A big thank you to all..

[lfc t]

I just want to give a big thank you to everyone who has helped me so far.

After my 1st mistake of ordering a telescope from another company i have now cancelled that and placed my order with FLO.

Not ordered the same model but have chosen to order a Celestron NexStar 127 SLT. It looks a great little piece of kit to get me started. I know in a year or so i'll be thinking of something bigger but you have to get your feet wet somewhere

A big thank you to FLO too, whoever SteveB is he's answered my questions and been very quick to do so. I know the telescope is out of stock because FLO have posted the information on here, so now it's a case of sitting and waiting and being patient.

So, i've ordered a great scope, from a great company, that sponsors a great forum, filled with a great bunch of helpful people. Great times ahead

My thanks go out to you all..

Tony..

[Northern Soul man]

Nice 1Tony, I've got the same scope and they are really good scopes, be careful with the tripod legs and how they attach to the centre piece (under the accessory tray) - broke mine a couple of weeks ago (all the attachments are made of plastic - be careful with them)- have now got metal chain on mine to support the legs of the tripod - much better.

Optically - they are fantastic for the Moon and Planets - really good detail for such a small 5" aperture.

Electronically - never had a problem with setting up and the GOTO on mine is always spot on,get your location (longitude and latitude) from Google Earth and set your site to it (read the manual a few times and set up in the daytime)I just do a 2 star auto align by picking 2 stars far apart like Polaris and say Regulus, and away you go.

Take your time with it and read and re read the manual for setting your location this helps in the long run.

Mainly enjoy your new scope - I've owned a few scopes and its a really good scope, still use mine on most clear nights - take care Tony any questions - get on here and ask - they are a really good bunch on here and very helpful. Paul.

[lfc t]

Thanks Paul. I had a quick look for better tripods but they were as confusing as picking the scope I'll have to take extra care cos got two young boxers and they'll both be wanting to know what i'm doing lol.

Planning on using the GOTO for the first few times, then trying to find what i want on my own, that way i'll learn my way around but always have help when needed. That reminds me i must order one of those circle things that show whats visable when

[sologuitarist61]

That reminds me i must order one of those circle things that show whats visable when

Our just get Stellarium as a free download for you PC/laptop, much easier to see and understand.

[philby]

I second Richards proposal .. Stellarium is an excellent free program..

enjoy your new scope.

Phil

[M4lcs67]

A wise choice. Had my 127 since May last year (also supplied by FLO) in fact all of my gear has come from them and it is a great little scope. Nice and compact, easy to set-up, dismantle, transport etc, etc. You will find that the supplied 9mm ep is a bit rubbish, so I bet you'll be upgrading that soon. The supplied 25mm isn't acually bad. I found it pretty reasonable although I have replaced both supplied eyepieces with Baader Hyperions now. I never would have thought that changing to better quality ep's could transform a scope, but I do realise that now. Also an absolute must-have will be a powertank to drive the scope. When I first got mine I put some batteries into the compartment on top and they drained within half an hour of using it. The Maplin 3 in 1 powertank is the one that everyone recommends and FLO can supply the powercable for it.

Also might be advisable when funds allow to get or make a dewsheild for it.(and there was you thinking that getting the scope was the hard part. Getting all the little extras can be just as bad.lol).

I have only been doing this astronomy malarkey for about a year, but I am loving it.

[lfc t]

Already got a list of things to get and not even got the scope yet lol. I've got a localish maplins so i'll be checking out the powertank, if it goes through batteries like that then it'd soon pay for itself. If i'm not getting delivery of the scope until end of may at earliest the maybe i might get away without a dew shield until autumn? Will be posting a few new threads asking for advice and information on a few accesories. Just a little forward planning And will defo be downloading the free software as advised, thanks everyone

[Spikey]

You'll definately need a powertank, the batteries don't last 5 minutes.

The 127 is a great little scope, very versatile and you can see most of the popular brighter objects through it.

I have always found that GOTO has helped me to find my way around the sky (ah thats where it's supposed to be!)

Then again what do I know, I don't look at anything anymore, only takes pictures now

[lfc t]

just had a look for the powertank, i can find 5 in 1's, 6 in 1's but not a 3 in 1 lol.. any recomendations?

[sologuitarist61]

I have the Maplin 5 in 1 and, so far, it is working petrfectly.

[M4lcs67]

This is the one I use and it works a treat.

3-in-1 Portable Jumpstarter : Jump Starters : Maplin Electronics

One word of warning however. Never ever run the powertank down otherwise you will wreck it and it will be unusable. Always keep it topped up from a wall socket even if you haven't used it for a while. Make sure you charge it up fully after you have finished your observing session. If you stick to this simple proceedure it should serve you well.

[Ant]

The single most useful accessory for a MAK or SCT is a dew shield. If you cannot afford the buy one -the astrozap ones are very good - then make one.

You can make one from a camping matt - I bought a cheap one on Ebay a few months ago.

Ant

[lfc t]

Thanks for the link Malc, looks like a bargain, i take it the powertank will last for quite a few hours of use? How does it connect to the scope? Will go pick one up at weekend

Got no problem buying a dew shield so i'll have a look for the one you mention Ant, is it required all year round or is it mainly a cold night problem? Sorry if that sounds a bit of a stupid question but thought it better to ask than not ask lol.

[M4lcs67]

Yeah. I haven't had any problems with it running out of power on me. during a session. The power cable has a cigar type end to connect to the powertank. Like the ones found in cars. FLO do them for around £12ish I think.

As Ant said you can make a dewsheild if you want. I bought one (Astrozap). It's up to you what you do. Buy a manufactured one or make one. They both do the same job.

[lfc t]

Cable and dew shield on order with FLO

[M4lcs67]

You haven't even got your scope yet and you will end up like the rest of us no doubt. Completely hooked but penniless as well.

As I have found since I started, that is the beauty of it. You can spend as much or as little as you want and still enjoy it and as I found with my 127 SLT as well as all telescopes, you can upgrade things as you go along.

From my perspective the one single item that improved my viewing experience was upgrading the eyepieces. Once you have a good base to start with (127 SLT OTA) then you can add things after. If you start with something as fundamental as a good OTA then you have a great starting point with which to go forwards.

[lfc t]

My biggest problem Malc is that i live on my own, so nobody to tell me i can't buy what i want lol. Might as well enjoy it while i can

So what brands of eyepieces do you recommend? without going into £100's..

[nightfisher]

I would look for a 32mm plossl, like the GSO, also maybe a 20mm, and if you can find a used one try a 9mm volcano top ortho, you can get these for under £30, but might have to wait for one to pop up on uk astro buy sell

[M4lcs67]

My Hyperions are £93 a pop. Pricey I know but you get what you pay for in this life. And they arn't the most expensive either. (Televue and the like are the Ferrari of eyepieces but they cost the earth). Couldn't give you any advice on any others as I don't know but if you look around the forum you will find people recommending eyepieces at a more modest price which are still good. And Nightfisher makes a good point by looking out for second hand ones. Sometimes you can get more eyepiece for your money by going secondhand.

From my perspective I found the 25mm that came with the scope to be pretty good actually. I couldn't get to grips with the 9mm though. It was rubbish, so before I got the Hyperions I barlowed my 25mm and that was a reasonable solution until I got the new eyepieces.

[Dunkster]

Nice one Tony, the 127 is a great scope! Even if you catch "the fever" down the line it's a great grab and go.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I would look for a 32mm plossl, like the GSO

Brilliant EP.

Its main use obviously is for scanning the skies for "faint fuzzies", which it does amazingly well at. Its a real work horse and i think everyone should have/use one. A 25-30mm Vixen NPL will do as good a job if not better.

The 127 SLT only comes with a 25mm EP so you may want to invest in an EP between 8mm-10mm for observing planets. Again i cant speak highly enough of the Vixen NPL. They are what i know and use and are very affordable.

For a good quality EP, you really dont have to spend much over £30.

Regarding a dew shield for the scope.........................

Buy a camping mat and a roll of double sided sticky velcro and bob really is your uncle.

[lfc t]

Just had a read of the EP sticky. So if i get 4 ep's ( in the range of 7.5mm, 12.5mm, 20mm & 30mm ) then that should be more than enough to cover most situations.

Now i guess if i have 4 then i'm not going to be using all 4 equally? Am i more likely to be using 2 of them more than the other 2? Or is it all down to everyones personal choice?

I'm quite open to paying more for better quality if it's going to be used more than the others.

So it's a case of do i get 4x gso/vixen and work out which 2 i use most and upgrade to better quality, or get 2x value for money and 2x expensive but quality ep's?

[M4lcs67]

Or you can get a 2x barlow and for every eyepiece you have it becomes two eyepieces thus halving your expenditure. I have the Ultima 2x which is regarded as a very good piece of kit. You can get cheaper ones but as I mentioned before you get what you pay for and getting a good quality one to start with means you won't struggle later on by putting up with one of a lesser quality. And I just recently bought a 14mm fine tuning ring for my 10mm Hyperion which means I can squeeze a bit more out of it (8.4) for the sake of £8. Far better than having to buy a whole new eyepiece at £93. That was one of the reasons I chose the Hyperions. They are of a modular design and by fitting ftrs to the ep you can adjust it's focal length.

[lfc t]

Not heard of fine tuning rings. I think i need to stop window shopping, at least till i've actually got some hardware, i keep seeing things and thinking "hmm that looks useful"

[M4lcs67]

I was in a similar situation when I started out. Everyone, however well intentioned are very good at spending your money for you. In a lot of ways there is far too much choice so it can be difficult to make a final choice. Whichever way you look at it the advice I got off SGL proved to be invaluable.