New scope: Nexstar 130, Explorer 130p

[AstroLuke]

Hi Everyone!

I ordered my first telescope (Celestron nexstar 130 slt) a couple of days ago. Today i recieved a mail from the shop, telling me that the telescope is out of stock. They did not know when the telescope would be back.

He then offered me a alternative: Skywatcher explorer 130p synscan. I dont know the telescope. It seems to have the same specs but its oer 100 euro cheaper. This makes me a bit concered about the quality.

I was wondering if any of you had any expirience with the Nexstar or the explorer? Are they any good?

Are there any other telescopes in the 400-450 euro range that is better than the two mentioned above?

At the moment im thinking of just waiting. Hopefully the nexstar will be in stock soon.

Thanks

[rowan46]

Its a good scope, in fact it's pretty much the same scope it's made by the same firm at the same factory. but do you really need goto, for that price you could get this

Homepage - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian much more apparture and much better views

[ollypenrice]

I'm not sure about this but I thought that some of the Celestron Newts had plastic secondary spiders and the SM has thin metal ones, in which caase the SW would be the better. If that is not the case then the SW looks like the same thing under a different brand. I'd go for it and feel very happy aboput the saving.

No doubt someone will have detailed knowledge of this.

Olly

[AstroLuke]

Not necesarily. I am just afraid that if i choose an Eq mount instead i will get bored really quickly, mostly because of the lack of night sky knowledge. I dont know much about the night sky. I have been out several times with binoculars, but since i can only see stars and nothing else i have only gained a bit of expirience on constelations.

Im thinking of doing mostly observing deepsky objects and solar system objects. Although i thought about buying a little webcam to put on the eyepiece just for the fun of it.

[rowan46]

sorry! to answer your question fully is the skywatcher a suitable replacement, the general consensus is that it's better. I like the nexstar software a bit better but not a 100 euro's better and the skywatcher scope itself is very well made. But if I was observing from my backgarden and didn't need it to be as portable I would buy the skywatcher 200p dob it sees everything better than either of those 2

[AstroLuke]

Looks good, although if im going to buy that big a scope would it not be better for me to buy a 8" newtonian scope? For this i get a mount that i can also use for other scopes?

Im still afraid that i will not be able to handle telescopes without automated tracking. If i look at 160x magnification how fast will the night sky move? I want to avoid having to adjust the scope every minute.

[rowan46]

Looks good, although if im going to buy that big a scope would it not be better for me to buy a 8" newtonian scope? For this i get a mount that i can also use for other scopes?

Im still afraid that i will not be able to handle telescopes without automated tracking. If i look at 160x magnification how fast will the night sky move? I want to avoid having to adjust the scope every minute.

To be fair you do have to nudge it along but it only takes minutes to learn. The scope itself is an 8" newtonian it's the base that's the dob bit. The dobsonian telescope is the only scope that's named after its base. The scope if you add rings will fit quite nicely on an eq6 if you ever want to upgrade to imaging proper.

[JamesM]

The thing to remember with GOTO is that although it may list 15,000 objects, the aperture of the scope won't necessarily be able to resolve them all. So it could be argued that up to a certainly size of aperture, GOTO is of limited use. Well there are different views on this. Having a scope that has tracking on it is something that I personally like as it does allow me to stand back from the scope to check maps, books or ask family to take a look without having to constantly baby sit the scope, particularly at higher magnifications where the object can build up a speed in a smaller aperture scope. Also very useful when the scope/mount is a bit twitchy and when you are focusing on the moon you won't want to be wasting half your time waiting for everything to settle down. Goto is useful in cloudy weather where there might be enough clear sky to get alignment but where manually placing the scope against reference points that keep appearing and then disappearing can prove frustrating - we all know what the weather can be like and so ANY chance to observe can be a luxury. I do have have one problem with this and the Skywatcher version and that is that I feel the scope's tube is too long for the mount and when trying to access images high in the sky (less atmosphere = better viewing) the rear of the scope might come into contact with the mount.

However, for all the weighing up of pro and cons, and I sure you have done plenty, the budget is the final arbiter, and although tracking and even GOTO are great, with the budget that you are working with, the dobsonian is probably the best choice for what you will see although yes, it will mean manual tracking and positioning to view an object.

Hope that helps.

James

[AstroLuke]

Alright, so now i am all hooked up on this dobsonian scope. I have a few questiens tho.

1. How fast do i loose sight of objects (Especially deepsky objects)? Since there is no tracking the objects have to move out of the fov at some point.

2. It seems like i would have to half stand half sit to be able to look into the scope. Does this become a pain in the ***?

3. If i am to buy this scope i will need some eyepices and other stuff. Any recommendations?

Thanks

[inksmithy]

1: if you are using an equatorial mount which you have aligned, you will be able to track the objects using the slow motion controls on the mount.

2: apparantly there is a certain ache in the donkey associated with it, although I personally will be following the instructions found on this forum to build an observing stool. Search the forums, the threads are easily found.

3: my research has shown me that is quite possible you will never stop accesorising. You will just need to control the addiction.

For what its worth, I started looking a month ago and had originally made the same decision as you are heading towards, with the SkyWatcher 130. On Thursday, I'll be ordering a SkyWatcher 200P on an eq5 mount. And it is only iron control which is so far stopping me from changing my mind and getting a 250P Dobsonian for around the same price. To be honest, I'm only just writing my teeth and hanging on...complexity and awkwardness but ultimately better option of an EQ mount, or ease of use, aperture, convenience of dobsonian which has a 10 inch mirror? Argh.

Alan

[AstroLuke]

Thanks for the anwser. Could use some more exact anwsers though. I am not thinking of using an eq mount.

Adding another questien.

4. Is it hard finding objects with the supplied finder scope? Would it be a good idea to buy an extra?

[inksmithy]

Nothing in the sky will be "easily" found, a certain amount of effort will be needed, even with the computerised mount -which will require correct alignment in order to properly work.

If you aren't going with an eq mount, go for the dobsonian, from all accounts, it has the best beginners ratings, the dobsonian was designed with beginners in mind.

Alan

[rowan46]

Alright, so now i am all hooked up on this dobsonian scope. I have a few questiens tho.

1. How fast do i loose sight of objects (Especially deepsky objects)? Since there is no tracking the objects have to move out of the fov at some point.

2. It seems like i would have to half stand half sit to be able to look into the scope. Does this become a pain in the ***?

3. If i am to buy this scope i will need some eyepices and other stuff. Any recommendations?

Thanks

how fast you lose something depends on the magnification used. the higher the mag, the more often you have to move it, but it soon becomes 2nd nature ( a guy on here got a pic of the shuttle docking with the iss using a dob and webcam)

2 Its only at absouloute zenith you may have to stand and its not such a pita as all that.

3 the 150 p is substantially cheaper than the goto mounts so I would get a good quality wide eyepiece to go with it maybe this one

Baader Planetarium - Baader Hyperion 68 degree eyepiece the 24mm will give the widest view. and you will need at least a cheshire collimator

[AstroLuke]

Oh rowan i think you misunderstood me. I was talking about the 8 inch dob not the 6 inch newtonian

[JamesM]

I would certainly recommend a Telrad to locate objects or at least to put you right in the spot and compliments the dob well as this would be an intuitive to use. A straight through finder that comes with the dob would not be my first choice as it will be awkward viewing objects that are upside down, back to front and at a position will definitely give you neck strain after a while. Instead I would think about a right angled finder that will at least keep the image up the right way (useful when using a star atlas) and will prevent your neck getting into silly positions. The protocol for finding objects when then run thus: look at map to get the position, use the finder to close in on the precise area, check the eyepiece for the result - fool proof!

Hope that helps

James

[rowan46]

Oh rowan i think you misunderstood me. I was talking about the 8 inch dob not the 6 inch newtonian

sorry about that. still the same advice goes if you are going to get an eyepiece get a good wide field one. The dob excels at wide field and the wider and better the eyepiece the less you need to nudge it

[AstroLuke]

Just ordered the Skyliner 200p dob, together with a 7mm eyepiece and a moon filter.

Looking forward to it They say the package will be sent today.

[##RON##]

Hi All

Just joined the forum.

Was gifted A Celestron NexstarSLT 130 last December.

Have successfully aligned it a couple of times but after about 1/2 hr. outsde the altitude motor stops moving the scope and the azimuth motor becomes very sluggish. I've tried new batteries but the problem still occurs.

When I take it back inside within 1/2 to 1 hr the motors are working normally.

I take it back outside and the problem recurs. I have tied 3 or 4 new sets of batteries but with the same result. The temp was between 0 and 5 degrees C.

I am aware that batteries are less efficient in the cold but should new batteries give up so soon.

Contacted the suppliers twice and they mentioned batteries and the and possibly a faulty mechanism and latterly referred me to the stargazerslounge

and that I may need to power the scope in another way.

Has any else had this problem and can anyone help.

##Ron##

[j45on]

Could it be the grease in the gearboxes not liking the cold ?

[rowan46]

the nexstars and syscans are very power hungry and eat batteries once the voltage drops the goto gets a little cranky. the best way to power one of these is from a rechargeable power tank, also if you are using rechargeble batteries these don't deliver enough power as they are usually 1.2v

this site may have something you can use http://www.nexstarsite.com/NUG.htm

[##RON##]

Thank you for your reply. I suppose I'll have to cough up & invest in a power tank. Someone else like myself wondered if the grease in the motor cogs is the problem.

Ron

[brucen]

Thank you for your reply. I suppose I'll have to cough up & invest in a power tank. Someone else like myself wondered if the grease in the motor cogs is the problem.

Ron

I use this one from Maplin. Cheap but does the job. 3-in-1 Portable Jumpstarter : Jump Starters : Maplin Electronics

Whatever pack you get make sure you charge it regularly as they don't seem to last long if you let them run down.

[##RON##]

Thanks I'll get to Maplins asp and then hope for clear skies.

Ron