Helios Newtonian Telescope 8 inch to buy or not to buy.

[haitch]

many thanks for the info.

I already have a pier set up and waiting.

I will let you know how it goes in the near future.

thanks to all for the advice.

graham

Oh, ok... my next comment was going to be that there's a set of replacement EQ5 legs (In Vixen green) for £14 or a complete EQ5 tripod for £20 on Astroboot if you wanted to get shut of those legs with the dodgy brackets.

[Madhatter]

the funny thing is, i acctualy own and am currently using a seben myself (or a opticly identical unbranded scope) 1400x150, i really hate that scope hehe:rolleyes:

still out there on every clear night trying to see something other than the moon tho:) i have also seen saturn with it, but not much else.

i wonder if there is any mods that can be done to them to remove the barlow?

[haitch]

the funny thing is, i acctualy own and am currently using a seben myself (or a opticly identical unbranded scope) 1400x150, i really hate that scope hehe:rolleyes:

still out there on every clear night trying to see something other than the moon tho:) i have also seen saturn with it, but not much else.

i wonder if there is any mods that can be done to them to remove the barlow?

Not worth using it without a barlow. At very long focal lengths the aberrations introduced by the spherical mirror won't be nearly as noticeable as at short focal lengths. Removing it and just using a better quality barlow could be worth a try.You might need to place it somehow where the original one is to get it in the right place in the optical path. I'm guessing the barlow is at least a 3x (maybe 4x I can't remember how long the tube is) to achieve the 1400mm focal length in a tube that size.

Other than that the only way to improve performance is by replacing or refiguring the mirror. To fit a "normal" optical set up in that tube it's going to have to be pretty fast. The mounts aren't that sturdy either so by the time you've sorted evrything you might as well get another scope. The only thing that might be worthwhile is trying a different barlow.

Otherwise just get it collimated best you can and make the most of it until you can get something better. Stick to long f/l EPs and it can just about be useable. It's probably no worse than Isaac Newton's.

[Ant]

Oh, ok... my next comment was going to be that there's a set of replacement EQ5 legs (In Vixen green) for £14 or a complete EQ5 tripod for £20 on Astroboot if you wanted to get shut of those legs with the dodgy brackets.

Nah there isn't... I bought them yesterday

[Pete Presland]

i went from a seben to a helios and the contrast could not have been bigger.i wont comment on the seben as bad language is not allowed!

the helios though was great never had to re-collimate once done absolutely rock solid scope better and more robust than the skywatchers.

very good choice!

[steelfixer]

sorry for the late replies didnot realise there were now two pages on this one.

As for the mods on the seban watch this space.

I am going to try and sort the focus without the corrector lens. I recon if I shorten the tube and then relocate the seconday it might just work.

On the other hand if it doesn't it will make a nice paper basket or maybe a pasta holder for the kitchen.

Who knows.

thanks

graham

[spaceboy]

Another thing I forgot to mention that I liked about the Helios was a plate that fits over the rear of the OTA both protecting the primary and offering baffling. A pain in the butt when you have to collimate but a feature I wish they had carried over to the newer SW's. There was talk that this increased cooled down times but with a drill and a bit of patience a hole could be made so a cooling fan can be fitted.

I look forward to your first light review

[haitch]

Nah there isn't... I bought them yesterday

Funny thing with Astroboot - there's so many things that you'd think were a one off (eg a tripod with a dodgy leg) and yet you buy it and they're advertising another one. How does that work? Do they have someone breaking tripod legs to put them in the Astroboot?

[haitch]

sorry for the late replies didnot realise there were now two pages on this one.

As for the mods on the seban watch this space.

I am going to try and sort the focus without the corrector lens. I recon if I shorten the tube and then relocate the seconday it might just work.

On the other hand if it doesn't it will make a nice paper basket or maybe a pasta holder for the kitchen.

Who knows.

thanks

graham

And you'll have a shaving mirror

You might find you'll need a bigger secondary. To check how the dimensions work try this... Dale Keller's Newt Software page

Do you know how to check the f/l of the mirror? Move to the point your eyes reflection fills the mirror and divide that distance by 2.

[spaceboy]

Madhatter you could do away with your seben and try your luck at this Sky-Watcher 8inch 200mm Reflector Telescope | eBay UK This would be the scope that superseded the Helios.

[haitch]

Madhatter you could do away with your seben and try your luck at this Sky-Watcher 8inch 200mm Reflector Telescope | eBay UK This would be the scope that superseded the Helios.

be interesting to see how much that goes for compared to the Helios... It's already more for what is essentially the same scope in a different colour with a different badge and a few cosmetic changes.

That was a definite bargain!

[spaceboy]

It would be interesting to see how much extra people will pay just for a different badge. Here's another to keep an eye on explorer 200 telescope | eBay UK

[spaceboy]

Hmmm getting spoiled for choice here Skywatcher 200mm (8") Newtonian Reflector Telescope | eBay UK

[steelfixer]

thanks for the info haitch i have downloaded the programe and i am now going to play with it to see what it does.

[haitch]

It would be interesting to see how much extra people will pay just for a different badge. Here's another to keep an eye on explorer 200 telescope | eBay UK

This one does have a rather nice EP with it which should bump its value up a little.

Why though do people never include pictures of the most important part of the scope...The mirrors?

[Ultrapenguin]

Hi all, appologies for posting in an old thread. I was looking for information regarding Helios scopes as i am considering an ebay purchase.

currently listed is Helios 5" 114mm Space Telescope, it has a black tube with white writing and seems a bargain if it could be procured for anything near its current £40 price.

I am fairly new to astronomy (more of a returning silver viewer) I had a number of cheap nasty scopes when i was younger, and now would like to reawaken my interest in this hobby. I want a scope for planetary observations and moon observations. I have fabricated a digital eyepiece from a quality web cam and intend to take (if possible) digital images of the moon and maybe Saturn/Jupiter, this scope looks ideal what do you all think am i on the right track here?