Celestron Astromaster 130 EQ

[albusdlx]

Not a "What should I buy thread!" =D

I just want to know some basic stuff. Like the starfinder for ex...

Almost everyone says its a failure but some are wondering what those people are talking about. Any one care to way in on that??

The mount, is it stabile enough to work in winter conditions? Is it impossible to attach stuff without an upgrade?

And so forth.....

Any and all experiences with this setup is wanted.

Thanks before hand....

[Andy38416]

i personally found the starfinder rubbish on the Astromaster 130, but people either get on with it or they dont. I brought a seperate red dot finder as it did my head in which arrived this morning in the post.

The mount seems stable but havnt used mine too much yet, i have heard it wears out a little with constant setting up and taking down so is good to try and keep in one bit.

not sure about attaching things personally, though the scope is very good. I picked mine up for £85 so was pretty pleased.

[onesmallstep]

Hi

A couple of pointers re improving scope use.

1. If you can't get on with the standard finder then upgrade to a red dot finder or a right-angled finderscope.

2. To improve tripod stability use vibration suppression pads. Extend the tripod legs level with the accessory tray (so that there is more leg area being gripped when you tighten the screws). Hang a small weight from the accessory tray so that the centre of gravity is lower. Finally make sure all of the screws and joints fit properly and have been tightened.

[dag123]

Hello albusdlx,

I have this scope, and it being my first scope I cannot compare it against anything else, but hopefully my experience will be helpful.

I have not encountered any major issues with it. Certainly it is more than capable in terms of helping me learn all the basics. It has an equitorial mount so I have learnt how to polar align and track objects by hand. It has the co-ordinates marked on the RA/DEC rings so you can theoretically use those to manually "GOTO". I have tried this with limited sucess but find locating objects by star jumping more useful as it forces me to learn more about the night sky.

The scope is easy to take part for removing the primary for cleaning. I also recently had my first successful colimination exercise. Taking out the mirror, adding a small centre dot, then collimating with nothing more than a 35mm film canister!

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussions-help-telescopes-whole-setups/149395-i-think-i-need-collimate-my-astromaster-130eq.html

Now to take some of your direct questions.

I have taken the mount out i winter. I have stood it on the patio, lawn, and playbark and in all cases it was stable enough for my use. Okay the playbark was not level and required more work to polar align, but not the scopes fault.

I am not sure what you want to attach to it? I have added various new eyepieces and barlow. My 5mm X-CEL and the 2xBarlow sticks out a fair bit, but that only requires alight adjustment of the tube in the mount rings so I can get my eye to it.

Regarding the RedDotFinder, I am sure there are better on the market but it seems good enough for my needs. I don't usually bother switching on the red dot though. Perhaps I am not using it as you are meant to but after zero'ing it on the moon I know where to put my eye against the OTA such that when I point it at where I am aiming for 75% of the time I am on target. I do use a 32mm EP to begin with which obviously helps. I doubt I would be so accurate if I started with the EPs that came with the scope.

I think you will get the hint that I am quite happy with this scope.

I am sure in time I will want bigger and better, but for now I am still in learning mode and have not exhausted what the scope can offer.

More than happy to answer any other questions you may have.

dag123

[albusdlx]

More than happy to answer any other questions you may have.

dag123

Howdy partner. (western style)

Well, I have read pretty much about the scope and surrounding equipment. And I think that I made the right choice. I was leaning against a Bresser-scope with a bit more filters, EP´s and so on. But I could not find anything on that perticular scope.

C.A.S 130EQ is a well known scope among us amateurs and beginners.

With the question about hanging on more stuff and if the mount could take it.

Well I really don´t know! Piggyback photography for one perhaps? How big is the tray, cant find any specifics?

Could I have a mini pc on there? Probably not, but it feels better knowing what I need in before hand. Rather than standing there and get annoyed with my self for not asking!

2000 lines, 1 question. Not bad......

One more thing, I´m thinking about buying a set, the cost is 600kr. (90$ or 57£)

Worth it, or not?

The list reads:

15 mm Kellner Okular.

6 mm Plössl Okular.

2x Barlowlins med T-threads. (from SE to EN)

#80A Blue Planet-Filter.

#25 Red Planet-Filter.

Moon-Filter.

Micro Fiber duk.

Briefcase in plastic with foam lining.

This post got WAY longer then planned.

Hope you are patient. Would think that´s a demand when watching the stars.

Christian

[LeeB]

interesting reading chaps a family friend is looking for a starter scope and it seems ideal.

[albusdlx]

interesting reading chaps a family friend is looking for a starter scope and it seems ideal.

I thought so as well.

That is why ordered it.

Mine will arrive in about 1 week.

Can´t wait!

[zainraza]

I recently bought this scope (only one I've had/have) and to be quite honest, I can't really complain. I also read around that for its price it was worth it and now I have it, I can't stop getting it out

The red dot wasn't very good, so if you plan on buying this I recommend you get one (I'm getting a Rigel Quikfinder soon)

All in all, for a starter defo worth getting

[dag123]

albusdlx,

The tray is not very big. I am using it to hold the eyepieces I am using and my small home-made red-LED torch. With my both my X-CELs, 32mm, Barlow torch and perhaps one more EP there is not really room for much more without the worry that a careless handsweep in the dark might send the EPs down into the wet grass or worse.

As to piggy-back photography, I have only ever held my compact camera upto the EP to take pictures of the moon. I'll have to pass on answering this and leave it to someone who has tried.

About the EP kit, I am still learning myself so I can't say if it is worth it. I went for a set with five EPs and a 2xbarlow so I could get a better understanding of how things looked at different magnifications. I don't use the coloured filters other than moon-filter which is useful. There are plenty of threads on this forum discussing the merits of various eye-piece kits.

Hope this helps

dag123

[albusdlx]

You are right. Will follow the advise and ask in a EP-thread.

Thx

[Porl]

I've got the Astromaster 130EQ and it was my first scope and I was chuffed to bits with it. I can't complain about it at all, it feels pretty solid, its light enough to easily set up and move around as one whole unit (scope+mount/tripod) and doesn't take up much space. I've had great views from it.

About photography, i've only glanced through the thread so far, you can piggy back on the back of the scope to use it like a big camera tripod really easily. Also photography through the eyepiece is relatively easy to get sharp images of the moon (the only things i've tried) using a Universal Digi-mount. Skywatcher / celestron etc all do them and they fit compact digital cameras on. I've used the digi-mount with a barlow and 32mm lense so it was hanging quite far out on the focusing tube and it handled the weight no problem at all

I hope that helps answer some questions and I hope you enjoy your new scope, i think its a great starter scope.

Porl''