilettante but enthusiast. I liked how the series seemed to try to incorporate the latest insights into the Big Bang, black holes, etc without trying to blind the audience with science and the CGI stuff was great. On the negative side, watching BC trekking across yet another desert, standing on a mountain top, gazing into space and so on gets rather wearing after a while, especially since none of it seemed to have any connection with what he was saying. It reminds me irresistibly of 'Walking with Dinosaurs', which irritated the life out of me as a palaeontology enthusiast and was roundly lambasted by experts for not indicating was what accepted fact and what was total storytelling. All I would say is that it gripped me enough to binge-watch the whole series and left me a little sad that there was no more at the end.

Rigel finder arrived and installed (thanks Auntie Flo!):

Thanks for that, Nik. I've just bought the 6mm Svbony, as I wanted a relatively cheap way of assessing a short FL EP on my 6" dob. I'm not expecting miracles at that price. Of course, since it arrived, the clouds have been at 10/10ths.

On a different note, my temporary home-made eyepiece / accessories box, since I have only three EPs ATM! It's small enough to go in my backpack. Check out the high quality workmanship! 😄😄😄

All I need now is for something to watch....😥

....now with new super deluxe bespoke home-made dew shield / light shroud! 😛

Will do, folks. Do you like my home-made accessory holder? 😄 Small enough to go in my backpack if required. Plenty of room for more holes....😏

Thanks Heather. I had already balanced the scope with the tube extended. I've ordered only 2mm foam for the shroud, so it remains to be seen if it affects the balance much. As to the RDF, it irritates the life out of me! So much so that I've ordered a Rigel finder, which I hope will be easier to squint through.😆 I'll definitely get a 32mil, perhaps one of the wide-field ones to make targeting easier. I thought my other hobby (reefkeeping) was expensive, but this clearly rivals it!

Firstly, as a newbie to both SGL and scope observing in general, I have no idea whether I've posted this in the right place or not! I realise that a smallish dob reviewed by a beginner may not be very interesting to most of you on here, but I have some thoughts and impressions which might be handy for anyone wanting to buy this scope. I have to say that build quality in general is great: the scope is solid, the flextube system well made and the alt/az mount works fine. I read with a certain trepidation that the helical focuser can be wobbly, but for me, it was a different problem. The focuser was quite stiff in rotation, which kept moving the scope when I tried to focus. I took it out and applied a tiny amount of mineral oil made for bikes to the focuser thread, then wound it in and out a few times. It now rotates smoothly and easily. Perhaps everyone does this; I have no idea! I've had no problem with it wobbling yet, but I have PTFE tape on standby if I need it. I've ordered some black foam and velcro to make a DIY light / dew shield. The supplied eyepieces (10 and 25mm as usual) are ok, if not wonderful. I'm going to get a Baader Hyperion zoom and matching Barlow, as I think zooming is preferable to swapping eyepieces with the dob mount, which is so easy to nudge out of alignment. I know many of you don't like zooms much, but I thought I'd give it a try using a reasonable quality one. The scope is easy to store considering its aperture, thanks to the flextube system. The weather has been rubbish, of course, since I bought the scope, but there were some short breaks in the clouds tonight, allowing me to view the moon, which looked sharp through both EPs. I'm looking forward to viewing Jupiter and Saturn next, though they're a bit low in the sky towards Bristol and Bath ATM, which isn't ideal. Once I get used to the scope and get clearer weather, I'll go on to double stars and maybe some of the brighter DSOs. Sorry about the marathon post.....but if anyone has any reactions or advice, please feel free to comment! Clear skies (😄) Clive

Cheers, Paul. Love your sketch, BTW.

Sorry, I do realise you were talking about solar prominences, but one person's good luck is another's misfortune......

My first scope arrived early this morning (SW Heritage 150p flextube dob) and for the first time in ages, there were broad patches of clear sky! Set it all up, waiting eagerly for darkness to arrive......and of course, you know the rest: all new equipment is accompanied by clouds😝. It's now 10/10ths.

I shall be VERY interested in your opinion of it in the newt. Mine is also an f/5 and I'm in the market for new EPs.

Thanks to all that have answered. As Heather says, I have some time to think about it before more stock comes in.

I don't mind going higher end for a good planetary EP, say a 6mm?

Ouch! I may be able to stretch to one, but Morpheii across the range would push the old bank balance a bit...😳😄