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Second hand telescopes

brascoe

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brascoe

brascoe

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there seems to be a general dearth of used scopes at the minute. I have been looking for a used 6" f5 OTA only for a bit. not many about.

I know its so annoying got money and nothing to spend it on.

What are helios dobsonians like?

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I think these were the forerunners to Skywatcher. just hang fire and something will turn up. it is frustrating but buy what you have set your heart on - if you have to wait longer it will be worth it as if you buy something else, you'll always be wondering..... in the meantime keep saving - this hobby is like a vampire in your wallet!

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dwc

dwc

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I'm sure that when I was looking for my last upgrade I found several online retailers that listed second hand kit, though I just had a quick look through the sites I use regularly and didn't see any. I did also visit a couple of close-ish stores, who often have kit they have part-exchanged, but tend not to list it online. Worth having a phone around if you have any within reach.

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brascoe

brascoe

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I think these were the forerunners to Skywatcher. just hang fire and something will turn up. it is frustrating but buy what you have set your heart on - if you have to wait longer it will be worth it as if you buy something else, you'll always be wondering..... in the meantime keep saving - this hobby is like a vampire in your wallet!

Im actually after a dobsonian anyway but not sure on the the make helios is there much difference between a 6" and 8"?

Also have found this is it any good im just not sure if its a good price and any good for what i want to see which is a good image of planets and d.s.o.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skywatcher-Telescope-/180741291907?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item2a15053f83

This is going to my first scope so once i start to observe i can then decide what the next step will be so a half decent alrounder to start.

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Kevdan

Kevdan

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My only advice is ask if you can see the mirrors before you buy, If you are buying from anyone who knows what they are selling they should understand and allow this, if not its pot luck, however im more than happy with my skywatcher 150p which I had from fleabay which was sold wrong as it said it was an eq2 mount and it was an eq3-2 so bargain.

Just remember - Buyer Beware

Kev.

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brascoe

brascoe

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My only advice is ask if you can see the mirrors before you buy, If you are buying from anyone who knows what they are selling they should understand and allow this, if not its pot luck, however im more than happy with my skywatcher 150p which I had from fleabay which was sold wrong as it said it was an eq2 mount and it was an eq3-2 so bargain.

Just remember - Buyer Beware

Kev.

when you say see the mirrors what do you mean?

The helios is 6 yrs old should i give it a wide birth its an 8"

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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Im actually after a dobsonian anyway but not sure on the the make helios is there much difference between a 6" and 8"?

Also have found this is it any good im just not sure if its a good price and any good for what i want to see which is a good image of planets and d.s.o.

Skywatcher Telescope | eBay

This is going to my first scope so once i start to observe i can then decide what the next step will be so a half decent alrounder to start.

surprisingly as the area of a circle is Pi x r squared, the area of a 6" mirror is 17000mm+ and that of an 8" is 31000mm+ and therefore the 8" has a larger area by a factor of about 1.8 so around 80% more light gathering assuming the same quality.

I feel an 8" is definitely worth waiting for.

the scope you link to would be good but I also prefer dobs for visual observing.

good advice on checking the mirrors. to be honest though if they don't look tarnished or mottled then they should be fine.

best bet if you can is use it with the owner's help - it gets dark early enough at this time of year. he/she will probably be keen to show you anyway.

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Kevdan

Kevdan

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when you say see the mirrors what do you mean?

The helios is 6 yrs old should i give it a wide birth its an 8"

If you are looking at a newtonian scope then there will be a primary and secondary mirror, the primary is the light catcher the big mirror at the back end of the scope, the secondary is the little one which reflects the image through 90degrees to the eyepiece. hope this helps , both mirrors can be easily taken out and inspected and replaced however you will need to collimate them after replacement.

kev

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brascoe

brascoe

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Thanks for all the feed back pplmuch appreciated so on the last question does it matter if a scopes six yrs old and does it just depend on the mirrors. The seller has a 93% feedback and most of its astro gear.

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brascoe

brascoe

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Thanks for all the feed back pplmuch appreciated so on the last question does it matter if a scopes six yrs old and does it just depend on the mirrors. The seller has a 93% feedback and most of its astro gear.

Its ok he wanted £275.00 for it so ill give it a miss

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ScubaMike

ScubaMike

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tell me about it.

I've been waiting for a solar scope to come up - but nothing recently.

Looking for something beyond a PST though, something like a Solarmax II 60 - and I want it double stacked.

I'm not holding out much hope, so will probably have to save a bit more & buy new.

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John

John

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That dob was the forerunner of the Skywatcher Skyliner 8" F/6 dobs that are marketed today. Helios (in this case) was an earlier branding name used by Synta, who are the company behind Skywatcher. The main difference between that scope and the ones of today is the focal ratio - the Helios 8" dob is an F/5 wheras the Skyliner 200P's (the dobs) are F/6. The Helios would be a decent scope if the mirrors are in good nick but even then not for £275. That's around £100 too expensive in my opinion.

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brascoe

brascoe

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That dob was the forerunner of the Skywatcher Skyliner 8" F/6 dobs that are marketed today. Helios (in this case) was an earlier branding name used by Synta, who are the company behind Skywatcher. The main difference between that scope and the ones of today is the focal ratio - the Helios 8" dob is an F/5 wheras the Skyliner 200P's (the dobs) are F/6. The Helios would be a decent scope if the mirrors are in good nick but even then not for £275. That's around £100 too expensive in my opinion.

I was thinking around the £170.00 mark

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