Accessories for SW 200p Dob

[Finch]

Well folks, I got my 200p for xmas and have been really bitten by the bug!

I opted for the Revelation eyepiece set as my first addition to the setup.

On the whole I'm really pleased with the scope, some smashing views of Jupiter at the moment and the other night saw quite a bit of M42.

I think there is a lot of room to improve the views I am getting (particularly of M42) by adding some filters and some better quality eyepieces. Planetary views are pretty good so I was going to concentrate on widefield and learn some star-hopping.

Can anyone offer some advice for improving the wide field view quality? Is light pollution, collimation and seeing quality more of an influence than a high quality eyepiece?

As a complete beginner I'm having to strongly resist the urge to splash on an Ethos 21mm!

[catman161]

Get the Hyperion 8-24mm Clickstop Zoom eyepiece! I have the same cope as you and also started astronomy since Christmas.

I had a go on the above name eyepiece and have fallen in love with it! I also was very fortunate and got to try out a few of my friends Televue eyepieces (including ethos and panoptic models) and they are absolutely brilliant!

If I win the lottery my eyepiece set will consist of the Hyperion zoom and an array if televues!

I've been looking at the Telrad finder also-they are good for star hopping.

Felix

Skywatcher Skyliner 200p Dobsonian

Celestron Skymaster 15x70 Binoculars

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[Finch]

Thanks Felix,

I'll check it out!

[russ.will]

Do I read your OP right that you've never collimated the scope?

Russell

[derekm]

You'll be fine for quite some time with the Revelation eyepieces.

First purchase needs to be a Cheshire collimator.

A Rigel finder or a red dot is very useful. Telrads are good too, but heavy - you'll need a counterweight.

Get a variable polarising moon filter, then when you've found you way around the sky a bit, go for a UHC (ultra high contrast) filter for nebulae, such as the veil.

Leave the super eyepieces until you're certain which road you want to go down and what your definitive scope will be; it could turn out to be photography.

[Hypernova]

I'd definitely invest some money in a right-angled, correct-image finder to save you straining your neck. They can be had for £68 from FLO, a little bit pricey but well worth it for long-term comfort. I plan to get one to replace the straight-thru but money is tight at the moment.

As above, a cheshire collimating eyepiece is a must to get the best from the optics.

Also look at this mod for the dobsonian base. It will reduce sideways slop and improve the motion of the base. Yet another thing I must get round to once I find a metal drill bit.

[Finch]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have collimated my scope but there is perhaps a lot of room for improvement. The defocussed image is fuzzy rather than showing rings but the spot is central. It does have another dark part to one side though.

I'll be sure to collimate again as I definitely need the practice and hopefully things will improve.

[Hypernova]

The defocused image may just be down to poor seeing (a lot of this around at the moment!) or thermals from buildings or even the 'scope itself not being cooled enough. I find that the diffraction rings are only visible to my eye when a star is just a few notches outside of focus, once the star image gets too large it is just a disk of light with the spider and secondary showing.

[Finch]

Thanks again for the feedback.

I had a go at collimating last night and I think I've improved things, I could only see jupiter through cloud though so I can only say for certain that I haven't made it worse. Fingers crossed.

[Dave Collins]

I bought the same scope at Christmas and have since bought a Telrad finder. It's much easier to starhop with and I don't think it's too heavy for the dob. I haven't tried a Rigel finder but I hear that one is good as well.