Any one bought from F1 Telescopes?

[DaveGarland]

I'm thinking of getting a Skywatcher Explorer 200P EQ5 GOTO and see that F1 Telescopes are selling them for £728 which is a very good price. Can anyone give me any positive/negative feedback on them?

Thanks.

Dave.

[CanesVenatici]

I have never had any dealings with FI telescopes, but have you thought about getting a setup with a HEQ5 mount instead? The 200P is a big scope to put on a standard EQ5 and it certainly won't be suitable for imaging with that scope. You might only have to pay about £100 more. The 200PDS (which is fitted with with a 10:1, 2" Crayford focuser) with HEQ5 Pro is available for about £840.

Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS HEQ5 PRO Goto - 8' F/5 Teleskop

[Pitsmoor Col]

The 200P is a big scope to put on a standard EQ5 and it certainly won't be suitable for imaging with that scope.

Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS HEQ5 PRO Goto - 8' F/5 Teleskop

I have a Celestron C8N. which is the same size as the SW 200P, it's on the standard EQ5. Why do you say it will not be suitable for imaging?

[Stephen]

I have a Celestron C8N. which is the same size as the SW 200P, it's on the standard EQ5. Why do you say it will not be suitable for imaging?

Because it's too heavy. The EQ5 is at its weight capacity with just the 200P on, let alone another guidescope and two cameras.

The rough rule of thumb is to go to 50% the weight limit of the mount for imaging.

Those that use a HEQ5 are still over the suggested limit (60% to 75% depending on setup) but it's just manageable.

An overloaded mount won't track or function as well as is needed for long exposure / accurate tracking imaging.

It will also wobble

[DaveGarland]

The 200PDS (which is fitted with with a 10:1, 2" Crayford focuser) with HEQ5 Pro is available for about £840.

Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS HEQ5 PRO Goto - 8' F/5 Teleskop

I would really like that but the website is clearly German. I don't feel very comfortable ordering anything from a website I can't read. It seems to be well over £1000 in England Any further ideas???

[Freddie]

I bought my CPC925 from F1 and everything was fine. I would use them again.

[derekm]

The 200PDS (which is fitted with with a 10:1, 2" Crayford focuser) with HEQ5 Pro is available for about £840.

Skywatcher Explorer 200 PDS HEQ5 PRO Goto - 8' F/5 Teleskop

I would really like that but the website is clearly German. I don't feel very comfortable ordering anything from a website I can't read. It seems to be well over £1000 in England Any further ideas???

Clicking on the Union Jack on the webpage linked above seems a good idea;)

[FrankieValley]

I have used f1 a few times and also cancelled/changed orders and I have had excellent service each time.

[BillRead]

I have baught all my equipment from the german site - they are very quick and reliable, speak english and some of their website has english pages. Yes I live in Germany but speak very little german but have spoken to them on numerous occasions without any problems.

[DaveGarland]

Derekm... Yes, I recognise that was a blonde moment lol! Yes yes I'm back and having a look at that thanks

[mgirdwood]

Hi Dave, i am looking at the same 200 with HEQ5 and it will be from Teleskop, i have read of a few people (from UK) on here and other forums that have used them and the feedback seemed to be fairly positive. As i live and work not far from them now i will be visiting the shop myself next week to see for myself

[DaveGarland]

Ok, I've just been to see an eq5 version in a shop to get a good idea of the size and it's BIGGER than I expected!!! If I decide to go ahead and buy it in January (pay day) it will need to be assembled/disassembled each time I use it. My present 130 scope just stands in the corner of the conservatory. Can any one tell me how much of a hassle this is and how long this would take? Including the tripod as the footprint is a little large for my conservatory. It may be I have to scale back my ambitions a little

[FrankieValley]

Ok, I've just been to see an eq5 version in a shop to get a good idea of the size and it's BIGGER than I expected!!! If I decide to go ahead and buy it in January (pay day) it will need to be assembled/disassembled each time I use it. My present 130 scope just stands in the corner of the conservatory. Can any one tell me how much of a hassle this is and how long this would take? Including the tripod as the footprint is a little large for my conservatory. It may be I have to scale back my ambitions a little

Did you see it with the tripod legs extended? If so, then the footprint isn't as great when the legs are retracted.

My EQ6 requires 3 allen screws to secure it the tripod, so I kept the mount on the tripod with weights and tube rings off and legs retracted. Mount and legs together are fairly heavy but manageable.

You can reduce the footprint more by unscrewing the triangular brace (on mine it doubles an an EP tray) that firms up the tripod. This is fairly easy as it is done by a big hand turned knob and allows the legs to be collapsed and you can then lie it down on a cushion.

Depending on how you arrange things - about a leisurely 10-15mins to erect the tripod, put weights, tube rings and scope on.

[DaveGarland]

Ah really? Now that's not so bad. Believe it or not the first image to hit my mind when I first saw it, was the look on my wife's face when she first sees it lol! Yeah I would need to completely pack it away each time. Unless I kept it in the shed. Would that be unwise perhaps, with the damp effecting the motors??

[FrankieValley]

Ah really? Now that's not so bad. Believe it or not the first image to hit my mind when I first saw it, was the look on my wife's face when she first sees it lol! Yeah I would need to completely pack it away each time. Unless I kept it in the shed. Would that be unwise perhaps, with the damp effecting the motors??

I keep mine in a shed and have done for a few years. I stripped the whole mount down earlier this year and it was absolutely fine

I even keep my SW 250P in the shed with it and have no problems there either. The shed is a cheap overlap design and I think the wind (but no rain) that must blow through all the gaps does a good job of keeping things dry. After a viewing session everything has dew on it, but the gaps dry it all off.