Stargazers Lounge Uses Cookies
Like most websites, SGL uses cookies in order to deliver a secure, personalised service, to provide social media functions and to analyse our traffic. Continued use of SGL indicates your acceptance of our cookie policy.
Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'skywatcher'.
Found 302 results
-
SkyWatcher Skyliner 200P FlexTube SynScan Dobsonian Telescope Conversion
DonJbari posted a topic in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups
Hi all, So, i've just begun my journey into Astronomy and subsequently have fallen into the rabbit hole of Astrophotography, as stated in the title i currently own a SkyWatcher Skyliner 200P FlexTube SynScan Dobsonian Telescope however as you may all know the dobsonian mount isn't really feasible for long exposure photographs and have started researching EQ Mounts and will most likely go with the Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro GOTO Mount & Tripod however i have seen comments about not being able to convert the FlexTube models of telescopes and was wondering if anyone here has had any success converting a SW flextube telescope to work on a EQ mount using tube rings? Thanks! -
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:
- 2,447 replies
-
- 5
-
-
- skywatcher
- 130
- (and 1 more)
-
Prime focus on Star Discovery 150p
Ulysses31 posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
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 -
Heyaaaa. Its been a long time!(not really its been 5 days :P) its me againn ! As you have seen by the title i am in a delleema (misspells ftw) between eyepieces Here are 2 eyepieces i can buy with my budget https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prettyia-Eyepiece-Telescope-Skywatcher-Astronomy-Multicolor/dp/B012JC3274/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1547060539&sr=1-9&keywords=prettyia+eyepiece (ik its 3 eyepieces but there is no other pack that delivers to my location than only includes one) and https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/skywatcher-uwa-planetary-eyepieces.html But with that excact same money i can buy this! https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-eyepieces/sky-watcher-sky-panorama-eyepieces.html holy moly 82 degrees! Something is telling me to ditch the cheap Zoom eyepiece and the planetarys and just buy the panorama eyepiece from the money i would use on the planetarys and the 8-24 instead. Does anyone have any expirience with that particular price range zoom eyepieces or the planetary or the panoramas? Also can you reccomend me a size (7mm 15mm)?(there is no way i m buying the 22mm one) my main targets will be dsos as well as planets so. I will be using those in my Celestron firstscope and in my future ( i ll buy it in like 3 months lol Skywatcher heritage 130p) telescopes: Focal lenghts :Current telescope:Celestron firstscope 300mm FL Future telescope:Skywatcher heritage 130p 650mm FL To sum up:Get the 2 or the panorama? If i get the panorama which lenght?(7mm or 15mm)? (i want a size that compliments planets and most dsos ) ( i live in the southern hemisphere {so no orion nebula for me} (my favourite DSO) for now atleast) Thanks for your time ! Kronos!
-
Hello all! The weekend that just passed we went to my girlfriend's parents. The skies in that rural area are pretty much as good as you can get. I don't have an SQM reader, but Clear Outside estimates 21.91. I didn't take the EQ6R with me, I still consider it a big lump of iron, and the AZ-EQ5 should be on its way back this week as a Stellar mount. So I used the EQ5 which was left in the car for a while. While the tracking/guiding on the RA axis is quite good, the DEC control jumps a lot after multiple consecutive guiding commands, I blame the "enhanced" handset. So with all the drawbacks, I tried to do align the mount as good as I could and I put the 72ED with the ASI1600 on it and a finder-guider. Perhaps also focus could have been done a bit better, FWHM in the subs was 3.x. Below is a quick process from last night, no deconvolution yet and a purple area at the bottom that I have to fix. 58x120s lum, 30x120s each RGB. Last version:
- 25 replies
-
- 40
-
-
Cheap Mount for SW Heritage 130p
Kronos831 posted a topic in Getting Started General Help and Advice
Hey guys! Its me again... I know what you are thinking there is not such thing as a cheap mount for astrophotography...and i agree with you! I just want to know if there are any significantly cheap mounts (under 100 pounds) for my skywatcher heritage 130p that can give me maybe 15-30 sec exposure time max. Thanks Kronos -
So guys after lots of advice reaserching and reading for the last 2 months i ve decided that i m going to either get a Skywatcher 200P(DOB) or a Skywatcher Heritage 130p(DOB) If i get the Dobsonian i ll be using it about once or twice a week (if i have clear skies that is) i ll be taking a taxi to a semi dark sky location(atleast darker than my light polluted neighborhood) about 1.5 km away so the transportation cost will be close to nothing.I ve heard lots of great reviews about this neat 8" telescope and am tempted to buy it !(its going to be for visual i am aware of the earth's rotation) On the other hand the Smaller more portable Version the Heritage 130p is a very neat telescope for its price(i ve heard) Its half the price of the 200p! I ll be taking this out almost every time i get out of the house(for walks or meetings with friends etc) I ve read part of the thread in cloudy nights and it seems like a great telescope! I ve even seen some very nice pictures with it (i know u need a mount). So what do you think guys? Should i go for the 200p or 130 p? I need the best value for money!
-
FLO Sky-Watcher DSLR-M48 Ring Adapter has a hidden manual rotator!
Grumman posted a topic in Discussions - Cameras
Hello all, I just wanted to share something that I recently found out and it has worked for me like a treat! I have a Sky-Watcher 72ED and the Field Flattener for it. I had to purchase a "special" adapter ring for my DSLR which is actually a Canon Bayonet adapter but instead of a standard T2 threads, it comes with M48 (2") threads so it will fit to the Field Flattener's M48 thread. I have a fully screwed imaging train which makes it challenging for framing objects properly. I was thinking of having a manual rotator in the setup so I can rotate the camera and properly frame my targets but, the issue with this scope/field flattener combination is that it does not give you enough focuser travel. By adding a rotator in the solution it would add around 10mm of back-focus meaning that i could never be able to achieve focus with the current setup. I looked closer at my ring adapter that i purchased from FLO and it seems that it has 3 (M2.5) grub screws that seem to be holding something... I took a screw driver and to my surprise, the grub screws are holding what seems to be a rotation ring! I have bought some M2.5 thumb screws and presto! - I have a manual rotator built in on the ring adapter and it only costed me £3 for a set of 4 thumb screws from eBay! I hope this post helps someone else who is looking for a manual rotator but they can't afford one (as they cost around £60) or they do not have enough focus travel with their setup. Sky-Watcher DSLR-M48 Ring Adapter M2.5 Thumb Screws (pack of 4) Regards, Thanasis- 3 replies
-
- 2
-
-
- ring adapter
- manual rotator
- (and 2 more)
-
So my birthday just past so money to splash on astro stuff , i will have my 1000D modded by juan at cheapastrophotography and also have ordered an autofocuser from deepsky dad https://deepskydad.com/autofocuser i know they can be done DIY but this is a neat package and costs about the same as a SW autofocuser and a hitechastro focusmaster and i`m no electronic wizard and pavel seems to have a good product and works with ascom and confirmed it works with APT i will update in a few weeks time when hopefully i will have received and tried out .
-
Hey guys it's me agaiinn. Recently I have been thinking about which telescope i should buy(its going to be my first telescope!!!!!) I have narrowed it down to 2 choices! The Skywatcher explorer 200p and the Skywatcher explorer 200pds I just can't seem to chose oneee. I want to do Astrophotography and i have heard that the Dual Speed focuser is going to help a lott. can someone please explain how? I m a total newbie and have just begun reading about Astrophotography. On the other hand i ve heard that some eyepiece s will need an extension tube to help them achieve focus (due to the secondary mirror placed closer to the primary) and i really want to see through the telescope my self.I dont know if the extra 140€ that i have to pay to get the focuser and the pds and eq5 (rather than just getting the 200p and eq5 combined ) is worth it .Does it really make that big of a difference?? I hipe somebody can help me Thanks -Kronos
-
Hello all! I want to upgrade the focuser on my Skywatcher 8" truss dobsonian. I want a dual focuser that's a direct fit to my Skywatcher. Any suggstions ?
-
A Sky-Watcher Evostar ED150 DS Pro lands in Yorkshire
Owmuchonomy posted a topic in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups
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. -
Hi, i seem to have a dirty lens on the telescope side of the lens. Anyone disasemble this before ? I already checked the camera, filter, and focal reducer seperatly, the "staines" are from the telescope-side of the lens (already cleaned the outside of the lens to) Flat frame
-
WO Zenithstar 61 + Skywatcher Star Adventurer
Lachlan posted a topic in Getting Started Equipment Help and Advice
Hello everyone, As you can probably tell I’m brand new to the community. While I’ve been passionate about space related topics for my whole life, I’ve finally taken the leap and I’m about buy a simple astrophotography rig. Ive done a fair bit of research and, like many, I’ve decided that the William Optics Zenithstar 61 APO refractor is best suited for my situation. I plan to use my canon 600D/T3i as the main imaging camera and I also plan to use the Skywatcher Star Adventurer as a tracking mount for this scope. However I have a few questions: 1: I seem to be confused about how I should connect my DSLR to the Z61. As far as I’m aware, all I need is a T-ring and the WO Flat 61 Field flattener and I should be good to go. Is that correct? 2: will I need a dovetail bar to mount the Z61 to the star adventurer? Or can I directly mount the z61 to the base of the star adventurer? (This was demonstrated by Trevor Jones from astrobackyard with his Z61 and the ioptron Skyguider Pro.) Sorry for such a long thread; I’d just hate to finally get all my gear together and find out that some gear is incompatible. Thanks for the help! -
I have Skywatcher Synscan V3 working with my EQ6 without problem. I've lately flashed firmware v.3.39.05 and tried using it with my Skywatcher Virtuoso. I have problem with 2-star alignment. After manually move the mount to point to the first bright star, align; then choose the 2nd alignment star, the mount will slew to the sky very far away from the 2nd star. After I managed to complete the 2-star alignment successfully, the goto accuracy was very bad. It always placed my scope quite far away from the targets. I've tried the whole night and gave up. I then begin to wonder whether I have to flash the hand controller with the firmware for Allview mount (v.3.09.06) instead. Anyone can share your experience on this? Thank you.
-
From the album: Mike's Images
Cat's Paw Nebula - NGC 6334 ( aka Bear Claw Nebula ) An emission nebula in Scorpius (near the scorpion's tail) RA 17h 25m 39.6s ; Dec -35deg 43' 48" . 7th August 2015. Skywatcher Quattro 10" f4 Newtonian. Skywatcher AZ Eq6 GT Mount Orion 80mm f5 guide scope and auto guider - PHD2. Baader MPCC Mark 3 Coma Corrector, UHC-S 'nebula' filter. Nikon D5300 (unmodified). Field of view (deg) ~ 1.35 x 0.90. ISO800, 14bit NEF, Long Exp. NR on. 28 x 200sec (starting at zenith) no moon, 3deg C, 70%RH, moderate LP. PixInsight© Copyright Mike O'Day 2015 - all rights reserved
-
Hi Guys, I thought I would share with you my first DSO taken with my new Orion 8" Ritchey Chretien F8 Telescope. The frame is made up of 12 x 4min shots, no light or dark frames, using my Sony A7Rii camera. The camera had the long exposure noise reduction switched on, which does help to reduce the total number of stars captured by the camera, as the Sony A7Rii does tend to overdo the number of stars captured. The telescope was mounted on my trusty skywatcher NEQ6 mount and the guiding was via PHD 'of course' via my skywatcher ED50 guide scope. The shots were taken from my back garden in Stowmarket, Suffolk where I believe I am a Bortie 4 location, so the skies are mostly dark, with just a little light pollution from the main town, no filters used. My normal telescope is a Skywatcher ED100 Pro Esprit F5.5, which is an incredibly sharp scope, but with a wide 550mm field of view, great for capturing the whole of Andromeda but a struggle with smaller images like the Iris Nebula. I will say the Orion RC scope did need to be collimated out of the box, which was a little disappointing, and it was not just a little out of collimation, it was a long way out, but with the use of a collimating tool, I soon had it dialled in. First impressions of the Orion Ritchey Chretien 8" Telescope are fair, not super impressed, as it is nowhere near as sharp as my ED100 Esprit, but then this is to be expected based on price and telescope type, however, the pictures it has produced are pretty good, if you downscale the full 42MP from the Sony A7Rii camera, as can be seen in this picture. I purchased this 8" Orion Ritchey Chretien OTA mainly for Planetary work, but as yet I have not had a chance to 'get onto' a planet, fingers crossed some clear nights will arrive soon, so I can try. I welcome comments, many thanks Jamie
-
Afternoon all, I have set my sights on this OTA, as I think it is a good compromise between aperture and focal length. What I am struggling to find is some good reviews from people who have actually owned and used this scope themselves! So - any of you peeps had this scope now / in the past? What are your thoughts, and are there any issues / problems I should know about? It will be mounted on an EQ3-2 for the time being. I hope to have saved up enough by next summer to get a more substantial mount! Thanks in advance Nige
-
I have been using a Skywatcher Startravel 102 for about a month now as a grab-and-go scope. I also intend to use it as a travel scope for holidays, but I've yet to try it in that capacity. So I thought I'd record some of my thoughts about this scope. Initially I purchased the ST102 with an AZ3 alt-azimuth mount, but I quickly found I didn't get on with the AZ3. On the plus side, it is very compact and lightweight and would make an excellent travel mount. However, I found the friction bolt arrangement for setting the altitude tension to be unreliable, and the mount was difficult to use near zenith. So, I changed the mount to a Vixen Porta II, which is much more comfortable to use. The Porta II tripod does seem to vibrate a bit more than the AZ3 though (especially on concrete), so maybe I will change the legs for something more substantial one day. Onto the telescope itself. The optical tube feels very solid and substantial. There is a large dew shield fitted, which is held on with a simple push fitting held in place by a felt band. Removing the dew shield reduces the OTA length significantly, but unfortunately the supplied lens cap won't fit over the front cell without the dew shield in place. This is a pity, as removing the dew shield would make the scope very compact for travel. The 102mm doublet objective has a blueish-looking coating, that seems evenly applied. The OTA assembly is supplied with decent tube rings and a dovetail. If you buy the scope in a kit with the AZ3 mount it comes without a dovetail, and the tube rings bolt straight onto the mount. The focuser felt quite smooth but a little tight straight out of the box. Initially there was no play in the focuser and the drawtube was well aligned. However, the focuser does prove to be a weak point on these scopes and I will return to this later. Now on to the important bit - performance! The OTA came supplied with the usual 25mm and 10mm MA eyepieces. The 25mm is quite a good budget eyepiece, but the 10mm could be better. However, since I already have a set of reasonably good eyepieces I put the supplied EPs to one side. Also supplied with the OTA and AZ3 kits is a 45-degree erecting prism. This is useful for terrestrial observation, but not really of sufficient quality for astronomical work (although it is OK at low magnifications). I replaced this with the excellent Revelation 2" Quartz Dielectric diagonal. This scope excels at wide-field views of open clusters and brighter DSOs. With a 25mm X-Cel LX eyepiece the whole of the Pleiades can fit in the field of view, which is a stunning sight. I also have a 32mm Panaview 2" eyepiece, which offers a whopping 4.4 degree field of view, framing the Pleiades beautifully within the surrounding sky. Under a dark sky the view is quite breathtaking. Other open clusters such as the Beehive also look superb with such a wide field. Best of all, this scope gives me the best view I've had of the Double Cluster in Perseus, with both parts of the cluster beautifully framed within the FOV. Large DSOs are also a strong point for this scope. M31 (Andromeda) looks fantastic under a dark sky, and dust lanes are visible. Dimmer DSOs are quite within the reach of this instrument, with M1 (Crab Nebula), M33 and M51 all visible under dark skies. Globular clusters also make good targets, although perhaps a little more aperture would be useful here to see them at their best. Working at high magnification, the ST102 is quite capable of splitting the "easier" double stars such as Castor and Sigma Orionis. A 5mm EP works well here, and a Barlow can help to increase the separation on brighter doubles. The dim companion to Rigel can just about be made out under good seeing conditions. You may notice that I haven't mentioned CA (chromatic aberration) yet. That's because, for clusters, DSOs and most double stars it simply isn't an issue. For planets and lunar observation, however, it's a different matter. Yes, the dreaded purple haze is there, especially noticable on the limb of the moon and on bright planets such as Jupiter. In fact, the ST102 is quite capable for casual lunar and planetary observing, but if the solar system is a primary interest for you then you might look elsewhere. Although the optics are pretty sharp at high magnification, I really feel that the CA damages the contrast for planetary and lunar observation. This is my first refractor (my other scope is a 10" Dob). I have to say I'm now a refractor fan! There's something about the ease of setup and the contrasty, pinpoint stars that appeals to me. I also like the short-tube concept from a portability point of view, and these scopes are very capable deep sky instruments. Yes, CA is a problem on bright objects at high magnification, so it's not an all-rounder like an APO, but for the price it's fantastic value for money. I mentioned the focuser earlier. After some use, the focus tube developed some vertical play. There are two grub screws on the top of the focuser which are used to tension the drawtube. I needed to tighten the front (i.e. closest to the objective) screw to take up the slop, and also tighten the rear screw to remove any remaining image shift. After this adjustment the focuser worked fine again. I have now had to do this twice, so it seems that periodic adjustment is required. After the second adjustment cycle the focuser was very stiff, which I resolved by slackening off the screws that tension the spring in the focus pinion assembly. Now the focuser is nice and light and smooth, but I anticipate further adjustments will be necessary in future. We shall see! This is really a faff and the only real annoyance with this scope. There is a dual-speed Crayford focuser available which is a drop-in-replacement for the original R&P focuser, but at around £129 I'm not sure it's worth it on an OTA costing £169! All in all, I really like this scope, apart from the cheap focuser. In fact, I like it so much I'm wondering what the 6-inch ST150 would be like on DSOs and clusters! Ed
-
COMPLETED - Star Adventurer Pro bundle in flight case
Owmuchonomy posted a topic in Sold / Expired Classified Ads
I am selling my Star Adventurer Pro bundle. The full set is packed in a flight case ready to go. It also includes an extra counterweight pack (an extra 1kg weight and extension bar). I use the additional weight for balancing an ED80 or my Lunt Ha scope. It has seen very limited use so is in excellent condition. I am asking £169 (no offers) pick up from the Harrogate area. The bundle weighs close to 8kg. Bank transfer please. In the flight case: Instruction manual SA mount Ball head adapter Illuminated polar scope Dovetail L bracket Equatorial wedge Counterweight kit x 2 (2 x 1kg) Keys for the flight case -
Skywatcher 100 ED Pro Esprit - Great Performance
Selborne posted a topic in Member Equipment Reviews
Hi Guys, I thought I would share with you my first hand experience of the Skywatcher ED100 Pro Esprit Telescope, I have only had it a few months, but so far I am extremely happy with the results, it is so sharp and the contrast is very high. I live in a small town, Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK, where the light pollution is not to bad, but still I have to be cautious with the direction I choose to point the telescope. All my astrophotography is done from the back garden on my patio. I have had a few different telescopes over the years, but I always found myself moving more and more into astrophotography, so after some research I selected the Skywatcher ED100 Pro Esprit, as many of the other users had commented on the sharpness and contrast. As I wanted to focus on more wide field astrophotography the F5.5 speed giving 550mm seemed the right choice, I also use an ED50 Skywatcher Guide Scope with an Altair Astro ASI130mm camera for the guiding and of course PHD2 software, all mounted on my Skywatcher HEQ6 mount. Here is a shot of the Andromeda Galaxy, 20 x 30s stills at ISO 800 on my Sony A7Rii, no filters just RAW images processed with Photoshop, Stacked Mean option. I used the Trevor Jones video on his BackyardAstro You Tube page for processing DSO's and it seems to work very well. What you will see from the image is just how sharp it is, something that really surprised me when I processed the images. This has inspired me to spend more time outside in the garden to photograph more objects, plus I have recently purchased an Astronomic CLS Filter for my Sony A7Rii, so I am looking forward to using this to see if it improve the contrast. I will keep you informed. Also I am looking forwarded to trying my Olympus EM1 MK2 camera, yes I know it does not have the capabilities of the Sony A7Rii for light gathering, but it does have a really clever mode where it can stack the images in camera to reduce noise, so I will also let you know how this went as well. Best Regards Jamie- 53 replies
-
- 22
-
-
- skywatcher
- ed100 pro
- (and 4 more)
-
I got one this week, great piece of kit, good focuser and very good quality overall. There are a lot of screws on this finder, some are a bit in the way wen rotating the focuser. One thing i miss is that they should have put a photo-threaded hole on the bottom of the finderdovetail for easy mounting on a tripod for travel use, as the advertise it as finder/small travelscope. As it is now you have to MacGiver a solution yourself I also tried some different eyepieces and configurations with the stuff i have, the only thing that seems to work is using the standard 10 and 25mm Plossl witch are frequently supplied with telescopes (only tried the 25) with the provided spacer ring. I also attached a Baader Hyperion 5 and 13 mm but the field stop seems to be inadequate, it looks a bit weird to i might ad. Like they said, using a diagonal doesn't work, no focus. Great combo with the ED80, i do wonder how well it will balance... I didn't use it outside yet, as many of you now the box was off course supplied with bad weather, but i'm confident it won't disappoint . Clear skies !
-
- 2
-
-
- skywatcher
- evoguide 50ed
- (and 1 more)
-
After a couple of weeks of testing and visual play here is the very first image taken through my SW Evostar ED150. As you may imagine the visual experience is marvellous. The image was taken in the early hours of the 1st October along the terminator. The field of view ranges from the North polar area as far south as crater Eratosthenes. The second image is just me doing a crop because I prefer the framing of Mare Imbrium and crater Plato in the North. I need to experiment with the camera settings somewhat but I am very happy with the performance of both scope and camera. Thanks to @FLO for the M56 Baader Click-Lock to test. Camera: ASI290MM at f/8. Captured with OAcapture by @JamesF Crop:
-
The new SW Evostar ED150 is really getting some use here after my initial tests. We are having a good run of clear skies. This morning I got up at 3:30 am to do a lunar imaging run (see elsewhere). After that I quickly set up on M42 as it was near the local meridian. Using my ES 4.7mm 82' EP (255x) I concentrated on the Trapezium first. I was staggered by the view not only because of the detail under the Moon but because all 6 stars (A to F) were clearly visible immediately and pin sharp sitting in a greenish mist. Here is my really quite poor chalk sketch of the approximate view hastily drawn on my obsy blackboard wall (ignore the screws in the ply): Checking with the detailed Whitepeak Observatory graphic the stars I believe in clockwise order are from the top right: B, D, F, C, A, E. I have often tried to view the 6 stars before with my SCT 9.25" but this scope revealed them with ease. Star C (Theta-1 C Orionis) is described in the same graphic as an Extreme star: 40 Solar Masses; Surface temp 40,000K, the hottest known <6mag star; 210,000x sun's luminosity and an O6 spectral type. I then swapped to my 2" 24mm ES 82' EP to view M42 but that view was swamped somewhat by moonlight so I will have to wait a while to try that.
- 19 replies
-
- 8
-
-
- skywatcher
- ed150
- (and 1 more)
-
The Skywatcher Evostar ED150 focuser and Click-Lock test.
Owmuchonomy posted a topic in Discussions - Scopes / Whole setups
Rather than add this test to my original thread regarding the scope findings I started a new thread here to describe my findings and measurements using a Baader M56 Click-Lock. Unlike other SW ED Pro offerings, the focuser unit that is supplied with the new SW ED 150 has no provision for rotation during use. In addition, I noticed that despite there being a total of 142mm of travel in the draw tube, the majority of my EPs focus at the near end of travel and I was concerned there may be a lack of in-focus provision. I contacted @FLO and asked them for technical details of the Baader M56 Click-Lock particularly the loss of in-focus during use. (I have previously owned a similar device for use with a 9.25" SCT which adds ease of use, a rotation facility and superb security to all attachments). FLO very kindly reciprocated and provided one for testing. Here I present some results of that test. https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-click-lock-2956256-m56-celestron-skywatcher.html Essentially, use of the Click-Lock with EPs (+/- a TV Powermate) results in a loss of 12.5mm of in-focus. For the EPs tested here that was not an issue. The stock SW focuser comes with a 2"adapter with two grip screws and a locking ring. Please note that removal of the locking ring when using the Click-Lock does not assist with reducing loss of in-focus since the Click-Lock internal flange sets before reaching the locking ring. You can see that my ES 14mm EP inserted into the 2X Powermate was the only combination that did not reach focus (it almost did but not quite). The 2X is a 2" Powermate and I had to use the 1.25" insert which adds about 8mm of depth. the Powermate also does not seat fully in my WO diagonal. I also tested two planetary cameras (+/- 2" TV Powermate) which focused well within the full range of the draw tube extension maximum which is 142mm. Use of the Click-Lock provides a very secure and flexible adaptation to the standard SW focuser adapter and most importantly allows easy rotation of diagonal and camera. For me, this is a must have accessory for this scope. Its easy to use with gloves too! Standard SW set up: Click-Lock set up: Addition of a 2.5X Powermate: Planetary camera and 2x Powermate set up: In addition I used the locking screw whilst observing the live star image of Alpheratz on screen through the Bhatinov mask. There was absolutely no change in the focus position as I tightened/loosened the locking screw. This last set up I also tested at near vertical (Deneb) and there was no slip at all in the focuser control. Action was firm and smooth throughout the length of the draw tube. For the original scope test go here:- 1 reply
-
- 1
-
-
- skywatcher
- ed150
- (and 2 more)
