please help choose my first telescope

[joeredpath]

Hi all I've wanted a scope since I was a kid, but require help choosing one. I have decided that I want the SKY-WATCHER EXPLORER 130P as it has had good reviews and is in my price range. Where I am struggling is with the mount, do I get it with the SUPATRAK AUTO or the SYNSCAN AZ GOTO mount?

any help would be appreciated with this issue, and indeed if anyone knows other good telescopes to look at or has any advice for beginners including interesting things to look at in the sky over the coming months.

Thank you.

[damnut]

Hik Joeredpath,

Glad you asked this before spending hard earned cash. The absolutley best thing to do is to find your local astro group. They will normally be delighted to let you look through their scopes whilst you are forming an opinion.

Second is to go to a good retailer and have a play, then look to see if any good kit comes up on SGL!

So I am not going to say one against another!. To a great extent it is personal and depends on location and wallet. Just keep some cash to get at least one good eyepiece, oh and do not consider the boxed scopes you see in general high street shops & elsewhere!!.

Good luck with your choice.

Best Regards

Damian

[nightfisher]

just an idea but how about a 150 dobsonian and learning the sky with it

[joeredpath]

Thank you for the advice I will look for local groups, what eye pieces and filters would you recommend?

[John]

I'd use what comes with the scope to start with. Budget for a good guide to the night sky, a red torch and, if the scope does not come with one, a red dot finder. Additional eyepieces, filters etc can follow once you have a little experience of using a scope.

[Andy38416]

i personally would just get the 130p with the EQ mount it comes with, but thats just me. It is a lot of money for them mounts.

i only started this about 3 months ago and would suggest a good 2x barlow and maybe a moon filter (to save your retinas on a full moon) to start with and see how you go. i think that scope comes with a 10mm and 25mm EP.

[paf90]

Hi fellow newbie!

For what it's worth I thoroughly recommend you look at a Russian made Tal 1 before making a decision. I spent ages scouring the web and forums like this one and I found so many excellent reviews for the Tal that I bought a used one (they're built like tanks!) for £80! However a new one is going to £190-£200, so still within your price range I reckon. Okay so you don't get a motor or GoTo but what you do get is a very well made 'scope - all steel & aluminium, no cheap plastic! Very good quality optics including an excellent 6x25 finderscope and great stock Tal eyepieces (25mm Plossl & 15mm Kellner) and a good x3 Barlow. Also the mount is constructed from a tubular steel so it's very sturdy and solid, no wobbly images if there's a slight breeze or a moth happens to brush past it during flight!!

Seriously, if you go for a Tal you won't regret it!

[onesmallstep]

Hi

A word of warning about Goto. I've mentioned elsewhere on SGL about making the mistake of buying a Goto setup as my first scope. I didn't actually get to do any stargazing as I was finding out how to use the equipment, I kept losing the settings so had to ge through the sky alignment procedure several times and the thing ate batteries like a chocoholic in Belgium. I ended uo selling it and buying altaz-based scopes (a refractor and a Mak-Cass compound scope). I may cross over to the dark side again and get another Goto scope but that won't be any time soon!

My advice: keep it simple and stick to Reflector / EQ or Dob setups and get a starmap and red torch!

Good luck and happy stargazing.

[stardad]

HI and welcome.

I was new to this last winter.

Do you know the night sky, where the stars and planets are?

What are you trying to achieve with your scope? The advice above is sound, a good group will help you and playing with kit give's a better appreciation of what you need.

Its too easy to jump in and find out you've made a mistake then try and correct it with more money being spent.

There's plenty of good second hand kit out and about if you want to wait a little while.