Startravel 102 shortube shakedown

[kuro]

Having sold my firstscope 90mm and my skywatcher skymax 80mm I have bought a Startravel 102 shortube refractor and after watching stargazing live last night I finally went out to give it a thorough test under clear skies.

While its not as good with planets the widefield views this scope gives are stunning. There is some CA but I can live with this and when I get my new eyepieces next week I expect an improvement over the stock plossls. It came with an EQ1 mount which is borderline on stability but adequate and adds to the scopes portability.

I find it a lot easier to locate objects with this and last night was treated to views of M29, M35, M36, M37, M38, M39 and M41 aswell as my first look at Andromeda.

M42 and the pleiades looked the best I have ever seen them. Lastly I went for the crab nebula but not sure if this is beyond the scopes capabilities or I was looking in the wrong place.

All in all this is a great little scope and one that I will keep even if I upgrade in the future.

[bigbox]

Hi kuro, Got to agree with you there, they are a great little scope i had one until just before christmas when i upgraded to the exploer 150p.

I had hours of fun with it, some good views of jupiter & saturn, i even managed a few Ap's mostly of the moon...

Regards Ady

[GarethA]

Glad you're enjoying the 102 - re the crab nebula: I have my first view of it on Saturday through a 12" Dob under pretty dark skies. It was faint even then - fainter than other objects we were observing. I would think it would be hard work with a 102 refractor unless it was very dark indeed - somone expereinced with the 102 may be able to give better advice though.

[bluesman81]

I rate the 102, i use one as my grab and go on a eq3. Really great scope and for the money, its unbeatable...

[topdude]

Replaced my SW 130 Newt with one of these a few months ago.

Fantastic for the price, i find it much more rewarding both in use and viewing than the reflector.

I have stripped the focusser and replaced the thick grease and plastic pressure pad to smooth it up a bit. Also moved the RDF to the front of the tube to make it easier when veiwing near the zenith.

There is slight colour fringing but not enough to spoil the views.

Overall a brilliant scope considering the low price

[kuro]

Replaced my SW 130 Newt with one of these a few months ago.

Fantastic for the price, i find it much more rewarding both in use and viewing than the reflector.

I have stripped the focusser and replaced the thick grease and plastic pressure pad to smooth it up a bit. Also moved the RDF to the front of the tube to make it easier when veiwing near the zenith.

There is slight colour fringing but not enough to spoil the views.

Overall a brilliant scope considering the low price

The guy I bought this off had upgraded to the optical finderscope which made it even more of a bargain. This stands proud of the tube and makes things a little easier than with the RDF.