Skywatcher Supatrak & Goto mounts - manual tracking

[miabs]

Hi,

Just had a quick question, I am looking at either a SW 200P Dob or a SW Mak 127.

My question is about the MAK 127, I know it will track astronomy objects using the supatrak part of the mount but can the mount be tracked manually using the buttons.

I am wondering this as I am a keen aviation enthusiast as well as into astronomy.

If I wanted to use the scope on a clear day to follow aircraft flying past my house could i manually move the MAK 127 with buttons?

If not i presume I could just manually move a 200P Dob to track the aircraft.

I just want to get the most out of my telescope.

Hope some of you fine people will know the answer.

Thanks.

[Tyr]

I've got a celestron Mak 127 goto, you can slew the mount just by using the buttons on the handset but it moves pretty slowly I doubt you would be able to effectively track any aircraft with it.

I imagine that the skywatcher models don't slew any faster. Maybe the super track does? Hopefully someone can confirm.

I'm not sure about the dob since I don't own one.

Have you considered a manual tripod based Alt Az mount as an option?

Do bear in mind that 127 Maks have about a 1 degree field of view and a pair of binoculars probably have a 5 degree field of view when you're thinking about how easily you would keep something in the eye piece.

Also be careful using a telescope in the daylight that when you're tracking your aircraft it doesn't go in front of the sun that could be very bad for you I would have thought.

Tyr

[hemihaggis]

hi there , these scope/mounts will not be much good for tracking aircraft .. the image you see will be uncorrected , ie upside down and or back to front , a pair of bino`s is what you want for tracking aircraft

[Dipper]

I successfully tracked several airplanes just holding my scope at its front and moving it all around until I got the direction I need to move it, but that was only in daylight and for a short amount of time. My best result was maybe 10 seconds.

[miabs]

I think I will stick to my bino's for daytime use and use the telescope for the night.

I just have to decide now between the 127 Mak or the 200P Dob !!!