Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

Well priced telescopes at currys.


Recommended Posts

i tell you makes me laugh as well - from time to time you see someone post a link about how ridiculously over priced some plastic piece is from ebay, and how people should be avoiding them but not really knowig much about them.

well here we have a scope which acually isnt half bad at all and is now stocked in a major 'family friendly' store and yet STILL people moan.

short of ramming down others' throats how they need the setup youve got, what exactly do you want to see happen?

The mount is not hlaf bad either, it really isnt.

so youve got a 'decent enough', affordable beginner scope in the public eye, which could get a few more people interested in astonomy.

honestly, from some of the comments, you'd think you lot wanted to keep this hobby elitist as some think they are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 59
  • Created
  • Last Reply

mad hat - i cant say about the 250px as i hvntr used - but the 150 was second hand and very cheap so i thought maybe the focuser was in need of replacement. ordered a new standard skywatcher 2 inch focuser, and its just as bad. focuser slop i think its known as. the celestron one was smoooooooth ;)

glad to hear your missus is enjoying the skies too :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers for that tom:) il try it out but if its poor then il save up for a higher quality one, i have noticed a lot of people seem to upgrade the stock focuser so that might have to be the first mod! Iv bought a skywatcher RDF because i heard the standard finder isnt very good.

yep shes loving it:) were planning some camping trips too darker locations now ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

no problem. cant ocmment on the finder scopes, i dont use one! either make my own thingy up or just use the tube rings as a guide. all it needs is a parallel imaginary line from one end of scope to the other, and the 2 tube rings r perfect for eyeing up this line with a star/object

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to say I agree with chemtom24 it would be better for us all if more people were hooked onto the wonders of the universe for 2 main reasons in my eyes:

1) The more demand for a equipment means manufacturers will seek ways of producing more cheaper to attract more customers, leading to a more open market which is good providing the quality of the product doesn't suffer.

2) More people = more sway to create more dark sky sites enhancing the fun for all concerned.

Outcome - win win situation.

Jonathon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thats pretty impressive! was it the awful RDF on your old 130 that made you learn to do things this way? when i get my new scope il have to give that a try:) well mine dosent have rings , but mabey a simple "iron sight" gun style finder would work when the right size of the exit end is worked out...if that makes scence.

Not that i need that with the RDF, but im really interested if it works now:P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thats pretty impressive! was it the awful RDF on your old 130 that made you learn to do things this way? when i get my new scope il have to give that a try:) well mine dosent have rings , but mabey a simple "iron sight" gun style finder would work when the right size of the exit end is worked out...if that makes scence.

Not that i need that with the RDF, but im really interested if it works now:P

trouble with the rdf is that the 2 'rings' it uses are so close together that you cnt gauge anything from them. its easy to align two marks in th eforeground, with a mark in the backgruond, if the 2 marks in the foreground are very close together and you are further away. ( this is what the rdf does, and it makes yuo think u have somehting lined up, but actually you are wayyyy off)

having 3 marks not so close together allows for a much better. thus u make a 3rd mark at the rear of the scope - give more 'scope (cringe ;))' to line things up.

so what i did was use the red dot as the first point, and taped a wodden stick with a mark on it to the back of the scope, poking up in line with the rdf. some simple alligning was needed in daylight ( chimney in high power mag ep lined up with the rdf and the notch on the stick) the way to adjsutr was to simply move stick up or down (or draw a new mark :D )

and it really is as simple as that. the 'finder' is really an imaginary line PARALLEL to the telescopes aperture opening. therefore whatever is 'in line' with one is in line with the other.

gonna make a more professional looking thingy soon but dont need to for now. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh man that sounds pretty complicated having not seen the rdf, but im pretty sure i understand what you mean:)

What do you use for the stick bit at the back of the scope? im thinking half a cocktail stick would work great-but i dont think il suggest that to the misses as she is a little clumbsy and i think she may well trip and poke her eye out!;) ok when she reads this im going to get a slap now:D

Think i better break it to her that the rdf is reeealy bad, but thats one of the good things about a scope this price, any issues with it are easier to live with:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

honestly, a picture would explain alot easier, its abit late now but il gladly post one up tomoro showing you what i mean. im afarid i may have over-explained it and in doing so made it confusing. sorry. it really is simple, so dont panic about not being able to use it ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That would be brilliant if you could do that tom!!;) she ordered this morning and it should arive within a few days, and anything thats going to make her viewing exsperiance easier will be a great thing.

That would be great!:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I should chip in and say (before anyone comes up with that ill-informed nonsense "you get what you pay for") that since Celestron and Sky-Watcher are both companies owned by Synta, and the Astromaster 130 has a focal length of 650mm, it's pretty much a dead cert that this is exactly the same mirror unit that's installed in the Heritage 130P

As has been said before, with a bit of knowledge and some DIY, some of these bargains can be beefed up into quite respectable little instruments by those who know how to address their shortcomings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I should chip in and say (before anyone comes up with that ill-informed nonsense "you get what you pay for") that since Celestron and Sky-Watcher are both companies owned by Synta, and the Astromaster 130 has a focal length of 650mm, it's pretty much a dead cert that this is exactly the same mirror unit that's installed in the Heritage 130P

I'm sure you are right GB. The original post was about the Astromaster 76mm newtonian though. I guess there is a Skywatcher version of that one as well - the Astrolux 76 ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, there are two variants of the syntax 130mm, the 130M and the 130P.

The 130p has a parabolic minor, the 130M is apparantly spherical. Looking at the price difference between the two, it seems about right.

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alan - you can tell which-is-which in the 130mm Synta mirrors by the focal length - the spherical being 900mm, and the parabolic being 650mm. The cheap Astromaster scope is 650mm, and ergo almost certainly the more modern parabolic mirror.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the 130 seems well priced and a good quality beginner scope in a high street store can only be a good thing but surely anyone seriously looking to get into astronomy would do a lot of research on the net and buy from a proper telescope shop, thats what i did.

a least they arent selling the dross that jessops sell or the dreadful stuff on ebay.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

jabberwocky - yes but how many kids are gonna be able to get 200 quid together for a starter scope? how many people are goign to be put off by the high cost of even a starter scope?

having good gear available at low prices in stores such as currys can only be a good thing. surely the next step would involve lots of research?

for someone whos never looked thorugh a scope - 80 quid is a small barrier to climb. and the point is that its not the 'dross' from jessops etc - its a decent brand.

as too many members keep reminding me on here - astronomy is a bleedin' money pit!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My advice would be to avoid like the plague...

If you do not have enough money to buy something that will give you reasonable views then consider not buying anything rather than buying something that will put you off for life.

I think it would be better to join a local society and look through their scopes - maybe after a while they would have something to borrow?

This scope is cheap, will most likely be exactly the same as the photographic chain scope you mentioned... Don't waste your money!!!!

Ant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, even the 76EQ is better than my first scope - a similar sized Tasco on an alt az mount. The mount seemed to be made of plastic and wobbled alarmingly at the slightest touch, and the bundled EPs were very clearly rubbish.

BUT - I still had decent views of the moon and my first glimpse of saturn and that's what persuaded me to start the upgrade path. It teaches you how to set up and use a starmap and that the mount is as important as the optics...

Looking at the Currys scope, the EQ mount actually looks half decent so for £70 this has to be an excellent intro to the hobby.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mad hatter - the picture explanation i promised :D please forgive the patronising 'very long distance' - i am used to drawing things for my mother who wouldve taken the picture to scale and everything ;)

one relevant point tho is that i wrote that because my drawing is a little off - the scope looks as tho it would view object 1 (empty space) because it is directly in front of it. I should have drawn it the other way round, so objects 1 and 2 switch place, so in fact object 2 is in view through the telescope.

right then, lets keep this short and sweet :)

lets start with eye 1 nd object 1. eye 1 is looking through the rdf, (forget the angle for a moment). as far as eye 1 is concerned, object 2 is in line with the 2 dots on the rdf.

however, as you can see, the line of sight is actually aiming towards emtpy space, object 1, even tho the two red dots are aligned.

PROBLEM - red dots align with object 2 in rdf, but the actual view thrgh the scope is of object 1.

SOLUTION - add a third marker stick ( a strip of sturdy plastic, a wooden stick, anything u like ) to theback of the scope. you want its height to be an inch or 2 above the height of the rdf.

as you can see from the picture - when the rdf and the marker stick line up, the object in view is in a parallel line with the telescope, so therefore when you look into the ep you will see the object you pointed at. :o

hope this makes sense. maybe someone else could explain a little better.

TiP - align the 3rd marker stick with an object in your ep in the daytime - a far away chimney or any other standout markings. get it centred in ur highest mag ep. then using ur rdf and marker stick, line all 3 up - object, rdf, marker stick - as accurately as you can. you literally choose how accurate you want it to be.

when first looking for an object in the sky, always use a low power ep to get a wider fov, then cenrtre and swtich ep's :mad:

Hope this helps madhat

Tom

happy happy hunting forever after :o

post-25906-133877622793_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.