Skywatcher Explorer 150p

[ukgreenman]

As a total newbie I went out and purchased a used skywatcher 150. Its a nice scope for a newbie it came with a 10,20,25 lense and with a focal length 750 gave me a 75,37.5,30 magnification which was disappointing. There was no barlow lense I began reading about 2x 3x barlows and 2x 5x televue powermates Can someone recommend ep / barlow / powermate so I can get more out of this scope.

Thanks ukgreenman

[brantuk]

That's the same as my first scope that I had 3-4 yrs ago. It's a fine and capable scope but let down by the supplied eye pieces - and as for the supplied barlow don't worry you ain't missing anything.

I couldn't believe the difference when I upgraded the eye pieces - the scope really comes to life. I don't know what your budget is but I splashed out on a new Mk2 Hyperion zoom and suddenly the views were clearer and sharper and I could actually see stuff. You can get them around £100 second hand and well worth it too.

A good cheap barlow is the Tal 2x or 3x. These are very nice for the price. If you can stretch a little more then a s/h Celestron Ultima barlow is also a good buy at around £40-£50. The very best barlow is a Powermate - but quite expensive.

A 4mm-5mm eye piece would be nice too and keeps you within the "useable" range of magnification - I favour the Radians

[tomw28]

Hi, why are you dissapointed with those magnifications, or is it the eyepieces themselves that you don't like? I have that scope and, apart from planetary veiwing, find the magnification very good for most things.

If you want to get more magnification I would consider an EP with a focal length of about 5-6mm. I have a 6mm which gives 125X, which is good for planetary but can also be barlowed when the conditions alow without pushing the limits of the scope.

As for the barlow, I have only used the Skywatcher "Deluxe" one that came with my scope. I'm happy with it, but I don't have anything to compare it too. The Tal's are highly rated as budget barlows, and the Powermates are meant to be brilliant. I wouldn't go for one more than 2.5X though to keep the magnification within the grasp of the scope.

[ukgreenman]

After looking through a 525x? prinz when I was a teenager which was a million years ago could be a memory thing I saw a planet with 3? moons hanging there with no strings this stayed with me until I wanted to revisit at the age of 55 this scope gathers a nice lot of light and I never realized how hard it is to align it but I am enjoying the challenges. As I have a USA holiday coming up visiting NY and prices are keener I wanted to increase the number of eps to give me a greater range of viewing and was looking for recommendation which you guys are giving me some great ideas for investigation. Thanks ukgreenman

[tbird]

If you're on a tighter budget BST explorers are a good step up from standard, I use a 5mm for planetary,8mm for globular clusters and a 18mm for lower power. £30 2nd hand or £41 new.

Apart from planetary veiwing, high magnification is not necessary. I very rarely use a barlow.

[ukgreenman]

Thanks for information seems there are various routes to increase the capabilities of this scope.

A straight 4,5,6 ep would give me the extra magnification without a barlow whats a reasonable price or make TBird mention BST around £40 Brantuk mentioned radian but they seem to start around $180 for 4mm,5mm

Celestron Ultima Barlow 2x approx £40 or TAL Barlow 2x or 3x both £40 which would be better?

Mk2 Hyperion Zoom sounds interesting does this work the same as a camera zoom ie focus then draw in found them for $257 perhaps a bit steep at the moment

Finally televue powermate £156 for 2x

Thanks again for lots to consider

ukgreenman

[crazyjedi]

When i got my Skywatcher 150 it came with a 20mm, a 10mm and a 2x barlow. The barlow is quite useful for planet viewing but can make deep sky things a bit murky. I've upgraded to some Meade 5000 EP's and they've made a big improvement to things. As has been stated the Televue Powermate is the gold standard Barlow but the price is a bit tough to swallow.