127 MAK??

[Rover]

I have a birthday coming up and my missus is after ideas for a present. I have had a bit think and would like something to compliment my 8" dob and think a 127 Mak might fit the bill.

I have been having a look through the forums and they seem to be quite popular and well liked. I like the idea that it is light, portable, has GOTO and simple to setup and allign and no collimination but have a few more questions.

1) Are there any differences between the Celestron and Skywatcher 127's?

2) Can anyone post a link to a power supply that can be used and would I need an additional cable to connect it?

3) Once it has slewed to the target does it track it? (I am pretty sure it would but I just wanted to be sure.)

4) How does the mount, and scope for that matter, do when it comes to Astrophotography? (I have had a look at the imaging section and would be very happy to get images like some of the planetary ones done, but could anyone suggest any other targets that could be imaged.)

I wouldn't be expecting much when it came to the photography side of things just after an idea of what to expect out of it.

Many thanks in advance.

Clear Skies.

[GeorgeB]

1. They are both identical. I believe they come out of the same factory. The only difference will be with the mount. The skywatcher and celestron GOTO software is slightly different. From people who use both there seems to be a preference for the Celestron GOTO implementation. I actually have a Skywatcher Mak 127 OTA that I use on a Celestron Nextstar mount.

2. I use a £30 3-in-1 car starter powerpack from Maplin. The cigarette adapter cable that comes with it powers the Nexstar mount fine.

3. If you get a GOTO mount then it will slew and track automatically after you've aligned it. If you get a basic SynScan mount without GOTO then you'll need to slew manually but you can then set it to track automatically once on target.

4. A Nexstar type mount is OK for Webcam photography, but not ideal for long exposures. It will do a good job on planetary imaging. If you want to do long exposure DSO photography then you'll need a more expensive EQ5 / EQ6 type mount.

[badboybubby]

I have a birthday coming up and my missus is after ideas for a present. I have had a bit think and would like something to compliment my 8" dob and think a 127 Mak might fit the bill.

I have been having a look through the forums and they seem to be quite popular and well liked. I like the idea that it is light, portable, has GOTO and simple to setup and allign and no collimination but have a few more questions.

1) Are there any differences between the Celestron and Skywatcher 127's? Not in the scope but the electronics are different I believe

2) Can anyone post a link to a power supply that can be used and would I need an additional cable to connect it?

Google these, no additional leads required. I paid £45 for mine.

Sky Watcher 7Ah Rechargeable Power Tank

3) Once it has slewed to the target does it track it? (I am pretty sure it would but I just wanted to be sure.) Yes it does as long as you get an AZ GOTO

4) How does the mount, and scope for that matter, do when it comes to Astrophotography? (I have had a look at the imaging section and would be very happy to get images like some of the planetary ones done, but could anyone suggest any other targets that could be imaged.)

I wouldn't be expecting much when it came to the photography side of things just after an idea of what to expect out of it.

For real Astrophotography you need to be using an Equatorial Mount. The Alt Azimuth is ok for Webcam photography, look it up, everybody does this and gets good results.

Many thanks in advance.

Clear Skies.

cheers Scott

[Rover]

That's great thanks for all your help once again. You guys are the best!!!!