Scope advice

[kelius]

Hi all,

I currently have a Helios telescope on loan and I use it whenever possible, but it is really difficult to set up, and even more difficult to get objects in the eyepiece! I don't know whether I'm doing it wrong, but I would really love to be able to use it without taking 45 minutes to put it all together and the same amount of time getting Jupiter in the scope. Are these scopes known for being fiddly? Also is the smaller spotting scope on top of the telescope meant to indicate when the object you are viewing through it should be visible through the eyepiece?

If anyone could recommend a good cheapish £300 max scope preferably with a motorised mount I would be grateful

[malc-c]

£300 will get you a reasonable entry level motorized scope with goto functionality.

If you are after a reflector, the 130P (approx 5") comes in at £285

The ST102 (approx 4") refractor if that's more to your liking - again £285

Or the 102 (4") MAK for £10 more.

All sit on the same Alt/Az goto mount, which will help reduce set up times. With regards to your other question for finderscope, yes the idea is that you look through the finder, centre the cross-hair on the target and then look through the main scope and the target should be in the field of view. But this does need to be aligned first, so it's ideal to chose a bright object such as Jupiter, locate that in the main scope and centre it, then adjust the finderscope so that the cross-hairs intersect it...

Hope that helps

[kelius]

Thank you for such a detailed response. As I'm a real newbie I had no idea you could adjust the finder scope. I will have to have a look at that as the amount of frustrating nights I've had lining Jupiter up with the finder only to find it miles out the field of view!

I'm after a scope with the capability of viewing nebulae relatively well, would a refractor be a better choice or is it best to stick with Newtonian scopes?

[malc-c]

I'm no expert, but generally with smaller scopes reflectors tend to be preferred for fainter deep sky objects. Maks and refractors tend to be better suited for planetary / Luna observation. - When you start getting towards large aperture or more expensive scopes the difference becomes less apparent.

You can also set up the finder in the day time. Use the tip of an aerial or tree that is as far away as possible, but still viewable. Get the tip in the centre in the main scope on low power (25mm say) eyepiece, then use the two adjustment screws on the finder bracket to centre the cross-hairs on the tip of the same target. This should be close enough to locate Jupiter straight off and then allow you to fine tune the adjustment

[king-jaffethehutt]

Exactly how I did mine, i moved up the power to 150 ish works fine for me

[Cjg]

Kelius, if you can find your nearest astronomy society, you'll get a chance to maybe look through different types of scope and perhaps so hands on help.

Chris

[king-jaffethehutt]

p.s love my mak, but the 130newt though has the largest aperture (most light gathering power) and it also has the highest practical magnification.

All a great starter scopes and give you a real quandry trying to choose between them as they all have pro's and cons.

Good luck

rgds

Scott

[kelius]

Sounds great, weather permitting I may get it all out and set up tomorrow, I only have one eyepiece though, not sure what it is exactly but I will follow instructions posted above (thanks for that!) and hopefully I will see a difference.

With regards local astronomical society, I am attending a meeting of a group of like-minded friends for a session on the 25th Nov, which I'm pretty excited about, have always wanted to do that! I am especially looking forward to looking through different scopes to get an idea of what I'd like, have always wanted a Meade, but I have read reviews of the Meade EX-80 which I believe is one in my price range, but they state poor build quality and I wonder whether ultimately it will live up to my expectations......I fear I may be high maintenance as all women are?!

[Tinker1947]

I find using a Red Dot Finder a lot easier than a Finder Scope.

Sky Watcher Red Spot LED finder with standard two hole base

[kelius]

Thats not a bad idea, may be worth giving it a go if I get permission to take the finder off first! May wait until I own my own first though......

[imarcs]

The ST102 pictured above takes 5 mins to setup and 30 seconds to hit Jupiter as operated by my 10 yr old. I have mounted an RDF in addition to a bigger 9x50 finder. Aligning takes a bit longer but gets easier with practice.

[kelius]

The 130p is appealing to me the most right now, so tempted to just buy it but I will be in so much trouble!!

[malc-c]

The 130p is appealing to me the most right now, so tempted to just buy it but I will be in so much trouble!!

With Christmas coming up, why not suggest it as a present with contributions from all family members... yes it would mean waiting until December, but you won't get rollocked by the misses for spending £300

[onesmallstep]

Hi

You don't mention which mount the Helios is sitting on but my guess would be an equatorial mount (the beasty with the counterweight and the adjustment levers). These can be complicated to set up if you're not used to them so go for an AltAz (Altitude Azimuth) mount as supplied with the GOTO models or the rocker box type Dobsonian bases.

HTH!

[Orion_the_Hunter]

A very popular choice is the 8" Dobsonian First Light Optics - Skywatcher Skyliner 200P Dobsonian

It is a very easy 'scope to set up and use and gives the best bang for your £.

[kelius]

Malc, I am the misses It's the fella who watches the pennies lol. Would love one for Christmas and my birthday is shortly after so will be dropping plenty of hints The Helios is on an equatorial mount, had it out today and had a good fiddle with it to work out exactly what all the little twiddly bits do, noticed on the top of the scope though there seems to be something missing, I am going to try and upload a pic but for some reason Firefox isn't letting me!

[Sully]

From one newbie to another, the Skywatcher 130 i just bought with red dot finder takes all of 5-10 min to set up an be lookin at jupiter, pretty idiot proof. and if like me your in the back garden, when you do get polar alignment mark where the legs of the tripod are so you can just drop straight on it next time. Also took a tip to line the rear if the scope with the rear leg and keep it there, works great.

Cheers

Sully