skywatcher heritage 130p or 150P Dob first scope

[dawson]

Hi everyone

I have been mulling around for about 6 months now pondering over what to get as my first scope and have narrowed it down to the two mentioned. I have a budget of about £200 but am just after a bit of advice plz

im more drawn to the heritage 130p for the ease of transporting and to very quickly be able to set it up at home even though i appreciate the 150p will give me slightly better views. My main worry is with it being a flex tube will street lights tamper with my views much? I have seen people making shrouds for theirs which is all well and good but if do that and have to mess about everytime im wondering if may be better going for the bigger one? Also with the two will there be an awfully big difference in what I can see? Any thoughts be appreciated

Thanks

[kniclander]

I would say if you can get the 6 go for the 6 unless by "transport" you mean carrying it a long way or going on a bus etc etc.

[Dr_Who_46]

Hi everyone

I have been mulling around for about 6 months now pondering over what to get as my first scope and have narrowed it down to the two mentioned. I have a budget of about £200 but am just after a bit of advice plz

im more drawn to the heritage 130p for the ease of transporting and to very quickly be able to set it up at home even though i appreciate the 150p will give me slightly better views. My main worry is with it being a flex tube will street lights tamper with my views much? I have seen people making shrouds for theirs which is all well and good but if do that and have to mess about everytime im wondering if may be better going for the bigger one? Also with the two will there be an awfully big difference in what I can see? Any thoughts be appreciated

Thanks

Hi and welcome, as an owner of the 130 flextube i cant fault it. This is my first scope and i am very happy with it. As for ease of use, well tbh, i dont think you can get any easier. Just pick it up and carry it outside and your viewing in seconds (slight cool off first). I live on an estate full of street lights, but the back garden does shield the majority out so it isnt so bad. But its still light polluted from surrounding area. I have not yet tried a shroud around it as i have felt no need to, if you can position the scope so the light isnt going to be a strain on your secondry mirror it will help. I will of course try a shroud, one clear night lol, just to see if there is any difference. Even sitting your scope behind a wall or fence or anything like that to make a shield will also help. Collamation isnt a problem either, only done it the once when i got it and its stayed good ever since (3 weeks now) I have had some great views with this scope and thats only with the standard ep's. I will be getting 6mm and 9mm and 32mm ep in the future. I was very suprised when it turned up at the door, tbh i didnt expect it to be that big. And its only 129.00 kwid so doesnt break the bank.

Hope this helps

Oh yer, the red dot finder is also a good one. The focuser is only plastic and some people find it not as good as others, but bearing in mind people on here have got alot better scopes and more expensive. All in all i find it trouble free. As i say, look after your tools and your tools will look after you.

[dawson]

in terms transport just mean lugging a larger scope around in car and that to be honest or out the house and setting up (compared to smaller faster set up)

cheers thats really good to know someone who has experience with the 130p i wouldnt say lived in overly light surrounding area but there is a couple lamposts dotted around.

I am also thinking in the future if want to upgrade (to say a 200p or bigger) the 130p make a good small handy scope to keep around where I will have less use for the 150 - but then my other side says I should get biggest can at minute decisions decisions

[ismangil]

I read many articles regarding city star gazing with light pollution, the advice is much the same, get the biggest aperture you can afford.

If it's about upgrade you can easily sell your first scope to another newcomer.

[Dr_Who_46]

Not sure how much difference .9 of an inch will make regards aperture, tbh cant see it being much but im a beginner so i could be wrong. If it was 4" larger then i would aggree to that. Just my opinion

[DavidOfBanff]

The difference in light gathering is the difference of the squares of the apertures. So (taking away the unnecessary zero of each aperture):

13x13 = 169

15x15 = 225

225/169 = 1.33

So it ends up the difference is as between 3 and 4.

HTH.

[dawson]

sorry - i appreciate the advice there but I have no idea what that means the difference ending up between 3 and 4.............is that a lot? from my basic point view will that make me see much more/less?

[Damo636]

The 150p will gather 33% more light than the 130. I would go for the bigger dob as its superior in almost every way and still very portable.