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Hi guys, having fallen in love with my 130pds, and seeing that I'm not the only one recently, I was thinking it would be nice if we posted our images made with a 130pds here. It gives a nice reference point as well, as to what could be achievable (with better guiding, better camera, better weather...). Well, here goes:
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Hi all This will hopefully be the new thread for all things regarding the skywatcher Az Gti mount. Please share anything you think is relevant or ask any questions regarding this stunning and very capable mount. I'm hoping that this will become the central hub for this mount and the place to come to for advice, help, information and knowledge for the Az Gti. Share your images of your mount and set up along with images captured or experiences observing with it. I've owned mine since May this year and use it with my sw 72ed ds pro, asi air pro, zwo asi294mc pro (used to use a canon 600d) in EQ mode. Even though its mot meant for astrophotography it sure can pull out some brilliant performances. I live in a 1st floor flat and portability is key for me and the goto functionality is a godsend to setup quickly. So feel free to ask anything and other az gti owners can help and advise.
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Hello all and thanks for letting be part of this group, fairly new to stargazing and work means getting to my local societies is not easy so being part of this group is much appreciated. I am hoping to buy an 8” dob to replace my current scope mainly for use at home. I plan on purchasing a second scope to gift to my Dad that I could also fit in the boot of a small car, so it needs to be fairly compact. Main interest is clusters, Nebulae and galaxies so I was thinking 150mm (6”) would be nice. I have considered a few options as reasonable including: Skywatcher heritage 150p, Bresser 6” table top and even the Stellalyra 6” f5 (although I cannot find reviews on the latter). The last one would probably be the most expensive as I see I would need to buy a good mount and possibly an adapter for 1.5” eyepieces which I already have. The Bresser seems to have a slight edge on the Skywatcher for a few reasons but your thoughts and further recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading!
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Yep, you've guessed it! Fumbling around in the dark and I got the polarity wrong. You never think you are going to be that person, until you are... I've fixed the cause of the issue by upgrading my power supply this morning - stable door after the horse and all that. Rather annoying since I haven't used the kit for a couple of years, and am rekindling my interest following a fascinating day at PAS2023. Anyway, I digress. It's pretty hard to faultfind the board properly, as i sold my handset years ago, relying on a Lynx Astro cable for communications. Which was fine until it wasn't. ASCOM now rather predicatably has a comms error with the mount. However, now it's broken, obviously i'm not getting comms with the mount, and the power LED doesn't light up, which from what I've read is a clue. I've stripped down the mount and have the input board and control board on my bench, and I'm tracing the power through the system - I found an old thread where @malc-c went through this same saga - your posts were fascinating and awfully helpful, thank you. In particular, i've inspected the two 470uF capacitors - they look ok, but I'll dig through my spares box and see if I can find some since I've probably got some lying about. I've checked conductivity across all the resistors and inductors, and everything seems fine, so far. Except obviously it isn't! I've got another board on order, as it's been twenty years since my electronics degree, so i'm not too hopeful, but I'd love to fix this one if I can. My plan: Replace the two big capacitors (C41 and C3, by Jumper 1) See if it works (unlikely!). Any other likely culprits to hit next? A schematic would be useful if anyone knows where to find one, so I can trace the power through the board until it stops... Thanks, Jim
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Hi all I have a problem with deformed stars- see attached photo. This is on a newly acquired, second hand Skywatcher evostar 120 ed pro. The pattern is identical with or without a reducer/flattener and in whatever orientation I put the camera and whether the exposure is 15s or 120s. One corner of the image appears almost in focus with round stars, whereas the diagonally opposite corner has elongated stars. The camera and flter wheel plus extension tubes when on my newtonian give pin point stars. Tracking of the mount is around RMS 0.6. If anyone is familiar with this star pattern and can tell me the solution that would be fantastic!
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Setting SKywatcher up for ICeland
Baldurth posted a topic in Getting Started General Help and Advice
Hi everyone I am trying to set up my SkyWatcher Explorere 130 EQ". As I am living in Iceland I set it up according to instructions to the Latitude around 65°. AS you can see in the pictures the scope is almost point direct north and I am having hard time seeing anything. I have viewed videos on Youtube and as far as I can see I have set it up correctly but for some reason I feel like I am doing something wrong? Any advice?- 7 replies
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I have a Sky Watcher 150 PDS and a Canon 600D I use to take images. I'm looking at purchasing a Sky-Watcher f4 Aplanatic Coma Corrector for my setup. It's as much as I can afford, but wondering if its a good choice? One concern i have is that my scope is an f5 which this is designed for f4 but has very good reviews.
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Hi everyone! I have an issue every time when I'm trying to update my SynScan hand controller. I'm a new beginner with astrophotography with to use telescope. So I'm are a little bit confused about the update. When I trying to update my SynScan hand controller I always get an error message that says 'Version 6.xx firmware does not work on version 3.xx hardware'. I have an Neq6 pro mount.
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Hello everyone! I have a little trubbele when I connecting my mount cable on my Neq6 pro mount from my laptop. I connecting direct via USB cable to my Auto Guider port. But every time I do this I get an error message that says; Connect Error: Timeout. And yes, I have both Stellarium, EQMOD and ASCOM installed on my lap. And I have done everything right in the softwares. Plus I've downloaded and installed VCP driver on my Windows 11. Do I need a specific cable for this that have a FTDI-chip inside? Or is it enough with a RJ11 cable like that I have? But when I connect my mount from my laptop, both my computer and my mount make sound. First the sound when I connect my laptop when the sound from my mount that sounds constant. Here's the link that I have. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cable-Skywatcher-Connect-Synscan-Controller-usb-rj11-6p4c/dp/B08LPLY49N?th=1
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- telescope
- astrophography
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I've been asked on a number of occasions, how I managed to do planet astrophotography with a manual Dobsonian telescope. So I have created a tutorial, to help fellow owners create a worthy image. I hope it makes sense and you find it useful. Dob AP Tutorial.pdf
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Hello Everyone, i found this forum a couple days ago and ive been reading all sorts of incredible advice, im very new to stargazing and im already planning on getting a true telescope. Of course i followed some advice on starting and got me a pair of 15x70 Celestron Skymasters on a recent amazon sale, ive barely had them for a week, havent taken them outside my backyard in the middle of a very bright city in the 3 or 4 days where it hasnt been too cloudy to see anything, but looking at dots i know (through an app) are venus, mars, saturn, and some bright stars have got me jumping with excitement and scrambling to get my half-sleep family to see them too. of course, im plan to go "camp" at a ranch where light pollution seems to be way more optimal to see way more. The advice i read on starting stated that i should stick to the binos for about a year so i get familiar with the sky and measure how deep i am willing to get into astronomy, i plan on doing just that but im looking out for any good sale on a telescope mainly on amazon, as there isnt much of a telescope market here in Mexico. Reading reviews on some pages as well as this forum led me to narrowing my choices of equipment at arround $350 dollars both the zumell z114 and the Heritage 130p sound very nice to me, id prefer the bigger aperture, but i dont ive read about how the 130 gets way dirtier, needs a shroud to work properly, and it has a fiddly focuser, i may be new to the sky but i think i can learn to live with those "disadvantages" seeing how many good reviews and praises i have read for that scope typing "z114 vs heritage 130" in google led me to a topic on this very forum where the general consensus was to get the best of both in the Z130, "thats the one!" i said, its literally best of both worlds right? why would i look for anything else? maybe because it has almost 5x the price in amazon.mx for no reason at all, checked the price tracker and everything, $350 in the us and $1440 in mex, "thats not the one". i was deadset on the 130p then, but of course, the algorithms of youtube heed my plight and put forth a diy guide to make 6 in reflector off parts from ebay which doesnt even seem that hard, just a couple drillings on pvc, printing some 3d parts and glueing the mirrors, but the catch is i just cant seem to find the exact parts so some adjustments to the guide must be made. This in turn has led me throughout the rabbithole of diy scopes and tools like Newt for the web. if any of you have stuck with me thus far i commend you. The TL:DR is i want a telescope and im between buying a Skywatcher Heritage 130p if it ever goes on sale or attempting to make a 6in f/8.125 dob out of a mirror set from ebay and a trip to home depot and i would appreciate if someone could help me decide or give me some advice on the matter. lastly, im attaching the guide that im following in case someone wants to see it too, its in spanish however and i think i saw a reupload with an english title but without no voiceover, captions, links or files at all so i dont think its at all even worth to look for it. if i go through with it im looking at a 160mm mirror with a 1300mm focal length and a secondary of 35mm and im currently set on the sv181 focuser. anyhow, i look forward to any replies and hope this wasnt too bad of a first post. best regards, RIPM.
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good day, could any one help me out. i need the measurement of the alt az base. because i would like to make the slider mod my self. they are out of stock and mine is broken. could any one help me with this? i would like the measurements of the base or the slider it self thanks already!
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Hi everyone, My wife gave me Skywatcher Explorer 130m EQ2 for birthday. I have not been able to use since it is bright 24X7. So until I can start to use i am doing research. My scope came with three lenses: 25mm (36x) 10mm (90x) 2x Barlow. I have been trying to find a bag for it and lenses and filters. I have found lenses online but what I am trying to find is how I can tell what quality the lenses are. Are there brands of lenses I should stay away from and so on. What online stores are good to find products and information about products for the telescope? Appreciate any advice given. Baldur
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hello, I am new here and nee to this hobby 😁A few weeks ago I bought my first scope. the skywatcher explorer 150pds. And now I am thinking to buy a barlow lens/eyepiece for visual and later on for astrophotography. I saw in a youtube video about how you can calculate the max magnification and stuff: it's a 6inch, which mean 6 x 50=300x so my max magnification is 300x telescope fc is 750mm and the eyepiece I have is a 28mm so 750/28= 26,78.... so it is okay to get the 5x barlow? because 26,78.. x 5 = 133,9x ? (if I use the 28mm eyepiece) I was thinking to get an another eyepiece (this one: https://www.amazon.nl/gp/product/B07Z64NK65/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A3ICDZYF91YIY1&th=1 ) + 2x barlow lens OR this one ( SVBONY SV170 1.25" Eyepiece Zoom Eyepiece FMC Green Film Zooeye for Telescope (10-30mm) https://amzn.eu/d/5pJSPrj ) - Is this a good eyepiece to get? and can I use this eyepiece on my telescope? Which one do you recommend? - Does the size of the eyepiece influence the visual and for astrophotography? - Do you guys have any advice what I should get? I am really looking for to get in deeper in this hobby Sorry for my poor english language, english is not my first language 😁 thankyou!
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Hello again, After a lot of you gave me some good suggestions for what my first scope should be someone had suggested the Skywatcher a heritage 130p. I just wanted to know if anyone has had this scope and would to share your opinion/experience with it. I was looking something portable and under £200 and this seems to fit. But when scopes are usually this cheap sometimes they don’t perform that well. Also I wanted to ask is having a open tube a problem for dew etc. Many Thanks, Ps (here is the original post if you have anymore suggestions) someone had mentioned
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Hi all, Looking to upgrade my mount currently AZ GTI and I've narrowed it down to these 2 but I don't know enough about the GEM28 to make a fair comparison. So if anyone has any experience with both your views are welcome. I'm currently using WO ZS73III and a canon 550d modded but am in the process of getting a ZWO 183mc Pro so my pixel scale is changing from 2.06" to 1.15" so getting the best guiding is my main concern. I use NINA for all of my needs PA, imaging plate solving etc and use the pegasus pocket powerbox advance v2 to minimise cables running down from the mount. Thanks in anticipation Andrew
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Evening all, wondering if the black dots in my polarscope are normal? I've googled dirty reticle safely and didn't find any comparisons 😬 Just wondering if this is etched on the glass and if not should I request a new one or clean it somehow... what's your thoughts? They don't rotate as you focus the reticle brand new S-W eqm-35 pro setup yesterday 🤔
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Thanks to FLO for my new ED150 DS Pro received on Wednesday. I was aware @John was down to test one so I delayed posting for a bit plus the delivery brought the clouds. I will post my initial findings and thoughts and top up as I go. I own or have owned an ED80 and an ED 120 but I no longer have the latter to do an objective comparison. The first feedback applies to the outer packaging. As discovered by others it is inadequate for the item. In my case the outer packaging was ruptured at the pressure points under the narrow white plastic wrap bands. I imagine the bands are used along the supply chain to manoeuvre the package. The gross weight is 26kg so it’s difficult to manhandle for an individual. Fortunately, the flight case was in perfect condition and hopefully has protected the contents. SW could learn from Lunt and double box their items. The flight case itself is typical SW and has considerable strength and weight. There is a lot of unused space though, with cut outs ready for a significant number of accessories which I can only assume is for another market. My version has the OTA, an M48 Canon EOS adapter (why?) and a threaded adaptor to allow connection to the draw tube. that’s it, no diagonal, EP, finder etc like other Pro offerings. The OTA weighs just over 9kg which is the same as my SCT 9.25 but unlike the latter is much easier to handle as it’s a lot narrower. So attaching it to my AZ EQ 6 is a doddle. I have to be sure to carry it level because like every other SW I have owned the objective end cap is loose so tilt the OTA and it falls off. I usually add a bit more felt to solve the issue. i was lucky to have about an hour of clear dark sky last night so was keen to do a star test for obvious reasons if you have read @John ‘s thread. The eagle eyed among you will have seen that the focuser is essentially fixed and has no provision for easy rotation during a session so one needs to rely on rotating the diagonal. My Moonlite which can be switched between the 80 and 120 does not fit the 150 so I eagerly await the adaptor ?. I used my ES 82’ 4.7mm EP on Altair to run an initial star test. The CA profile has been well covered by @John and my experience is almost identical including the slight hexagonal appearance in some situations. In my case the in focus and in and out focus transitions revealed absolutely perfect collimation. A big sigh of relief there. Interestingly I had placed the scope outside for about an hour at roughly 21 degrees but the initial star test was too unsteady but 20 minutes later it was very steady. Using in addition to the 4.7 my ES 14 and 20mm eps i moved on to look quickly at some targets such As Iota Cass which was clearly defined as a triple with distinctive colour ranges, M27 which had a typical grainy appearance very similar to the view in the SCT and M81 and M82. Considering it was not astronomical darkness the dark centre of M82 was very well defined. The best view though was of M57. The detail in the ring was dramatic and high mag was easily tolerated. I must have stared at it for 15 minutes. I tried the Blinking PN in Cygnus and although a small target even with the 4.7 the brightness was remarkable and the structures defined. By now I was tired but tonight and tomorrow look good so I will try and post more findings from a visual perspective. Just to say that the mount had no trouble at all in swinging this beast around and I didn’t even need to do a new alignment from the last session with all targets centred in the EP when using the Synscan database. i must say I’m quite chuffed and a big thanks to FLO for excellent communication on this item.
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Hi, I'm new here but I have a decent grip on the basics of astronomy. I currently have a 70mm EQ mount which I've gotten to known pretty well and I now feel comfortable using EQ mounts. I've decided that I want to get a Skywatcher 200P, but there are many options. Do I want a normal or DS focuser? Do I need to get a heavier HEQ5 mount? Basically I have 4 questions that I'm hoping you can answer: Do I need the DS version? I haven't started to do any AP yet, but I might be interested in doing it in the future. Apparently the mirror is closer in the DS, but if that's so why is the focal ratio still the same? Do I need to get the heavier but more sturdy HEQ5 that comes with motors and a GOTO pad? Do you think I would need a GOTO option instead of just a motor on the equatorial axes? Is it really that necessary to find dimmer objects? If I get a GOTO mount, and this may seem like a very silly question, can I still use it manually? If I turn it off, can I still track and move the telescope around without damaging the motors or gears? Here's a link to the HEQ5 version: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200pds-heq5-pro.html Thanks alot!
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Hello, I recently purchased a Skywatcher 130PDS and go to use it for the fist time last night, however, all of my stars are triangular. Am I looking at pinched optics here? If so, I can adjust the primary mounting plates to relieve some tension but I want to be sure in case there is anything else at play. Any help would be appreciated, cheers.
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Found various threads on here and other forums about flocking dobsonians/newtonians but couldn't find specific images of disassembly of the very popular SkyWatcher Heritage 130p flextube and flocking of the OTA. So having ordered some DC-Fix black velour sticky back material (can be got from various places including FLO) I thought i'd share some photos of the process from start to finish as it may help someone else in the future... Images below with notes... 1. Focuser and shield flocking This was the easy bit. A strip stuck inside the focuser, and just unscrew the shield, draw round it, cut the material and align and smooth down. In the last image above you can already see the significant improvement on reducing reflections comparing the flocked shield to the unflocked tube... Notice my version of Bob's Knobs on the secondary mirror which are just black steel M4 25mm knurled thumbscrews bought off ebay for about £7 - along with the thumbscrews already on the 130P primary mirror this makes any fine collimation easy and completely tool free! For full stealth mode I've also painted the edge and rear of the secondary mirror, and any exposed screw heads with blackboard paint to reduce reflections. 2. OTA disassembly and tube before Note the cutout in the lower primary housing and the top ring. This aligns with the ridge of the tube seam, and means there is only one way to reassemble the telescope tube and mirror and one place for the handful of screws (4 at the bottom, 3 at the top). You'll also need an allen key to remove the 3 bolts for the dovetail mount. Simple! Now you're ready to Flock 'N' Roll! 👍🏻 3. Flocking the tube You'll need approx. 50cmx29cm of the material to do the tube in one go, starting along the seam. As others have described just take your time here, peel off about an inch of the backing and get the edge aligned with the tube seam stick down firmly and smooth out any air bubbles. Then slowly keep peeling more backing (rip and remove if the excess gets in the way) and smooth down as you go, turning the tube and affixing the velour material. 4. Finished flocking and close up during application so you can see contrast/reflection comparison of before and after. All in all only took around an hour so not a hard job as long as you prepare and concentrate! I ordered one sheet of 45cm x 1m material which was plenty, however if your not as confident you'll get it right first time then order 2m so you have more to spare if you need to start again. Looks great, so as always I now just need clear skies to go play and see the difference it makes!
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So, I have gone and got myself a Skywatcher Star Discovery 150p, which has so far proved to be a very good little scope and I've had some very good results. I have now got the bug for imaging and have gone out and got myself a second hand Nikon D5100 and verious other equipment needed to do this, only to now find I can't get Prime Focus!!!!!!!! So the only way I can image is using a barlow x2 which obviously changes the F ratio from F5.5 to F11 slowing everything x2 this isn't to bad for planetary imaging but for DSO images not so good!!! After searching through lots of videos on to do this all I can find is...... I can either butcher the standard rack and pinion focuser that's fitted on it by cutting it down and rethreading it or by moving the primary up by 20-25mm, which seems a shame to do a brand new scope still under warranty! The only other option I have come up with is changing the focuser to a Skywatcher Low Profile Dual Speed Focuser For Newtonian Reflectors. Could anyone out there shed any light on this before I spend another £130 on the new focuser. Thanks
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Hello everyone, I just found a second hand NEQ6-Pro, in good conditions (with transport bags etc), paired with a Meade SCT 200 EMC (the old version). The price is interesting but I don't know if the Meade will be good for AP, I will sell it if not. My main concern is about the tracker. Is it any good for AP? I own at the moment a SW 72ED, and will probably upgrade one day for something a little better in terms of IQ, but I know I will not go for really heavy stuff, the payload probably wont be an issue for the NEQ6-Pro. So what are your thoughts about the mount in terms of AP? Thank you PS: heavy duty mounts such as the HEQ-5, EQ6 etc. are really difficult to find in second hand at the moment (and I'm on a budget).
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Hi All, First post in SGL 😀 I only got my first telescope at the start of the year (SW Star Quest 102R) and have been upgrading my kit since then. Current setup is StarQuest 102R F4.9, with ST102 tube rings, Modded Canon 550D, Baader Semi APO 2" filter, StellaMira Field Flattener, AZ GTI in EQ mode, Astro Essentials 30mm f4 guide scope with ASI 120MM mini, Pegasus Astro Pocket Power Box Advance, and NINA running the show. Since I added guiding I am using 5 min subs ( I haven't tried any higher so don't know how much I can actually go) and am quite happy apart from the CA on the OTA which the Baader filter has reduced quite a lot. Latest Pic attached is 3hours 25 min in total with 5 min subs. So as the title says I am looking at my options for upgrading to some ED glass. I will more than likely be looking to purchase second hand and I am in no rush for purchasing, I'd rather wait for the right one to come along. I have narrowed my options down to 3 OTAs and am looking for some feedback in peoples experiences with them, or if there is an OTA that I may not have considered. SW Evostar 80ED (Why is it so much heavier than the others at 4.1KG) StellaMira 80mm ED Starwave 80ED-R Main reasons for these 3 is I like the focal length (around 500), the weight for the AZ GTI (closer to 3 KG the better). Many thanks in anticipation